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Gabe:I know I'm an asshole, but I love you, Nathaniel.
Nate: And I love you too, Gabriel, but this fucking war you have with Bella and her family has to stop! It's been over five years. You need to let go of the hate now. Just move on with your life.
Gabe:It's hard when I lost you in the first place because of her.
Nate:YOU DIDN'T LOSE ME; I'M RIGHT HERE!!! But if you don't give up this vendetta against Bella and her family, you’ll push me away.
Gabe:I'll try!
I shove my phone back in my pocket and walk back towards the group. As I’m heading back, I see Bella running towards me.
"Everything okay, Nate? You were gone for a while, and I thought I heard you shouting," she questions softly, coming up to me and giving me a hug.
"I'm fine, babe," I say, kissing the top of her head as she rests it against my chest. "Just family stuff.
***
ISABELLA
In the distance, I can hear Nate yelling. I left the group a few minutes ago to go and look for him, but until now, I had no clue which way to go. I walk in the direction of his voice and see him pacing at the top of the hill. He looks so lost in himself that I don't think he even notices me running toward him.
"Everything okay, Nate? You were gone for a while, and I thought I heard you shouting," I ask. I run into his arms and hug him tightly, hoping that the mention of hearing him yelling will give him a chance to talk about what's obviously bothering him. Instead, he brushes me off, telling me he's fine, and it's just family stuff. I wish he would open up to me more. Even when we were kids, his family was always a big secret. The first time I knew anything about his father abusing him was the day I went to his house to tell him I was leaving. Thinking back now, it kind of makes sense that he was always rushing off in such a hurry. That and him refusing to ever let us see his father or visit his house. As a kid, I had no idea what was going on, not until it was too late. We stand in this silent embrace for a while before Nate finally speaks, "How about we go find the others?"
Nate and I head back to the group, and after we finish the last of our picnic, we go back to the car. Tucker is driving this time, as it's been over twelve hours since he last had a drink. He’s adamant that the sleep and food have soaked up any alcohol that was left in his system. Nate still demands to sit next to me in the back seat, just in case. Which I don’t object to because it means I can be closer to him. Nate's wall seems to be back up because he makes no effort to tell me anything about what made him so upset earlier. I decide not to push him, though. He'll open up when he’s ready, I hope. Instead, we just enjoy being together again. We must both fall asleep like this because I can feel Ava jiggling my leg. "Izzy, Izzy, wake up."
I feel Nate move next to me. "What's wrong, Ava?" I hear him yawn.
"We're back in town now. She has to direct Tucker to her grandparents' house." I go to sit up, but Nate pulls me tighter against him.
"I can direct you there. Let Sleeping Beauty sleep a little longer," I hear Nate say before I drift back to sleep.
I feel Nate kiss me softly and run his hands up and down my arm. "You're home, princess."
I sit up. "Thank you so much for the whole weekend. I had such an amazing time," I say, leaning forward, so I can give them both a hug.
"I'm meeting Harper and Riley tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come?" Ava asks sweetly. "I think we'll go shopping and maybe get our nails done."
"You want to save me from that madness too, Nate?" Tucker asks.
"No can-do Brother. I have to work on the site all week. I get off work around 6 pm though, if you want to meet after?" suggests Nate.
"Sure, head over after work and meet the rest of the guys at my place. We can watch the game if you want."
"Sounds good to me," Nate says as he gets out of the car to let me out.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Ava, text me the address," I call through the open window.
"I'll pick you up around 1 p.m.," Ava calls back as Nate gets in the car and I head up the driveway.
"Nana? Pops?" I call as I walk through the door.
"Finally." Pops sighs, putting down his newspaper as I enter the kitchen. "I almost called a search party," he gasps, feigning outrage.
"Leave the girl alone, George," scolds Nana, patting him on the shoulder with her dishtowel.
"So, tell me all about it, Izzy. I left you at school and haven't seen you for a whole day," encourages Nana, as she sits down to join me at the table.
"Oh, Nana, I've had the best weekend of my life!"
