One Voice 02 - Here Without You by Mia Kerick Read Free Book Online

would perceive that we were ganging up on him. All we really wanted was to get him here with us permanently and to help him get his life on track.
    A couple of nights before, we’d done the whole Skype routine, with the goal of extracting a promise that he’d come to visit us again the next weekend. Last weekend was incredible. It was only natural for us to want an instant replay. There was a football game in the Arthur Johnson Stadium on Saturday and a pancake breakfast at the student center on Sunday morning, both of which we wanted to attend with Nate.
    He said he’d try to figure out a plan for where Cindy could go on Friday and Saturday nights. And tonight we would ask him what his plan for Cindy was. Then we were going to fill him in on our other huge, but definitely still tentative, plans.
    When Nate turned on Skype and leaned back in his chair, I knew he wasn’t doing very well. I knew the signs of depression, having barely survived it myself. He seemed far away, and I didn’t mean that he was in New Hampshire and we were in Boston. His dark eyes were glassy and staring off to the left. He wasn’t connected with us, and he looked as if he had no inclination to be. He looked skinnier than usual. And very pale.
    I knew instinctively that it had hurt him deeply to tear himself away from us on Sunday. His distant behavior was an attempt to cope with his pain. Nate needed us more than I had thought, more than Zander had predicted, more even than Nate knew how to deal with.
    “Hey, sweetheart .” That was a new one for me, but it served its purpose. Not only did Nate shift his eyes from whatever he was staring at in the upper left corner of his bedroom and look toward my face, but Zander too suddenly turned to look at me. “How’s my big guy?”
    Nate apparently had lost his ability to formulate words.
    “Yeah, dude. Whassup in the hometown?” Zander stepped in to help me out.
    “Uh… not much.” Brief and to the point.
    “We’ve been missing you so much. I can’t concentrate on my studying without your hand in my hair.” Throughout our senior year, the three of us had studied together in my living room. Most of the time, I would sit on the floor in front of the coffee table, and Nate and Zander would sit next to each other on the couch. Nate spent most of the time rubbing little circles on my scalp.
    “Yeah. Well, whatever,” he grunted and looked back to whatever was so fascinating in the upper left corner of his bedroom.
    Since we were going nowhere fast with our banter, Zander focused our throuple on business. “So, what’s the deal with this weekend? Did you find a place for Cindy to stay so you can come here?”
    Nate just shook his head.
    “Nate, please try harder. We want you to come. I need you to come here.” I hadn’t planned those words—they spontaneously erupted from my lips. “Can’t she stay with your aunt again?”
    The long dark hair moved from side to side on his wide shoulders as he shook his head again.
    “She’s got friends. How about if she goes to one of their houses?”
    “Zander, I’m friggin’ workin’ on it.” Neither of us had ever heard Nate speak so harshly other than to those who threatened me in high school. For a moment, we were all silent. Awkwardly so. “Shit. Didn’t mean to bite your head off, man.”
    Zander nodded, but his body had stiffened beside me.
    “Well, let us know if you find her a place to stay. We really want to see you,” I offered. I was ready to move on to the topic of epic proportions, despite the fact that we were having an off moment. “Zander and I have something we are hoping to discuss with you.”
    Our boyfriend then looked straight at us, a steady glance from me to Zander, and I’d swear I saw “Oh, shit. What now?” in his eyes. “Say what?”
    I couldn’t help it. I reached over and took Zander’s hand. He squeezed my palm, and I knew he was confused by Nate’s attitude but still hopeful.
    “Just listen to what