Chapter 127

Thanksgiving Day

“I’m gonna go make a quick call, I’ll be right back,” she smiled before making her way out the door and onto the deck.

They were spending the first half of the day at Jared’s parents house, once they finished here, they‘d be going to her Mom‘s for the second half. They had just finished dinner and were relaxing a bit. Veronica figured she’d take the time to make a quick call. She looked out across the spacious yard and took a deep breath. Things between her and Jared had been strained at best. She knew he was trying to understand, trying to be patient, and she was thankful. She also knew though, that it was getting harder and harder for him to wait, and Veronica knew it wasn’t just about sex, but like he’d said before, anytime he tried to get close to her, she shut down. She tried hard to relax, to get past that feeling, that uneasiness. It wasn’t working though.

Sighing, she pulled her phone out of her purse, flipping it open and pressing a single button to dial a number.

“Hello?”

“Happy Thanksgiving!”

“Veronica! Happy Thanksgiving to you too!”

“Thanks, how are you Nick? What’s going on?”

“Not much, just relaxing before the concert, you know how it goes.”

“Mmm, is there anything special going on with you all?”

“Well they’re gonna have a turkey dinner and all and that kinda thing, but that’s about it.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah, how bout you?”

“Well right now I’m at Jared’s parents, we just had dinner and we’re hanging out before we head over to my Mom’s.”

“Whoa, you never told me you met his parents.”

“Yeah, I met them once before earlier in the month.”

“Sounds pretty serious.”

She shrugged, “I guess.”

Nick blinked, “You guess?”

“Yeah…” she sighed, staring hard at the ground.

“Veronica, is everything ok?”

No, everything wasn’t ok, but what was she supposed to say to him? She couldn’t very well go into the details of her relationship with Jared, she was sure he didn’t want to hear it for one.

“Yeah, everything is fine Nick.”

“You sound so sad baby,” he replied softly.

A sad smile crossed her lips, “Nah, I’m cool.”

“Well hey, give me a call later and we’ll talk ok, when you’re alone.”

She nodded, “Yeah ok,”

“Aight good, I gotta go sweetie, but we’ll talk later.”

“Ok, tell the guys and everyone I said hi and happy thanks.”

“I will, bye V.”

“Bye,” She flipped the phone closed, rubbing at her forehead, sighing heavily.

“Hey…”

She looked up quickly, smiling, “Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“Just wishing a friend a happy thanks,” she held up her phone.

Jared stared at her phone a moment before looking up at her, “Was it Nick?”

Veronica looked away, “Yeah.”

He cocked his head to the side, staring at her thoughtfully, “You guys are pretty close huh?”

“We’re just friends Jared, I told you that.”

“So you have, but that’s all you’ve told me.”

“Yeah well, there’s not much else to tell.”

“Are you sure about that Veronica?” Jared asked softly.

“Yes.”

“I’m not.”

She looked up at him suddenly, “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean there’s something about you and Nick that you’re not telling me Veronica, I can feel it.”

She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants suddenly, “Me and Nick have always just been friends, nothing more, nothing less.”

Jared continued to stare at her.

“Nothing could’ve happened if either of us had ever wanted it to, you have nothing to worry about,” she finished, turning and heading back into the house.

Jared watched her leave, his heart dropping. He looked away, sighing heavily, feeling decidedly resigned.