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into a car. I’d always suspected that he’s been lying to us. But it made me sick, seeing it, you know? I didn’t know what to do. Where to go. So I came to find you. Your truck was in the parking lot, so I knew, when you weren’t at work, you had to be around here somewhere. I looked through the café window and when I saw you, I freaked. It was like seeing my dad all over again.”
    Nathan put his face into his hands. His shoulders shook as he let out the quiet sobs. I took a deep breath. The guy was obviously not himself. Hesitantly, I went to him. He pulled me tohim and wrapped his arms around me. He cried into my neck.
    When his sobs finally subsided, he pleaded, “Please don’t be mad at me. Please. I need you, Rae. You’re the only good thing in my life.”
    “Nathan, I—I don’t know.” I pulled away, thinking back to when I first spotted him sitting on that bench, waiting for me. I should have been happy to see him. He was my boyfriend, after all. But that’s not what I’d felt. I’d felt smothered. And now, after what he’d done? Yes, he was hurting, but that didn’t mean he had the right to take it out on me.
    “I have to go to work, okay? I’m late.”
    He wiped at his cheeks. “Can’t you call in sick? I don’t want to be alone right now.”
    I shook my head.
    He started pacing, waving his arms around. “If you don’t give a shit about me, like everyone else, what’s the point, Rae? Huh? Why should I keep trying? What is there to live for, then?”
    I felt like I was inside some kind of horrible nightmare. What was I supposed to do? He was obviously in a lot of pain, but he might be playing it up now, just to get his way. On the other hand, if I left him alone and something awful happened, to him or to someone else, I’d never forgive myself.
    “All right. Go wait in your car. I’ll talk to Nina. I’ll tell her I have a family emergency or something.”
    He bent down to kiss me. I moved my face so his lipslanded on my cheek. I wasn’t in the mood. “Thanks, beautiful,” he whispered. “Thank you so much.”
    Because I have the most awesome boss in the world, Nina didn’t even blink when I asked if I could have the afternoon off because of a family emergency. She told me to go and said, “If I can do anything to help, you let me know, okay?”
    As I walked to the parking lot, I thought about Nathan and his dad. I certainly understood messed-up parents. But I didn’t know what to say or do to make Nathan feel better. I racked my brain. Where could I take him? What did he need right now to help him feel better? I thought of the one thing he loved more than anything: baseball. I decided it was worth a shot.
    I found Nathan leaning against the hood of my truck. His face was blotchy and red. He rushed to greet me, but I held my arm out again. He stopped. I wrapped my arms across my chest and looked at him. This was my boyfriend. I should have felt sympathy, and all I felt was anger. Lots and lots of anger.
    “You know, you never apologized. For what happened back there.”
    “I didn’t?”
    “No. You didn’t. And let’s get one thing straight. That will never happen again. I’m not your father. And I’m not anyone from your past who may have hurt you. It’s not fair to assume the worst. I don’t deserve that.”
    His blue eyes looked dull. Their normal sparkle had completely vanished. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
    I think it was the first time I’d ever heard Nathan say those words. I wondered, was that because he didn’t hear them at home? Neither did I, but it made me understand their power even more. With Nathan, it seemed like they simply didn’t matter.
    “Please believe me,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
    I forced myself to let the anger go as I gave him a hug. “Come on. I’m going to take you someplace fun.”
    On the way to the batting cages, I drove and he talked. He said he’d had a hunch that the reason they’d moved to