Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 22

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Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 22

Nick shrugged. “All right, all right. I’ll look it up.” He handed Eli a knife, handle first.
Eli took it and carefully dried the blade. “All I’m saying is there’s a limit to how much I want to
give of myself. It’s not me being a coward; it’s how I learned to get by. You’d understand if you
just—ugh.”
“If I just what?” Nick couldn’t help the defensiveness welling inside him; he wanted to try. If Eli
would let him.
“I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. Like, Mom and Dad took me by the old school earlier and I
felt so… helpless.” He planted both hands on the counter, his shoulders hiking up to his ears.
“Like I was a scared little kid all over again. Like I wanted to scream at the whole damn place to
leave me alone.”
“Okay,” Nick said. He thought about that for a moment. “After we finish up here, do you want to
go on a drive? Confront some demons?” They could stand outside the gates and have a good,
cathartic outpouring.
Eli looked him up and down as if he was considering. “You’re really up for that?”
“Sure. Why not?” Any excuse to keep Eli in his orbit, even for another hour or two.
A smile spread across Eli’s face. “Okay, wow. Dinner and demons. You sure know how to make a
guy feel special.”
It was a joke because it was always a joke, so Nick laughed along as he watched the dishwater
go down the drain.