Page 106 of Steeling Her
“Sorry, baby girl—”
“Baby girl! That’s it!” Nick interrupts my dad and we all stare at him confused as to what the hell he’s talking about. “It’s either ‘little one’ or ‘baby girl,’ Carter. Take your pick,” he teases as he greets my mom.
“Baby girl is mine, boy! Nobody calls her that but me!” my dad shouts at him, but then Nick starts to smile and nods.
“Little one it is then.” He winks at me and I go bright red. My mom picks up on that and sends me a knowing look, one that reads “Fill me in!”.
I put my key in the door and open it up for everyone, ignoring the stare I’m getting from my mother. All of us see Danielle on the sofa; half watching TV, half doing assignments. She cranes her neck around to see who it is. She waves at us and sends us all a bright smile.
“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Steel!” She sets her laptop down on the coffee table and stands up in her shorts and thin top.
“Fuck me,” Chris whispers behind me, and I widen my eyes.Does he have a thing for my roommate?I snap my head around to face my big brother staring hard at Danielle in her outfit. My mom slaps him in the arm taking him out of his trance. “Ow! Mom!” he yelps out to our birth giver.
“Where are your manners? Help me set the food out!” She warns him to never use that kind of language when speaking about a girl or woman. My mom drilled southern manners and hospitality into us all from a young age. I look back over to Danielle staring at us all awkwardly, twiddling at her fingers.
“You need any help, Mrs. Steel?” Danielle offers. My mom lights up and nods, directing her over to the kitchen with my brothers holding all of the food. It must’ve been pure torture for Chris to carry it and not be able to eat it, but now that we’re inside we can finally eat.
We all join my family in the kitchen, taking the containers out of the bags and setting them up. Danielle reaches up to grab the plates with the help of a laughing Chris. All three of us are pretty small for the dorm, so we all climb up to get stuff half of the time. The other half of the time, we get the guys to help us out when they’re here. Like now.
I was about to open up the containers when I hear the door bust open. I see Nick go stiff beside my dad and then make his way over to me. Haley and TJ saunter into the room, following after Nick. There’s a tense atmosphere right now and everyone can feel it.
Everyone except for Chris. “Cooks, where are those cookies you made?” he asks as he taps on my shoulder. It’s like the blind leading the sightless with him.
I continue to lay out the food with my mom. She keeps making side glances at me, wondering what happened.
“They’re in the oven.” I point at the stainless-steel oven the college has provided for us.
“Are you guys joining the food fest? We ordered tons of takeout. You’re more than welcome to sit with us,” my mom offers, although I know Haley will refuse.
“That’s very kind of you, Mrs. Steel, but Haley and I are going out tonight. I made reservations for the two us. If I’d have known earlier that you guys were coming, I would’ve cancelled it.” TJ looks and sounds like he feels bad for declining the offer. I can tell he was a little reluctant to share that information with everyone. With Nick in particular, judging by how tense his entire body is right now.
Haley watches her older brother bite his lip, trying not to say anything. I know he wants to, from the murderous glare he’s sending his best friend—or ex-best friend, as he likes to put it.
TJ is noticeably uncomfortable. I swirl around to meet Nick, taking his arms in my hands and gently rubbing them to soothe him as best as I can. Sending his gaze down to mine, they lock and I smile up at him. His eyes start to soften as they meet mine and starts to nod to himself, telling himself that it’s alright. He has so much emotion towards TJ and Haley these days, but he keeps bottling it up. He doesn’t speak to him anymore; when they train, they barely talk. He avoids him at all costs and it’s sad to watch.
I can tell Haley and TJ are both really enamoured with each other. They always hang out now, and they can’t stop smiling at one another. It’s nice to see them both so happy with each other.
“Don’t worry about that, it’s no problem at all. I hope you enjoy your night!” my mom beams and clasps her hands hopefully together at the thought of young love. My mom is the definition of a hopeless romantic.
“We will, thanks again! Bye everyone!” TJ waves at us, dragging Haley back out the main door and leaving us back alone to our devices. They only stopped by to put her bag in the dorm room.
We continue to fill our plates with whatever food we want and we all sit at the table, grabbing extra seats for my family. There is a small bit of chatter at the table, but I notice how quiet Nick is.
Haley was the same when she came into the room. She was totally silent but looked like she wanted to say something. When everyone is heavily engrossed in a debate about the importance of a balanced diet, I reach for Nick’s hand under the table and squeeze it in my hold, silently asking if he’s okay. He squeezes mine back to indicate that he will be.
Hours rush by—feeling like minutes—and before you know it, my family is leaving again.
“Could I talk to you three for a quick second?” Nick calls for my dad and two brothers, who nod skeptically. I almost want to go outside with them but my mom holds me back inside.
“Let the boys talk, sweetheart.” She winks softly, allowing the guys to have their moment outside the door.Oh, how I wish I could be a fly on the wall. “You girls help me clean up here so we can get it over and done with . . . and also so you can fill me in on you and Nick!” my mom quietly squeals, causing Danielle to bounce a little. Once the door shuts, I spin around to face both of them, readying myself for my rant of confusion.
“Okay, so, well, I made up with him and we kissed. Like a lot, and he admitted to liking me. And I like him back . . . But it’s caused so much tension between us and TJ and Haley. Like, TJ and I are only talking every once in a while. I went to the last game, and Haley wouldn’t even sit next to me . . . It’s all way past shit hitting the fan, Mom, and I don’t know what do to? How do I fix this?” I beg for some advice from either of them. I’m so crap with this stuff. To be fair, I’ve never been in this type of drama before, so of course I have zero clue what I need to do about it.
“Okay, Carter, breathe, honey.” My mom laughs at my panic filled rant. “That really isn’t up to you, though? I mean, you could talk to everyone but they have to make the effort too. Look, sweetheart, I’m glad you and Nick are back on track, but you haven’t done anything wrong. You like each other, and if Haley doesn’t agree with it then that’s on her, not you. You can’t beat yourself up about it. It sounds like Nick and Haley need to talk this out for themselves; without you and TJ in the room. They need to realize that these are feelings on the line, and neither of you can help it.” My mom should be a relationship expert with the advice she gives.
“Can you, like, adopt me or something?” Danielle stares at my mom with love hearts practically in her eyes. We both start to laugh at her demeanour. “That shit was on point, Mrs. Steel!” Danielle high fives her. My mom pats herself on the back, knowing she’s done a solid job with giving me great advice.
She’s right, this is between Nick and Haley. They need to talk this out between them. They need to clear this up, and they need to accept it. It’s out of mine and TJ’s hands now, the ball is in their court.
