Chapter 102

The twins groaned, “Haven’t you gotten tired of that yet? You know when you spent a week in your room after new years.” Dave asked “Save it for the honey moon”
Neither of us answered as Ethan carried me up the stairs and to out room. Our wedding was soon, we decided to have it in the summer. Ren and Melissa have been handling most of the stuff but I made sure they didn’t go overboard.
Ethan threw me on the bed and I laughed. I couldn’t help but think about how I should approach Nate, maybe offer to help her with the apartment. I didn’t know why but I wanted to figure her out. But all thoughts of Nate left my mind when Ethan started kissing me again and I let myself surrender to his touch.

“How are things between you and your boyfriend, Eric?” I asked my sister as we talked on the phone. I was sitting in my, now clean, apartment. It took a while for it to be as clean as I wanted it but eventually it was good.
“It’s great” Grace commented and I could imagine her grinning over at home. She would be sitting in her room and on her bed with some sort of snack in front of her and the phone in her hands. It was the only way she could concentrate on a conversation on the phone, having snacks. That was another difference between me and my sister; she could eat whatever she wanted and not gain a pound while I had to watch what I was eating. “Gosh, I can’t believe we’ve been together for three years already.”
“You aren’t living your life Grace” I said for the first time, it had been a nagging thought in my head that wouldn’t go away “You haven’t experienced relationships, Eric is your first.”
“And my last” Grace interrupted me “I love him”
“I know you do” I said wincing “But…I don’t know Grace, I’ve met him and he seems too controlling. He wouldn’t even let you finish a sentence for Christ’s sake”
“He’s just…assertive”
“I know you Grace. You say what you think no matter what but not with him. Don’t let him control you.” I said looking at the silver scars on my wrist. They were faint but if you looked close enough you could easily notice them. “Take it from someone who knows.”
“He’s not Luke, Nate” Grace said with obvious irritation “He’s completely different”
“You’re seventeen Grace. You’re supposed to be opinionated, crazy and unpredictable. Tell me does he listen to what you say? Does he take your advice? Do you talk about important stuff?”
“Enough Nate” Grace said “I love him and he loves me”
“Okay I’ll back off.”
‘For now’ I thought to myself. I was worried about Grace; she was too influenced by mom and dad and to them, money and power was more important than love or anything else.
“So how’s the new apartment” Grace asked “Is it big?”
“It’s perfect, actually” I said “I’ve never been into huge houses or whatever…I love it” I was exaggerating a bit though because even though the apartment was great, it was too beat up for me to call it my own yet. There were too many things that needed fixing.
“Well that’s good. You know mom’s worried right?”
I snorted “yeah right, Grace. So you’re telling me she’s asked about me?”
“Well…no” Grace said “But I know she is so I fill her in on what’s happening with you”
“And what does she say?” I raised an eyebrow
“She uh” Grace sounded nervous and I decided to make it easy for her
“Let me guess…I’m a huge disappointment and in a few weeks I’ll come crawling back and she’ll have to fix me up with one of the few desperate men so I can have a future” Follow current novels on
“Well…Yeah…kind of” Grace said and then added quickly “But she doesn’t mean it. You know what mom is like”
“It’s okay Grace, I’m used to it” I said to make her feel better “I’m away from her now and I’m happy”
“I hope so.” Grace sighed “But you will come visit right?”
I winced “I’ll try” I said knowing it was a long shot. “I got to go Grace. I got things to do” I hung up the phone and got up. I looked around the room and sighed, the house was clean but there was still a lot of stuff that needed to be fixed and the money I had saved up wouldn’t cover it. I needed a job.
I got out and knocked on Patrick’s door. He opened it and grinned at me “Why hello my friendly neighbor. Want to borrow a cup of sugar?”
I rolled my eyes “Patrick, you’ve been saying that every time I knock on your door. It’s really getting old”
Patrick laughed and threw an arm around my shoulder “I know, but I’m still getting used to the fact that you’re living here now” he led me to his living room. “So how’s it going with that new apartment of yours?”
“It’s good. I cleaned it up. Now, I just need to get it fixed up” I said “So I need a job. Do you know any stores around here that need employees?”
“Not sure” Patrick said “Maybe you should check at Jo’s, it’s a small cafe that everyone goes to. You never know”