Page 74 of The Sweetheart
Nolan turned to look at Kai, the question in his eyes.
“Don’t call the cops,” Kai whispered.
“He’s fucking blackmailing me, Kai! What the fuck do you want me to do here?”
Kai’s whole body shook as Nolan raised his voice, his heart already splintering, already knowing there was only one way for this to go.
“You know I wouldn’t ask…,” he pleaded. For the first time ever, Kai wished he had confessed all of his sins to Nolan so that he could understand why he needed this from him. Kai knew it was unfair to ask, but he had to.
“Did you plan this? Was the video your back-up plan?”
“No! I swear to God! I wouldn’t do that to you,” Kai choked out over the rock lodged in his throat, willing Nolan to believe him, even though he was looking at him with disgust, like he was seeing him clearly for the first time.
“But you’d stand here and let him do it. You understand that what you do right now decides what happens next, right?”
He didn’t know how to do what Nolan needed him to do, and all he could do was plead for mercy.
“Please,” he whispered.
Nolan turned back to Liam. “Delete the video. I want to see you do it. You too,” he said to Kai, barely turning his head to look at him.
Kai fumbled with the phone, pulling it out of his pocket quickly, his hands shaking so badly that he could barely open the app. He deleted the file, then scrolled to his bin to delete it from there as well. Nolan took his phone, checking that it was gone.
Kai saw something like regret in his expression, but he just shook his head, his shoulders sagging, as he handed it back to him.
“I told you I can’t be with you if I can’t trust you, and it is clear that I can’t trust you.”
Kai couldn’t even blame him. This whole situation was his fault.
“Nolan, please,” he started again, but he didn’t know where to go from there.
“Get him out of my house.” Nolan stalked out of the room. Kai was sure all the air went with him.
Liam grabbed his arm. Numb, Kai let him pull him into the hall, and then he looked down and remembered he was still wearing Nolan’s clothes. He didn’t have his backpack and that didn’t make a difference, because he couldn’t just leave. He needed to find Nolan and make him understand.
He jerked out of Liam’s grasp.
“Get the fuck out, Liam, or, I swear to God, I’ll let him call the cops.” Then he turned and ran. When he hit the upstairs landing, Nolan was coming out of his room, holding Kai’s ratty backpack.
“I’m not leaving.” Kai said tremulously.
“You made your choice,” Nolan said, shoving the backpack into Kai’s arms and brushing past him.
“Can you listen to me for a second, please?” Kai scrambled to keep up, but Nolan strode away like he couldn’t be rid of Kai soon enough.
“There’s nothing for you to say, Kai.”
Kai grabbed his arm forcing him to come to a stop as they made it to the living room. “Please. I lo?—”
“Don’t you fucking dare!” Nolan spat venomously.
Kai snapped his mouth shut like he’d been slapped. Nolan took him by the arm, frog-marching him to the door and thenpropelling him onto the front step. Kai spun around to face him, his heart slamming, like it was trying to escape the agony of shattering. He stared at Nolan as it finally penetrated into his brain that this could be the last time he ever saw him.
Pain flashed in Nolan’s brown eyes just before he closed the door with a soft click.
Suddenly, Kai was sixteen again watching the door to the only home he’d ever known close against him. It felt like someone had put their fist right through the centre of his chest. Some distant part of his brain whispered that this was right. Like things were back to how they should be.
He didn’t know how long he stood there, dazed, his brain trying to make sense of everything that happened. Eventually he became aware of the phone in his hand that wasn’t really his phone. It was Nolan’s. He set it down on the low column that held one of the large plant pots that framed the front porch. He put his backpack on his shoulders, then one foot in front of the other.
