Through Pain We Survive

Chapter 20

Becca woke up with a start. Taking a minute, she realized where she was. Nate's. She looked around, there was a black cat laying on her bed. "Hey, P'Nelope. How are ya kitty?" Becca reached out and pet her.

Getting out of bed, Becca got cleaned up and went downstairs.

Gwen was sitting at the kitchen bar, absentmindedly stirring her hot cocoa, staring off in space.

"Hey," Becca said low as not to startle Gwen.

"Oh, hey. How did you sleep?"

"Not too bad. More importantly, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. Glad we were able to get all that out of me." Gwen shuddered.

"Me too." Becca fell silent.

"Thank you for showing up yesterday. I know people normally don't like sitting around a hospital. Especially at 10 o'clock at night into the early morning."

"It was no problem. Like y'all said, we're family, and I'd do anything for y'all."

"I'm glad you feel that way too." Gwen smiled at Becca. "So, any big plans for the day?"

"No, not really. I should probably get going soon though."

"Don't be silly, stay as long as you'd like. You know we don't mind having you around here."

"Thanks." Becca smiled.

Gwen looked off into the distance again.

"What's on your mind?"

"Honestly? Damien. I'm terrified of what he might do. Plus, with Nate still dating Sara, I have no clue how this is going to affect him. She went insane when he helped you, how will she feel when she knows he spent all night in a hospital for me?"

"That's nothing you need to worry about, Gwen. We will be here for you. Neither of them will do anything to you, or Nate for that matter. They would have to go through AJ to get to you. You know how he is. He was by your side as soon as he was allowed back there from what Nate told me. He will always be there for you, protecting you. As for Nate? He's perfectly capable of standing up for himself."

"He is." Gwen gave a sideways glance towards Becca. "So, what is up between the two of you anyway?"

"Between Nate and me? Nothing. Nothing can happen. Nothing will ever happen." Becca looked down, seemingly defeated.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I just— I don't know. Here lately, he's all I can think about— how me makes me feel, how I want things to be, how I just want him to notice me, but he doesn't."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. She knew exactly what was going on with Becca. "Ummm, it sounds to me like you're falling for him."

"No, I can't be. I mean, it's Nate. I couldn't be. He's been my best friend for years. I never saw him that way..."

"Until lately. I've seen the glances the two of you share when the other isn't looking. The other day at the shoot? The two of you could hardly keep your eyes off each other once you got back. But it was always when the other wasn't looking."

"Wait, what? He— no, he can't. He has Sara."

"It doesn't matter. The heart wants what the heart wants. Trust me, my life was way different before Random Encounters. I didn't think I'd fall in love with a goofy guy on the set of a musical, but here we are..." Gwen shrugged.

"Matters of the heart are so complicated."

"Only if you make them that way. What is your heart telling you?"

Becca paused and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them back up. "That Nate is a great guy. He's wonderful, sweet, caring, and so funny. Any girl would be lucky to date him." Becca looked down.

"But you don't want "any girl" to date him, do you? You want to date him. You want to give him a chance. Your heart is opening up to the possibility of loving him, if it's not already there."

Becca sighed. "But he doesn't like me that way anymore. He's moved on."

"Are you certain?" Gwen raised her brow.

"Do you know something I don't?"

Gwen thought a moment of how best to phrase her next statement. "Things aren't always what they seem. Nate and Sara seem to be on rocky ground with how jealous she is. I've lived with Nate for a while. I know he's not happy. With you, it's so different. He's smiling more, he's more talkative, he's just... better."

"So, do you think I should tell Nate?"

Gwen bit her lip. "That's where it's tricky. You two do need to talk about this, but while he's dating Sara is a dangerous time. I don't want to see either of you get hurt."

"I'll have to wait. At least until he breaks up with Sara. I'll have to keep doing what I've been doing- hiding my feelings and pretending like things are "normal," whatever that is. If Sara knew I talked to him about this, it would not end well for him."

"That's your call. I would do the same though."

"I just can't stand to see him hurt. I know he hasn't said anything, but I can tell he knows somethings off. I know how he is."

"He actually did mention something to us, but that was a while back. I thought maybe things had gotten better, like he didn't feel that way anymore. But I don't know— I still get a bad vibe from her."

"Who knows. Did Nate ever figure out who posted that picture?"

"No. But he's been trying to track it down."

"Hopefully he'll be able to get some closure from that. Whoever took that and posted it was way out of line."

"Definitely. It's a complete breach of privacy." Gwen had a thought. "You know, Nate said she set her phone down, I wonder if it was Sara that took that shot. The way those tables were arranged, it would have been the correct angle..."

"But what would she gain from it? It exposes her too."

"That's the kicker. I'm not sure. It's just a theory."

"Well, if y'all ever figure out who did it, let me know. I'd like to personally kick their behind."

"You're not the only one. Nate is such a great guy, I hate for anyone to hurt him. After what Pamela did, it's a wonder he even agreed to date Sara at all."

"You know, Nate never expounded on the whole "Pamela" incident. What did happen? All I know is she cheated on him."

"Oh, it was bad. She had this friend who she swore up and down they didn't have feelings for each other, but one day Nate went to her apartment to surprise her for lunch, and he caught the two of them in bed together."

"Oh my!"

"It gets worse. Pamela then tried to deny everything, and then blamed Nate that he drove her to this other guy's arms because Nate was 'too closed off.' Nate really didn't have any faith in anyone for a long time."

"How did Sara get him to agree to date her? How did they even meet?"

"They met at the comic book shop down the road. She basically talked her way into a date with him after several meetings. She fangirled over him being in RE, and just kept buttering him up, and eventually she asked him if he would ever ask her out. He took the bait and they've been dating since then."

Becca sighed. Her heart was hurting. Knowing how bad Nate had been hurt, and with how Sara had been acting, she knew this could only end in tragedy. She did not want anything happening to Nate. She hoped that Nate would be able to break up with Sara before something like that would happen again.

"Well, why don't we make some breakfast? I'm sure the guys will be up soon and they'll be hungry."

"Yeah, okay." Becca forced a smile and helped Gwen prepare breakfast.