“Can we please try to make this quick? As long as you’re sure this is what you want.”
Nodding, I say, “I think we’re both sure.”
He nods back. “You’re right. You know I will be here for you. If you ever need anything, I’m a call away. What do you need right now? From this? Money to help you out?”
His generosity catches me off guard. But I don’t know if it’s because he doesn’t want the company to have bad press from a messy divorce, or if it’s out of the kindness of his heart.
I have thought about this a lot before this moment. But I have saved up enough to get by for a while. There is only one thing I want. “Can I have the house? I don’t need any extra money. Just this.”
He waves his hand, as if I’d asked for a penny. But to Nic, it is. “Yeah. I’ll have it all taken care of. It’s yours.”
I smile kindly at him as I take a seat.
We sit side by side, and he leads me through the documents.
As we get to the signature line, I can’t help but reminisce about the time we had together. Nic can occasionally be sweet and kind. He always puts his company first, which I don’t think is always a bad thing. Nic and I were never meant to last forever. He gave me life when I needed it most. I am forever thankful for that.
We both deserve to find someone we can love and to be loved the way we need. We aren’t the right people for each other, but I believe someone else will be, for each of us. He deserves happiness as much as I do.
He signs and slides me the pen and paper. My pen drags across the line as I carve my signature onto the page.
“Thank you, Nic, for everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know where I’d be today if it wasn’t for you,” I admit honestly.
We’ve always had friendship, and perhaps that’s all we’ve ever had at the root of it all. I don’t know if that will ever go away.
He wraps his arm around me and leans the side of his head against the side of mine. “I’ll always be here for you, Kat.”
“Me too, for you,” I respond as his phone vibrates on the table.
He checks it and stands up. “I have to go catch my flight back. I’ll get all of this processed and get the house transferred fully into your name tomorrow.”
Standing, I hug him one last time. I breathe him in, purely living in the moment. Nic saved my life all those years ago. He is special to me, and that will never change.
“Good-bye, Nic. Take time to live, before it’s too late,” I say to him with a lump in my throat.
“I will. Good-bye, Kat.” He squeezes me once more before pulling away.
He grabs his phone and shoves it into his jacket and heads out the door.
A weird numbness tingles throughout my body. But I think I’m just trying to process everything. Tears brim in my eyes as I sit back down at the table.
“What should I do now?” I ask myself.
I want to drive back. But it’s going to be dark soon, if it’s not already. Glancing to the window of the front door, I see the darkness of the sky. It’s too late to drive now. First thing in the morning, I’ll head back to my Noelle.
A few minutes later, the doorbell echoes through my house, and I jump from the unexpected sound. I quickly walk towards it when someone starts pounding on the door.
“I’m coming!” I shout as I walk faster.
Twisting the handle, I pull the door open to findher.
13
Noelle
December 24
MY HEART IS POUNDINGout of my chest as I wait for the door to open with Muffin in my arms. I sped the whole way here, needing to get to Kat as fast as possible.
