Nothing worth waiting for can come easy, right? At least Nate was starting to find that to be true. He would never want Rhi out of his life. Ever. He cared about her far too much for that and if it hadn’t been for the drama that happened, he’d openly admit that too. It was very hard to come to terms with the fact things wouldn’t be the same anymore. He was finding it hard to believe that Rhi could ever truly forgive and forget and if she couldn’t? Well that would not only be horrible but would screw any chance of normality. Besides, did either of them want to go through living with the constant cloud overhead that would always get in the way? Was it even possible to ignore it? He didn’t know but then again, sometimes it is better to try than to never know. Remembering that way of thinking though? Not always easy.
That was just it. There was no way he’d been able to win in this. Try? And look like a pushy bastard. Don’t try? And look like he doesn’t care. It had seemed easier to just step back and let her go. Apparently that had been the wrong decision but what was he meant to do now? Way too many fucking questions. God, he hated this. Things could never just be simple around here.
“Because it does,” he answered simply. “Why would I go pushing my way back into your life when you’re hurting?” Nate paused then because… oh, God. No. They weren’t tears were they? Freezing on the spot for a moment he allowed Rhi to talk, trying his best not to cringe at the idea of her crying. “I do know that. Doesn’t mean I can make any sense of it,” he was trying to give her his full attention he really was, but a new thought had taken over his brain. Just don’t. Cry.
Whether it was because he was perceptive or not was never quite clear but he knew she didn’t want to leave. She couldn’t want to leave. He didn’t want her to. After everything they’d been through she couldn’t just turn around and walk away. Rhi couldn’t seriously be giving up now. Listening to her Nate felt completely helpless. Why couldn’t he be better at this? At dealing with emotions and crap. Having the ability to say the right thing at the right time would be amazing.