LIKE RAIN (7 page)

Chapter
Fourteen

My dad had already left when I got back. He was still gone when it was time for dinner so I called and ordered a pizza. 20 minutes later I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey." It was Nathan. He didn't even wait for me to say anything. He just walked in, shut the door behind him, and kissed me. He led me over to the couch, his lips still locked on mine and set the pizza on the coffee table. He sat down and pulled me onto his lap. I kept thinking we should stop, but I didn't know how. 10 minutes later he was on top of me, and my shirt was on the floor.

"We should stop," I said finally.

"Why?" he asked, kissing my neck.

"Because I don't know where my dad went, and he could be home any minute." Nathan didn't appear to be listening to me. He just kept kissing me. When I felt his hand pulling at my pants I sat up a little and pushed him off me. "Stop," I said firmly.

"Sorry," he said, finally getting up. "Here." He handed me my shirt.

"Well, I think my pizza should be free after that service," I said.

He laughed. "No, I have to get in your pants if you want it free," he joked.

"And do you give out free pizza often?" I asked.

"Never." He smiled. "But this one's on me sweetheart." He kissed my forehead. "Alright, I guess I better go now."

"No!" I said too loudly and too quickly. He looked at me, slightly puzzled. I blushed. I wasn't sure why I wanted him there so badly, I just knew I didn't want him to leave. "Could you stay?"

He grinned. "Sure," he said, putting his arms around my waist and pulling me to him. "To do what?"

I laughed. "Not what you're thinking."

"Damn. Alright, how about we just watch a movie and eat pizza."

"Sounds good," I said. So we put a movie in and ate our pizza. When my dad came home later that night I was sleeping in Nathan's arms.

"Nevaeh!" my dad yelled, waking me up. "Nevaeh, what are you doing?" I straightened up, pushing Nathan's arms off me.

"Well, we
were
sleeping," I said, already annoyed with him.

"Don't give me any crap!" he yelled. "You can't just invite any guy you want into our house to do God knows what!"

"Dad!" I screamed, becoming angrier by the second. "We didn't do anything so quit talking to me like I'm some kind of whore! You're the one who got a woman you hardly know pregnant! You're the one who's ruining my life!"

His jaw dropped slightly and he appeared to be speechless. "Let's go," I said, grabbing Nathan's hand and pulling him up off the couch. We headed towards the door.

"Nevaeh, you can't just run away from everything," my dad called after me. "You can't just run away from me!"

"Like you've always done to me?" I closed the door behind us without waiting for another word from my father.

"What was that all about?" Nathan asked once we got outside.

"My dad's and idiot," I said, anger still boiling inside me. "He got some stupid woman pregnant. Now they're probably going to get married."

"Oh, that's tough," he said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I hate her!"

"So move in with me," he said.

I almost laughed. "Yeah, that'll work," I said sarcastically. "I don't know what I'm going to do. This whole thing is insane."

"I'm serious," he said. "You can move in with me." I stared at him, not sure what to say. "At least come check it out," he said.

"Alright," I said. "I've got no where else to go." We got into his car and drove off. I could see my dad looking out the window as we pulled out of the driveway and down the street. We passed Cael's house, and I saw him sitting on the front porch with Kyla. It was midnight, I was in a car with a 19-year-old guy I just met, and Cael was sitting outside making out with some girl. So I guess we weren't meant to be, no matter how much Maddy had insisted we were.

I sat back in my seat and smiled. I felt suddenly free. I liked being away from everything that was going wrong.

"What are you smiling about?" Nathan asked me.

"I'm not sure," I said.

"Well, here we are," he said, pulling into the parking lot of a huge apartment building.

"You live here?" I asked.

"Yep, let's go." He led me to the elevator which we rode up to the 14th floor. He pulled out the key and opened the door to his apartment. It was surprisingly clean and tidy. The floors were carpeted in white, the kitchen was large, the couch was big and soft, and there was a balcony looking over the city.

"I love it," I said.

"And you haven't even seen the bedrooms yet," he joked. I laughed as he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. He walked into his bedroom and set me down on the bed.

"Now what do you think of it?" he asked.

"Even better."

He grinned. "Well, there's a guest bedroom so you don't have to sleep with me. Unless you want to, of course."

I smiled but didn't give him an answer. "I want to see the balcony," I said.

"Yes ma'am." He picked me back up, draping me over his shoulder once again. He walked out onto the balcony and turned around so that my head and arms were hanging over the railing.

"Oh my God!" I screamed. "Don't drop me!"

He laughed. "I'm not gonna drop you," he said. "I'll just jump up and down."

