𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 • 𝘣𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴 [✔]

chapter eighty nine.

Kim sat on one end of the couch while Nate sat on the other end. Both Stratford siblings remained silent, not knowing what to say. Kim wanted to hug her brother while Nate just wanted her gone before she got in trouble. That's when Kim started the conversation.

"How's Janis? I heard she has a good job at the vet." Kim said.

Nate slightly nodded. "Yeah, she's still Janis. She has a boyfriend. He's a good guy, better man for her than I'll ever be."

"That's good. I mean not the whole someone being better than you, but that Janis has someone. At least she didn't throw a desk at you like she did to Harry Lewis-"

Nate stopped her. "Kim, I get it. Anyone else is better for Janis. I'm okay with it, she's happy and that's all I care about. As for the desk, I wouldn't be too sure of it. Maybe I'll get one thrown at me soon."

"Maybe by Luke this time. He didn't want to come see you. Said he was too busy with his family. He's a dad, you know, better dad than ours actually." Kim explained.

"Kim, what exactly are you doing here? Did our sorry excuse of a mother sent you? Does she know I'm here? I left once, I am not leaving my daughter again." Nate immediately stood up from the couch angrily.

"No, I swear I'm the only one that knows. Well, I did tell Luke, but he doesn't care! My husband doesn't even know I'm here. He thinks I'm buying groceries at Whole Foods. Is it a crime to visit my brother who I haven't seen in years after he left with no note, no call, absolutely nothing? Nate, I cried day and night waiting for you to come back, I stopped when I realized my big brother didn't care about me, that he was never coming back." Kim said, trying not to cry in front of her brother.

"Well, you saw me so get your things and go before I'm not the only one disowned by mom and dad." Nate grabbed her purse from the couch and threw it at Kim.

"So that's it? I've waited years for this moment and I get this. Janis was right about you," she scoffed, adjusting her purse on her shoulder and stood up. "You're the worst thing that's ever happen to anyone. I hope Claudia realizes how much of piece of shit you are. You don't deserve to call her your daughter."

As Kim made her way to the door, she stopped and turned around to face Nate. She thought that maybe he would've changed his mind and asked her to stay, but he didn't. He looked away.

"Have a nice life." Kim said as she twisted the door knob and exited the house. And with that, Nate Stratford was alone once again.

Nate ran a hand through his hair. He was angry, sad, frustrated, but most importantly he felt unsure of what to do. He felt like he had no one now. Or maybe just Claudia. Even then, she was a grown up. She wasn't the little kid that would only eat the marshmallows from the bag of Lucky Charms anymore. She could decide to stay away from him, and if she did, Nate wasn't going to argue with her.

He was alone and he had to accept it. Even if it was his fault.

(:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅)

"What would you do if I told you our flights is soon? Like real soon?"

Claudia chuckled, thinking Ben's question was a joke. She looked at her phone screen to see that Ben wasn't laughing. "How soon are we talking?"

"End of the week soon."

"Oh," Claudia blinked, "that soon. Well, tickets are already payed for, right? So all that's left is to leave. It would be nice to have a change of scenery. We could go to all the places you like, visit Buckingham palace! Are there any good book stores you know?"

"Slow down, we have all the time in the world to explore London. I'll take you wherever you want to go, I promise." Ben laughed.

"I'm excited to meet your parents. I remember you told me you have a brother, do I get to meet him too?" Claudia asked. She admired Ben's smile, even if she was seeing it through a phone screen.

"Not this time, he's a bit busy, but I'm sure one day you'll get to meet him. He really wants to meet you." Ben admitted. He then realized he let it slip out that he talked about Claudia to his brother.

"Does this mean you talk to your brother about me?" She teased.

"You're really lucky I like you." Ben blushed.

"You better."

An: i feel happy that the hp movies are on hbo max 😩 now i can rewatch my favorite hp movie aka poa <3