Two days later [two days after chapter 10]
Nathan sat outside the Roe family house, watching as Martha's car pulled up into the driveway. He sighed, knowing that he would never have the love from his father that Lucas had from his step-father.
He glanced up as Martha came near the house, but she didn't say hello or even talk to him, she simply made her way up the steps. Nathan sank a little lower in the mud, not caring he was getting one of his outfits dirty. He was in a rotten mood. After he'd remembered the information about the coach's house, Karen and Jamie had talked to Martha and the police, both of whom were here now.
And he was outside, freezing his ass off, and being cold. He wasn't happy, but he didn't want to go in. Jamie hadn't made him eat breakfast this morning, much to Nathan's disappointment. It wasn't as if Nathan was so hungry, but he enjoyed being cared for. "Hey," a voice greeted him. "What are you doing out here in the mud?"
"Peyton?" Nathan asked, glancing up. "Hey," he said, scooting over. She sat down with him, pulling her winter jacket a little tighter.
"It's muddy in this spot, Nathan. Why are you out here freezing when everyone else is inside?"
"I think Jamie gave up on caring about me when he found out there was a chance he could get Lucas back," Nathan whispered softly, looking out at the house across the street, avoiding Peyton's eyes.
"That's not true, Nathan," Peyton replied firmly. If anything, she knew Jamie had only gotten more worried about Nathan's lack of self-esteem. In school, Nathan was often aggravating with his I'm-better-than-you-attitude, but Peyton knew that was just a cover-up for his own insecurity. "He called me to come check up on you."
"Why can't he just do it himself?" Nathan demanded in a hurt voice. "All he wants to do is quote 'make sure Social Services doesn't breathe down his ass' or something to that regard. He doesn't care if I eat or play basketball or sports or – Peyton, I don't think he cares at all. And Karen's either at the café or at the police station; I don't think she's said anything to me since she's picked me up. They hate me!"
Peyton took a deep breath. "Listen, Nathan, that's not true and you know it, so stop being so hard on yourself or blaming Jamie and Karen for things they didn't do! Jamie called me this morning to get me to talk to you and to come get you to eat breakfast at the café. Karen has picked you up and driven you to school every morning you've wanted to go! Jamie called me to try to understand why you won't eat, because he's worried you'll starve yourself to death before you'll eat in front of him! Incase you haven't noticed, Jamie didn't make you eat supper or lunch yesterday was because I did, and he knew it!"
Nathan stared at his girlfriend in shock, wondering how he'd missed that and forgotten that Karen had driven him to school. Usually, he rode the bus, but ever since Tim had teased him about living with Lucas, he didn't want to face Tim and had been avoiding him. "Damn, Peyton," he replied, rolling his eyes, "Why didn't you tell me all this twenty minutes ago? I would have been inside instead of freezing out here in the cold!"
"Hey, don't get all haughty on me, mister," Peyton replied, glad to see her boyfriend was somewhat back to normal. "Don't forget, you still owe me a date."
"I do?" Nathan asked, looking at her. Not that he would ever turn down a date with his girlfriend.
"Yes, you do," Peyton said with a flirty smile. "Because I'm asking you to one, right now. What say we go to Karen's café and snag ourselves breakfast?"
--
"I need to make an offer to you," Dan said to the coach, sitting down in the chair.
"An offer?" The coach asked, raising one eyebrow. He was not impressed with the man's fatherly system—Michael would barely talk to him and the kid was what, 16? "What do you want?"
Dan smiled with a flourish. "How much do you make on a coach's salary?"
"Thirty thousand." The coach knew he could make better money elsewhere, but he enjoyed working with the children—teens—here.
"I'll double it," Dan replied, "if you report to me anything my son says."
"What did you say?" The coach demanded, getting up from his seat, ready to choke the man around the neck. "Explain again, please—I didn't hear you."
"I said," Dan replied, "I will double your coach's salary for one year if you agree to report to me anything my son says."
"Are you trying to bribe me?" The coach demanded, growing angrier by the minute. "Should I be worried by some of the things Michael says? Is he a pathological liar, or does he just skateboard a lot? If I go in your home, would I even find a skateboard?"
"My son has problems with telling little white lies," Dan replied. "I want to know if he's been saying any. So I'll pay you."
"Absolutely not," the coach replied, furious at the man's stupidity. "Listen, you may not know it, but before I coached this school, I went to law school and I was a lawyer. I decided that I didn't like cases, so I quit. And started working here. So don't you dare tell me about money. But since I'm a lawyer, I'm bound to confidentiality. I am not breaking that agreement. What your son says to me is private, and it'll be up to me to decide whether it's true or not. And why the hell are you trying to bribe me? Is there something you need to hide?" he asked, looking at the man. "Is there something you're afraid of?"
"Nothing, I just would like to know what my son says," Dan replied smoothly. "If that's all, I'll be going now."
"No," the coach replied, blocking the door, crossing his arms so his 6'5 height matched Dan's. "I'll be watching you."
--
Sighing, Jamie glanced at his wristwatch. "Crap," he muttered, closing his eyes. "I forgot to tell Nathan I invited Peyton over."
"I'm sure she'll let him know," Karen responded with a grin. She really did like Peyton.
"He didn't eat any breakfast yesterday because I didn't make him, Karen. He seems so sure that I'll beat him up for not following my direct orders. I thought we had made some progress, but the realization he might know where Lucas was really set him back."
"He'll make it out okay, Jamie." Karen sighed as she pushed her hair back. "Martha found the house Nathan was talking about."
"And?"
"Whoever was living there moved out two days ago… Some person named 'Mr. Royal'," Karen replied with a frown. "There was a sixteen-year-old found in the house, abandoned, locked in the closet. There's other news, too."
"What's the other news?"
"The sixteen year old matched Lucas' description."
