Sweet Days (Four Days Book 2) Read online

“I think you did,” I answer, my nerves shot to

  pieces. “Some things don’t happen by mistake,

  Nate. You’re the one who let it happen.”

  “I fell in love with her, I couldn’t avoid it,” he

  dares to say, and just thinking about what he’d like

  to say pushes me over the edge.

  “Don’t you even try to tell me about it!” I yell,

  now close to a hysterical meltdown. “I don’t want

  to know anything. I don’t want to know how

  special she is, how you fell hopelessly in love with

  her, how you f—”

  “Oh, come on!” Nate raises his voice and

  positions himself in front of me, moving in close

  to my face. “We’re young, these things happen. It’s

  not like I put a ring on your finger! And like you

  said, we were already at the end of the line.”

  “Are you trying to soothe your conscience? Or

  maybe you want to imply it’s my fault? Things

  happen for a reason, Nate. Maybe this is the

  confirmation that you’re not the person I thought

  you were,” I conclude, just barely holding back the

  tears.

  “What are you going to do now? Who’s going

  to help you? We both know you’re not very good

  at making it on your own.”

  “I guess that’s none of your business anymore,

  Nate. Get out of here and don’t ever come back!”

  I hiccup as he grabs my arm, forcing me to look

  him right in the eyes. That’s when I hear the pub

  door slam open and someone pulls Nate away

  from me.

  “What the fuck … Hey, man!”

  “Get the hell out of here, now!”

  Patrick is in front of Nate, who has fallen onto

  the pavement. His arms are tense alongside his

  hips and his hands are in fists.

  “I was just talking to my girlfriend,” he tries to

  stand up, but Patrick pushes him again, forcing

  him to stay where he was.

  “It doesn’t seem to me that she wants to keep

  talking with you.”

  “This isn’t your business, Patrick,” Nate

  protests.

  “Actually it is. She works for me and this is my

  place. I don’t want any trouble here—inside or out.

  I don’t want any assholes here, is that clear?”

  “Asshole who? Me?” Nate gets up and stands

  threateningly close to Patrick.

  He doesn’t realize what he’s getting himself into

  so I decide to intervene and save his life.

  “Nate was just going,” I say in a whisper. “And

  … I’m not his girlfriend any longer,” I say with a

  touch of bitterness.

  “You should come and get your things as soon

  as possible.”

  I nod and lower my glance, pursing my lips.

  He’s intentionally humiliating me and it wasn’t

  necessary.

  Nate pulls his collar up on his coat and walks

  off towards the parking lot without turning around.

  I take a big breath and turn towards Patrick,

  who is still on his feet next to me and is staring at

  Nate as he gets further and further away into the

  cold night.

  “I’m sorry, I…”

  He shakes his head and makes a gesture with his

  hand so that I don’t continue talking. Then he

  turns, opens the door, and goes back in, leaving me

  alone, freezing cold and even more desperate.

  Patrick

  I’m not serving at the counter tonight and it’s kind

  of nice. Waiting tables helps me to flirt with the

  girls and allows me more time to choose my next

  ‘special friend’ better and avoid mistakes like the

  one I made the other night.

  I stay a few minutes with a group of girls with

  no guys, who are a bit tipsy but not yet drunk. I

  note the table number mentally to assure myself

  that they all know how to get home at the end of

  the night without driving. I always do. I want our

  clients to drink, of course, that’s how we make our

  money, but I don’t want anybody getting killed

  after they leave our place and I especially don’t

  want them to kill anyone else.

  I take their empty glasses and go to the counter

  to fill them with another round, when out of the

  corner of my eye I see something I don’t like.

  Erin is outside in the cold without a jacket and

  she’s talking very animatedly with her adorable

  asshole boyfriend.

  I shake my head and go back to the counter

  where I set down the serving tray. I turn to look

  and see that the conversation has grown more

  animated to the point that he’s grabbed her by the

  arm.

  I have a mother, two sisters and one half-sister. I

  have fun with girls, it’s true, but only the

  consenting ones and those who are just as crazy as

  I am. Women are the cornerstone of life, the motor

  that makes the world turn—and even if I don’t

  want to love any one of them, it doesn’t mean that

  I don’t respect them and that I can permit some

  jackass like this guy to treat a girl however he

  damn well pleases.

  I set down the serving tray, then go and storm

  towards the door. I slam it open and shut before

  pushing this asshole down onto the cold hard

  ground.

  Erin is crying by now and has covered her eyes

  with her hands. The asshole tries to speak but I

  don’t allow him to.

  Explanations are useless and in my experience,

  if you’re an asshole once, you’re an asshole

  forever.

