Words & Whiskey

EDITED VERSION: Chapter Twenty-Seven

I grasped Nathan's hand tightly as I weaved our way through the Calgary Airport that Sunday. When I told him I had to go home, he insisted to come with me. Partly because he wanted to help me with whatever I was walking into and partly because I think he's genuinely worried I will murder Alex. At this point, I might. Deep down, I was glad he came because Alex wasn't my only concern--Kieran was.

It wasn't as crowded as the last time I was here and it felt strange to be back in the place I once wanted to escape from. Once we located our suitcases, we made our way outside and I got Nathan and I cab.

The cab driver was fairly old and had glasses perched at the tip of his nose. His beady eyes looked at me through the rear-view mirror. "Where to, young lady?"

"Trillium Creek," I sighed, thinking about the fact this was going to be an hour more before I get home.

His eyebrows shot up, probably thinking about all the money he's going to get by the end of this trip. "That's quite a ride, what brings you to the town of Trillium?"

"Home."

Finally, we made it to my parent's house. I got out my phone to see the time and quickly remembered that Trillium was two hours behind Toronto. I mentally did the math and realized it was nearly dinner time, no wonder I was so hungry. In Toronto, it's nearly eight o'clock. As if it were on cue, my stomach started to growl as I got my luggage out of the trunk and I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up."

Nathan got his out of the trunk as well and he stood back to observe my house.

Much like his, it was big. But instead of it being made mainly out of brick, mine had more of a lodge feel to it, made mainly out of wood. The porch lights were on and I saw Alex in her bedroom window on the very top floor. She saw Nathan and me outside and she waved frantically, wanting us to come in. I rolled my eyes and looked at the numerous stairs we would have to climb to get to the front door, so to make my life easier, I grabbed Nathan's hand and led him to the garage.

"When you said your house was big," he began as he walked behind me. "I didn't expect it to be huge. Why didn't you tell me there were mountains behind your house?"

I laughed at Nathan's excitement but I quickly stopped. It was great to share this place with him, but it wouldn't be mine anymore and that thought alone made me even angrier with Alex for wanting to sell our home. I let out a depressing sigh. "Yeah, you can see them from my bedroom."

"Hey," Nathan stopped walking and placed both hands on my shoulders and made me look into his warm eyes. "Everything will be okay, princess."

"I know," I sighed, leaning into him. "I know she isn't doing this to be mean, I just wish my parents were here so she wouldn't have a house to sell."

"I know, baby girl," Nathan said, kissing my forehead. "I know."

"I'm starving," I mumbled into his chest. "Let's just get this over with."

We started to walk through the garage once again and finally made it inside the house. Alex stood at the top of the stairs that led up to the main floor. "Well, it's about time you lovebirds got in here! I ordered pizza."

I muttered a couple of profanities under my breath. Thank God Nathan was here because I soon as I saw her face, I wanted to strangle her. Nathan could tell I was already disturbed by her existence so he put his hand on the small of my back as we went up the stairs and he whispered in my ear. "Easy there, princess. It's just pizza."

"Pizza ordered by Satan," I mumbled, causing Nathan to chuckle loudly.

***