Page 160 of Fall I Want
“It’s okay. Let’s solve this now,” I tell him, wanting to get this over with now so I don’t have to deal with him again.
He sits at the end of the bar. It’s awkward, the tension thick.
“Coffee?” I ask.
“Uh.” He hesitates, and I hand him the cup I brewed for myself. “Fuck her. Drink the caffeine.”
Nicolas and I bonded over coffee a lot. It makes sense whyCeline would force him to give it up, too. I see the cogs turning, the PTSD surrounding the mug.
“It’s delicious,” Autumn says, knowing exactly what kind of manipulation he went through.
Reaching into the cabinet, I grab another mug and make another. As the next shot brews, Autumn focuses on him.
“I’m Autumn.” She offers her hand, but he barely takes it. Smart, because I’ll break off his fucking fingers.
“My friends call me Nick. Or they used to.”
Autumn notices me tense and calms me with her soft gaze. She knows me. She can read me. It’s something she’s reminded me of a thousand times. While she seems too good to be true, she’s not.
It’s a dig at me, one that’s deserved. He should be glad I’m even speaking his name because I didn’t for a long time. This is the best I can do for now.
Awkwardness swells, but Autumn spikes it away.
“Nice to meet you, Nick. So, how do you two know each other?” Autumn is a sly little thing, knowing he’ll answer whatever she asks.
“Zane is—was—my best friend. Our parents were old friends and we went to boarding school together. Shared a lot of memories. The loss of our parents. Snowboarding. Frat parties. Corporate life.”
Before he takes a long-ass stroll down memory lane, I stop him. “We shareda lot, apparently.”
He glances at the coffee in the mug. “I’m sorry.”
“Is that what you wanted to say? Needed to give me an apology so you could feel better about your fucked-up choices?”
Nicolas shakes his head. “I hurt you. I betrayed my brother. And for what?”
“For mediocre pussy,” I remind him.
Autumn sucks in a deep breath and picks up her phone.
Moments later, mine buzzes. I roll my eyes, pulling it from my pocket.
Autumn
It’s hateful to kick someone when they’re down. Be thankful he did this. You would’ve never found me.
I sigh. So she types more.
Autumn
You wouldn’t have. Timing is everything!!!
Shit.I can read her firmness in the three exclamation points. I don’t respond and keep my exhales to myself as I allow her words to sink in.
“I’m sorry. I have a lot of pent-up frustration and anger toward you. My therapist has been helping, but it still doesn’t mean I don’t want to slam my fist into your fucking face,” I explain, grabbing my cup of coffee and sitting between him and Autumn.
“I deserve that.”
“No one deserves to be treated like shit,” Autumn says, meeting Nicolas’s eyes. “Are you keeping score, too? Is that what she does to men?”
