"You lied to me!" he yells, getting in his face. "We're family, and you lied to me!"
"I would've told you the truth, but Riley didn't want to. She didn't want to hurt you. This whole time she's been worried about you instead of just letting herself be happy. She's been denying herself in order to protect you."
"Didn't look like she was denying herself today," he scoffs.
"Nate, I'm sorry," I tell him. "I know it was wrong to lie to you, but I didn't know how to tell you. I thought maybe once you had a girlfriend I could tell you the truth, but even when you had Heather, you still seemed sad. I didn't know what to do."
"You break up with him," Nate says. "If you knew it was wrong, you should've broken up with him."
"But it's not wrong. And I didn't want to break up with him. Nate, why can't you just let me be happy?"
"With HIM?" He points to Brad. "Why, Riley?" His voice cracks. "Why does it have to be him?"
"Nate." I reach over to hug him.
"Get away from me!" He shoves me away.
"Nate, don't be this way."
"You're a fucking liar, Riley. I thought we were friends, but then you go and betray me."
"I didn't betray you. I wanted to tell you, but I knew you'd react this way." I take a step closer. "We're still friends, Nate. We'll always be friends."
He narrows his eyes at me. "Do you love him?"
I look behind him at Brad. "Yes."
"Fuck!" Nate storms back to the kitchen and slams his fist on the counter. "I can't fucking believe this!"
"Nate, just calm down," I say.
He points to the door. "Get out! Get out of my house and don't come back. I never want to see you again."
"Nate, you don't mean that."
"You're not my friend anymore, Riley. I'm not even sure you ever were." He glances at Brad. "As for him, he'll drop you when the summer ends. He doesn't love you. He's just using you."
"Hey!" Brad barks in his deep voice as he rushes over to Nate. "Shut your mouth right now or I swear I'll punch you."
"Go ahead. It'd hurt less than the kind of hurt I'm feeling right now."
"Because it's all about you, right Nate? It's always about you. You never think of anyone else. You don't think Riley's hurting right now? Seeing you react this way? Hearing you say those things to her? Riley didn't intentionally hurt you, but you're going out of your way to hurt her."
Nate looks at me. "She deserves it. She deserves to feel pain after what she did to me."
I'm crying now, tears spilling down my cheeks. I hate hearing Nate talk to me this way. Seeing him look at me like I'm a horrible person.
"I'm sorry, Nate." I turn and run out the door.
"Riley, wait!" Brad follows me to the driveway.
"Brad, don't." I sniffle and wipe my face. "I want to be alone."
He comes in front of me and hugs me. "I'm sorry he said that stuff. I've never seen him act that way."
"It's because I hurt him. I hurt him so bad. I hurt my best friend."
"He's not your best friend if he reacts that way when you tell him you're happy."
I pull away from Brad. "I don't want to talk about this."
"Why don't we go get something to eat? It's almost lunch time. We could get one of those pizzas you like. The kind with the pineapple?"
I shake my head. "That would just remind me of Nate."
"Then we'll get something else." He takes my hand. "Let's go."
"No." I take my my hand back. "Brad, I'm sorry but I can't be with you right now. I just want to go home." I walk to my truck.
"We're still okay, right?" I hear him say.
I nod. "Yeah."
I get in my truck and drive off, not sure if what I told him is true. I said we're okay, but I don't know if we are. I just lost my best friend. Someone I've been friends with for years. I lost him because of a guy I've only known a few months.
What if Brad and I don't make it to the end of the summer? Or if we do, what if we move to New York and then break up? I don't fit in Brad's world and never will, so there's a good chance we won't last.
But my friendship with Nate would've lasted if I hadn't screwed it up. I know Nate and I haven't been getting along well this summer, but we could've fixed it. We've always been able to get past our disagreements. But not this time. This time is different. I think my friendship with Nate is over.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nate
Brad's parents are coming to town today. After what happened yesterday, I'm not in the mood to socialize, especially with Brad's parents. I get along fine with my aunt and uncle, except when they act like they're better than us. I know my aunt will say something rude about our house. My mom's expecting that too and has already told me to just ignore whatever Aunt Sheryl says about it. I'm not sure I can do that, given my anger toward her son. A day has gone by and I'm still furious. I can't get that image of Riley and Brad on the couch out of my head.
Brad told my mom what happened. I didn't want her to know, but she sensed something was up and asked him about it, so he told her. Apparently he can be honest with my mom, but not me.
Bastard. I trusted him. He's my cousin. And a friend. But he betrayed me. He used my trust to go behind my back and steal Riley from me. He stole my best friend, and the worst part is, he still doesn't see why dating her is wrong. He keeps saying he loves her and that I could still be friends with her. But how can I be friends with someone who lied to my face for two months, and dated my cousin after I made it clear he was off limits?
I don't want to talk to either one of them anymore, or even be around them. Unfortunately, they'll be at this dinner my mom's making me go to with my aunt and uncle. I told my mom to tell Riley she was no longer invited, but she wouldn't do it. I'm hoping Riley will just decide not to come, knowing how awkward it'll be for us.
"Nate, they're here," my mom yells from the living room.
She and Brad just got home from picking his parents up from the airport.
I leave my room and go to the living room. Aunt Sheryl is standing next to my mom and Brad is next to his dad.
"Nate, it's good to see you again," Aunt Sheryl says, coming over to give me a hug. She's really skinny. I can feel her bones when I hug her. She's always been thin, but not this thin. She's probably too stressed to eat, given their financial problems.
"Good to see you too," I tell her.
Uncle John comes up beside her. "Nate." He shakes my hand. He's always been really formal. "How's the job search going?"
"Okay. I had an interview last Friday. It didn't work out, but I have another one next week in Denver."
"You do?" Brad asks.
I ignore him. He doesn't need to know what I'm doing. If he gets to keep secrets, so do I.
"I'm hoping he finds something closer," my mom says, "like maybe something in Oklahoma?" She winks at me.