“That was another love story that ended in tragedy,” I pointed out.
“But yours doesn’t have to,” Sophie said firmly. “Because I happen to believe that Natalie loves you just as much as you love her. It was different for Mom and Dad. Mom…if she ever loved Dad, it faded over the years. She wanted other things in life, and he wasn’t one of them. But you and Natalie… It’s meant to be.”
“And you know all this because?”
“Because she told me.”
“Who told you what?” I demanded.
“Natalie,” Sophie replied. “She told me how much she loved you. She admitted to me that you were the love of her life, her first love, and…”
“And?” I asked, desperately clinging to the words as though I would suffocate without them.
“She hoped you would be her last.”
I breathed out slowly. “Oh.”
“She made me promise not to tell you that,” Sophie said. “She thought it might freak you out.”
“Oh,” I said again, not knowing what else to say.
“Is that what happened?” she asked. “She wanted to take things to the next level, and you freaked out?”
“No,” I said firmly. “That’s not what h
appened.”
Sophie sighed. “Tommy misses you,” she said. “He misses Natalie, too.”
“Tell him I’ll see him soon,” I said.
“You’re different without Natalie… You know that, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“She softens you,” Sophie explained. “She makes you nicer than you really are.”
I frowned. “Gee thanks.”
She made no apologies. “You’re my brother, and I love you. But I also have to be honest with you. As a person, Chance, you can be…cold. There’s a distance you create with people that keeps them at arm’s length. You’ve been doing it since Mom left.
“But with Natalie, she bridges that distance you’ve created. She makes you…more accessible, warmer. You realize that you’d barely had a conversation with your nephew before Natalie entered the picture, right?”
She was right, and I knew it. Which made the reality of my situation that much harder. Natalie was perfect for me. She was the yin to my yang, and that had never made much sense to me until just now. She made up for all my flaws, she covered up my weaknesses, and she made up for all the qualities I lacked. She was my soul mate, and I had been forced to break her heart and drive her away.
“I have to go.”
“Oh, Chance,” Sophie sighed. “I wish you would just talk to me.”
“I will one day,” I promised. “But right now…there’s an empty barstool out there with my name on it.”
Before Sophie could interject, I said goodbye and hung up. Then I grabbed my coat and headed to Oasis. I wasn’t exactly sure why I was going there of all places. It was where I had first met Natalie, but then again maybe that was precisely why I wanted to go there. I wanted to bask in my memories of her because apparently, I was a sucker for pain.
As usual, the bar was crawling with people when I arrived. Luckily, I managed to find an empty stool because everyone was dancing. I ordered a couple of beers and sipped moodily, trying to drown out the laughter and chatter that choked the air around me. I had just started on my second beer when I felt someone tap at my shoulder.
“Well, well,” Lindsey smiled. “Fancy running into you here.”
“Lindsey.” I nodded.