Blackbird Read online

  “Get out.”

  She stood her ground. “I’m not leaving.”

  Nate grabbed both of her shoulders and pulled her closer. Staring down at her he whispered harshly, “Stop trying to save me. I’m not yours to save.”

  Her lip quivered. “What happened? What happened to you to make you so angry at the world?” she said softly.

  “You really want to know?” Nate leaned down, their noses nearly touching.

  He could feel the sexual energy around them. The anger. The desire.

  Is this what she wanted? Wanted to see him for his weakness. Take him apart inch by inch, trying to figure out why he was the way he was.

  “Yes. Tell me, Nate. It might make you feel better if you talk about it.”

  “Ha!” Nate let her go and grabbed his crutches. Placing them under his arms, he walked into the lounge room.

  “Nate,” Claire pleaded.

  Nate turned to her. “What the fuck would you know about anything? What would you know about pain? Everyday wishing you could turn back time and change it. The never ending pain you feel from the emptiness… Knowing I was the reason he died.”

  He tensed his jaw. He was not about to cry like a fucking child. “Every day I hate myself for what I did. Hate myself for who I am. If I hadn’t of been so stupid and stayed up late I wouldn’t have forgotten my text book for uni and my dad wouldn’t have gotten in the car that day to bring it to me. I killed him.” Nate fell to the ground, dropping his crutches.

  He cried now, harder than he’d ever cried before. Everything had built up inside him, and now it all came apart in that moment.

  He was only somewhat aware of Claire’s arms around him, comforting the crying mess he’d become.

  “I’m sorry, Nate,” she whispered into his ear. “I really am.”

  She sounded sincere, and now he felt like a dick. He shouldn’t have accused her of not knowing pain. He shouldn’t have accused her of anything. For all he knew she might have also lost someone close to her.

  Nate gently pushed himself out of her grip and grabbed his crutches. “Just give me a minute,” he said.

  “Sure. Take as long as you need.”

  He didn’t dare look her in the eye, he couldn’t. So he walked away from her and into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. What was she doing to him?

  When Nate awoke hours later, he expected Claire to be gone. Instead Nate walked out of his room to find Claire standing by the stove cooking.

  Nate moaned, “Mmmm you read my mind. Bacon and eggs,” he said, the smell filling the air around him.

  Claire turned quickly, startled. “Shit, Nate! You scared the shit out of me!”

  He chuckled. “I thought you’d be long gone by now.”

  Claire turned back to the fry pan, flipping the eggs. “Well I thought about cleaning this filth you call a home.” She motioned the spatula around the house. “Your landlord would kill you if he saw this.”

  “Thankfully I don’t have a landlord. I own this place outright.”

  Claire looked at him astonished. “Oh…”

  “I inherited it after my dad died. Mum wanted me to have it,” he said, leaning his crutches on the bench and sitting on the stool, resting his arms on the bench. “So why didn’t you clean if it disgusted you so much?’

  She smiled and turned back to the fry pan, picking up the eggs and flipping them onto the nearby plate. “Well I started in the guest bedroom, but by the time I got to your bathroom I thought it probably wasn’t a good idea in case I saw something you didn’t want me to see,” she said casually.

  He laughed thinking about how different she was than any other girl he’d met. “How considerate of you.”

  “Yeah well, it took everything in me not to. It’s pretty gross.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  She rolled her eyes and placed the plate full of food in front of him. Nate’s stomach growled. Grabbing the nearby knife and fork he started devouring the delicious food. After a few mouthfuls, he stopped and looked up at Claire, who seemed content in watching him eat.

  “About earlier-” Nate started.

  Claire waved her hand. “Shh, it’s neither here nor there.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn’t want to explain what had happened earlier. He wasn’t even comfortable thinking about it. A moment of weakness on his part.

  “So what happens now?” he asked her, taking another bite of his food.

  “Well… right now you’re going to eat this exquisite meal I prepared for you, and tomorrow you’re coming back to therapy with me.” She smiled cheerfully.

  “And why would I want to do that?”

  “Because I need you to.”

  Nate’s eyebrows rose. She needed him?

  “I need it for my clinical placement. It’s my last assessment for uni and I really want it to be perfect,” she quickly said.

  Oh, how could he forget? It wasn’t about him. She needed him for her practical work, not because she cared for him. Not that he cared anyway, right?

  “What’s in it for me?”

  Claire choked. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.”

  “How about the ability to walk again?” she retorted.

  If he was going to do this, he was going to milk it for everything he had.

  “Fair enough.”

  She smiled at him in satisfaction and took a sip of her juice.

  “But I want to go on a date with you,” Nate said, pleased with himself when she spat the juice from her mouth in shock.

  “What?!”

  “You heard me,” he smirked.

  Claire shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “There’s not much to understand. I want to date you. Provided you get me walking again by the end of your placement.”

  “I have a boyfriend.”

  Nate rolled his eyes. He was well aware she had a boyfriend, yet he found it amusing that she still needed to remind him. “I know that. I’m saying I’ll learn to walk for your clinical placement and in return we’ll go on a date.”

