All morning I had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. There were two distinct reasons why the pit seemed to grow deeper and deeper the sooner my lunch hour approached. For one, I felt like I had to make real amends with Nathan after our fight yesterday. Usually, I pissed him off and he got over it, but I know that I had struck a chord. I had gone too far. 

Secondly, I was supposed to ask him to be my fake boyfriend. The mere idea of it made my stomach do somersaults. How do you ask your friend- who you have a crush on, but that's another story- to be your fake boyfriend so you can piss off your ex? The more I thought about it, the less I wanted to actually go through with it, but I knew that it would be perfect revenge.

So, when the final bell rang to signal the beginning of my lunch hour, my stomach was a full on pit of nerves and my mind was racing in anticipation of how things were going to go. I skipped going to my locker and went straight to the cafeteria to find Nathan, but when I scanned the entire lunch room for the familiar mysterious bad boy, he was nowhere to be found. 

Before I could walk towards our lunch table to inquire about Nathan's whereabouts, someone abruptly stepped in front of me and stopped me in my tracks. I blink in confusion and turn my gaze upward to see Luke looking at me with a serious expression, although his eyes darted all over the cafeteria. 

I raise my eyebrows in question and ask impatiently, "Yes, Luke?"

His eyes scan the lunch room once more before his gaze rests on mine. "Have you seen Nathan?" 

The seriousness in his eyes made my impatience vanish and be replaced with worry as I shake my head and lower my voice. "No, why? Is he okay? What happened?"

"I was in the library and Nathan came in screaming at Thomas. He went straight up to him and punched him in the face before storming out." Luke explains as a confused crease in between his brows appears. "I don't know where he went, but the librarians were pissed. They were screaming at him to come back but he just ignored them."

My worried frown only deepened as I listened to Luke. What the hell could Thomas had done to make Nathan that upset?

"Do you know where he went?" Luke asks instead of waiting for my reaction. "You should try to talk to him and calm him down. He seemed pretty on edge."

"I'm going to go find him," I say automatically without even considering it in the first place. It was like I already knew that I needed to make sure he was okay. "Thanks, Luke. I'll see you at home."

With that, I turned on my heel and began scouring the empty hallways in search of Nathan. When I came up short, I went straight for the parking lot and scanned his now empty parking spot in front of the school. My heart began to beat faster in worry as I grabbed my keys from the side pocket of my backpack and got into my car.

What if he got in his car, blinded by rage, and sped off the road? Or got in a car accident? I couldn't help my mind from overthinking things, only coming out with the worst possibilities, because I couldn't help the nagging feeling of worry biting at me. As quickly as I could, I drove to his house and hoped that his familiar black Mustang would be in the driveway.

I let out an audible sigh of relief upon seeing his car in the drive when I reached his house and wasted no time in jogging to his front door. I knocked feverishly, already thinking up the lecture I was about to give him for scaring me half to death like that, but nobody came to the door. I pressed my ear against the front door and heard muffled sounds of music on the other side. 

Without thinking much of it, I twisted the knob and realized the door was open, so I pushed my way inside. I could hear the Kinks playing faintly from down the hall as my eyes scanned the mess that was their living room. Blankets and pillows were strewn over the ground and the couch among various toys that I assumed were Bennett's.

As I continued through the house toward the source of the music, the chorus of Lola got louder and louder until I reached Nathan's closed bedroom door. I hesitate in front of the door before I push it open slightly and I can see Nathan sitting on the floor with his back toward me through the small crack. There were a stack of vinyls piled beside him as he rummaged through them.

The sound of the Kinks was cut off for a moment while he put in a new record, and seconds later, Hey Jude by the Beatles began playing softly. Nathan leaned back and I watched his shoulders slump as he raised a hand to run over his face. I frowned at the clear sight of his distress and decided to make my presence known by walking into his room. 

"Nathan?" I ask hesitantly, my voice soft, and the only reason I know he's heard me is because his back tenses. 

