ALL 4 US | nate jacobs

03.

after astrid posted on her instagram, her phone began to blow up with words of question from her peers. she got a few texts from rue and kat, but she'd talk to them later. sick of being reminded of all the texts and random dms, she turned her phone off, and focused on the boy in front of her, nate jacobs.

"so why are you here, nathaniel?" astrid asked, taking a bite of her pasta. the two were down in the hospital cafeteria eating, nate insisted. astrid looked at the boy, raising an eyebrow. "well it's not everyday your fuck buddy ends up in a 3 month coma." astrid rolled her eyes. "oh shut up, it was a one time thing." she muttered. nate looked at her in silence with a smirk on his face. astrid looked at him before bursting into laughter. "okay so, it happened more than once." she chuckled. nate shook his head, laughing softly.

"how are you feeling? with everything?" nate asked, eating a few fries from his plate. astrid shrugged and looked down at her food. "i don't know, i'm just ready to get back to the old me, you know? me, rue, ma, tobias." she said softly, taking another bite of her food. nate frowned in response. "wait rue? why the fuck would you talk to her still?" he asked. astrid gave him a confused look. "wait, what are you talking about? rue's like my best friend." she said, shaking her head. "wait, do you not remember?" nate said, pausing and watching her. "obviously not nate, just tell me." she said.

"astrid, rue left you to die that night at the party." nate said slowly.

nate explained everything to astrid, from the fight to her blacking out. "kat ran to help you. she called out to rue, but she just walked out of the house." he explained. "she ended up getting into rehab while you were down, she overdosed on accident not too long after you." he said. astrid listened to the boy with tears in her eyes. "what the fuck rue." she mumbled softly, shaking her head. nate sat and watched the girl process all of the information. he grabbed her hand and placed it into his rough and calloused one. "c'mon, let's go back up to your room." he said softly. she nodded and the two went upstairs. when they got to her room, astrid hugged nate quickly. "thank you." she said, looking up at him before opening the door, sitting there in the room was her mother and her brother tobias.

"ay, mija!" her mother cried out, walking over to astrid and embracing her in a tight hug. "hey ma." astrid said with a soft smile on her face. she closed her eyes as her mother held her. the two stood in a hug before pulling away. her mother repeatedly kissed her cheeks, crying out prayers. "alright, alright ma." astrid chuckled. she looked past her mother to see her brother sitting in the chair beside her bed. "what? i can't get any love from my baby sister?" tobias joked, standing up and hugging the girl close. "nice to have you back, bobo." astrid laughed at the childhood nickname he gave her. after a brief family reunion, the three were interrupted by a soft cough. everyone looked up to see nate still standing in the doorway.

"astrid, como es tú novio?" her mother joked, nudging astrid. she rolled her eyes and motioned for him to come in. "he's not my boyfriend mami. this is nate, a close friend of mine." she said. nate nodded softly. "hello mrs. santiago." nate said. "so proper!" her mother laughed. "please, call me rosita." she chuckled. nate gave her a soft smile before nodding. "sup man, i'm tobias, her brother." tobias said, extending his hand and dapping nate up. nate nodded. "i was just checking up on astrid." he said, looking at the girl on the bed. astrid smiled softly before mouthing "thank you". "well i better get going, it was great to meet you both." nate said with a slight smile. astrid nodded, and nate left the room.

"mija!" rosita said with a smirk on her face. "oh my god mami." astrid groaned, looking up at her mother. rosita laughs and shook her head. "i'm only teasing." she said, looking at her daughter with a smile. she sighed softly before pulling her close. "we thought we lost you." she said. astrid sighed and shook her head. "i'm sorry." was all she could muster up to say. "we talked to dr. williams about treatment plans. he suggested you attend aa meetings, over rehab, due to the amount of time you were out." rosita explained. astrid knew this was coming, and it was the part she wasn't looking forward to. the part where the guilt truly set in. astrid nodded in response. "i just want to go home." she said softly. "discharge papers are coming soon, just relax for now." her mother said, standing up and sitting beside tobias. astrid nodded and grabbed her phone, turning it back on. when the screen lit up, the first thing she saw was a notification from rue.

2 new notifications!

rue: hey
rue: we need to talk astrid. call me.

astrid shook her head and looked up at the ceiling.

"yeah, no shit." she mumbled, locking her phone.

soon after, astrid was discharged from the hospital. thanking her doctors, she made her way out of the hospital. as she stepped out of the building she felt the warm sun shining onto her skin and it brought back an instant wave of nostalgia. a smile appeared on her face as she danced around on the pavement. she was back and ready to raise a little hell.

"the bitch is back." she laughed, latching her arm with her brother's she began to skip over to their mother's car.

"lord, help us all." a voice said.

astrid looked up to see rue leaning on the back of the car. her eyes went wide as she froze. "rue i don't think this is the best time-" rosita started, but astrid quickly cut her off. "no, this is a great time!" she yelled, walking up to rue. "look astrid just let me explain-" astrid shook her head and slapped rue instantly. "you left me for dead rue, there's nothing to fucking explain!" she yelled. rue reached up and held her face, it stinging rapidly. "let me make this real fucking clear. we're not friends, rue bennett. do not talk to me, or my family ever again, you got that?" she said lowly, inching closer to rue. "delete my number. if you so much as say my name, i swear to god, i will ruin your fucking life." she said, staring rue in the eyes. rosita ran over and pulled astrid away. "vamonos mija." she said.

astrid slowly walked away, eyeing her strongly. "get the fuck off my car" she spat, getting into the backseat of the car. rosita and tobias gave rue a sympathetic look before getting into the car as well. rue backed away, tears streaming down her face. the car backed up and drove off, leaving rue in the parking lot.

the bitch was indeed back, and she came to raise hell.