The Truth of Never (The Never Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  “Elisa?”

  “Nathan,” she said with a smile. “How are you?”

  “I’m okay. Is everything alright?”

  She huffed. “Of course. Can’t I just call you to say hi?”

  Her voice was unusually high and it sounded so fake that I slapped my palm against my face. He was silent for a few seconds

  “Okay,” he said quietly. “We’ll go with that. How’s Peter and –”

  “They’re fine.” she quickly replied.She didn’t know what to say after that so she turned to me with widened eyes.

  I didn’t know what to say either, so she started to say goodbye but then something occurred to me. “Ask him about his dad.” The initial plan had been to whisper the suggestion to her but my voice came out too loudly. I closed my eyes and shook my head in self-pity when I realized that he’d probably heard me.

  “Oh, um, how’s your dad?” she spurted out.

  “He’s doing well; I’m taking him back home tomorrow.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said, and I almost screamed.

  “What do you mean okay?” I whispered way too loudly. “Where home? I mean, what home? Ask him if he’s traveling.”

  “Are you traveling?” she quickly asked. “I mean, where do you mean ‘home’?”

  “Yes, I am. I’m taking him back to Portugal tomorrow.”

  My heart dropped into my stomach.

  “Okay, have a safe trip,” she said, and she ended the call. I wanted to punch her.

  “What do you mean by ‘have a safe trip’?”

  “Lenora, I’m too old for this. Nathan loves you so stop fucking torturing me. Pick up the phone and call him.”

  “I can’t do that, he told me to wait.”

  “Then wait!” she almost yelled. “You’re making me anxious too. Let’s go inside.”

  “I’m going home,” I said, suddenly angry with everyone – her, myself, Nathan, this whole mess of a situation.

  I picked up my keys and wallet from the counter.

  “Why won’t you just wait?” she asked.

  “Because he’s leaving,” I cried. “And he might not come back. He’s going to be in Portugal for who knows how long and then he has to go back to Atlanta. There’s no time. I’m so freaking confused.”

  I turned around and headed towards her front door. She followed me.

  “You know you should have a bit more faith in what you two have. It’s survived this long; his absence is not going to break it that easily.”

  “It’s not his absence I’m worried about.”

  “I know, but Nathan loves you.”

  “When has love ever solved anything?”

  “Lenora he moved to New York because of you. He’s not going to just…”

  “What?” I interrupted. “What do you mean by he moved to New York because of me?"

  “He wanted to try to get in contact with you again.”

  “But he’s been here for a year already. Why did he only recently contact me? Wait … he didn’t even contact me. We only met coincidentally through the documentary. And I was the one who made that happen.”

  She sighed. “Maybe he would have found a way.”

  “That’s an assumption. He probably would have just gone back. What if I hadn’t gotten sick? He never pushes for me.”

  “Lenora …”

  “Isn’t it true?”

  “He was there when you were ill.”

  “Exactly. When I was ill. He only cares when I’m in danger. That’s the only time I become a priority. When everything is alright he gets complacent. Why am I even bothering with him? He’s so freaking unreliable. He’s going to up and leave again, just like he always does.” I turned around to leave, upset at why I was even bothering with him. At the end of the day he was going to just do what he wanted, or whatever he’d managed to convince himself was the right thing to do. He always did. “I’ll call you later,” I said.

  “Please drive safely,” she called out. “And call me when you’re back home.”

  I got into the car and started on my way back to Manhattan. Everything I’d said was true, and it frustrated the hell out of me that none of it agreed to strike me hard enough for me to go my own way. I still continued pondering on how I was going to reach him before he left. What if he never came back? My chest was tight with anxiety, and then anger at how infuriating he was. If Elisa hadn’t called him I wouldn’t have even known that he was leaving the country. Ideas continued to elude me, so out of desperation I finally just picked up my phone and called his father. He picked up on the first ring.

  “Nora,” he rejoiced.

  “Hi Nicolau,” I said, a smile creeping onto my face despite the turmoil that was brewing in the pit of my stomach.

