"Please, please." Ethan's miserable voice begs me on the phone, "Please come April. We have only one day left for the rehearsal."
"I'm sorry Ethan, Nathan's sick. I can't leave him alone in this condition." I try to convince him, "Maybe you can skip my part today."
"You are playing Snow White! If we skip your part we are skipping the play!"
"I know. You can finish off with the decorations and costumes. Please pardon me for today." He sighs and hangs up. I get back to Nathan who is busy staring at the wall.
"It's blushing Walsh, stop it now," I remark and sit beside him.
"I don't know what to do!" he sighs, "I'm bored. I'm usually working all the damn time and I like it."
"Hmm, I get it but you need rest. Meanwhile, I can entertain you." I suggest.
"Entertain me?" he smirks, "What are you going to do? You are as dull as a potato."
"Give you an overdose and kill you. That would be pretty entertaining."
"Not to the police." He rolls his eyes, "Gimme my phone, I'll call the boys. Or I'll go to Jason's house, that's better." He rolls over to the other side and gets up. I push him back on the bed.
"You are not going anywhere. This is not a vacation. You are sick. If you don't take care of yourself, it will be hard for you to recover." I pour myself a glass of water and sit on the bed, "But you can call them here. That's not a bad idea." I toss him his phone.
As we finish lunch, the boys reached. "Yo-ho, pal" They holler and come to the room where Nathan is.
"What are you guys doing in my house?!" Anna yells, "Nathan is sick you should let him rest!" she scolds them.
"Oh, it's just a fever. He's a tough nut." Kyle pats Nathan's shoulder.
"Fine but if he doesn't feel well, you will not exert him." As she is about to leave she turns towards me, "April, darling do you want to go back to your room?"
"Uh-" I look back and forth between Anna and the boys, "Yeah, sure."
"Whoa, whoa!" Kyle interrupts, "No way! Anna, you can't take Nathan's medicine away from him."
"Yeah, and April's not even a simple cold pill. She's like the lifesaver pill!" Zayn agrees, "Right pal?" They all look amusingly at an annoyed Nathan. I smile at them and start to move out when I feel a hand circling my wrist.
"Stay!" Nathan says and the boys hoot. I turn crimson with all the scenes they have created. It's nice and weird that they are treating us like a real couple.
"Look at April blushing. She's a tomato Nathan will eat!" Lucas says. I look everywhere around the room to avoid all the eyes that have landed on me.
"We should watch a movie," Kyle suggests.
"It would put a strain on his eyes," I say.
"In that case, we can blindfold Nathan." Zayn laughs.
"Ooo, great opportunity April," Lucas pats my back, "Grab it." Everyone in the room but me starts laughing. This is so odd. I'm not fitting in.
"Guys," Nathan says sternly, "Behave! She's my wife, not my girlfriend. I'm sorry, Grey, they're crazy." He rubs my back, "Let's go to the theatre."
"We are sorry." They chorus.
"It's okay." I give them a genuine smile. They're crazy but nice, I like them. Before we move upstairs I check Nathan's temperature. Fortunately, he doesn't have any fever right now.
"Give the bed to the couple," Kyle says and he opens the closet to get more bean bags.
"Soo, what do you wanna watch April? As you are the new member of the group so you get to choose."
"Anything but horror." I reply settling on the bed beside Nathan, "Zayn can you take out the blanket for Nathan, please."
"But I'm not cold." He says.
"But you are sick." I shoot him a glare.
"Right, ma'am." Zayn salutes me and marches towards the closet to get the blanket. I cover him up to his chest while Kyle chooses a movie.
"Fifty shades of grey?" Kyle says in an astonished voice, "Since when did you fall for that kind of crap?"
"Believe me, never. But that freak of mine, Venessa, she loves it." Nathan sighs.
"It's not crap." I say, "It's a nice love story."
"April, the last thing I'd call fifty shades of grey is a "love story," Jason says giving laughing Kyle a hi-fi. I roll my eyes and lean back in the bed.
"Welcome to my group," Nathan laughs putting an arm around me. I instantly feel uncomfortable by his touch, so I jerk his hand away.
"Never mind, what should we watch?" Lucas says.
"Do you want to watch fifty shades of Grey?" he whispers to me.
"No, I was just saying it's nice."
"Okay," he says in a soft voice, looking at me, "Don't you have to go to the orphanage today?"
"No, I took the day off. I was kind of tired." I stretch my arms. Nathan stares at my movements.
"Are we interrupting something?" the boys' eyes are us with a smirk on their faces. I almost forgot they were around.