I screamed. "Put me down! Put me down!" Heights were my ultimate fear. He put me down, still laughing. "Not funny!"

He grinned. "Yes it was."

"I hate heights," I said.

He laughed again. "You know I wouldn't drop you." I turned to look out at the city.

"It's gorgeous," I said.

"You are," he said, standing behind me and putting his arms around my waist. I leaned back into his chest. "Are you staying here tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, without even thinking. I didn't have to think about it.

"Which room?" he asked.

I hesitated. "Yours."

Chapter
Fifteen

"Nevaeh Ann Taylor! Get your butt in here!" I heard my dad yell from the kitchen. I sighed and rolled my eyes, dragging my feet into the kitchen. "Sit down," he said sternly. Jasmine was sitting at the table too. "Jasmine and I have been talking about your recent behavior and-"

"You and Jasmine?" I said, cutting him off. "Why are you talking to her about it? It's none of her business."

He took a deep breath, obviously having a hard time tolerating my attitude. I knew I was being rude, but I didn't care. "Nevaeh, I'm getting a little tired of this. I don't like the way you're behaving and it's going to stop," he said. I didn't say anything. "Where were you last night?"

"What?" I said.

"Where were you?" he said, raising his voice.

"I was at a friend's house," I said.

"And what friend would this be?" he asked.

I sighed. "The one who was here last night."

"What? You stayed over at a guy's house? What has gotten in to you?!" he exclaimed.

"You never cared about any of this before! I used to be invisible to you!"

"Jasmine and I think you're getting a bit out of control."

"Jasmine!" I yelled. "There she is again. She's changing you dad! Why is she getting a say in my life?"

"Are you aware that she's sitting right here?" he asked. Jasmine hadn't said a word yet.

"Yes, I'm aware of it! I'm not blind!"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't be talking about her so disrespectfully."

"Well maybe she shouldn't be here!" I stood up.

"Don't you dare get off that chair," he said. I scowled and sat back down. "Jasmine is here because we both have some news to tell you." I could already predict what this news was going to be. He took her hand in his. "We're getting married."

I couldn't control it. A high-pitched scream escaped my mouth. "I'm moving out!" I yelled.

At this, they both started yelling. "Nevaeh, don't be ridiculous! You can't move out. You're only sixteen. You don't even have a job," Jasmine said.

"Thanks for you concern
mom
," I said coldly, "but I already have a place I can stay."

"What?" my dad said. "What in God's name are you talking about?"

"I'll stay with Nathan," I said, standing up from the table.

"That guy you were with last night? There's no way you're living with him!" he yelled.

"Well, I'm not staying here."

He sighed. "Okay, I think everyone needs to cool off. We'll talk about this later."

"Fine," I said, standing up and exiting the kitchen. I wasn't sure where to go. Normally, I would storm out of the house and head to Cael's, but today that wasn't where I wanted to be. Instead, I stomped up the stairs and locked myself in my room.

I wasn't sure how I could contact Nathan. The only way I'd done it before was by ordering a pizza. He told me he wasn't working today, but I had him bring me home. I figured I had given my dad enough of a scare. I felt different. I had never been so rebellious before. Although Nathan and I didn't do anything, it still wasn't like me to go running off with some guy I hardly knew. It's funny how much a boy can alter your judgment.

I had no idea what to do about Jasmine marrying my father. I knew I was being impossible, but I couldn't imagine her being my stepmother. I wasn't sure if I was serious when I said I would move out. I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"Nev?" My dad knocked on the door. "Would you open the door please?" I got up and unlocked the door, then went back and sat on my bed.

"Where's Jasmine?" I asked.

"She left," he said.

"When's the wedding?"

"We haven't decide yet, but that's not what I came to talk to you about," he said. "I want to talk about your recent behavior with…uh…men." I could tell he was extremely uncomfortable.

"Dad, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Come on Nev, don't play dumb. I come home one day and find you on top of Cael. I come home another day and find you on top of some guy I don't even know. Then you leave with him, and you don't come back till the next morning. What is going on with you?"

"Dad, nothing is going on with me. To answer the question you're probably dying to ask, no I'm not having sex. Not with Cael, not with Nathan, not with anyone."

"Well," he said awkwardly, "that's a relief."

"Okay, so are we done?" I asked.

"Not just yet," he said. "I'm not too keen on this screaming and storming out business that you've been displaying lately."

I sighed. "I know, I know. It's her. I hate her."

"Well, you're going to have to learn to like her, because we're getting married." He stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind him. It was obvious there was no getting out of this. Jasmine and my father were getting married, and there was nothing I could do about it. I suddenly hated him again for subjecting me to such torture. If I had to be miserable, so did they.