Page 67 of The Write Track
Nathan sent me a sharp look. “What are you sorry about, Bella? You didn’t do any of this. It’s all that jackass.”
“Language,” I said automatically, trying to lighten the mood.
He didn’t smile. “That guy is a predator, Bella. I know you don’t think he’s a physical threat, and I get where you’re coming from when you say that, but you’re not really seeing him. He wants to hurt you. It’s not because he still cares about you and you only hurt the one you love or anything either.
“He’s mad you broke up with him,” he continued. “He thought he had complete control of you, and the fact that he didn’t is wearing on him. He was grooming you to take whatever abuse he heaped onto you and not say a word. That was his goal.”
“That was his goal,” Mom agreed. “It broke my heart seeing you with him, Bella. You didn’t even resemble the daughter I’d raised.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I never meant for any of that to happen.”
“Stop.” Mom’s warning was fierce. “You’ve apologized enough. He made you think things that weren’t true, and I had no choice but to let you go through it alone because you weren’t going to listen to me if I told you the truth when you were in the thick of it. I had to let you come out the other side on your own.”
Shame filled me. “You must have wanted to slap me.”
“No, mostly I wanted to slap him.” Mom was deadly serious. “I couldn’t, though. I just had to wait it out. I knew I was getting close when you came to visit that night. You were ready to break up with him before you’d even found out what he’d been doing.”
I hadn’t admitted that to her when I’d been hunkering down in her house for weeks after, debating my next move. “You never said anything.”
“You didn’t either. I knew you would get around to it eventually.” Her gaze flicked to Nathan. “You’re a good friend to help her with this. I’m glad she has somebody.”
“He jumped in after he’d known me a grand total of five minutes,” I said, smirking. “He said he knew from the second he saw Preston that he didn’t like him.”
“Well, Preston has always been a goat scrotum,” Mom agreed.
Nathan cleared his throat. “Can someone explain this goat-scrotum thing to me? Is there something I’m missing? Because that’s a very specific insult.”
Mom shook her head. “In rituals—Wiccan rituals—a goat scrotum is often used for specific hexes. We put herbs and oils in it before sealing it.”
“Are these spells against men specifically?” Nathan guessed.
Mom’s eyes sparkled. “How did you know?”
“I took a leap,” Nathan replied. “I’ve researched a few Wiccan rituals for my books. I write horror.”
“Horror?” Mom’s eyebrows moved toward one another. “Wait, are you Nathan Cooper the horror author?”
Nathan nodded. “You’ve heard of me?” He looked especially delighted.
“Of course. Bella read your books on a nonstop loop when she left Preston. She was obsessed with them.” Her eyes shifted to me. “Oh, darling, you’ve paired up with your literary crush to dole out punishment to the goat scrotum. I’m so excited.”
I closed my eyes. Of course she’d just blurted that out. My mother had never met a situation she didn’t want to make uncomfortable. That was simply her way.
“Well, Mom, I just wanted to check in,” I offered, changing the subject. “I need to go, though. We have dinner in an hour.”
“Okay. Check in again in a few days. I want to hear how things are going with payback for the goat scrotum.”
I disconnected the call and refused to look at Nathan, even though I could feel his eyes pinned to me. “I’m going to freshen up for dinner. What do you think we’re having tonight?” I asked evasively.
“Something pretentious, I’m sure. At least the food is good, however bougie it is.”
“Yes, well, I’ll be ready in a little bit.” I skirted around him, my hand accidentally brushing against his chest.
Heat radiated off of him, and what I felt was more than just his natural body temperature. I was on fire, not that I would allow myself time to feel it.
“Just give me thirty minutes or so.”
Nathan didn’t say anything. I could feel his eyes on me all the way to the bathroom, though.