  “Like a bet? But you get to get the ability to walk again?”

  Nate took his last mouthful of food, placed his knife and fork neatly together and pushed the plate aside. “That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”

  Claire grabbed his plate and walked over to the sink. She turned towards him a couple of times, like she was going to say something, but decided against it and turned back to the sink.

  He couldn’t quite make out what she was mumbling, but the whole situation was pretty bloody funny. Her facial expressions were so cute as she considered what he was offering.

  In all honestly, the moment she’d walked into his apartment, he’d known he was going to go back to therapy. But watching her now, her reaction was too funny for words. He thought he might just play along with it for a while.

  A date with Claire. Nate found it strange how badly he wanted to go on a date with her. He definitely wasn’t the dating kind, but he knew then that he wanted a date with her, and he would put everything he had into his therapy sessions make sure he was walking by the end of her placement.

  Nate wasn’t really a date kind of guy. He’d never even been in a relationship. Nate was a pick up a hot chick at the bar, fuck her, and forget about her the next day kind of guy. His mum wasn’t too impressed with his ‘lifestyle choices,’ or so she called them, anyway. But Nick just wasn’t into relationships. Sure there had been women in his life who had wanted more, but he never did. He wasn’t against relationships; he’d just never meant anyone worth being in a relationship with. That was until Claire. No Claire has a boyfriend, dipshit, he told himself. Right.Boyfriend.

  Oh well, he might as well have fun with the idea anyway, even if it was just to piss her off.

  “Okay,” Claire reluctantly agreed.

  She turned and faced him, arms crossed. “I will go on a date wit
h you if you are walking by the end of my placement. But-”

  Nate couldn’t hide his grin. “I’m listening.”

  “There is to be no flirting, no unnecessary touching, no sly comments from now on. And it will be a date as friends, nothing more. Deal?” She eyed him suspiciously.

  “Deal. I’ll be a gentleman from now on.”

  She coughed and rolled her eyes.

  Yes this was going to be fun.

  “Well I’d better go now,” she said, grabbing her handbag off the couch and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Hold up,” Nate called after her as she headed for the door.

  She held her hand on the doorknob, turning to him.

  “Do you promise to keep your word? You’re not just going to back out of it once your clinical placement finishes?”

  “I’m a man of my word,” she said pulling the door open and walking through.

  “You mean woman!” Nate chuckled.

  “Whatever,” he heard her say before the door closed behind her.

  This was going to be very fun, he laughed to himself. He liked a good challenge.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “You can do this, Nate. I know you can. Believe it,” Claire said, pulling herself away from his grasp, leaving him to stand there by himself, unaided.

  It was the last day of her placement and the final day for Nate to start walking and win the bet.

  Despite the occasional comments from Nate on how beautiful she looked or how great her outfit was, he had been a gentleman, in every way, like he had promised to be. A handsome, well built, tattoo-covered gentlemen, but a gentlemen nonetheless.

  He had pushed himself in every session, determined to walk by the end of her placement.

  It was a side to Nate that Claire had never seen before. The determination, the kindness. There was no undertone or underlying meaning to his comments, even though she admitted she missed that side to him.

  “I can see the candlelight dinner already,” he joked, steading himself on his feet.

  “You can have all the candles you want if you walk today.”

  He looked at her shocked. “Really?”

  Claire laughed. “No, not really. It’s a date as friends, remember? No candles. No romantic setting. That is, of course, if you walk today.”

  “Oh, I’ll walk all right, and it will be the best date of your life.”

  Classic Nate, still trying to be the charismatic confident guy even when he was faced with one of the hardest physical tasks he’d ever had to do.

  “You’re ready, Nate. It’s time,” she reassured him.

  He took a deep breath and stepped forward slowly, cautiously.

  Claire held her breath. This was the moment. He placed his foot on the ground and stepped with his other leg. Her heart warmed but she held her excitement in, watching him take more steps. His face was hard and concentrated, his muscles held tight and firm.

  A few steps later, and he was at the end of the mat holding onto the bar.

  Claire launched herself around him, hugging him tightly. “You did it!” she squealed.

  He held her tightly with his free arm, panting into her shoulder.

  He did it. He actually did it. She couldn’t believe it. Five weeks ago, he’d come to her uninterested in wanting to walk again, never showing any enthusiasm. Now he had taken his first steps since the accident, independently, because of his perseverance and strength. Proud was the best word to describe how she felt in that moment.

  “I guess you owe me a date,” he breathed into her neck. She could feel his smile against her.

  “I guess I do,” she said happily, still caught up in the moment. Yes, proud was definitely the word, she thought.

  ***

  Nate knocked on Claire’s unit door. He’d told her to be ready by five, leaving her an hour to get home from the clinic to get dressed and ready. Nate had told Claire what she was already wearing would be fine but Claire had insisted on changing.

  He smiled as the door opened. There stood a man in a suit staring at him strangely. Nate’s smile dropped.

  “Who are you?” Nate asked sharply.

