Remember Me? (Book 1) COMPLETED

That Evening

KATHERINE

The dining room in Nick's house could easily seat eight, but currently it only seated three, and we were all sitting as far apart from one another as humanly possible. Truth be told, after my talk with Bella, I needed the space.

If possible, there was somehow more tension between me and Nick than before. Maybe it was more to do with the fact that I knew that he and Tori were having problems, or the fact that I knew that one of their problems was me. It was as if I suddenly knew something I shouldn't, something I was afraid could be discovered.

Erland had no clue. He sat halfway between me and Nick, who had taken the liberty of sitting as far away as possible. Nick cooked happily enough, but when I came down to finally eat, whatever jovial bounce in his step he had walked in with was gone and he walked heavily into the dining room.

I knew that look.

He was worried.

I turned my gaze to him. "So, Nick," I said, waving a fork his way, "what did you do today?"

He jumped when I called his name, a look of confusion flashing across his face before a smile took hold. "Work, a lot of boring stuff, really. Erland could tell you more, since he was seeing more than just the inside of my office."

I glanced at Erland.

My brother set his fork down mid-way to his mouth, giving me an angry look for having denied him sustenance.

"I just got a tour around his department, Kat. There's really not much to talk about."

"If he's got an office, there's certainly something to mention about his duties," I prodded.

Erland frowned. "He's the head of Outward Relations, Kat. It's a boring job. He basically just sets the number and price at which bookstores pick up published novels."

I had known Nick had something to do with publishing, Wayward Publishing specifically, but a matter of what he did had been a mystery to me until now. In truth, I was somewhat surprised.

"That's actually pretty impressive," I said, throwing a glance at Nick now, "but it sounds a bit too boring, doesn't it?"

Nick shrugged. "It's not that boring. And besides, it pays well." He gestured to the rest of the room.

Words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

"Are you happy?"

Nick blinked. He was as surprised as I was that I'd asked.

The pause before his question said it all.

"It's a job, Katherine," he answered at last, the smile not reaching his eyes. "It may not have been what I wanted to do with my life, but it works."

I didn't know what I would've wanted him to say, but hearing him almost hurt made my heart ache. I felt bad for him. At the end of the day, he just looked tired. His amber eyes had lost their youthful luster, now replaced with something like ashen regret.

"I'm glad everything's going better for you, Nick," I said, surprising myself with the sincerity in my voice. "Really. I am."

He gave me a sad look, as if he were silently saying, I really don't deserve that.

Erland stepped in. "He could probably find enough pull to publish a book for you, Kat."

Nick gave him a sharp look. "I don't have any strings left, Erland."

I raised an eyebrow, unable to help but find my curiosity peaked. "So you had a few strings to pull at some point, Nick?"

He and Erland shared another look, at which point Erland mouthed something like I'm sorry before Nick answered.