Addicted To You

34| Commitment

Chapter 34: Commitment (Nathan's POV)

I woke up the next morning but the bed was empty so clearly, she was already up and doing something. I listened for the shower water but it wasn't running. I sighed, standing up and rubbing my eyes. I went into the guest bathroom where I brushed my teeth and splashed some water on my face before going downstairs. 

Emma was sitting on the couch with her dad and her mom was nowhere to be seen. "Good morning," she smiled upon seeing me. 

"Hey," I nodded at her. "Morning, Mr. Hayden." 

"Morning, Nathan," he replied. 

"How long have you been up?" I asked, taking a seat beside Emma. 

"Like 10 minutes, not too long." 

"I'll go wake up your mom, put your shoes on," her dad said as he stood up before disappearing into his room. 

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked. 

"We all are. We're going out to the diner for breakfast. You're coming with." 

"Let me go change," I said, standing up. 

She grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. "We're going for breakfast. In our pajamas. That's kind of like the whole point." 

"To go for breakfast in our pajamas?" She nodded in response. "Is this like family tradition?" I chuckled. 

"Kind of," she laughed, leaning her head back against the couch, "We used to grab breakfast like this every weekend in New York." 

"How long were you in New York?" 

"2 years in New York, a lot longer in Miami," she answered. 

"And which one of those did you prefer?" 

"You know, I always thought when people asked me that, I would say Miami. Because I'm not a hustle-bustle person. But I surprised myself when I said New York." She said while staring at the blank TV in front of us. 

"I mean, if I had to go back to one of those places, even though I had more friends in Miami, I had a boyfriend there, we've got some extended family there... I'd still say New York. New York has its own magic, especially at night. I would walk around aimlessly even though it isn't the safest. I had fun in New York. No problems, no relationship stress. I didn't have very many friends so I wasn't attached to anyone, but I was attached to the city. It's beautiful." 

She talks about New York like she was living the dream there. "It was kind of scary too," she chuckled, "I can't tell you how many times I've stumbled into a dark alley where I've seen people do drugs or trade or sell them. Luckily I never got caught, I would be dead if that happened," she spoke nonchalantly. As if the thought of dying or being killed didn't terrify her in the slightest. 

"Weren't you scared? Of being seen?"

She shrugged, "Yeah, but... it's New York. If you act cool, sometimes they don't care. I did get caught one time, these two guys saw me, and I just asked them if I could get some too. They said no, obviously. So I pretended to be frustrated and left." 

I stared at her in disbelief. Who the hell did I just get involved with? 

She laughed upon seeing the look on my face. "I'll let you process that." She stood up and went into the kitchen to rinse out the mug she was drinking tea in. Tea, because she doesn't drink coffee. 

"Let's go." 

I looked up, seeing her parents coming in, her mom holding the car keys. I stood up, looking down at my clothes. "You look great considering you slept this way," her mom nodded at me reassuringly.