  The man stared him up and down. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?”

  “I’m here for Claire.” He didn’t take his eyes off the man. It was almost like a showdown. Who was more of a man?

  “Who is it, Sam?” a woman’s soft voice called from inside.

  “I’m trying to find that out.”

  The man, whose name must be Sam, continued staring at Nate, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Pleassse. I could drop you in two seconds flat, Nate thought. This stare off was getting old.

  “Look, can you just let Claire know I’m here?”

  A woman came into view and stepped beside the man. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Nate.”

  She held her hand out to shake Nate’s. “I’m Stella, Claire’s sister.”

  Nate took her hand and shook it. It was all coming together now. “Oh, so you’re Claire’s sister. Which means…” he pointed at the man. “You’re Tristan.”

  Claire had told him briefly how her sister had fallen in love with a famous singer called Tristan. They’d met at the hotel where Claire and Stella lived. The girls did the night audit shift in exchange for free accommodations, which was a pretty decent arrangement for a uni student. While working one of these shifts Stella had happened to run into Tristan and it was love at first sight…well, so he was told.

  Stella laughed, “No, this is Sam, his security guard. I take it you’ve never heard of Tristan Woods before either?”

  “Do I look like the kind of guy that has?”

  “No, I guess not.” Stella smiled. “So does Claire know you were coming to visit?”

  “Yeah. We’re going on a date.”

  “A date?” Stella asked, clearly shocked.

  Nate nodded, and an awkward silence filled the space between them. Stella just stared at him in disbelief while Sam, still holding his arms across his chest, looked slightly confused as well.

  “You do know she has a boyfriend?” Stella said.

  “Yep, sure do,” Nate replied, adjusting the crutches beneath his arms. Standing in one place for too long made the pressure of the crutches dig into his underarms.

  “Nate is that you?” Claire asked, opening the door up wider and pushing Sam aside.

  “You’re expecting him?” Stella asked, her face appearing more shocked than before.

  Nate couldn’t help but smile. Yeah take that. He knew what people thought of him when they first met him. He didn’t exactly give off a welcoming vibe, especially with tattoos covering his arms. But he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of what Claire’s sister must be thinking.

  “Hey Nate!” Claire said happily turning her attention to Nate.

  “Hey, baby,” Nate said winking at her. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure am.”

  “Can I have a quick word Claire?” Stella asked, grabbing hold of her arm.

  Claire pulled Stella’s hand off her arm. “Now’s not the time, Stella,” Claire warned. “I’ve got a date to get to.”

  “I’m sure Dave, you know, your boyfriend, wouldn’t be happy about this.”

  “Well it’s none of his business, and it’s not yours either,” Claire said sternly. She pushed past them to Nate’s side. “Come on, let’s go,” she said, tugging on his arm.

  “It was great meeting you two,” Nate called to Stella, a smug look on his face.

  He was actually shocked by the turn of events. Claire had just defended going on a date with him. Defended him against her sister.

  “Nice garden by the way,” he said as they walked out of the hotel.

  “What?” Claire replied, looking at him confused.

  “All that gardening you do. I can see it pays off,” he said winking as Claire blushed beetroot red.

  Claire hadn’t meant to speak to h
er sister like that. She was so caught up in all the emotions she felt from the day that she didn’t want Stella reading more into it than she should.

  Claire had finished her very last practical placement ever, Nate was walking again, and now they were going on a date as friends. It was to celebrate, nothing more. She didn’t tell Dave about the date because she didn’t feel like she had to. They were just going as friends and she didn’t want to worry him. It wasn’t lying. It was just easier this way.

  Nate had taken a taxi to her house because he couldn’t drive and was still using crutches so Claire drove them to their destination under Nate’s guidance.

  When they arrived at the empty field, Claire didn’t know what to think. Then, when she spotted what they were going to do, she got so scared she farted a little.

  “We’re going on a hot air balloon ride? At sunset?” Claire couldn’t hide the huge smile on her lips. “Are you serious?”

  “Sure am,” Nate replied smiling at her reaction.

  “This is awesome! But what if I was scared of heights?”

  “Are you?”

  “No.”

  “Didn’t think so, especially since you jumped out of a plane a few weeks ago.”

  Claire turned to him baffled. “But you would have had to book this in advance?”

  “I did. I booked it the day you came to my apartment begging me to come back to therapy,” Nate said proudly.

  Claire laughed, shaking her head. “You cocky bastard.”

  “You know it.” Nate tilted his head towards the basket. “Now come on before it gets dark.”

  “I swear you continue to amaze me every day.”

  “I do my best.”

  Nate manoeuvred himself onto the basket, careful to not hurt is leg. Once safely inside he held out his hand to help Claire step into the basket. She took it without hesitation and jumped inside.

  They both watched in anticipation as the man operating the hot air balloon worked his magic and before they knew it they were flying high in the sky.

  “It’s beautiful up here,” Claire said, watching the sunset of the distant hills. The changing colours of the sky surrounded them, the ambience warm and soft. It was picturesque.