Escaping Grace

"What did you do?" I hissed, slamming my hand down on the table.
Nate stared at me, a chip halfway to his mouth. We were in the studio kitchen, just us, and I knew it was him who had texted Andy the other day. I'd left my phone in here to charge, and Nate had been the only one here. And he was the only one who texted with all the squiggle lines ~~~.
"What do you mean?" Nate just stared at me innocently.
"You know what I mean! Why did you text Andy saying I wanted a break? Don't you lie to me, Nathaniel Faye!"
Nate winced, and recoiled from me as I yelled at him. "I ---I didn't! Really!" he whimpered, chambering to his feet. "I swear!"
"NATE!"
"Okay," he burst, backed up against the whiteboard behins him. "Okay, I did it."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why?"
"Because!" he glanced anxiously at the door. "Because --- I want it to be the way it used to be."
"What?" I frowned at him. "Everything is fine."
"No! The way it was when it was all of us and Xavier. We used to have so much fun, Leah." he was doing his pouty face. "And Andy isnt... He's not fun, he's not even nice."
"It's because you're always doing such childish things like this, Nate! How could you do that to me?" I was so hurt. I felt like he had betrayed me just for his own whims.
"I was trying to help!"
"You were ruining everything for me!" I shouted at him, and grabbed his bag of chips. I threw them at him, but he ducked, the chips making a satisfying crunching noise as they smacked against the wall behind him. "You can't let anyone be happy, can you?"
"Why are you yelling at me? You don't really care about him! You're only with him for the gig and you know it!"
I grabbed a soda can and hurled it. Purple soda smashed against the wall, showering Nates blue shirt.
"That's not true and you know it!"
"Is too! You slept with him, and now we've got a tour. Great." Nate rolled his eyes. "But cut him loose! Or do you wanna string him along like you did Xavier?"
I narrowed my eyes, and went to stalk around the table. He scurried back towards the door, putting the table between us.
"Don't you come near me when you're mad! I already learned my lesson!"
"Apparently you didn't! Nate, how can you say those things?" I was really hurt. Nate was one of my best friends, and he thought so lowly of me? I'd been with Andy for months now and, and ---.
"What do you even care? You've been ignoring me for months anyway!" he had a wounded expression on his face. "You never wanna hang out, you're always busy. All of you are! You're all too busy for me!"
"Is that what this is about?" I demanded furiously. I could feel the heat rising. "You're lonely? You're lonely so you want to ruin it for everyone else? You --- fuck you, Nate. Just fuck you!"
I threw a bottle of water at him. He ducked, and grabbed a chair defensively.
I grabbed the next thing I could throw.
"What the hell --- What is going on in here?" Craig suddenly bellowed as he stepped into the room. "Put down the toaster, Leah!"
I sat it down slowly.
"What is wrong with you kids?" he demanded, glancing between the two of us as Nate slowly rose. "Why are you two fighting now?"
"She started it!" Nab stabbed a traitorous finger at me.
"I did not!" I burst. "He's being an ass!"
"Because you're ---."
"Enough!" Craig suddenly shouted, and we both looked at him. "Both of you go home for the day, understand? I will not have you fighting or destroying things in this studio, and so help me I better not see this happen again, am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," we mumbled, slightly abashed.
Now Nate wasn't the only one being childish.
I glared at him.
I would never trust him again.
From now on, we were strictly band mates. The end.
And I made that perfectly clear to him as we stood in the elevator going down.

Notes