He reaches forward and turns the dial down to soften the volume of the music before he stands up. His back was still toward me and he made no move to speak or turn around, and the silence was driving me absolutely insane.

"Nathan," I try again, but this time, my voice is smaller. "Are you okay?"

When he turns around, I'm relieved to see there are no cuts or bruises on him beside the reddening of his knuckles. My relief fades when my gaze lands on his face, which was set in the painfully familiar cold scowl, and his eyes narrow at me.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asks sharply. "I don't want you here."

I ignore the stab of hurt his words send to my chest, considering how cold he seemed while I was overwhelmed by how much I cared for him. "I wanted to see if you were alright," I murmur and look at the ground so I don't have to see his scowl. "Luke said he saw you punch Thomas then bail."

"What, are you worried that I did some real damage to your boyfriend?" Nathan scoffs angrily and his voice raises. "Don't worry, I'm sure you can kiss it and make it better."

My head snaps up and I frown at him as my hurt is replaced by anger. "You know I can't stand Thomas. Don't act like this, Nathan. Tell me what happened."

Instead of answering, Nathan narrows his eyes at me. "Act like what? Like I know that you don't actually give a shit?"

All at once, anger replaces all traces of worry and hurt, and I take a step toward him with a frown set deep in my features. "The whole ride to your house I was so scared that you got so worked up that you drove off the road or something. You know I'm only here because I care about you and want to make sure you're okay, so stop acting like a jackass and stop trying to push me away, because I can see through your whole bullshit facade." When some of the hardness fades away in surprise, I ask, "Now, are you going to tell me what happened?"

I watch as the surprise fades and so does his cold expression until his shoulders relax slightly and he looks away. He seems to be thinking about something hard for a moment before he finally looks back at me with a glint of defeat in his gaze.

"I'm sorry," Nathan mutters as his eyes finally connect with mine again. "Thomas just really knows how to get under my skin."

As he speaks, he falls onto the edge of his bed, and I hesitate before taking a seat beside him. I watch him carefully to make sure that his defenses don't go flying back up and internally urge myself not to push him too far with questions. Not after our fight yesterday. Instead, I wait for him to speak patiently, as the record player hums the tune of Hey Jude.

"There was an accident a few years ago," Nathan's voice sounds far off and hesitant, like he was picking his words very carefully, and his jaw was locked as his gaze glared at the wall in front of him. "It was Thomas' fault." He glances down at me and noticeably relaxes a bit. "But he's trying to make me pay for it."

I frown at him and, very carefully, pick the words I'm going to say before voicing my question. In a soft voice, I ask, "What do you mean, pay?"

"He wants me to literally pay him. Thousands of dollars, too." Nathan lets out a breath and stands up abruptly to take a few steps away from the bed. He stands stiffly for a moment before he turns back around, and I'm caught off guard by the desperation in his eyes as he pleads exhaustedly, "Please, Lauren, don't ask questions. I can't give you any answers right now."

Maybe it was the desperate look in his eyes, or the sadness in his tone, or the fact that he's never begged me for anything, but I wordlessly nod and push all my built up questions to the back of my mind. Relief washes over his expression the second I nod and my heart begins to ache for Nathan.

It ached for all his unknown secrets and troubles and the ways I could take his pain away but didn't know how. His eyes search mine as my gaze bores into his, and as I see the familiar sadness there, my body acts before my mind. I stand up and close the distance between us to wrap my arms tightly around his waist, hoping that a hug would lend him some comfort. 

I leaned into his chest and shut my eyes, only feeling nervous for a split second before he hugs me back, his arms wrapped around me so tightly that I didn't think he would ever let me go. I could hear the steady beating of his heart and only hoped he couldn't hear how erratic mine was from being so close that the curves in our bodies were flush against each other.

The faint sound of coughing down the hall pulls us away from each other and I reluctantly let him draw away from me. Nathan looks down at me with the faintest traces of a smile on his lips and I feel both relieved and weighed down when there's no more sadness in his eyes, but instead an emotion I couldn't decipher. 

