Nathan only slipped his hand into his pockets. “What about her?”
“You—” Never mind, he’s going to deny it anyway. “Where were you after Shannon's welcome party?”
“I was at my friend’s house. You know, at Michael’s.”
I almost snorted and laughed at his answer but I just schooled a neutral face. “Michael’s?”
He nodded.
But I knew where he'd gone to: the red lipstick stain on his white shirt collar says it all.
“Babe, Morganne...” His warm breath tickled against my neck. But our once sweet intimacy to one another that used to made my heart race now only made me feel...uncomfortable.
My body suddenly ached and I didn’t know where the pain really came from, whether it’s from the burn on my arm or being too tired to keep up with Nathan’s lies. The pain was so sharp that it brought tears to my eyes again.
I rarely cry in front of Nathan, and now that I do...
Nathan panicked as soon as he saw my tears. It seemed like he had completely forgotten what had happened at Shannon’s welcome party. I almost did too, but the memory of him rushing after her reminded me how the piping hot soup came to burn half of my arm.
I remained silent, unsure whether I should tell him and shatter his mask of feigned affection or just quietly scratch its pain and itchiness. “You’ve been with Shannon, haven’t you?”
But he completely ignored my question and chuckled, more like to himself. “Look at you—you’re already old now but still afraid of just a little pain. You’re always crying—” He paused when he lifted up the sleeve of my sweater. He cursed at the sight of it. “Oh, Morganne...what would you do without me?”
He left my side and immediately rushed to get first aid.
Silence made me more uncomfortable knowing that he cheated on me but still kind of cared about me. “But Nathan, I don’t want you anymore. I don’t want this fake love anymore!”
“Stop uttering words you don't know the meaning of, Morganne.” He said nothing about my confession and only cleaned the burn in my arms and helped me climb to bed to sleep.
***
That night, I couldn’t sleep well. I woke up covered in sweat just as dawn was breaking.
He saw my struggles and Nathan pulled me out of bed. “Let’s go to the pack’s hospital, you’re not looking well.” He touched my forehead. “And you also seemed to have a fever.”
I shook my head. “I’ll call my brother first—”