JackBAI/bert_pretrain_datasets · Datasets at Hugging Face

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i stand in shock for a moment .
i knew that conversation was n't going to be fun , but i did n't think he 'd turn on me like that , as though i were attacking pierce , or something .
i turn back toward the crowd just as the finale begins and the sky lights up .
i glance at the people around me , their faces upturned , their expressions joyous .
maybe it was silly of me to look forward to everyone leaving .
because now i realize that tomorrow , it will be back to the four of us alone in the house-and no buffer zone .
my eyes fall on pierce and i realize he 's staring at me .
he smiles quickly when he realizes that i 'm looking at him , and leads the applause as the last firework dies out .
chapter fourteen i was half-worried that the plan was for all four of us to watch the tv program together , but thankfully there 's no such expectation .
or at least , i have n't been told of it .
it 's the first time in a while my mom has n't insisted on a family dinner .
she 's been holed up in her room most of the day , while pierce fields calls from his attorneys in his study .
i decide to grab some leftover pasta from the fridge to eat in my room , and peer into nate 's room as i pass .
no sign of him .
i shut my door behind me and open my computer to check out some of the coverage online .
i feel nauseous as i read the woman 's claims , though slightly relieved that she is n't accusing pierce of any kind of violence .
she talks mostly about lingering touches , shoulder massages , and being stonewalled by management when she complained .
i finish eating and click around the internet for a while , feeling restless .
when i ca n't stand my boredom any longer , i take my plate and walk back down to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher .
the phone on the counter rings as i 'm headed past it .
i pause for a moment , waiting to see if someone else is going to answer it .
what if it 's a reporter ?
do i just say 'no comment , ' like they do on tv ?
on the third ring , i decide to bite the bullet .
`` hello ? ''
`` hi , is nate there ? ''
a female voice asks breathlessly .
ah , another admirer .
`` sorry , i do n't think he is , '' i reply honestly .
`` can i take a message ? ''
there 's a slight pause .
`` is this holly ? ''
`` no , this is her daughter , brynn .
may i ask who 's calling ? ''
there 's another long pause , and i begin to feel uneasy .
`` it 's eileen ... nate 's mom . ''
i almost drop the phone in surprise .
`` oh , um , i don't- '' `` wait !
please , please do n't hang up .
i just saw the news , and thought that nate might be willing to talk to me now . ''
`` i do n't understand . ''
`` because he 'll know the truth about pierce , and then maybe he wo n't believe whatever he says about me . ''
`` i 'm sorry , i do n't think i should be in the middle of this . ''
whatever it is .
`` please , please ... '' i hear her gasp and the clear sound of crying .
`` i have n't talked to nate in so long ... he 's my son , he 's my son . ''
`` but you chose to leave him ... '' `` is that what pierce told you ? ''
`` no , nate . ''
`` he heard it from pierce .
i left pierce because he was cheating on me .
but pierce is used to having everything his own way , and he was furious .
he was the one with the money , i came into the marriage with nothing , and signed a pre-nup .
i mean , i barely even looked at the thing at the time-i thought we 'd be together forever .
he had an expensive lawyer and managed to get full custody in the divorce .
i never had a chance .
i 've been trying to get in touch with nate for years to tell him the truth ... i left pierce , not nate .
i would never leave my son .
i never would have divorced pierce , even though he was cheating on me , if i had known i 'd never see my son again .
i thought after seeing this woman on tv , maybe he 'd believe me ... '' she dissolves into sobs .
`` eileen , eileen , it 's ok , '' i whisper , feeling sick .
something about what she 's telling me rings true .
i can feel it in my gut .
`` i want to help you , but ... nate , he 's really touchy about his father .
i do n't know what i can do . ''
`` i know , and i 'm sorry to put this on you .
i call the house now and then trying to get nate , and i was just hoping that he would pick up tonight and not hang up on me . ''
a sound behind me makes me fly around .
pierce is standing in the doorway to the dining room .
`` everything ok ? ''
he asks .
`` yep , everything 's fine , pierce , '' i reply so that eileen can hear me .
`` just take down my number , alright ? ''
eileen says quietly .
`` please , just tell him what i said . ''
i write the number down on a small notepad on the counter , conscious that pierce is watching me .
`` got it , thanks .
talk to you later , '' i say , and hang up .
`` not a reporter , i hope , '' pierce says with a sad smile .
`` no , just a friend , '' i reply as nonchalantly as possible , and rip the paper off the pad and stuff it in my pocket .
`` god , this has been the longest day of my life , '' he says with a sigh , running his fingers through his hair .
`` i hope you and your mom do n't get dragged into anything .
there might be some reporters hanging out by the gate tomorrow .
probably best to just avoid them . ''
`` sure , no problem . ''
he looks so tired , and i find myself quickly feeling sorry for him .
he seems so genuine right now that it 's hard to believe what eileen and this other woman are saying about him .
the man in front of me paints such a different picture .
`` on the other hand , though , i 'm glad that you and your mom are here right now .
maybe it 's selfish of me .
but i do n't think i 'd make it through all this without her .
she 's really brought light back into my life . ''
`` she 's ... yeah , she 's great , '' i reply awkwardly .
`` are you having a good time at the internship ?
not too much busy work , i hope . ''
`` no , not at all , pierce .
it 's wonderful , thank you . ''
he nods .
`` well , i better get back to work .
you 'd think i 'd have gotten a lot done , considering how long i 've been in there , but i 've just been staring at the wall . ''
`` oh , well , i 'll see you tomorrow then . ''

