The Beast Within Me | Nate Jacobs

Xanny

The next morning Bee awoke to a silence that felt deafening. She looked around the baby blue walls bathed in blue light that flooded from the window. She turned around and saw Jules sleeping soundly by her side.

Reality shaped itself into steadiness as she remembered everything that'd happened the night before. After leaving Nate's house she'd gone to Jules'. She didn't really think it through. She just needed someone she could talk to. Someone who'd understand. She'd told her about everything, about Nate being Tyler and how they'd actually been getting closer that whole time. They cried and hugged. They analyzed and then overanalyzed everything trying to understand the reason behind it all until they realized it was pointless.

The thing was Tyler didn't exist, and she was very convinced her Nate didn't either. It seemed ridiculous to be heartbroken at the same moment as her best friend over different versions of the same person.

Bee felt as if her skin had tightened around her eyes, but in reality they were still swollen from all the crying. The strands of hair around her face were stiff from dried out tears.

She sat up and looked for her phone on the floor. She'd turned it off the night before as soon as she'd gotten there. Once the screen lit up she saw the notifications.

Nate
Missed Call (27)

Nate
im at your house

Nate
pick up the fucking phone Bee

"Shit." She whispered below her breath.

She stood up and started putting her shoes on so she could leave.

"Where are you going?" Jules asked, her voice still groggy.

"Home." She said shortly.

"How?"

"Uh— Walking."

"You can take my bike." Jules said. "I'll catch a ride with my dad.

She turned around to see her blonde friend leaning against her elbows.

"Thanks." Bee said and extended her hand in her direction. Jules took it and kissed it shortly. "I'm really sorry."

"We'll be fine." Jules said, and she seemed genuine about it. "See you at school."

Bee embraced herself for seeing Nate again. She didn't really have a choice as her dad thought she'd spent the night at home and it was nearly 7am. She just hoped he hadn't told him.

When she got there she went up to her room immediately feeling as if a lifetime had passed since she left the night before. She opened the door and found Nate sitting on the edge of her bed.

His height towered over her as he stood up. His hair looked as disheveled as she'd ever seen it and he looked like he hadn't caught an hour of sleep. His expression was cold and quite frankly scary, although it probably had more to do with her perception.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She asked just loud enough for him to listen, not wanting to wake her dad up. "Did my dad see you?"

"What am I doing here, Bee?" He asked, unfazed. "I was worried sick. What did you think I was gonna do after you left like that? I didn't sleep a single hour last night trying to figure out where the fuck you were."

She scrunched her eyebrows together trying to understand how exactly he thought she owed him an explanation at that point.

"What the fuck?" She asked. "You don't get to act concerned. You don't get to act like the bigger person here. Not after the shit you did, Nate. Not after you've been fucking texting my best friend for half of the school year and lying about it."