Natalia had just gotten a new job working at a discount tire store, so Kimmie didn’t want to bother her at work. She knew they left the sliding back door unlocked as Natalia was always losing her house keys. Kimmie’s plan was to drop the jacket off in their bedroom with a note and her phone number. She didn’t want to be so presumptuous to think that Natalie and Nick would drop their own plans to hang out with her at the airport, especially since the two of them threw her a surprise farewell dinner at their apartment the night before. Nick had made these amazing tacos (though he weirdly didn’t eat any himself) and Natalia made them fun cocktails out of Hawaiian Punch, Red Bull, and wine coolers. Kimmie was surprised about the wine cooler part because they weren’t supposed to drink. But Kimmie didn’t say anything about it, and neither did they.

Kimmie had just left Natalia’s jacket on the bed and tucked the letter into the pocket when she heard Nick shouting from the living room. Panicked, Kimmie ran to the closet to hide. After a few more seconds, Kimmie realized it wasn’t Nick and Natalia fighting but Nick and someone else, a man, someone older.

The walls were thin and cheap, and Kimmie could hear pretty much everything they were saying. Listening, she put together that the second voice was Nick’s father. Now she knew why Nick drove such an expensive dad car: he had stolen his dad’s and driven it across the country. Nick kept shouting for his dad to take the damn car, that he didn’t need it anyway. His dad asked if he even had a job. Yes. Was he using drugs? No. And who’s this girl, Natasha? Natalia, and there’s no way I’m leaving the love of my life to go back to New York when there’s nothing for me there.