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Jenna stared at me for the longest moment. “Okay, that’s…fine, I guess. I don’t want them getting hurt either.” She went to turn away but doubled back, adding, “You can hope for things, but you can’t guarantee them. No promises.”
“I need you to be more specific on that, because I can guarantee I’m doing everything I can to get you back. I can promise that, Jenna.”
“No promises we’re getting back together. You can’t tell them that.”
“Fine.”
Jenna hurried past me then and climbed the steps. I trailed behind, catching up to her, and skidded to a stop when she abruptly spun around at the door.
“Also, this really kills me, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to watch Marley anymore.” She looked up at me then, and I could see the pain in her eyes. Jenna hated to do this. “I don’t think the kids should see you every day. We can’t just go back to the way things were.”
I was absolutely not in agreement on this, and my views had nothing to do with Jenna helping me out with Marley, but I understood her reluctance. I’d hurt her. I’d hurt her kids. She was worried I’d do it again.
“Okay. I’ll make arrangements.” What exactly those arrangements would be, I had no idea.
“Good. How is she? God, I miss her so much…”
I tilted my head, smiling. “She’s good. Happy right now, I’m sure. She’s with my parents.” I went to tuck a strand of hair behind Jenna’s ear, but she slowly leaned back.
“Stop that.”
“Sorry. Habit.” I lowered my arm and followed Jenna inside the building. We were silent as we climbed the steps side by side. I couldn’t help but remember. “Last time I sat out there waiting for you, you held my hand doing this.”
“Well, you had waited for a while.”
“That wasn’t the only reason you did it…”
“No, it wasn’t.” She side-eyed me. “Of course, I had my own motives—I wanted to. Not that I don’t want to now.” Her grip on the strap tightened. “Things were just different.”
“I know.”
“I was just saying, that was part of it. Knowing you waited for me, that you would’ve waited longer…How long did you sit outside tonight?”
I peered into my pocket, checking the time on my phone. “Four hours. Maybe four and a half. I can’t remember what time I got here.” I halted two steps above Jenna and looked back.
She gaped at me. “You’ve been here for four hours?”
“Maybe four and a half,” I repeated.
“Why didn’t you call me? God, I could’ve been gone longer than that, Nathan. What if I had been?”
“Then I would’ve waited longer.” I smiled and kept climbing, reaching her door and pausing there. I watched her ascend the remaining steps, and she watched me. Shocked to hear that. Happy to have heard it.
I followed Jenna inside her apartment.
“Hey, guys!” Olivia ran around the couch and stopped in front of me. She was breathless. “Hi, Nate. I’ve been waiting for you to come in.”
I imagined her scaling the furniture. Olivia was too excited to sit still.
Oliver padded down the hallway from the direction of the bedrooms, halting a few feet away. “Hey.”
“Hey, bud. Can we talk?”
He nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
“Me too?” Olivia asked, stretching to her toes and fighting the urge to bounce on them.
“Yeah, of course. Unless you want to wait and have it just be me and you…”
“Uh.” She thought on this, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she looked from me to Jenna, then back to me. “I don’t know. Can I do both?”
“I want to talk to Nate alone,” Oliver announced. “I have some things to say.” He lifted his chin at his sister.
“Duh, Ollie. So do I,” she returned. “I have things.”
I put my hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Let me go talk to your brother, and then me and you can go talk. Okay?”
“Okay.” She smiled up at me.
Jenna pulled off her bag and carried it to the couch, dropping it over the side. “Come on, Olivia. You can help me with dinner.” She held out her hand.
Olivia rushed over, taking it, and the two of them walked together into the kitchen.
“You coming?” Oliver asked.
“Yeah.” I turned away from my girls, two out of the three, and shadowed Oliver down the hallway and into his bedroom.
He took a seat on the bed while I grabbed the desk chair, wheeling it into the center of the room. I leaned forward in it, bracing my elbows on my knees, and watched Oliver pick at his laces.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around the past few days,” I told him. He peered up at me. “I should’ve called. I had some stuff I was dealing with, but that’s no excuse. I should’ve talked to you and your sister and I didn’t, but it was nothing you guys did, okay?”
