Chapter 3
"Guys, I'm home! And I brought company over!" Steph called out as she stepped inside the house from the back door, Nate following behind her. She turned her head back and smiled at him. "How do you like it?"
"It's really nice. You guys must really be clean freaks." Nate commented as he looked around the kitchen, which made Steph giggle a touch.
"Oh, you don't know the half of it." She rolled her eyes before leading them to the living room. She motioned to the couch. "Sit down, please. Would you like a drink or something?"
Nate nodded and took a seat on the couch, cupping his hands on his lap. "Sure, I'd like that."
Steph smiled softly and went back to the kitchen to get drinks for the both of them. This left Nate to just sit and take in the surroundings, admiring the interior decorating. He then heard a set of footsteps come down from the steps behind him. He looked over, seeing Steph's older sister, Donna Jo, known affectionately as "DJ", walk down.
"Hi." DJ greeted. "Are you one of Stephanie's friends?"
"Yes, I am. I'm Nate." He stood up and smiled at her. "And you must be her older sister...DJ, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you." The two of them shook hands. Steph walked into the kitchen, holding two glasses of iced tea in her hands. She handed one to Nate.
"So, you're just mingling with the family?" The middle Tanner girl teased. "You should show me your home sometime."
Nate shrugged his shoulders. "Not much to show...It's only me and my dad living together." He admitted with a half smile. Steph nodded slowly in understanding. DJ left the living room, noticing the somewhat sad tone in his voice.
"C'mon, I wanna show you around some more." Steph took him by the arm and lead them upstairs and to her bedroom, which she shared with her little sister, Michelle. She smiled over at the younger girl, who was laying on her bed, reading a book. "Hey, Michelle. I want you to meet someone."
Michelle looked up and saw Nate. She instantly smiled. "You're Nate, right?"
"Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you, Michelle." He flashed a smile of his own. Michelle nodded and smirked over at her older sister.
"You're right, Steph. He is cute." She said slyly. Nate instantly blushed in pleased embarrassment, Steph's face glowing red in a not so pleased embarrassment. "Um, I think I'll leave right now."
"Good plan." Steph rolled her eyes as she watched her little sister exit the room. She then took a seat on her bed. "Come sit down, Nate..."
The young male sat down on the edge of the bed beside Steph and cupped his hands in his lap, unsure of what to say. The uncomfortable silence was one thing Nate really couldn't stand but wasn't sure of how to fix it.
"Whatever happened to your mom?" Steph asked softly.
Nate hesitated before speaking. "I don't want to talk about it...If it's all the same with you."
"Oh, yeah, of course." Steph waved her hand dismissively. "I know how you feel."
"You do?" Nate arched a brow.
Steph nodded slowly. "My mom died when I was really little..." She said quietly. Those words hit too close to home for Nate. He took a breath and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's okay, you didn't know." The subject of her mother was a sore subject for Steph, but she was old enough now that she was able to take control of her negative emotions. She ran a hand through her hair and looked up at Nate with a sad smile. "You don't want to hear about my problems."
"No, I do...Besides, I have no where else to go." Nate smiled and patted the spot on the couch beside him. "Take a seat and tell me about it..."
With a sigh, Steph went over to the couch and sat down beside him. "It's like this...Sometime after my little sister, Michelle, was born, my mother was driving home from work. She had to work real late that day...A man was driving drunk that night and hit my mother's car. She was sent right to the emergency room." She swallowed hard, trying to fight back the tears coming on. "We got a call from the hospital a while later, saying she was pronounced dead..."
Nate swallowed a lump he felt in his throat; he didn't know that someone else went through similar troubles that he did. All this time he had always thought about himself and never others when it came to personal troubles. Reaching over, Nate ran his hand over Steph's back in small circles in a comforting matter. "I'm sorry...I had no idea. I..."
"You what?" Steph arched a brow over at him, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"It's nothing...It's nothing." Nate said softly. He smiled sadly over at her. "So...You still want to come to my volleyball game tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow's fine with me." She replied. She then smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Nate...For being so supportive." Steph reached in, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle hug. Nate, taken aback by this sudden show of affection, returned the embrace, pulling her closer to him. The peaceful moment was shattered, however, when another voice spoke up from the doorway.
"Oooh..." Michelle said slyly, leaning against the doorway.
"Michelle..." Steph eyed her little sister threateningly, reluctantly making her way out of Nate's arms.
"I'm going, I'm going." The smallest Tanner daughter rolled her eyes and made her way down the hall, leaving the two alone. Nate stood up from the bed and looked at his wristwatch.
"I better get home. My dad hates it when I'm late." He stated. He smiled down at Steph. "So, tomorrow?"
"I'll be there. And if I'm lucky I'll drag the others to come with." Steph promised, returning his smile.
"Awesome. I'll see ya then." Nate grinned wider and stepped out of the room, leaving her there with the biggest smile that ever made her way to her lips.