"That's Bennett," Nathan says quietly and starts walking to his bedroom door, but before he leaves, he turns back around to actually smile at me and murmur, "Thank you, Lauren."

When he exited the room, I let out a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding, and shut my eyes tightly. I needed a moment to regain composure after being so close to him and seeing so much emotion in his eyes. It was like all of the sudden, he went from being cold and mysterious to finally showing me some of the pain he endured in his past. 

After a moment passed and my heart rate returned to normal, I find Nathan in Bennett's bedroom, crouched beside his race car bed frame. "Still not feeling too hot, huh bud?" Nathan asks gently as he sighs. "You're burning up."

"What did the doctor say?" I ask quietly from the doorway. 

Nathan stands up and turns from me, and when he moves, his body is no longer blocking Bennett from my line of sight. Bennett sees me from his bed and grins widely as he waves excitedly. "Lauren!"

I smile and wave at Bennett as Nathan tells me, "The doctor said it was just a cold and that he should start to feel better, but he's still got a fever."

My smile turns to a frown quickly as I hear his words. I walk over to the bed and sit on the edge carefully as my eyes scan over Bennett's features; much like me when I was sick, he had nasty bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. His whole body began shaking as he coughed, and I frowned at the poor little guy as I watched him recover.

"Hey Bennett," I say with a warm smile. "What doesn't feel good?"

Bennett puffs out his cheeks before listing his symptoms. "My throat and chest hurt a lot and when I stand up, I get dizzy."

When he begins coughing again, I notice that this time he reaches for a tissue to cough into. The familiarity of the situation struck me immediately; after all, I had the same symptoms when I had Bronchitis last year.

I stand up and look at Nathan, who's already watching me looking completely lost. He had no idea how to take care of a sick kid, but luckily for him, I knew exactly how to take care of Bennett in this situation.

"Do you have any cough medicine?" I ask Nathan first. When he nods, I order, "Go get it. Make sure it says expectorant on the label."

With as much confidence as someone who actually lived in this home, I stalk out of Bennett's room and into the kitchen to find a water bottle. I fill it with ice water and return to Bennett's room and see Nathan standing by his bed with a bottle of cough syrup. I take it from his hands and measure the appropriate amount before crouching beside Bennett's bed.

I give him a small smile and ask, "Bennett, can you do me a favor?" He blinks his big blue eyes at me and nods. "I need you to drink this for me."

He frowns distastefully at the cup in my hand. "That looks gross. I don't want to drink that."

I give him another encouraging smile and tell him, "It will make you feel better."

Dramatically, Bennett sighs, but ends up taking the cup and tipping it back into his mouth. His face scrunches up in distaste and I hand him the water to wash it down, which he eagerly accepts, and his expression is back to normal in a matter of seconds.

"Feels good, huh? The water should help with your sore throat," I tell him confidently as he continues to gulp down the liquid. 

Nathan's deep chuckle from beside me makes me glance at him. "Whoa there. Slow down, dude. You can have more later."

When Bennett puts the water bottle down and takes a few deep breaths, I decide to elaborate to Nathan. "I think he has Bronchitis. It should go away on its own in a few days, but he needs to drink a lot of fluids and get a lot of rest until he feels better." Nathan watched me in wonder as I continued hesitantly, knowing I was about to tread on thin ice. "Has he been staying home from school the last few days?"

"He got sick Saturday night and missed yesterday and today," Nathan answers slowly, almost as if he knew where this was going.

I nod. "And is there anyone home to watch him the next few days? He shouldn't go to school until he at least loses the fever."

His jaw clenches and unclenches, the vein ticking, before he answers. "Ty was at home yesterday but he works the afternoon shift the rest of the week. I have school but..." He trails off and I note how he doesn't mention his parents again.

