Inevitable, page 7
I took a deep breath and smiled at Nathan, who had some dirt covering his face.
“Wasn’t that intense?” I beamed, but he ambled away from me toward his truck. There was smoke all around and I couldn’t understand why this wasn’t more thrilling for him.
“Crazy. You’re crazy,” he coughed, hunching over a little bit.
“Nathan, wait! You just survived a collapsing building. Isn’t that amazing?” I called as he got further away from me. I furrowed my brows, suddenly concerned. I thought he’d love doing something like that, but it had obviously been too much.
I raced after him, begging for his attention. All he wanted was to get away though, and so he brushed me off.
“Nathan, please! This was just supposed to be exciting,” I shouted, desperate to get him to listen to me. If we could just talk about this for a minute, I could explain everything and bring him back to his senses. He did turn back to me, but the menacing snarl on his face made me wish he hadn’t.
“Just get away from me,” he said as he opened the door to his truck, and that stung way worse than the fall.
“I’m sorry, ok?” I hollered, but he wasn’t listening. He started his truck, and gave me one last look that had nothing but hurt and the feeling of being betrayed in it. I had pushed him too far, too soon. He didn’t even care about how I knew the building was going to fall, just that I was someone who needed to be avoided.
“Are you just going to leave me here?” I screamed, knowing it didn’t matter. But he didn’t even bother to respond. After turning around, he took off the way he came, leaving me just as crushed as the building behind me.
As unhappy as Nathan was about what I’d tried to do for him, there was someone who would take it much worse. When he got home and told the story to his sister, Cammie’s face flushed and she looked like she was going to flip over the kitchen table.
“She’s psychotic!” Cammie declared. Nathan had walked away without a scratch and it was hard for me to see what the big deal was. I thought Nathan said he liked things that looked fun and dangerous. Couldn’t they understand I was trying to do something special for him? Sometimes people didn’t make any sense to me, and that’s usually right around when disasters start to happen.
“Just promise me you’ll never see her again,” Cammie pleaded to her brother.
“Yeah, I get it,” he agreed. “I’m done with her. Don’t worry.”
But Cammie was still livid, and she started trying to figure out exactly what had happened.
“Did she rig something to blow in the basement? The girl is obviously trying to kill you.”
“She said she knew there was going to be an earthquake,” Nathan shrugged, hobbling toward the stairs.
“That’s ridiculous. There wasn’t any earthquake, and even if there was she could’ve never known about it,” Cammie scoffed once Nathan had left. She plopped down at a computer and did some clicking. When she discovered there had been an earthquake, the look on her face couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d been stricken with a sudden bout of diarrhea.
*
Nathan put in more overtime each week, hoping it would make a difference when it came time to feed the all-consuming vacuum that was their mortgage payment. But he’d started to dread heading in to work each morning. His body felt tired and stiff all the time now. Worst of all, he had a sneaking suspicion some of the other guys he worked with were laughing at him. That was until he was absolutely sure they were.
It was a surprisingly cold November day when Nathan had accidentally forgotten to bring gloves to the worksite. He couldn’t very well wrap his sleeves over his hands while he was carrying things around, so he had to suffer with two throbbing appendages attached to the ends of his arms. Inside the factory would’ve been tolerable, but today they had to spend a lot of time outside loading and unloading trucks.
He formed a line with a few of the guys to ferry fifty-pound sacks of mix into a truck backed up against the dock. Nathan stood right over the gap between the dock and the truck’s back end, taking bags from a guy on one side and swinging it over to the other.
They’d been doing that for a while, and Nathan was managing with frozen hands, when the guy before him handed him a sack at a strange angle. Nathan didn’t know what happened, but all of a sudden the sack fell to the ground at his feet. The edge sliced it open, and before he could do anything the contents of the bag were covering the ground.
It stung, and Nathan steeled himself as the grumbling around him slipped into his ears. If that had been all, Nathan would have been able to put up with it, but it just so happened that a few more eyes had witnessed his mistake.
“Wheeler! Get over here!”
It was Vince, the personnel director, and Nathan had seen him chew out a few of his coworkers in the past. It was the verbal equivalent of being cranked through a meat grinder, and there was no way for him to avoid it. Even his coworkers kept their mouths shut once they knew what he was in for. This was something they didn’t wish on their worst enemies.
“I’m sorry, Vince. It won’t happen again,” Nathan began after jogging over to his boss. Vince scratched his goatee and flashed some yellow teeth. His weight made him an imposing man, and he looked like he was about to lose it. He didn’t immediately say anything though, making Nathan wonder if he should keep talking. But as soon he muttered another syllable, Vince flew off the handle.
“If you knew you were doing something wrong, why did you do it? What are you, stupid? This isn’t day care, son. We’ve got a job to do! The last thing I need is a new sandbox beside my loading dock.” His raving infuriated Nathan in ways he hadn’t thought possible, but he managed to keep a lid on it.
“I’m really sorry. I know. It just slipped through my hands. I forgot my gloves today.”
Swaying as though Nathan had insulted his mother, Vince couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He ran his hand through his hair, his face getting red and the veins in his neck starting to pop.
