We head inside and I lie on the couch. I can tell Bain wants everything to get back to normal, but in the back of my mind, the thought of Nate is knocking and I know it won’t go away ’til I see him, or better yet, make a decision of what to do. Bain comes back handing me my phone. I take it from him, not sure what to do with it.
Deep down, I love Bain so much. I really do, but I have to see Nate. My heart is telling me that and I’m so scared that seeing him is going to evoke all sorts of emotions and feelings inside of me. Feelings that…I’m not sure what to do with.
Unlocking my phone, there are a few texts from Aubrey, so I text her back, Sorry, I haven’t been in contact much. My mind is a mess. Could we do lunch?
Right away she responds, Of course. I’m just going to throw this out there though ’cause I can’t imagine the shit storm going through your brain. Why don’t you come stay with me for a while for a clear perspective on the situation?
I think about her text and listen to my voicemail. There’s just one and I’m shocked when I hear Jeff’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Arion, Nate told me what he did. I’m sorry that Barb and I didn’t tell you sooner. We had intended to, but…Barb is really sick. She’s in bad shape right now, and that’s part of the reason why Nate showed up at your place. He wanted you to know and we couldn’t bear to tell you ourselves. Plus, I knew if you came to the house that it would spill the secret, that Nate was alive. Anyways, it’s all out in the open now. We should talk, call me. I hope you’re doing better.”
Setting my phone down, I feel uneasy about the news. Barb is sick? What does that mean? Picking up my phone without thinking, I dial Jeff.
It rings and rings and rings. Finally, he answers. “Hey, how are you?”
“I’m okay. I got your message. How’s Barb? What’s going on with her?”
“She’s doing the best that she can. She hasn’t been feeling well for a while now and recently got worse.” He catches me up on her medical situation, and I just feel awful.
“Christ, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I should have stayed in better contact with you guys.”
“Arion, it’s all right, there’s nothing you could have done. And with Nate being back, had you tried to stay in contact, I probably would have stayed pretty distant. Speaking of Nate, he told me what happened. How are you feeling?”
“I’m better, now that I’m home. But my mind is just a mess.”
“I know, dear. I’m so sorry.”
“What happened? I mean, I have to know how this is even possible, that he’s alive.”
Jeff sighs heavily. “He’s a strong man, Arion. He has been through so much. His Humvee drove over a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. He and one other member of his platoon survived. They were taken hostage and somehow survived almost a year of torture.”
Tears fill my eyes, thinking of Nate being held hostage. I can only imagine the horror that he endured.
“Arion, I know you’ve made a new life for yourself, but you’re all that kept Nate alive while he was gone. He’s really having a hard time since coming home and not having you in his life.”
“Jeff.” My voice cracks as I say his name. “I never planned for any of this to happen. I thought he was gone, like we all did. For Pete’s sake, we buried him.”
“I know, dear, and Nate knows that too, but it wasn’t his time. I can tell you that he loves you more than anything in the world.”
“I know. I…” I trail off without finishing my sentence. I can’t bring myself to say the words, but the truth is that I never stopped loving Nate and I don’t know if I ever will.
“He wants to see you. He meant no harm when he came to your place. He’s in bad shape and is healing the best he can. He lost part of his leg when he was gone and mentally he’s pretty messed up.”
“I know he didn’t mean for anything bad to happen, it just caught me off guard. He was the last person I ever imagined to see.”
“Arion, I know you need some time to figure everything out, but please know that both Barb and I are here for you if you need anything at all.”
“Thank you, Jeff. I really don’t know what to do. I just need some space to sort things out. Please tell him that, but I’ll be in touch.
“Okay, I will.”
“Oh, how’s Zeus?”
“He’s good. He’s such a happy pup now that Nate is home. I know it was hard for you to leave him with us, but it all worked out with Nate coming back.”
“Thank you for taking care of him.”
“Of course, dear. You take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
He hangs up and Bain walks over to me with a huge cup of coffee in hand. “Was that Nate’s dad?”
“Yeah, he left me a voicemail and said Barb is really sick, so I called him back.” I take a sip of my coffee then settle into the couch.
“What did he say?” he asks.
“That Barb is sick and that’s partly why Nate came here.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I don’t know what to believe, Bain, everything is such a blur.”
“I know, baby,” he says pulling me close to him.
“He also said Nate was held hostage for almost a year and lost part of his leg.”