As Nathan trails off, he glances at Bennett, who is chugging more water, and purses his lips. He abruptly stands up and grabs my hand before pulling me up and out of Bennett's bedroom without another word. 

I stumble after him in confusion, coming to a full stop in the hallway as Nathan uses his free hand to pull the door shut. He drops my hand and turns to me, a deadly mixture of confusion, annoyance, and helplessness clear on his face. 

"Fuck, I don't know what to do," Nathan sighs as he directly into my eyes. "I need your help."

The desperation in his tone was enough of a reason for me to agree, but that added to the look he was giving me meant that I was a goner. I nodded quickly just to see the relief wash over his face, and when it did, I felt myself relax a little too.

"My mom doesn't have any events planned for another few weeks. Maybe she can watch Bennett while we're at school," I offer.

But while I offer this, I can't help but think of how much it sounded like Nathan and I were trying to take care of our child. I think Nate realizes this too, because I see him recoil immediately. He blinks at me and his expression begins to harden into his typical bad boy mask, and I almost scream at him in frustration to stop. But he made his mind up about something, and as he runs his hands down his face in frustration, I can already guess what his next words will be.

"I'm sorry, Collins, this isn't your responsibility." Nathan shakes his head and looks at me with a sigh. "I'm not going to drag you into this."

I frown as a newfound determination falls upon me to make sure he doesn't shut me out and he doesn't have to do this on his own. "I want to help Bennett."

He shook his head again, and my annoyance flares when I take a second to think about how bad Nathan was at trusting people. Me, in particular. It's like he thinks that if he leans on someone then he will be let down. Like he'd rather do things on his own. I could see it plainly in the way he started protesting my offer again, but I eventually cut off his protests with a firm tone.

"If you try to do this alone, then you'll end up missing school, and I happen to know you already miss too much," I warn him. "Trust me, my mom would be happy to help. She loves kids and she took care of me when I had Bronchitis."

Nathan raises his gaze to meet mine and I can see his resolve slowly beginning to crack at my words. "Are you sure?"

I smile when I realize I finally got through to him. "Positive." When he still seems hesitant, I add, "My mom is in between book tours right now. She sits at home all day bored out of her mind. Letting her take care of Bennett will finally give her something to do."

When he finally nods in agreement, he's unable to hide the relief from his expression, and I smile a little bit at the prospect of Nathan finally trusting me with something. I pull out my phone and start crafting a text message to my mom that explains the situation. I eventually settle on a neutral message and look up to catch Nathan's gaze.

"You should head back to school before the lunch hour ends," Nathan suggests. "It's almost over."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" I question. "I can make some soup, or go out and get ginger ale. I don't mind missing some classes."

Even though he's shaking his head to reject my offer, Nathan has a smile on his lips, and appreciation in his eyes. "I've already made you skip school twice. I don't think your mom will want to help if I keep corrupting you," He jokes, but then with a softer voice, he says, "I'll be fine taking care of him for the rest of the day."

I sigh, selfishly hoping he would ask me to stay, and ask, "What about you?"

He shrugs as the smile vanishes from his face. "I was already at home watching Bennett. I just left to go show Thomas what I thought of the fucking letter he had his lawyer send me."

Although questions bite at me, I repress them in order to respect Nathan's wish that I don't ask any. So instead I just nod and tell him seriously, "If you need anything, call me. I'll let you know what my mom says when we talk."

"Okay," Bennett begins coughing again and Nathan's shoulders slump slightly. "Thanks, Collins. I'll talk to you later."

I give him a small smile. "Good luck."

As I turn around and begin walking towards his front door, I can hear Nathan mutter, "I need it."

Even though I left his house with higher spirits knowing that he was no longer mad at me, I had ten times more questions than I had coming in. They were all gnawing at me despite my efforts to repress the curiosity that often bit at me whenever it came to Nathan. But despite this, and despite the fact that I had yet to even ask him about the "fake dating" situation, I smiled the whole way home, because Nathan finally trusted me to help him.