and it was perfect

Chapter 27

The next two weeks we're simply amazing. Of course I had told Zoe the next day and after being mad at me for not telling her right away she, Aiden and Gene did their absolute best to distract me. I either stayed at hers or let Aiden wipe away any sane thought at night, and the pain of that weekend slowly vanished again. I was safe here, Nate was far away and I was back where I belonged.

Both our moods had gotten much better again and I loved every second I spent with him. He never told me about his past or what kept bothering him. Because he still disappeared some nights without telling me where he went. I just knew that he thought we'd cross a line if he actually opened up. And I never told him the whole Nate story. But we didn't hide from our roommates anymore that we were friends now and even ended up buying groceries together.

Watching him pushing a shopping cart and checking ingredients with his hair pushed back underneath a cap was the most adorable thing. "Doesn't your diet ever get boring?" I frowned when I came back from the drugstore isle and checked his cart. It's was filled with the same plain vegetables, chicken and supplements as always. He shrugged. "I thrive on routine. And you only look as good as me when you take care of yourself." He arrogantly winked, but unfortunately I couldn't hit back at him. He was right.

"It's the same with running and the gym isn't it?" - "Yep." He threw a box of rice into his cart and continued. I was still deep in my thoughts and followed him. Suddenly I gasped. "Hold on, you even drink the same amount of coffee every day." He laughed. "I don't know if I should be honoured or scared of you for knowing that" I shook my head in disbelief. The more I thought about it, the more I realised how strict he was in so many aspects of his life. "So does that mean I'm also part of your routine now? Getting Jenna off is just another check on your list?" He grinned but didn't deny it. I gasped again.

"That was meant as a joke." His grin got even wider. "Oh, I know. But this thing-" he stopped pushing his cart but came closer, so I was pressed against a shelf of nachos. "Only works if we're being honest. And let's be honest ..." He bent down and brushed his lips against my neck. I caught my breath. "You do like being part of my routine, don't you?" I tried to keep my breath under control while shrugging. Did he really do this right now, in the middle of a supermarket isle? "You're alright." He raised a brow and flashed me that smirky grin. "Wrong answer J."
And yes - he made me regret it very much by making me beg for hours that night.

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I should've known that it was too good to be true, though. That it couldn't stay as perfect. A few days later I came back from my walk, another therapy session of mine I had started beside my rides. He was kneeling in front of a motorbike in our driveway, one of his personal projects that he'd brought home. It looked like a lot of work, but I was confident he knew what he was doing.

He'd told me it was the same his granddad used to ride when he was his age and you could tell by the gleam in his eyes how excited he was about this bike. I smiled and walked over, but soon realised he was talking on the phone. "What do you mean it hasn't been granted? What does that fucking insurance even cover at all?" He sounded angry and I slowed down. This definitely wasn't a good time to barge in on him.

He continued to open a screw with one hand while listening to the reply. I didn't know what to do. I knew I shouldn't be listening, but this was the first time I heard a glimpse of what was going on his life that he so meticulously hid from us. "How much does it cost?" He frustratedly rubbed a hand over his face. "Fuck." He continued to unscrew his bike, now with rougher, angrier moves.

"You know I can always drop out." My heart dropped. Was he talking about dropping out of college? My heart painfully squeezed together, and I felt the panic crawling up my skin. This couldn't be happening. What was going on here? "What do you mean that's not an option?" I wish I could hear the answer, but he just squeezed his forehead and shook his head. "You should have told me. But we'll figure it out, alright? I promise." Then he ended the call, let out a deep breath and angrily turned the next screw. I heard the metal sound and immediately knew that wasn't good. And then he snapped.