Hat Trick

15.

*Nolan's POV*

I have now officially been home for a week.

And I am here to give you the pros and cons of the beautiful Carlotta Rock.

Pros.

· I have not eaten this good in a while. Home cooked vs take out, home cooked will always win.

· I'm finally feeling a sense of comfort away from Haylie and Chantel. I love them both so much, but I really just needed a hug from my mom.

· I did not hear the words 'I'm disappointed in you.' When I was crying on her lap my first night home, because I have finally come to the full conclusion that I have in fact fucked up my love life by not taking every single chance Kaylin has given me to get back together.

· She sat with me and came up with a list of things to keep me occupied over the summer, one of those things? Weekly appointments with Rich.

Cons.

· My mother can throw a flip flop faster than most men can throw baseballs in the major league with better accuracy.

· Her feet are small so they hurt more.

· She knows that I am a whore and has no problem calling me on it.

· She has a million and 5 kids, and Kaylin is one of them and she has now told me if I don't tell her the truth about my downward spiral that she will do it herself, and I know that she will because Mama Lottie is in fact that bitch and is about that life.

So here I am, this beautiful Saturday afternoon, working in the shop because that is at the very top of the list of things to occupy my time.

Summer Job working for dad at one of my favorite places on earth, making money for next year.

And I have loved every second of being here.

What I'm not loving right now though, is the look on Dukes face as he walks out in to the shop with my dad.

I crawled out of the hood of this car and wiped my hands off. "Why don't I like that face?" I shook my head.

Dad sighed. "I'm giving you the rest of the day off."

I scrunched my face. "For what?"

"I very rarely ask favors from you." Duke nodded. "But I need one right now. Please."

"Well. From the look I can tell it's important. What's up?" I crossed my arms and leaned against the car.

"Kaylin's home."

I raised my eyebrows. "When did she get back?"

"this morning." He nodded. "She got an uber from the airport, came home, sat with Laney and I for a little while, then went to go see Rich."

"Wait, is she ok?"

He looked at my dad. "Use the office." Dad nodded. "Nol I'll finish this."

I motioned for him to follow me in to the office, heart beating a million miles per second, and closed the door behind him.

"I don't want you to think it's your fault, it's not. No one is blaming you. It's a her issue."

"What happened?" I sighed.

"Kaylin has been having some pretty severe anxiety attacks, or panic attacks, which ever you want to call it."

"She didn't tell me." I shook my head.

"No, I know. I didn't know about them until the last time she was home. But, she's been having them for a while, since the summer."

"Well what's been going on? What can I do?"