Happy Wednesday! Busy day—the kids had a big track event at camp, which I went to watch. Sadly, that meant no writing or editing or beta reading today, at least not so far. I got extra done on Monday, but I’ve now lost two days’ worth of work due to post-activity fatigue. I’m hoping to make up for it tomorrow.
On to the WIPpet. Directly after last week’s, and Nate…well, his heart is in the right place, but he doesn’t always have a lot of tact. Plus he can’t seem to decide if Jamie is a delicate butterfly in need of freeing or if he’s simply choosing poorly. (Note: he’s referencing something which happened in Anthem, but it’s not vital to the main plot of either story.)
WIPmath: 7/27/2016 = 2 + 7 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 6 – 7 = 11 paragraphs
Jamie relaxed visibly and ran a shaking hand through his hair.
“Thanks,” he said.
“He’s an ass,” Nate remarked.
“Please don’t,” Jamie snapped, his posture abruptly changing. “You don’t understand.”
“Understand what? I have no idea what you were arguing about, but damn it, Jamie, it gets old.”
“Oh? I’m sorry my life is ruining yours.” Jamie pushed past Nate and took off down the hallway to his room. He slammed the door, leaving Nate alone in the kitchen.
Nate closed his eyes and breathed slowly. Great. Another friendship on the verge of collapse because he simply couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He thought about Trevor and the mess he’d created there by accidentally-on-purpose outing him in a public and humiliating way. It had worked itself out, but it would be a long time before he could reconstruct their trust again. Now here he was, hurting Jamie too.
He smacked his hand on the counter. Enough was enough. He wouldn’t lose someone else because of his overdeveloped sense of what was right. Nate went to Jamie’s room and knocked on the door.
“What do you want?” Jamie asked.
“I want to make sure you’re okay. I’m sorry I was a jerk just now.”
A moment later, Jamie opened the door. They stood there, Jamie craning his neck to look up at Nate, who was a good ten inches taller. Jamie’s eyes were red-rimmed. Nate put a hand on Jamie’s arm and squeezed gently. He let go, and with a nod, Jamie stepped back into his room and closed the door with a soft click. If Nate’s eyes misted over too, no one else needed to know.
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Aww. Nate’s heart seems to be in the right place, but he’s a bit of a bull in a china shop, by the looks of it.
I’ve got Anthem on my Kindle, ready to read. 🙂 Now, where did I put those few extra hours I stashed for a rainy day…
Ha! That’s an accurate description of Nate.
I hope you like Anthem! It’s the one I’m most proud of. I did battle with the manuscript because I kept resisting the direction it wanted to go. I found the same thing with Nightsong. I’m thinking the next one should be easier (Jamie’s story) because the big thing I had to change already showed up when I outlined. Unless there’s more (dear god, I hope not). Anyway, Anthem was born out of my deep, deep dislike of “praise and worship” music, and I can’t help occasionally being a bit of a smartass.
Aw, Nate. Some people just don’t like to hear the person they’ve chosen to be with is an ass. Even if it’s the truth. Hope he doesn’t mess this friendship up.
For sure. Jamie knows it, he just doesn’t want someone else to say it. Nate’s trying not to mess things up again.
I like the emotions you developed in this passage, and I like Nate. I can feel his sense of wanting to do the right thing.
Shalom aleichem,
Patricia
Thanks! 🙂
Jamie is a good friend.
Jamie? Or Nate? They both are, in different ways. Jamie is pretty forgiving, and he does know Nate’s heart is in the right place.
Great emotional snippet. Poor Nate needs to learn to think before he acts doesn’t he?
Ha! Well, that pretty much sums him up for the entire story, actually.
“Enough was enough. He wouldn’t lose someone else because of his overdeveloped sense of what was right.” … that’s like me in a nutshell lol although I’m not as stupid as Nate in some situations, just saying.
I love that Nate is getting closer with some of the other guys, especially after all the drama in Anthem with him. =P
Heh, yeah. Nate’s resolved to be a better friend this time around, since he did so much damage before.
Oh, how I can sympathize with Nate here… This is SO how I am with people. Important, imho, to at least be honest… though I do TRY to not hurt people’s feelings.
Thing is… I can’t feel much sympathy for Jaimie’s hurt feelings here. Seems to me that Nate’s the one who is really being left to “deal with the pain”. 🙁
I tend to be very much like Nate as well, though I try not to overstep.
Jamie’s feelings are only hurt because he knows Nate’s right. But Nate probably could have phrased it better rather than coming across like he’s tired of coping with Jamie’s problems (even if he is).
True, Nate was a bit… brusque. But that’s partly why I feel that Jamie is being unfair to expect Nate to apologize (and it’s quite clear that he did, at least to me)…
Just a lot of pain going around. 🙁 I’m glad Nate got a hug though. 🙂
Ah, yeah. I don’t know if Jamie really expected an apology, but Nate is offering one because he feels responsible. Now if only Jamie would learn that he can trust them, even when they’re being more direct than he’d prefer!
Ah… Maybe it’s the lack of trust that I interpreted wrong.
Maybe. Jamie trusts no one’s intentions. He’s been burned too many times. 🙁