Page 41 of Diverge

What the hell is wrong with him?

“Maybe we should go inside,” I say to Nate as I begin to head inside but he doesn’t budge, his gaze fixed on Finn. “Nate, he’s obviously drunk. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, Nate, listen to your girlfriend like the little bitch you are.” Finn stumbles up to his feet as Riley quickly follows him, positioning himself between Nate and Finn.

“Nate, he’s severely drunk. Don’t engage.” Riley is now directly in front of Nate. My heart feels like it’s lodged in my throat, cutting off my air supply.

Nate’s fists are clenched at his sides. He’s practically vibrating with anger. Ignoring Finn’s remarks, he begins to turn away and heads in my direction.

I’m relieved, because as much as Finn looks like he can handle himself, Nate would absolutely ragdoll him in a fight. I hear Riley speaking to Finn, telling him to stop.

“Finn, what the fuck are you doing, man? He will flatten you. Don’t say another fucking word.” He pushes him down into the seat.

Once inside, I apologise profusely. I can’t believe Finn would do something like that.

“You have nothing to apologise for. It’s Finn who should be apologizing.” He points outside, and I see the visible anger in his eyes, in the way he has one hand gripping the dining chair, his jaw clenched.

“Maybe this was a mistake.” I sigh. “Maybe we shouldn’t have come.”

“We could always leave.” He shrugs, digging the keys out of his pocket and dangling them from one finger. I take another look outside and see Finn heading towards us. Nate follows my line of sight and places his keys on the table. Bile rises in my throat at the thought of what will happen next, and I’m completely frozen, unable to move.

“You can’t take her from me!” Rage is plastered all over Finn’s face as he barges into the dining room. Riley firmly on his tail. Nate is quiet, waiting for Finn to continue. “She is the love of my life, and you’re just a temporary good time for her.” Finn clenches his fists.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I’m very much invested in this relationship with Billie.” Something about Nate’s calmness has me unfreezing and putting myself between them.

“B, you shouldn’t be with him. You should be with me. I promise you I will never hurt you again. I’ll treat you the way you deserve.” His brows furrow as sadness takes the place of rage.

“Finn, you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying... stop embarrassing yourself.” Riley begins to pull him outside when Finn breaks out of his hold, and in what seems like a millisecond, he presses his lips to mine before he’s yanked off by Riley, who pulls him outside with Nate closely on his tail. Five other guys come rushing to hold Nate back, their bodies thumping into him as fury drives him to push them off him, one by one.

Everything happens in a blur.

“Nate!” I yell for him to stop. Riley tries to defuse the situation by getting between them and telling Nate to back off, and I truly think Nate would have already swung at Finn if it wasn’t for Riley. I run as fast as I can next to Riley, facing Nate. “Nate, please, let’s just go.” Grabbing his hand, I pull him inside the house and out to the car. Grace runs out to the car door.

“What the hell just happened?!” Her blonde hair blows in the cool night breeze.

“I think it’s best if we just leave. Riley can fill you in,” I say as I climb into Nate’s Jeep.

Without another word, Nate pulls out of the driveway and onto the winding mountain road. We drive in silence for a while until we’re almost halfway home.

The embarrassment I feel is nothing compared to the anger radiating from Nate right now.

I know how much it took for him not to engage with Finn, and I’m glad he didn’t, but at the same time, I’m upset he had to go through that. It is unfair to him.

Breaking the silence, I place my hand on his. “I’m so sorry.”

His jaw tenses, his focus unwavering from the road. I think he won’t say anything after a beat passes.

“I need you to be honest with me. Do you still have feelings for Finn?”

The question takes me off guard, and I feel a little attacked by the accusatory tone in his voice, but I can’t lie to him, so I stay quiet. Truth is, maybe this thing with Finn will never truly go away, maybe it will be there, like a nagging migraine, slowly chipping at me.

“He wouldn’t have kissed you if he didn’t think you felt something for him.” He sighs.

“I understand it must be difficult for you with Finn returning after so long, but I’m not convinced you feel nothing for him,” he says.

My brows furrow as I remove my hand from his. “I think maybe you should just drop me off at home.” Crossing my arms, I stare out into the dark night sky.

“I saw the way you shifted when Finn asked about us seeing each other. I’m not stupid. I noticed.” He runs his hand over his face. “I’m into you, Billie, really fucking into you, but I will not stand in the way of what you truly want, and if that turns out to be Finn, I will step aside. All I’m saying is maybe you need to think about what you want.”

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