  “I haven’t heard anything from you for a long time. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. “I haven’t seen you either. Hope you’re doing okay.”

  “I am, thank you for calling.”

  “You’re welcome,”I replied. It was quiet for a few seconds and I felt like a crook in every way, but I had no other choice.

  “So, when are you going home? I mean, how long are you staying? I hope it’s going to be a while.” I said, my eyes rolling into the back of my head at my deviousness.

  “No, unfortunately. I leave tomorrow with Alexandre. So sorry I forgot to tell you. I think we’ll be leaving early in the morning, I’m not sure how Alexandre planned it.”

  “Oh, okay. That’s lovely. I’ll miss you.”

  “Oh me too,” he said in a happy voice.

  “I wish I could see you before you left though.”

  “Of course!” he exclaimed. “I’ll tell Alex to send me over now.”

  “No,” I almost yelled. “I mean, I’ll come to you.”

  “Of course not,” he said, sounding as though he thought my plan was an abomination. “You’re not well. Alex said you can’t walk.”

  “I’m fine now,” I replied. “I’m even driving. I’m just coming from my friend’s place.”

  He took a few seconds to consider the offer before he eventually said, “Then in that case, please do. I’ll be so happy to see you.”

  “Thank you, and, uh, if you don’t mind, please don’t tell Alex that I’m coming over.”

  “Oh, okay. Do you want to surprise him?” He sounded excited.

  “Uh … n-not really.”

  He again remained silent for a while as he considered my request. Then he said, “Okay. He’s not yet at home anyway so you might not see him.”

  “That’s fine.” I said, but the taste of the words in my mouth were sour. Either way, half of something was better than nothing at all so I pushed my gloom away, and headed over to his apartment in the Time Warner Center.

  « CHAPTER 2 »

  Lenora

  I arrived at the Time Warner Center about forty minutes later. As far as I knew the condos were on the top floors of the twin-towered skyscraper, but I wasn’t sure what tower Nathan lived in. I didn’t want to call again in case Nathan picked it up but after standing in the busy lobby for more than ten minutes, I realized that I didn’t have a choice. Thankfully his dad was the one who picked up but he didn’t know which of the towers they resided in either.

  “I’ll ask Alexandre,” he said.

  “No!” I practically yelled.

  “What do you mean? Don’t worry, I won’t tell him you’re the one,” he said, and ended the call before I could scream into his ears again.

  After another five minutes, he called back again. “We’re in the south tower and the 57th floor. I will come pick you up from the elevator.

  “Okay,” I said, and found my way to their floor.

  Nathan’s dad met me at the elevator before leading me over to Nathan’s apartment. At first, the apartment was a little dim with only a few lamp lights on, but then he turned on the main lights and the entire place brightened up. It was quite similar, but yet different fr
om my place. It boasted of wall to ceiling windows just like mine, but unlike mine where almost everything in sight was white, his was hardwood, covered in dark colors, and decorated with silver accents.

  “Is he home?” I asked.

  “Yes, he is,” he replied, and my eyes immediately widened. I felt betrayed because Nicolau’s earlier information that Nathan was out hadn’t allowed me to be nervous enough on my way here. “He just came back,” his dad said. “He is in his room now so I’ll go tell him you’re –”

  “No please, don’t bother,” I said cutting him off.

  He turned to me with a frown, and for the first time since I arrived, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing his usual flat cap. He was just in shorts and a flannel shirt.

  What am I doing here? I wondered. I’d practically duped my way into Nathan’s house when he’d never even invited me in before. I was acting like I was fifteen again- obnoxious and unconfident. Instantly I wanted to leave.

  “I just wanted to see you and say thank you for taking care of me,” I said, and despite my ulterior motives, I meant it with all my heart. “Your presence made everything a lot easier. Thank you.”

  Placing his hand on his stomach, he slightly tipped his head back and grinned. “Oh, it’s alright,” he said. “You’re a lovely young woman. I hope to see you again very soon.”