"No." I say, "So what did you decide?"
"The saw series," Jason says excitedly.
"No way she's watching that," Nathan says authoritatively.
"Why?" Everyone asks at the same time.
"Have you seen it before?" he turns to me.
"No."
"Heard of it?"
"No."
"Then it would be more interesting." Lucas claps his hands.
"No," Nathan says, "It's not your kind of movie, April."
"Now, I have to watch it!" I say.
"Fine. Don't blame me later."
An hour after the movie began I'm regretting my decision. When yet another person is killed brutally I bury my head in the cushion. I feel cold fingers around my neck and I scream.
"Relax! It's me," Nathan hugs me from behind.
"What happened?" Kyle asks.
"I kept a hand on her shoulder and she got scared." Nathan chuckles and everyone laughs. I pout still scared so he pulls me into his chest.
"Okay?" he asks and I nod. The film is so traumatising I barely look up from Nathan's chest. After the movie gets over the boys leave and I leave Nathan to rest in his room. I sit on the couch in the living room and without effort, my mind shifts back to what happened yesterday. Truth be told, I would not have gone to the orphanage today even if Nathan were well. Dylan had no right to tell me that he loved me. He had his chance and he quite spectacularly blew it.
Half an hour later, Nathan comes down and sits beside me. "Walsh!" I whine, "Rest for god's sake."
"Come up to the room, why are you sitting here?"
"So that you can rest."
"Please, Grey. I thought you took a day off for me."
"To take care of you."
"But why, Grey?" He asks, "I thought I was suffocating you."
"You were. I don't like your controlling but I am not going to leave you in one hundred and three Fahrenheit temperature."
"Sometimes Grey," he cups my cheek, his thumb caressing my lips making me close my eyes, "You make me want to change myself." My body is on fire already. Why does this happen to me? I make him want to change himself? He wants to change for me. How? Why? I open my eyes to see a smirk on his face.
"What happened, Grey?"
"Uh-" I freeze under his touch, under his gaze. Am I changing for him too? "You..."
"Yes, me?"
"You shouldn't touch me," I say angrily and jerk his hand away. I get up and run upstairs, pulling myself together. He just can't keep himself away from me. Neither can I, for some reason. The worst part is I don't want to anymore. But that is too dangerous. I have to be angry with him.
"Grey?" I hear him call after me. Tears emerge in my eyes I run into the room. What has my life become?
"Grey!" He turns me to face him, "Can I ask you a personal question?" He asks and I nod.
"Why does my touch have such a negative effect on you?"
"Believe me Nathan I've been seeking an answer to that question myself," I lie. I love his touch, every bit of it. But I can't go down that road, I have to stop this. I have to turn my hormonal response to his touch into anger. And it takes all my energy away.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" He motions his head in a yes.
"Have you ever considered seeing a lawyer for a divorce?"
"What divorce?" His voice is confused. What? Hasn't he given it a thought?
"Our divorce," I say, "I mean we aren't going to grow old together?" He remains quiet for a moment.
"See Grey if you are not able to understand this little thing then I can't help you," he says with a clenched jaw, "But you are stuck with me for the rest of your fucking boring life! You are just a stupid person if you think we can get a divorce..."
"But why can't we?" I cut him off, "We'll just say to the media it didn't work out. What did you say when you would break up with your previous girlfriends? And please will you calm down? You are not well and for once can we have a conversation like normal people?" He takes a deep breath to calm himself. He sits on the edge of the bed.
"We can say that. But not now at least, let's give this marriage a year at least. Till then all the rumours will die out. Grey, if you care about your family and your business then please don't even think about going to a divorce lawyer right now. I already have so much to handle at work and now that Dad has given me off for a week I have to work doubly hard. I can't handle media and work at the same time." He sounds so frustrated.
I move closer to him, "You are already doing so much. You deserve this break." I try to cheer him up, "I mean I see you all day, you work so hard, and Robin said he doesn't want anything on the cost of your health so you shouldn't be frustrated."
"But Robin doesn't know anything about my clients."
"David does?"
"Yeah, but..."
"But then nothing," I put my finger on his lips, "Nathan, you are thinking way too much. It's not good. Take this break and live like you want to."
"Like I want to?" He says, "Will you be okay with that?"
Like he wants to, meaning far far away from me. Tears spring in my eyes but I blink them away. Uhh, why does it hurt? I push my feelings aside and nod at him. He shifts closer to me and takes me with him into the bed.
"What are you doing?!" I yell.
"Living in the moment. Listening to my heart for the first time." He says crashing my lips with his.