Harassenger: Backseat Admirer ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It didn't go but a day when my mother got a call from Holt's boss and none other than Pete, telling her that they were dropping their plans for the shopping center.

"Oh honey, I am so thrilled they changed their mind. I'm going to talk to that old neighbor of ours and get a lawyer. I want to buy part of the lot once and for all." She kissed me on the cheek, taking my sister with her as she went downstairs, not wasting a second to get the job done.

When speaking to my mom about Pete's sudden change of heart, I neglected to mention Mick's involvement, and also, mine. I didn't want her to know I pressured Holt at the office, and for Mick's sake, I kept him out of it also. If my mom knew Mick had something to do with it, she would feel like she owed him something, and she would blame me for making him feel like he had to help me.

I was so thrilled to have my home again, to know there was no one who would dare take it away from me, and yet I was so thrilled that I hadn't thought about the repercussions until that night.

As I was vacuuming the carpet by the elipticals, I heard a knock on the front door of the gym. The closed sign was hanging already, but it wasn't unusual to get a knock afterward. Some people never took the time to look at the gym house, so we often got knocks after eight.

As I look through the glass of the door, I noticed it wasn't a customer afterall. It was Holt.

I stated through the glass, my hand firmly on the door so I debated if I should open it. His eyes shoot to the lock on the door, and I knew I had to open it.

I let the door creak open only to have it swung open by Holt. He paced the floor before settling by the desk, avoiding eye contact with me completely. He rolled the sleeves of his suit jacket, but had second thought and tore the entire article of clothing off, tossing it onto the desk.

"Holt, I know why you're here. I know you're mad." Someone had to say something.

"Mad? That's an understatement. I came here to let off some steam, to yell at you, but now that I'm here, I don't want to fight. I've been fighting all day with my coworkers, my boss, my wife. The last thing I need is to fight with you." His hand ran through his recently shaved beard, leaning over the counter. I sat on top of the counter next to him, dangling my feet as he continued to sulk.

"I am sorry." I apologized.

"I"m not mad that you tried to save your business; in fact, I expected that from you. It's that you didn't give me a chance to fix it myself."

"You were busy and you didn't give me much of a promising response. I figured I could do it myself." I said.

"That's just it, Natt; you didn't do it yourself. You had Mick do it for you. I had to watch him prance around the office like he was your knight in shining armor. I know he's your boyfriend, but you didn't have to tell him everything without letting me help you first. I just don't get it. I don't get why my work has suddenly been a terrible obligation recently, I don't get why my wife and I are suddenly fighting over spilled milk. Literally, I spilled milk and she got pissed because not only did I spill it on the new floor, but I'm not allowed to drink milk, period. But what I don't get even more is why you're dating Mick and why the hell I don't like him."

"I thought you were getting along with him." I said.

"I did it for you. Shit, Natt, do you actually think I like him? He's sarcastic, annoying, and he's always around you. I can't stand him, and out of everything that's bothered me today, that's ranks at the top. I wanted to help you today, not him." He voice was weak, and barely audible over the sound of the nearby refrigerator behind the counter.

"Stop being like this. What does it matter who helped me? This is my mother's business, soon to be my business. As long as it's saved, it doesn't matter who helped me."

"I know that I'm being selfish! I'm jealous, that's all I can say. I wasn't ready to see you with a guy that you like so much. I wanted you to look at me the way you probably looked at him when he told you he fixed your problem." His eyes search for mine, and yet I couldn't look at him. I was trying to process what he meant. He was jealous of Mick, but that was expected. They were two men, and there was bound to be some sort of jealousy.

"You're my best friend, you know that!" I told him, grabbing onto his shoulder, only for him to shrug me off.

"Stop it, just stop. You don't get it." I did get it, on the contrary. He felt like I was abandoning him, like I thought when he met Della. It's normal to be jealous, and I assumed my jealousy was because I liked him, but in fact, we were just friends and I didn't want our friendship to be replaced. That's what he feels right now. He's getting a little taste of what I felt, and it's  awful. He will get over it like I did. Besides, Mick and I weren't really a couple...ugh, why must I remind myself?

I stayed quiet, but he was fast to continue talking.

"Please, I didn't want to fight with you today. Please just tell me we won't fight. I think we've both had a long day and I'd rather just forget about everything. You're the one person I want to get along with."

"You've got it. Whatever you need."

I would be here for him as long as he needed.