  To that I had no answer, so I just thanked him again and started to turn around to leave.

  “You’re leaving?” he asked. I turned back to him.

  “Um, yes. I just wanted to say goodbye to you.”

  “No, that’s too soon,” He came over to take my hand and led me to the sofa in Nathan’s living room. My heart was racing because all I could think about was Nathan coming out and seeing me here.

  He sat me down on one of the black sofas. “What can I get you to eat?” he asked.

  “Oh no, nothing at all,” I replied, not wanting to trouble him.

  “Nonsense,” he said. “Let me go and see what Alexandre has in his refrigerator. We went out to eat today so I’m not sure if he has much.”

  He went on his way while I was left staring morosely at the stylish room, and the three flat screen TVs placed side by side against a brick wall. Why three? I wondered. Maybe it’s a journalist thing- needing to monitor the news or something.

  Uncomfortable, I stood up and went over to the kitchen to join his dad. “There’s nothing here,” he complained when he looked up from the refrigerator. “Except fruit. Do you want fruit?”

  “Fruit is good,” I said, and helped him bring out a mango, two mandarins and four apples. As we were preparing the fruit, I heard a door slam shut somewhere in the apartment and my eyes closed in dread.

  “Oh that’s probably Alex,” his father said with a smile, and true enough the devil appeared in grey jogger pants and no shirt on. He didn’t seem surprised to see me at all. He came over and sat on one of the stools in front of the counter.

  “I’ve ordered food in. Do you like Chinese fried rice?”

  The room was quiet as I avoided Nathan’s eyes and continued with the apple I was peeling, until I turned to his dad to see why he wasn’t answering. Instead he was staring at me … they both were.

  “Oh, you mean me? Um, yeah but I’ll be leaving soon, I just came to say goodbye to uh …”

  “Nicholau,” His dad provided with a smile.

  I turned to him. “I was going to say ‘Nathan’s dad’.”

  “That’s fine too, and you should stay. Are you tired?”

  “No, I just have some work to do at home,” I said and I wanted to slap myself. They’re inviting you to stay! I yelled in my head.

  “That’s okay,” Nathan said, but his dad frowned at him.

  “It’s not,” he said to me. “Please stay.”

  Now I felt even worse. I was the criminal here yet I was still managing to turn the tables and make them beg instead. I quickly nodded and smiled tightly. Nathan’s phone started ringing so he got up to leave. “Excuse me,” he said and walked away while I just stared after him.

  His dad’s voice suddenly rang in my ears and it startled me. “Be careful with the knife,” he said, and I blushed. I’d almost forgotten that he was there.

  I nodded shyly and continued peeling the apple. I wondered why I was peeling the apple though.

  “Why do you peel your apples?” I asked.

  “Habit,” he replied. “My mother used to do it so I’ve just always peeled apples to eat.”

  “Okay,” I said, and cut it into slices for him. Absentmindedly, I picked up the peeled skin and started eating it. My mind was so far from the kitchen, and all the way across the room.

  “Did you fight with Alexandre?” Nicholau asked, bringing my thoughts back to the present. I turned back to him to see that he was eating his apples and watching me.

  “Not really. He’s just upset with me over something.”

  “And he hasn’t spoken to you?”

  I shook my head.

  “Go and speak with him,” he said.

  “I can’t,” I replied. “He says I should wait, and I don’t want to impose.”

  “Okay,” he said and he returned to his apples. I wondered yet again what I was doing here.

  “My phone …” I heard him say so I turned, and saw him feeling the pockets of his shorts for it.

  “My phone,” he told me, “I don’t know where it is.”

  “Oh, where was the last place you saw it?”

  “I can’t remember. Can you go tell Alexandre to call it so I can check if it’ll ring in my room?”

  “Uh … I …”

  “C’mon hurry up,” he said and walked away.

  “I’ll call it instead,” I said, but he didn’t reply. So I brought out my phone to search for his number myself, but I couldn’t go any further than that. Turns out that I wanted to submit to his tactics too, so I started walking across the apartment and over to Nathan’s bedroom door. I stood in front of the door for a few seconds before summoning the courage to knock on it.

