Chapter 83: I Can Go Home Myself

Almost as soon as Andy left the room, Nathan’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Alex. He brought the phone to his ear and said, “Hey, Alex. How can I help you?”

Alex: “Nathan, did you watch the video I sent you yet? I need to know if the girl in the video is your girlfriend?”

Nathan: “What video are you talking about?”

Alex: “I emailed it to you. Hurry up and take a look! We’ll talk after.”

After saying goodbye to Alex, Nathan opened the email and played the video. It was about twenty minutes long, and although the lighting was poor, he could still see what had happened.

Someone had recorded everything that had transpired on the night that Crystal had rescued her friend from certain assaults and possibly murder.

Now Nathan knew how Crystal had injured her palm, and it bothered him that she hadn’t been open with him about what had happened. It made him angry that she could have gotten hurt, and he wouldn’t have been able to protect her. “I treat her like a treasure,” he told himself, “but she talks and acts as if her life has no value!”

After watching the video, Nathan was no longer in the mood for working, nor did he feel like calling Alex back, so he took Andy’s car key and drove the Buick to the Olman University, and he arrived just as the afternoon sessions were letting out. He parked on the road and stared at the gate without blinking. It wasn’t long before the object of his love and hate appeared.

Nathan waited until Crystal and Serenity had passed the driver’s side door, and then he jumped out of the car, startling both of them quite badly. Crystal glared at him, and he could tell she was angry, but Serenity seemed to think it was quite funny. She giggled and pushed Crystal into Nathan’s arms. Then she said, “I’ve got to get to work. Take good care of her for me, okay!”

Nathan caught Crystal in his arms and said, “She’s in good hands.” Then, he walked her around the car and “helped” her into the passenger seat.

Once Nathan was in the car, Crystal turned to him and said, “I can go home by myself. I’m a big girl. I just turned eighteen yesterday, in case you’ve forgotten!” When he didn’t reply, she began to pout. Finally, after a few minutes of awkward silence, she asked, “Have you been waiting for a long time?”

Nathan started the car, but he still did not open his mouth.

Crystal was confused. What’s up with him? - she wondered. Not knowing what else to do, she placed her bag between her legs and pulled her seatbelt over her shoulder. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Why are you driving a Buick today?” she asked. “You scared the shit out of me when you jumped out at us.” As she spoke, she looked around at the car. There was a photo of Andy and a woman clipped to the dashboard. It is Andy’s car - she realized, but she couldn’t imagine why Nathan was driving it.

Crystal spied on Nathan from the corner of her eye. He had a stern expression on his face, and his lips were pressed tightly together as if he was angry. As she watched him, she suddenly remembered that he was going on blind dates. Thus, she reasoned, if anyone had any right to be angry, it was her - and that made her so mad that before long, the grim expression on her face nearly matched the one on Nathan’s face. He is such an asshole! - thought Crystal.

Nathan drove Crystal to the Beverly villa, and once they were in the house, he seized her wrist, dragged her into his room, and threw her on the bed. “Damn it! - she thought - Not Again! She raised her head to scold him, but he pressed her down on the bed and would not let her up.

“You!” Crystal pushed him away and shouted, “What the hell?”

Nathan: “Crystal Smith, do you think that no one cares about you? Do you think that you have no family, so you can risk your life whenever you want?”

Crystal was confused by his words. She thought that they sounded too familiar to be original, and a sense of deja vu washed over her.

“If so,” Nathan continued, “then what the hell am I? A husband by a technicality?” At this moment, anger flamed in his heart, and he wanted to kill Richard for the things he had put Crystal through. How dare that dirty man touch my woman! - he thought. If something had happened to her, he would have never been able to forgive himself for not being there to protect her.

****

Nathan was sitting on Crystal’s chest. He had her hands pinned above her head, and his face was about a foot from hers. It was beet red, and the veins in his forehead were practically pulsing. This was as angry as Crystal had ever seen Nathan, but beneath the rage, she thought she saw another emotion lurking. Is he afraid? - she wondered - Has he been worrying about me?

Now Crystal finally understood what Nathan had been talking about. Somehow, Nathan had learned about the events from the previous night. Crystal softened her tone, and in a gentle tone of voice, she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

When Nathan heard that, he was stunned for a moment.

“Normally, I wouldn’t have done something so foolhardy,” Crystal explained, “But I couldn’t stand by and do nothing while they hurt my friend. It won’t happen again. I promise.”

Nathan frowned. “I want to believe you,” he said, “but you don’t make it easy...” Crystal opened her eyes wide, and with a look of child-like innocence and a bright smile, she said, “You have my word. If you need me to, I’ll even put a stamp on my promise.”

Nathan: “A stamp? Huh?”

Crystal suddenly raised her head and kissed Nathan on the lips.

“Is this an invitation?” Nathan said with interest. He smiled as he let her hands go.