“You forgot your gloves? How long have you been working here? Tell me this is your first day, because no one else would be so FOOLISH as to forget their gloves. Some of the machinery in here will slice your fingers off before you can bat an eye. Is that what you want?”
“No. It was just. The laundry,” Nathan muttered, knowing he needed to stop talking.
“I don’t want excuses, and I don’t want mistakes,” Vince interrupted, glaring grumpily. “So don’t give me either. Just do your job or we’ll find somebody who can!”
Vince stood there a moment, continuing to pound Nathan with his eyes. Refusing to submit, Nathan glared back. He’d made a mistake, yes, but he wouldn’t let anyone walk all over him for it. Nathan kept his composure even though the threat of losing his job over a simple mistake knocked the wind out of him.
“Now get back to work!” Vince hollered into his ear before storming off. He stomped away, glaring at a few other employees on the way. Nathan took a deep, stilted breath when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Willy, who shook his head in sympathy.
“Don’t take it too personally, Nathan. He just wanted to bust your balls. We all make mistakes from time to time.”
Nathan nodded, appreciating Willy’s show of support. He certainly didn’t see anyone else trying to make him feel better. In fact, he hadn’t nearly heard the end of his mistake.
“Better keep a good grip on that sandwich, butterfingers!” a voice heckled as Nathan was about to take a bite during lunch.
Realizing he was being spoken to, he looked around and spotted Manny, who was one of the ringleaders of their lunch group. Manny was usually the one to come out with the most outrageous, dirtiest stories during lunch, and as a result most of the other guys were quick to side with him. They all got a kick out of his joke, and the word “butterfingers” echoed all around him.
Nathan just rolled his eyes.
“Wow, and I thought I was done with high school,” he muttered, and a few eyes turned back to Manny to see how he’d react to the jab. Nathan didn’t seem to care much about what was going on.
“Yeah, and I bet you never thought the real world could be so wonderful,” Manny mocked, chuckles rippling around the circle. Nathan didn’t know which would be worse, going off on his own and being the staff pariah or staying there and taking more abuse. Instead of making any kind of response, he just sat there and ate his sandwich.
“We’re just messing with you, kid,” Manny added, trying to soften the blow as Nathan sulked. “I just got chewed out last week for showing up ten minutes late to work.”
“Being hungover probably didn’t help,” another guy added.
“Not if they knew about it,” Manny laughed, raising a soda bottle to his lips and taking a swig. Nathan had happened to glance at him, and Manny gave him a disconcerting wink.
The day passed but Nathan’s new nickname at work didn’t seem to fade away. Even if someone else dropped something, someone would joke, “Did butterfingers do that?” Willy was always sympathetic in those situations, and he’d never use anything but Nathan’s real name, but it still got to Nathan.
If this had still been high school, the thing to do would’ve been to find someone else to shift the ridicule onto, but Nathan didn’t want to play those juvenile games anymore. Talking to Vince or Barb would’ve also been childish. So he just receded into his head, tried to always remember his gloves, and did his work to the best of his ability.
The end of the day came and Nathan picked up his paycheck for the week on his way out. To make matters worse, this was going to be the first month they fell behind on their mortgage payments, and that’s when the real pain would set in.
Nathan sat in his truck and stared at the paycheck, desperate for it to somehow be more than it was. Six hundred and fifty dollars just wasn’t enough to make ends meet. When Nathan started the vehicle, he watched the gas gauge barely rise above empty. That meant another thirty or forty dollars down the drain.
I couldn’t have been more disappointed in how my last rendezvous with Nathan had gone, and I was desperate to make up for it. If I was super careful, I knew I could fix some of Nathan’s money problems for a while without it ending up in disaster. The only thing up in the air was whether or not he would let me.
I strolled toward Nathan as he pumped gas into his truck, nervous about what he would do when he noticed me. It didn’t make sense how timid I was acting, but I didn’t want to make things worse than they already were. When he finally did notice me, he hung his head a bit and sighed. Not the reaction I’d wanted, but I could live with it.
“Are you following me now?” he asked.
“I figured after what you went through last time it was my turn,” I confessed. He shook his head and glanced at the meter displaying the cost.
“A lot of good that did me,” he mumbled. I felt like I had a hole in my chest, and I hated how he was so distant.
“Please, just listen for one minute. I’m sorry about what happened last time. I really am. If I’d known you’d have felt that way about it, I never would’ve done it.”
“You didn’t know how I’d feel about almost dying?” he spat, and I flinched.
“Just give me one more chance. I promise I can make things right,” I said, coming close enough that I could set my hand on his truck’s rusty hood. Contemplating, Nathan gazed at me for a moment before returning the gas pump. I held my breath, waiting to hear what he would say.
“No, I can’t. Please just leave me alone.”
He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle, but I couldn’t let him go.
“Nathan, how did I know the building was going to collapse?” I asked, earning a startled glance. He paused, giving me a chance to press on. “How did I know that woman was going to throw away these clothes? I’ll tell you.”
“Ok, so tell me,” he demanded, shifting into drive but keeping his foot on the brake.