  “It’s open,” he said, so I pushed the handle down and went in.

  His room was dark, with only the light from the bedside table on beside him. He had his glasses on and was propped up against the headboard with a book in his hand. He glanced up at me as I stood by the door trembling like a leaf, incredibly glad that he couldn’t see how nervous I was.

  “Um, your dad says to ask you to call his cell phone. He can’t find it.”

  “Okay,” he said, and got up. He put the book aside and then came over to the dresser beside the doorway to pick up his phone. He dialed the number.

  “It’s ringing,” he said.

  “Okay, I’ll go tell him,” I replied, and turned around to leave. I had entertained some sort of hope that Nathan would stop me or at least call me back, but he didn’t and that hurt me.

  After finding the phone, I was going home.

  His dad walked out of his room then with the ringing phone in his hand. I apologized and told him that I was really tired, and that I needed to go home.

  He wasn’t happy about it. “At least stay till you eat,” he said, but I shook my head.

  “I’m sorry,” I told him, “I really am.” I went over to the sofa to pick up my wallet and keys, and then gave him a hug.

  “It was really nice meeting you, Nicholau.”

  “Me too,” he replied.

  “I hope to see you again.”

  “Definitely.”

  He escorted me to the door, and gave me one last smile before shutting it behind me. I walked down the hallway and headed to the elevator. However just before the elevator doors shut close, a hand stopped it. I looked up to see Nathan walk in. I was so surprised to see him that for the first few seconds I just stared at him.

  “I’m taking you home,” he said.

  Once I had recovered, I refused. “Thank you but that’s not necessary. I can drive myself.”

  He didn’t respond, or move. He just leaned against
the handrail and folded his arms across his chest. He’d thrown on a white T-shirt, and slipped his feet into black leather slippers.

  “I mean it,” I told him. “I’m driving myself home.”

  He didn’t respond. He just kept quiet, which aggravated me so I moved to stand in front of him. “Answer me when I’m talking to you.”

  He stared down at me, a small frown on his face but he still didn’t speak. I pushed his shoulders, but it didn’t even move him.

  “Answer me,” I told him. “Answer me,” I repeated, and the moment I felt the tears slip from my eyes, I started hitting his shoulders.

  “Answer me! Answer me! Answer me!”

  I looked up at him but he just stared at me, his face expressionless. “Answer me,” I pleaded, but yet again, he didn’t respond.

  The elevator reached the ground floor and the door slid open. I wiped my cheeks and rushed out. Despite how busy the building’s entrance was, I was able quickly locate and hastily hand my valet ticket to the attendant. As I waited for my car to be brought around, I could feel Nathan standing behind me but I had no interest whatsoever in turning around. I had just humiliated myself and wanted nothing more than to just get in my car and drive away.

  The valet attendant returned with my car but before I could accept the key from him, Nathan stepped forward. He quickly said something to the valet attendant that I couldn’t quite catch. The attendant looked confused, but before I could demand my keys, Nathan held my hand and gently pulled me along with him.

  “Nathan,” I complained, halfheartedly.

  “Let’s talk,” he said, but I pulled my hand out of his grasp.

  “I don’t want to talk.”

  “Lenora.”

  “Don’t call me Lenora. I get it, you’re still upset and I’m okay with that. I’m sorry for not waiting so … go to Portugal, and when you come back, if you’re ready to talk, then we’ll talk.”

  “This place is really busy,” he said, “and I don’t want to have to carry you over my shoulder. I said let’s talk.”

  He took my hand again, and this time I kept my mouth shut and followed him. We headed to the Columbus Circle and sat down on one of the benches that surrounded the fountain. The Circle was well lit; there were quite a number of people sitting around, while some others were leaning against the statue that stood in the middle. I’d lived in New York for a while, but this was the first time I’d ever come here even though I’d passed by too many times to count.