“Nothing.” I shake my head, still smiling. “Just a private joke between me and Dillan.”
Nathan watches me, his eyes narrowed curiously. It’s that look you get when there’s something on your face.
“What?” I ask defensively, shifting Dillan to the side as he tries to chew my hair, which he’s wrapped around his pudgy fist.
“Nothing.” He looks away. It’s too obvious and now I know for a fact there’s something wrong with me.
“What?” I demand, my voice deeper this time.
He shrugs, glancing at my dark hair. “Did you do something different?”
“No?” I smooth my hand over the top of my hair and look at my mum who looks away also. What the hell? “What’s wrong with my hair?”
My mum starts sniggering when she peeks around the back.
Taking Dillan with me, I dart to the mirror in the hall and see no immediate signs of hair distress. Turning my head from side to side, I still fail to see what they’re sniggering about. I haven’t combed my hair yet. It’s only eight in the morning, but it looks no different to how it usually looks.
There’s a knock on the door. I almost don’t answer it for fear of my not apparent hair distress humiliating me.
“Eric,” I breathe, blinking in surprise.
He grins, holding up a bag of food. “Breakfast?”
“I…” He pushes past before I can finish and enters the kitchen. “What are you doing here?”
My eyes immediately go to Nathan, who stiffens in a second and stares at Eric with his hands tightly gripping the edges of the newspaper.
“Morning Dawn,” Eric says and his eyes fall on Nathan. “Hi, Nathan right?”
Nathan nods. “We’ve met.”
“Yeah, briefly.” Eric places the bag on the table and turns back to me. “I didn’t think you’d have company; I apologise for intruding.” He steps into me, not caring about our audience and pulls me into a hug.
“That’s okay, Eric,” my mum says around a yawn and brings her wide eyes to me. “Can I get you a drink?”
Eric shakes his head a little frantically. “No thanks, I’m still trying to get the hair off my chest from the last one I drank that you made.”
I can’t help it, I giggle and Nathan lets out a sound that resembles that of a growl. Removing myself from Eric’s embrace, I step around him and retake my seat at the table. I know he needs to leave, but I can hardly say that to him while these two are here. It’ll embarrass him.
“It’s Friday, Gwen.” Nathan points out, sitting back in his chair.
I give him a warning look.
“Oh dear,” Mum adds, taking Dillan from my arms. Now I have nothing to keep me anchored.
“Nathan,” I say when she leaves the room. “Don’t you have something you need to be doing?”
Nathan’s mouth drops open in shock and possibly hurt, before he quickly gets a grip of himself and puts on the blank mask that I know so well. “Nope.”
“I’m sure there’s something you could be doing,” I push, glancing at Eric who is watching the exchange with suspicious eyes. “Sorry,” I say to Eric and place my hand on his arm.
“No problem.” He shrugs, but I can almost see the cogs in his head turning as he tries to figure out the one thing I don’t want him to know right now. “Nathan, I’d appreciate it if I could just have five minutes with my girl before I go to work. I’m not going to see her until Monday.”
Oh dear, now Nathan knows I told Eric of my plans. He inhales a sharp breath, his anger swimming in his now black eyes. “Why not until Monday?”
Please stop. Please. My mental begging does nothing.
“The London thing.”
Nathan looks at me, his anger aimed my way and with good reason. I want to shrink into a hole in the ground. “The London thing?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Eric straightens his back and puffs his chest out slightly. “Why?”
“Do you both have plans for Monday?” Nathan tries to smile but fails miserably. It looks more like a grimace.
“We’re supposed to be seeing the new Godzilla movie.”
‘I swear I didn’t make plans!’ I want to scream, but I don’t. Eric is completely twisting the truth of our ‘plans’. He only asked what I was doing Monday, to which I responded that I wasn’t doing anything. He said cinema at six to see Godzilla and I said that we’ll see, but only because I knew I’d have to break up with him today and didn’t want to make him… hell, I don’t know. I’ve really messed this up.
“Really?” Nathan quirks a brow, folding his newspaper with precision. Oh hell, I’m in trouble.
“Nathan,” I say softly and give him a pleading look. “Could you please give us ten minutes? If it’s not too much trouble.”
“I guess I could make your bed,” he comments dryly. “I didn’t get a chance to do that this morning seeing as you woke up after me.” He stands and looks at Eric, who is staring at me expectantly, his jaw tight. “I’ll leave you both alone.”
I nod, my own anger apparent. “That would be nice.”
As he’s walking past, he plucks something from my hair and holds it in front of my face. I cock my head as I try to make out what is on the small square of paper. There’s a damp stain and a written sentence that reads:
You drool in your sleep. Here’s the proof.
I snatch it from his hand and screw it up into a ball, but the damage is already done. Eric glares at me and then at Nathan. “Wow, well, don’t I look stupid.”
“Yes,” Nathan says smugly as I say, “No!”
I turn towards Nathan, my anger bubbling over. “You absolute arsehole. God… what in hell is wrong with you?”
He looks shocked for a moment and even takes a step back.
Eric shakes his head, his lips a thin white line. “Enjoy your breakfast.” He storms past me and slams the door on his way out. I stand in the centre of the kitchen, my entire body shaking uncontrollably with anger, rage, sorrow, fright…I don’t know.
This is all my fault.
“Finally,” Nathan says, looking as casual and relaxed as he was before Eric arrived. He unfolds his newspaper and turns to the page he was at before he just completely ruined everything. “I thought he’d never leave.”
His casual and happy façade irritates me so much, I barely even register what I’ve done until I see the water dripping down his face and soaking his shirt. He looks at me in shock, his mouth hanging open.
“Get out,” I bite, closing my eyes to try and rid them of the red haze.
Nathan blinks, not seeming to understand what I’ve done any more than I can believe that I’ve done it. “Gwen…”
“No,” I hiss, holding up my hand to stop him from making any move towards me. “He didn’t deserve that at all. We could have parted ways as friends. He wouldn’t have to know I left him for somebody else.”
“You were hardly with him,” he scoffs, wiping his face on his shirt.
“No, you’re right, but he always treated me with respect. He didn’t deserve that in the slightest!”