Forever

Twenty Six

*Gemma P.O.V* 

It was Sunday evening. Nathan had spent the whole of the day at Jay’s place with the boys since he was going back to Gloucester to see his family for the next two weeks. I couldn’t stop him since he was really determined to go back and have some time with his family and school friends. He hadn’t asked me to come along with him and, to be honest, I was quite glad. I wasn’t eager to meet his family again after the incident at the hospital. I guess I just had to avoid them until I was happy with the amount of money I had, and I could leave Nathan.

I couldn’t go this time even if I had wanted to anyway, because of work. I’m not only a sensational singer on YouTube, because of Nathan, but I am also working as a receptionist in a hotel. It’s only a part-term job for the period that I’m in London for, since my family are in the US and I only came here for Nathan’s BRITs show… which obviously ended in a complete freaking disaster.

“I’m going to miss you when you go to Gloucester. Remember to Skype and call me everyday, okay?” I said in a fake lovey dovey tone. He didn’t have to even Skype or call me. All I need to know is that he is still alive and can work and earn money like always.

“Of course babe. I will Skype and call you every single day, don’t worry,” He said, giving me a kiss on the forehead as we cuddled on the couch watching Ice Age 4.

This movie, Ice Age 4, was just as boring as the rest of the series. I don’t even understand how he likes these movies. We’d been watching movies since he got back from Jay’s and I had watched more than enough. The first movie we watched was Lion King: his favourite. Then it was Ice Age 1, followed by 2, 3, and now 4. Good God! If there was an Ice Age 5, I was ready to jump off a cliff.

I faked a small smile and forced my gaze to look at the screen that Nate’s eyes were glued to. I was surprised I hadn’t yet fallen asleep out of boredom. As I watched the tv screen, something suddenly popped into my head.

“Nate… What did you and the boys talk about at Jay’s house?” I asked him.

Ever since he’d come back from Jay’s house, he seemed very distracted and kept zoning out when I was talking to him. If it was something regarding The Wanted, I had to know. The Wanted earned Nathan less money than he was currently earning, since Scooter had offered him more money for signing as a solo act. If he was go back to being in that stupid band, then my money from him was going to reduce every day. And I couldn’t let that happen. It wouldn’t pay enough for me to buy designer clothing.

“Boy stuff. Nothing really important, why love?” He asked, pausing the movie and looking down at me.

“Since you’ve gotten back, you’ve been whispering and talking to yourself a lot. And you keep spacing out too, so I was just wondering if something was wrong,” I responded to him.

“Oh, sorry about that love,” He said pecking my lips, “I was just thinking about what I should do. Should I go back to The Wanted or crush 2 million people’s hearts because of my selfishness… I mean the boys are practically my brothers and the band was incredibly fun. I just can’t seem to decide whether it’s the right decision or not… Once I make up my mind, there’s no going back for a whole year. What do you think, love?” He asked me. I faked a moment to think about what to say.

“Nate. I think you should continue your solo career. You have tons of fans as a solo singer and you’re doing great in it,” I said. “And also you are making lots of money in this career, more than you made in The Wanted by far…”

“What did you say, Gemma?” He asked.

“I didn’t say anything…” I said, hope that was the end of that conversation but it wasn’t.

“Gemma,” He said sternly, looking into my eyes. “You know I don’t do this for the money. I do this because I love singing, it’s my passion. The money, that’s just a bonus. How do you even know how much money I made in The Wanted?”

SHIT. He didn’t know that I went through his paychecks to compare how much he made in The Wanted to what he earned now.

“Did you go through my past paychecks to compare?”

“No?” I squeaked.

“Fucking hell Gemma?! So it was true that you were using me then? You only cared about the money?” He yelled, the sadness clear in his voice.

“No! I would never! I was just interested in how much you earned,” I lied again, again hoping it was the end of this conversation but he refused to let it go.

I hadn’t planned for this conversation to happen, and I was in so much trouble now…

“What the bloody hell?!” Nathan said, getting up from the couch and storming into his room.

Ugh...What have I done…?

I followed Nathan up the stairs, to find him packing his bags.

“Nate?”

“Don’t call me fucking Nate ok? I hate that name. I never liked it. It’s NATHAN, or NATH!” he yelled in anger.

To say I was taken back was an understatement. I’d never experienced Nathan this angry and, to be honest, it was scaring me.

“What are you doing?” I asked him.

“I’m going to see my family,” he said.

“I thought you were going tomorrow morning…”

“Change of plans. I’m going now,” he replied.

“What about me?” I asked as he took hold of his suitcase and threw his backpack over his shoulders. I followed him down the stairs and to the front door as he tied his converse up.

“Nathan! What about me?!” I repeated.

“I’ll see you at the airport in two weeks, Gemma. Goodbye.”

He slammed the door shut behind him, and with that he was gone.