Page 4 of Diverge

Chapter Two

Nathan

The smell of her floweryperfume has engulfed my Jeep, and it’s the only thing I can smell. I’m glad she agreed to come with me to pick up Noah. If I were being completely honest, I didn’t want her to go home yet. Not without having a night where she can enjoy herself. I pull into the parking lot of the outdoor basketball court and turn the car off.

“I usually just watch from the car. Noah hates it when I’m on the sidelines. He thinks I jinx his game,” I explain as I take a sip from my water bottle. I feel her eyes on me, and as I turn to look, she looks away.

“Sounds like Noah is a bit superstitious.” She smiles as she looks out towards the court.

Goddamn that beautiful fucking smile.

I knew the moment I met Billie that she was trouble, which is why I never tried to pursue things with her. I had my own shit to sort out and still do, not to mention she’s Riley’s sister.

The players are running while the coaches are on the sidelines, yelling some words of encouragement. Feeling my phone buzz in my pocket, I pull it out to read the text.

RILEY

I stare at Riley’s text, not sure how I want to respond. When does the whole clubbing scene start getting old? Because it did for me a long time ago.

ME

“Was that my brother asking where I am? ’Cause it wouldn’t be the first time.” She rolls her eyes and shifts in her seat. She’s not wrong. Riley is a bit overbearing, but like any older brother, in his mind, he’s just protecting her.

“He’s asking if I want to go clubbing.” My honesty surprises her, and she snaps her focus on me.

“What?” She snickers. “He never goes clubbing.”

“He’s drunk. He only goes clubbing when he’s wasted.” I place my phone back in my pocket.

“Right.” Her tone is short and sharp, and I can sense she’s thinking about something that is making her mad or upset.

The coach blows the whistle for full-time, and I see Noah grab his stuff and head over to the car. I roll the window down to greet him.

“Noah, say hi to Billie. She’s coming with us to get something to eat,” I say as she looks at me as if to say she never agreed to get food with us, but she doesn’t protest.

“Awesome, ’cause I’m starvinggg.” Noah throws his bag through the back door and climbs in. “What’s up, Bills?”

She looks at him and smiles. Noah is about to turn eighteen, and I have been looking after him since he was in nappies. Now being in my thirties, I’m pretty much the only person he has in life to look up to, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. Our parents weren’t exactly the best of parents. Mum was addicted to drugs at an early age, and Dad, well, he was worse. As soon as I turned eighteen, I became the legal guardian of my little brother due to my parents not being fit to take care of him. I didn’t really have to do much to provide evidence of that given that they were abusive.

“Living the dream, young man, living thefuckingdream.” Sarcasm oozes from her tone as she turns away and starts scrolling on her phone. Noah looks to me through the rear-view mirror and raises his eyebrows at her response. I laugh as I pull out of the parking space.

*****

“This burger is amazing.” Billie scarfs down half her burger in less than a couple minutes, and I am thoroughly impressed at how such a small-framed woman can be so hungry.

She shoves a couple of fries into her mouth, and her eyes roll back into her head as she moans. My mind instantly goes somewhere else at the sight.

“Have you never had burgers from Five Guys?” Noah looks at her in astonishment as she continues to eat her burger.

“Honestly, I don’t really venture to this part of the city. It’s a little dodgy, no offence, so I don’t like to come here alone,” she admits.

“I bet you regret that decision now though, right?” Noah winks at her, and I kick him under the table.

Ignoring Noah’s question, “Why aren’t you eating?” she asks as she looks to me as I sip my drink.

“Not hungry,” I say simply. I mean, I can eat; I can always eat, but after a couple of beers at the party, I decide not to overindulge. Coach Tyson wants me to compete in the next few months, so I don’t want to jeopardise a win by eating greasy meals this late into the night.

She laughs and takes another bite of her burger. “Afraid you’ll mess up your impeccable physique?” she says with her mouth full. I’d be lying if I said I never really noticed Billie. I have always checked her out whenever I had the chance to see her, whether it be when she comes to pick up Riley from the gym or when we all hang out together. She’s small, probably five-five, with long, dark brunette hair that falls just above her hips. Her siren eyes complement her perfect little cupid’s bow of her lips. She’s smart, but what I can’t pinpoint is why she has such a sour attitude about life.

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