you’d known nate for years, having been friends since childhood. your mom knew his before either of you were born, and therefore it was practically impossible for you not to be friends.

that doesn’t mean you didn’t have issues. he had plenty of his own. and you had yours. but somehow it just worked for you to be friends. he was nice to you in a way he wasn’t with other people.

all of that changed when he started dating maddy, though. you didn’t like her and she didn’t like you. it had been that way before nate even dated her, but apparently your constant droning on about how immature and petty she was throughout the late hours of the night to nate didn’t ever really stick with him.

you stopped talking to nate while he was dating maddy. maddy thought it was because you’d been in love with nate or something, but the truth was you just couldn’t bare to hear him talk about her anymore. you hated her.

but then they broke up. over something you don’t even really remember. and now it’s like nothing ever happened. you’re friends again.

you know things about him he’d never tell anyone else. about his dad. about how his dad practically abused him.

it had happened before. it wasn’t the first time you’d seen it. maybe that’s why cal, nate’s dad, didn’t really seem to care if you saw it happen. he knew nate would find some way to keep you from ever telling anyone what you saw.

that doesn’t mean you just expected it to be happening every time you walked across the street from your house to his.

but it did.

you heard the sounds of nate’s screaming and crying from the moment you walked in the door.

by the time you were upstairs, cal had already moved to his office, the door shut behind him. nate’s bedroom door was open, and you could see him from the stairs.

he was crying, but he was screaming too. tossing around on the floor in just his boxers, slamming his fists against the floor. he didn’t even see you, let alone hear you.

carefully, you made your way towards him.