Nathan

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That evening, Nathan sat on the couch with his arms crossed. There was a movie playing, but he wasn’t really watching. He’d seen Night of the Living Dead so many times. But also, he couldn’t stop thinking about when the current situation could be resolved and Sang could possibly come back.

Movies just weren’t the same without her.

Silas was sitting in the master bedroom alone. The girls were anticipated to arrive at any moment. The door was locked on his side. He’d be here just in case.

When the doorbell rang, Nathan muted the movie and got up to answer it.

Danielle and Marie stood at the door. Danielle was in the same tight clothing as earlier. Marie was more casual, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her expression was tight, like she didn’t really want to be here.

Nathan wondered if Danielle was making her be here.

Danielle carried a backpack, and she slid it off her shoulder. “Let us in,” she said.

A bit rude. Nathan considered his options. There was the strong chance that Erica or Jessica would see this the longer he left them out there. Then what would they think of him in either case, letting them in at night or turning them away? Better to get them out of the front door.

He stepped aside. Danielle led the way. Marie was more cautious, just stepping inside and waiting until Nathan closed the door before she followed him into the kitchen. She didn’t bring anything with her and kept her arms folded tightly at her stomach. She glanced around, noting the interior and surroundings, but avoided making eye contact.

After all the help he and the others had given Marie, did she not like him? Was she that uncomfortable around him?

And then he wondered if it was all the years of being told strange things from her mother. He sometimes forgot Sang and Marie grew up in the same house. Even if Marie didn’t seem to get the same punishments, she still got the same lectures and was very restricted.

Danielle made her way to the kitchen area, and the first thing she did was glance toward Nathan’s dad’s bedroom and start walking toward it.

“Where are you going?” Nathan asked.

She tried the door handle and found it locked and looked back at him. “We can’t both sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t go in there,” he said. “My dad always knows when I’m in there now and we need to stay out.”

That changed the determined look on her face. “I guess you’ve got an air mattress somewhere?”

At least now she won’t dare try to sneak in. Silas would be safe in there tonight. “You can take my bed,” he said. “It’s big enough to fit two. I’ll take the couch.” He moved further into the kitchen. “Did you all eat dinner?”

“Order a pizza,” Danielle said.

“I’ve probably got a frozen one.”

“I like delivered ones better.”

Nathan turned his head so he could roll his eyes. He’d forgotten how bossy she could be. But instead of arguing the point, he picked up his cell phone and used an app to look at pizza options. He went to the kitchen island so he could put the phone on it and lean against it. While he scrolled through, he spoke. “What’s this all about? Why couldn’t you do this at your house, Danielle?”

Danielle crossed the kitchen, heading toward the hallway where Nathan’s bedroom was. “Let me put this down. Marie, you tell him.”

Marie’s lips twisted and her face turned red. She’d barely moved since she came in the door, with her arms still crossed. Instead of saying anything, she waited and stared where Danielle had disappeared.

Was she afraid of Nathan? She spoke to him before. Plenty of times.

When Danielle returned, she went over to Nathan and peered over his shoulder. “Get something with chicken and olives,” she said.

“Just tell me what’s going on,” Nathan said as he ordered.

“Marie wants out,” Danielle said.

“Of the house?”

“Out of school,” she said. “Like you did with Sang.”

Like Sang? Did they think she unenrolled? School restarted last week, and Sang was out on Doc’s orders. But she was going back, just not to class. She was pulled from class and she’d have a different set up, like the rest of them. They didn’t have normal classes any more either.

He kept the information to himself. He just wanted to find out where they were going with this.

Nathan raised his eyebrow and forgot about pizza, focusing on Marie. “Don’t you have just one year left after this or something? Why do you want out?”

Marie frowned. “Sang’s got it so I’m in with that counselor woman every day. And she keeps asking me questions about everything.”

Nathan blinked rapidly. Ms. Wright had given Sang a hard time not too long ago. But their attention returned to Mr. Hendricks and other teachers once it seemed she backed down. “She’s been after you?”

Marie nodded. “Every day since we were back, and then before the break a few times. And Hendricks. Always threatening me with detentions and suspensions.”

Nathan’s attitude toward Marie changed then. Marie had a weird trust in Danielle, but she knew better than to talk to Mr. Hendricks about anything private about Sang or about the boys, or else Hendricks would have been able to do far more damage to them. “I didn’t know. I wish you would have told me.”