“I’ve always been very good at guessing what’s going to happen,” I fudged, hoping this answer would be enough for him. “It’s just something that comes with who I am. I can’t explain it, but you have to trust that it’s real.”
He pursed his lips and watched me. He might not have been convinced, but it was hard to argue against it considering what we’d been through.
“That’s your paycheck, isn’t it?” I asked, gesturing to the envelope on the passenger seat. “I know it’s not what you want it to be, and I can help with that.”
It all sounded so ridiculous to him, and soon he was rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, what could you do?” he asked, incredulous. I was prepared for this though, and I hoped this plan would work out better than the last one.
“Park the car in the spot over there and come with me,” I said, and he gave me another long look. I wanted to smile, but to make him trust me again I had to be serious. He guided the truck forward, and for a second I thought he was going to pull into traffic, but then he turned for the open parking spot. Joining me, paycheck in hand, we headed for the sidewalk.
“You’d better be right about this.”
I took a deep breath, hoping I would be.
“Do you see the woman in the red jacket walking in front of us?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Nathan confirmed.
“Watch where she goes.” A tall woman in a long jacket that went almost to her knees, she maneuvered through the crowded city sidewalk about ten feet in front of us. We followed her as she took a right turn onto another busy street, which she continued down until ducking into a bar about halfway down.
“Oh, she’s going into Murphy’s,” Nathan reported. “I’ve been there before. What’s the big deal?”
“Just wait and see,” I told him.
We rushed inside behind her, immediately enjoying the warmth. There were a few tables where people were having dinner and the central bar area adorned with big-screen TV’s. The woman in the red jacket whispered something into the server’s ear as we huddled close behind her.
The server, a pretty young woman in her mid-twenties, nodded and began to lead the woman away. We stayed right on their heels as they left the tables behind and went for the back.
“Wh—” Nathan started, but I elbowed him in the ribs to get him to shut up. He’d figure out where we were going soon enough.
We continued into the kitchen, making a quick left toward a staircase leading to the second floor. Nathan shot me a look of surprise, but he kept his mouth shut. He obviously didn’t know there was something up there.
Reaching the top, the woman in red left the server behind. We passed her too, and the cute brunette gave us a hard look, questioning whether or not we’d really accompanied our mark.
But we’d made it upstairs, and Nathan’s jaw dropped open when he saw the secret operation that was taking place up here. Gaming tables, stacks of chips, and rolling dice all amounted to an underground gambling hall. Thick window shades were drawn, meaning only artificial light from bare bulbs illuminated the twenty or so gamblers occupying the room.
“What are we doing here?” Nathan asked, nudging me over to the side. All I did was glance at his pocket containing his paycheck. He tensed up, blinking rapidly. “We don’t know who’s running this place. I could lose everything!”
“But you won’t! It’ll be fine,” I promised. This was another crucial moment for us, where he’d choose to accept me or cast me out. I had to make it clear everything was under control. Taking him by the jacket and giving him a jerk, I stared square into his eyes.
“You know in your heart what I can do is real. There’s no risk here for us. But you have to trust me. Nathan, do you trust me?” I asked him.
He took a deep breath and looked around. Scratching the back of his neck, he glanced at me, and this time I did smile. I could still see it on his face, the way he was drawn to me.
“Ok, let’s give it a shot,” he conceded, and I clapped to show my delight. This was going to be great.
Heading over to a booth against the wall, Nathan signed over his paycheck. He reluctantly slid it over, and I had to put my hand on his back to finally get him to let go. In return, he was given ten chips, and he swallowed hard when he held them in his hand.
“If you’re wrong about this…”
“Stop worrying! You’ve got to let go of all that live a little.”
I led him past a few card tables toward a roulette table. The little white ball rolled around and around until it landed on a black number, causing half the players to moan and the other half to cheer. A couple of the losers departed, and we took their seats.
Sitting next to Nathan, I glanced at him curiously. I didn’t believe he really trusted me, and so I’d have to test him to find out. My body couldn’t be the only reason he wanted me around, not when I’d much rather he really believe in who I was.
“You never answered my question,” I said to Nathan. I took half of his chips and deposited them on random numbers. Soon the roulette ball raced around its golden wheel. I focused my eyes on Nathan, savoring the pressure he was under. “Do you trust me?”
“I trust you,” he said, clenching his hand against the table as the ball started to skip around.
“Good, because I’m going to lose those chips,” I said, paying no attention to the ball as it stopped. When our chips were taken away, Nathan looked like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He gasped for breath, hunching over. His face grew red. Maybe it’s terrible of me, but I enjoy watching people squirm when I know they’re going to be thrilled in the end.
“You have to understand one thing about me, Nathan,” I went on. “I’m here to make things better for you, but I can only do that if you believe in me. So I’m going to lose these chips too.”
I dropped four chips onto the table, leaving us with one. On the edge of despair, Nathan gazed at them, and his arm twitched to take them back.
“Do you trust me, Nathan?” I asked, my voice growing stronger. He put his hand to his forehead and rubbed his skin. He nodded, and a smile broke on his face.
“It’s ok. It just doesn’t matter. We’ll figure something out.”