  So I tell him to get the hell out of here,

  justifying my reaction by claiming a sort of

  employer-employee relationship with Erin which

  could even be true. But in all honesty, I would

  have done the same for anyone, even someone I

  didn’t already know.

  He gets up and walks away without too many

  threats, telling Erin that she’s homeless and she

  has to go pick up her shit from his apartment.

  What a fucker.

  Erin tries to talk to me, but I can’t listen to her

  excuses. Who in the world would have to

  apologize for some asshole like that?

  So, I go back inside with my hands still

  bunched into fists, worked up into a mix of rage

  and adrenalin that this idiot has provoked.

  I glance at Erin who is still outside. She’s

  hugging herself and her shoulders are heaving. I

  think she’s still crying.

  Then I huff and, swearing to myself, go to the

  back room and grab her jacket while Jay and

  Aaron ask me what the hell is going on. I open the

  door—slowly this time because I don’t want to

  scare her—and wrap the jacket around her

  shoulders. Her sobs subside a bit before she turns

  to me and buries her face in my chest.

  I am frozen with my arms in the air, and I’m

  fucking terrified.

  No woman has ever cried in my arms, not even

  my little sisters. They prefer to go to my mom or

  any other one of my brothers. It’s not because I

>   don’t want to comfort them, but because I’m not

  able to. I’m practical and rational. I only know

  how to punch people or tell them to go to hell.

  Sympathy and understanding really is not my

  thing.

  The calm lasts a few seconds and the hiccups

  return; Erin is shaking and sobbing and it’s a fight

  against myself, against all that I am and have been,

  and against the strongest part of me.

  I fight and lose miserably, because after two

  minutes and fifty-five seconds I close my arms

  around her body. I pull her closer to me, close

  enough to feel the heat of her tears through my

  shirt—shit, I brought her a coat and I’m out here in

  a T-shirt! And I don’t know how or why, but I

  brush my lips against her short dark hair that’s

  dampened by the night air.

  We stay like that for a bit while I let myself lean

  up against the wall, bringing her with me. She

  snuggles up to me and slowly calms down. Her

  hiccupping stops and her breathing slows down.

  I sigh and count the beats that my stupid

  fucking heart is pounding out against my chest,

  reminding me that perhaps, someplace, I have a

  heart too.

  I close my eyes and swear again to myself,

  because I’m just starting to realize that I’ve been

  foolish, an asshole and, worse, an asshole who

  deceives himself.

  3

  Erin

  “Well, he sure is an asshole.”

  I nod, drinking another sip of tea. I’m not

  working today and I’ve gone by Nate’s house to

  get a few things. I didn’t have a lot of time, I didn’t

  want to run into him, so I went when I knew he

  would be at school. I took two big bags and threw

  all my stuff in. A few outfits, underwear, personal

  things. I have to go back and get the rest, but I still

  don’t feel like doing so.

  I’ve been staying in Liam’s ex-apartment for a

  week, practically since Rain invited me to stay. I

  haven’t said much to the guys about it, just that I’ll

  be staying here a few days and to their credit, they

  didn’t ask me about it. They always have been

  pretty discreet and I appreciate that.

  I tell her about what happened with Patrick.

  “Patrick? You mean our Patrick?”

  “How many others do we know?”

  “It just seems strange. That’s not like him.”

  “Yeah.” I sigh.

  I still feel uncomfortable about what happened.

  I shouldn’t have cried on his shoulder—or his

  chest if you want to get specific about it. He was

  there, I was in the middle of an emotional crisis

  and the rest was just instinct. I shouldn’t have done

  it and things have been a bit weird between us

  since then. We never talk and he always seems to

  be tense when I’m in view.

  “I’ve gotta get back down there,” Rain says,

  eyeing her watch. “My break’s up. Why don’t you

  come too? Maybe it’ll take your mind off things?”

  “No thanks, I prefer to stay here.”

  “I don’t like knowing you’re here alone, feeling

  blue.”

  “I have to study, I’ve got an exam in a few days

  and I’m way behind. I’ve gotta really crack down

  on this while I can.”

  “Alright, but if you need anything—”

  “I’ll call you.”

  Rain gets up off the couch and kisses my cheek

  before turning and heading downstairs.

  “Erin … you’re important for me. Well, yeah.

  You’re one of my best friends and one of the best

  people I know. I just want to tell you that I’m here

  and whatever decision you make—”

  “Thanks,” I say, cutting her off before we both

  break out sobbing. “I appreciate it.”

  She smiles at me with her big wet eyes, leaving

  me alone with my thoughts, my anxieties and my

  fears.

  I’m three exams from graduating, then I’ve got

  to do my thesis. I can wrap that all up and then …

  and then we’ll see. I don’t need Nate. But I really

  am alone.