“Sang’s been in trouble, too, right?” Danielle asked. “They always ask about her and what you guys are up to, but lately it has been about Sang. Like why she wasn’t seen in school this first week we returned to class.”

“We kept her out after she was passing out at your house,” he inclined his head toward Marie. “Doc’s orders had her on bedrest.”

Marie frowned again, her lips wrinkling a little. “I’m tired of being asked and I’m tired of worrying if I’ll end up in detention every day. I don’t want to have to go back. But if I don’t go, they’ll show up at the house or call and I can’t...”

Oh. He saw the bigger problem. Mrs. Sorenson might turn punishments on her if the school started calling. The Academy could field the calls, but this was still a lot they were asking Marie to deal with until she graduated. Homeschool could be an option, but her mother wasn’t going to go to the school to sign paperwork and do all that was required in her condition. And wouldn’t that draw attention to Sang? The only reason they kept Sang in the same school was to not draw too much attention from Hendricks while it was still risky. He was clearly angling to get to them through Sang.

Nathan scratched at his chin. “Now I see why you needed me.”

“I know you can get her out,” Danielle said. She smirked. “Maybe even me. I wouldn’t mind bailing. Next year is my last year anyway.”

Nathan didn’t like Danielle knowing this much about what they could do. He suspected she figured it out given all they did for Sang.

However, Ms. Wright asking questions and Hendricks looking in on Marie posed big problems. In addition, Marie probably didn’t have the grades to get into an early college program, she didn’t have a license, nothing to help her.

“I can’t make any promises,” Nathan said carefully. “But I can possibly look in on what’s happening at school and see if I can get them to stop. But even Sang will be going back tomorrow on Monday.”

“I don’t want to have to go to class,” Marie said. “That’s where they call me down to the office.”

Nathan sighed and nodded. “Show up, but don’t go to class. Actually, let us drive you in the morning. I’ll talk to Kota.” He ordered pizza and he picked up his phone. “I’ll text him. He’s going to want to know about this.”

Danielle hovered a little too close, but when Nathan moved away, she leaned over the counter. “I thought he was mad at you. After the fight... Did you and Sang break up?”

“She’s going out with—” He suddenly realized a huge problem. At school, she went out with Silas. For a while, Danielle knew Sang slept at his house, but this week she was at Kota’s. He slowly lowered the phone and looked at her. “It’s complicated,” he said.

She smirked and shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll fix it. That’s my favor to you. For getting me and Marie out of school.”

Uh oh. “Hang on a sec, back up. What are you doing for me?”

She shook her head, and her eyes widened to try to appear innocent. “Nothing. Haven’t done anything yet.”

He squinted at her. Danielle’s modus operandi was sometimes to rile him up about something she might be doing, just to get him agitated, when she really didn’t do anything.

Until she did. It was tricky with her.

He sent a quick message to Kota. He was probably watching and waiting like Silas, just at his own house. He made that assumption instead of texting him what she’d said, he kept it simple.

Nathan: What do I tell them?

Kota’s message came back after a minute.

Kota: Buy time. Offer ride to school.

Nathan nodded and put the phone away in his pocket. “Kota doesn’t mind giving a ride,” he said to them. He looked at the both of them. “The rest we’ll figure out. It’s not like you just sign a form and get out of school.”

“Probably why Sang still has to show up, right?” Danielle asked.

Nathan shrugged, not ready to give them a lot of information. “You said something about knowing Sang’s real mother.”

“That’s what you get when she’s out,” Danielle said. “After Marie and I are out of school so we don’t have to go back.”

Now he understood why Marie was reluctant and Danielle’s reason for pushing her. It didn’t seem like she’d do it out of her own good heart. Marie would have never come up with this on her own. “You already told us about it, remember?” Nathan asked Marie. “After your visit with your mother.”

“But now she has more information,” Danielle said.

Nathan looked over at Marie and she seemed to reluctantly nod.

Nathan focused on her. “What information are you leveraging for her?” He nodded toward Danielle. “You’re asking a lot.”

She glanced once at Danielle and with a twitch to her lip, lowering into a heavy frown, she spoke. “Because now I know her real name.”