Dilemma

Chapter 9

As I enter the limo I am greeted by soft, black, leather seats that perfectly match the colour of the vehicle. I sit down at the end of one of the seats, joining Nathan as close to the driver a possible.

"Nate, where are you taking us?" I ask him.

"As I said, you'll find out soon." He responds. I feel the nerves inside of me bubble up, like a fizzing up Coke bottle, but I push them to the back of my mind. I take my phone out of my clutch and see a text from my mom.

Hi darling, your friend Nathan came over today saying that you were going to go on a 'special date'. Just make sure you stay safe. Love you xx

He even told my mom? Wow he's really pulled out all of the stops for this.

"You okay?" Nate asks me as he takes my phone, puts it into my clutch and intertwines my hand with his.

"Yeah, just a bit nervous." I say, honestly.

"Well, to calm your nerves I'll give you a hint. It's your favourite restaurant and you went there for your 11th birthday." He says.

"Wait, how do you know where I went for my 11th birthday. Even I can't remember that." I say.

"I spoke to your mom earlier, she probably already told you. Apparently you went there with her, your dad-" he begins to list but I don't hear the end of his sentence. I hadn't seen my dad since then as he was accused of a crime he never committed. He was accused of beating my mom! And she was the one who accused him. I feel my heart rate quicken and my hand tighten its grip around his. My breath quickens and Nate notices.

"Kacey, are you okay?" He asks me in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, it's just...." I say, unable to finish my sentence. I look down, a lump in my throat like a stone and my voice going quiet towards the end.

"Just what? Did I say something?" He asks, still extremely worried.

"My dad, I....haven't erm....seen him......since then." I say, struggling to hold back my tears. After hearing this, Nate pulls me into a tight hug, so tight that I'm surprised I'm still breathing. I feel a tear roll down onto my cheek, but I wipe it away so that it wouldn't ruin my makeup. I go to pull out of the hug, but Nate pulls me closer. He's definitely the one, the one I want to stay with. The one that I always want to be by my side, morning through night.

"Kacey, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." His voice breaks at the end of the sentence, and I feel my shoulder being dampened, presumably by his tears. He rest his chin on top of my head and breathes a huge sigh, but whether it's of relief, or hopelessness, I don't know. None of those emotions would really fit the scene.

Finally, since I am a human being and respiration is required, I pull out of the hug, him loosening the cage his arms had formed around my shoulders. I feel my body jolt forward, and the scenery around us loses motion.

"Here, sir." I hear a voice from the front of the vehicle, presumably the driver, say. It's weird hearing him being called "sir" but I guess it's normal in these kinds of situations. Nate gets out of the car, helping me out afterwards, and pays the driver as I put my clutch over my shoulder. The feeling of the cold leather strap hitting my skin is oddly soothing after the sauna of tears and emotion in the back of the limo, somehow the limo part had become semi-normal now. Not because I was used to it, oh hell no, but because we had been in there for so long and hadn't really noticed it. The only thing suggesting that we had been in a limo was the seats going off into the distance whilst Nate and I sat towards the front of this "distance".

Stepping outside, I am greeted by a place I haven't been to for ages. The memories flooding back, the princess party invitations I had sent out, writing the words "The Harvester" next to the section titled "Venue". Luckily, the memories don't send me into an emotional rollercoaster as they had in the limo. Instead, I shake away the thoughts and follow Nate into the restaurant.