  Dad is gone and Mom lives in San Francisco.

  I’ve got nobody here except for Rain. How will I

  make it? Nate was right when he said I’ve never

  done anything on my own. I have always been

  daddy’s spoilt little girl. I’ve never had to ask for

  anything or force myself to do anything. It was

  always there waiting for me, wrapped and ready to

  go. I work at the pub, it’s true—my dad always

  made fun of me for that, thinking it was just my

  way of showing my independence. And I guess in

  a way it was true, at least in the beginning, but I’ve

  come to like the place, the people, and the clients

  who come here. It’s almost become like a second

  home for me here.

  I’m an only child and it’s always been just Dad

  and me. I don’t have cousins and Dad was also an

  only child and the grandparents died when I was

  little. All my mother’s family are in the States, so I

  really don’t have anyone else to count on. Dad

  didn’t want to go, leaving me here, but I had Nate

  and Dad trusted him. I couldn’t have imagined he

  would have left me for the first thing that passed

  his way. And yet … that’s just what happened. You

  think you really know somebody, especially those

  near you, and instead you never stop learning and

  you end up disappointed.

  The cell phone rings, jarring me from my

  thoughts. I look at the display: it’s Nate. I let it

  ring until it goes to voicemail. After a few minutes

  I get an SMS. Reluctantly I press the button and

  read:

  Your stuff is all at the entryway in boxes. You’ve

  got until tomorrow to come get it.

  I let myself fall back onto the couch, grabbing a

  pillow and pushing my face into it to wipe out my

  thoughts. Why does he have to be such an asshole?

  Isn’t it enough for him to realize the way he

  behaved? What do one or two days matter?

  I guess he’s really in a hurry to get rid of me.

  Right up to last week we were making plans

  together. We had common goals. And now, his

  goals have changed. So have mine, and our two

  different outlooks can’t be reconciled.

  Then I take a big breath of air and slowly let it

  out. I throw the pillow to the ground and stand up.

  I look for my shoes, take my jacket and grab the

  keys and head downstairs. I’ll have to get a cab,

  obviously I don’t have a car and it doesn’t seem

  like a great idea to take two big boxes on the bus.

  I open the pub door and the warmth and music

  from this place is like a full frontal assault that

  burns my eyes. I look at Rain from behind the

  counter. She’s touching Liam’s arm and he’s

  smiling back at her. I see Jay at a table, joking

  around with two customers. I see Patrick and

  Aaron arguing with Ned, one of the usual dru
nks. I

  see people laughing, talking. It all seems like a big

  family.

  I take a deep breath and hold in my feelings,

  I’m getting emotional and I don’t really understand

  why.

  I head toward the door to leave when Rain

  notices me.

  “Where are you going?” she asks, her voice

  rising above the noise in the place.

  “I have to go get my things.”

  “Now?”

  “Yep.”

  “Alone?” Rain blinks her eyes, worried.

  I move in closer so that everyone in the place

  doesn’t have to listen to my problems.

  “It’s all ready for me. Nate threw all my stuff

  into the entryway in a few boxes.”

  “What’s the big hurry?” she asks with a strained

  voice.

  “What’s going on?” Liam interrupts our

  discussion.

  “Nothing,” I reply vaguely. “I just have to go do

  something.”

  “Liam and I will come with you.”

  “No, Rain. Really—”

  “Something wrong?” Patrick comes toward the

  counter looking first at me, then at Liam and Rain.

  “Liam and I were just going out,” Rain

  intervenes.

  “Both of you? To do what? We’ve got a busy

  night, you can’t both leave.”

  “We’ll be back in a hour.”

  Patrick looks at me before speaking with Liam.

  “Give me the car keys.”

  “What?” Liam, Rain and I all ask in unison.

  “You’re going where I think you’re going?” he

  asks me with an edge to his voice.

  I nod and look away because the embarrassment

  of the last time we were together still burns my

  cheeks.

  “I’ve only got a motorcycle, so I can’t bring

  suitcases and stuff. So, Liam, give me your car

  keys, and I’ll go get her things.”

  Liam puts his hands in his pocket and produces

  the keys. Before giving them to Patrick, he leans

  closer and whispers in his ear: “Don’t do anything

  stupid.”

  Patrick doesn’t even look at him; he just takes

  the keys and makes a motion with his head to

  indicate that I should follow him. I look at Rain

  who mimes with her lips: Relax, it’s going to be

  okay, and then I follow Patrick out of the bar.

  Patrick

  I grab the keys and go directly outside before

  asking myself what the hell I’m doing. Erin

  follows me in silence, folding her arms tightly

  against her chest. I open the door to get behind the

  driver’s seat and she climbs in and sits next to me,