i stand in shock for a moment .

i knew that conversation was n't going to be fun , but i did n't think he 'd turn on me like that , as though i were attacking pierce , or something .

i turn back toward the crowd just as the finale begins and the sky lights up .

i glance at the people around me , their faces upturned , their expressions joyous .

maybe it was silly of me to look forward to everyone leaving .

because now i realize that tomorrow , it will be back to the four of us alone in the house-and no buffer zone .

my eyes fall on pierce and i realize he 's staring at me .

he smiles quickly when he realizes that i 'm looking at him , and leads the applause as the last firework dies out .

chapter fourteen i was half-worried that the plan was for all four of us to watch the tv program together , but thankfully there 's no such expectation .

or at least , i have n't been told of it .

it 's the first time in a while my mom has n't insisted on a family dinner .

she 's been holed up in her room most of the day , while pierce fields calls from his attorneys in his study .

i decide to grab some leftover pasta from the fridge to eat in my room , and peer into nate 's room as i pass .

no sign of him .

i shut my door behind me and open my computer to check out some of the coverage online .

i feel nauseous as i read the woman 's claims , though slightly relieved that she is n't accusing pierce of any kind of violence .

she talks mostly about lingering touches , shoulder massages , and being stonewalled by management when she complained .

i finish eating and click around the internet for a while , feeling restless .

when i ca n't stand my boredom any longer , i take my plate and walk back down to the kitchen and put it in the dishwasher .

the phone on the counter rings as i 'm headed past it .

i pause for a moment , waiting to see if someone else is going to answer it .

what if it 's a reporter ?

do i just say 'no comment , ' like they do on tv ?

on the third ring , i decide to bite the bullet .

`` hello ? ''

`` hi , is nate there ? ''

a female voice asks breathlessly .

ah , another admirer .

`` sorry , i do n't think he is , '' i reply honestly .

`` can i take a message ? ''

there 's a slight pause .

`` is this holly ? ''

`` no , this is her daughter , brynn .

may i ask who 's calling ? ''

there 's another long pause , and i begin to feel uneasy .

`` it 's eileen ... nate 's mom . ''

i almost drop the phone in surprise .

`` oh , um , i don't- '' `` wait !

please , please do n't hang up .

i just saw the news , and thought that nate might be willing to talk to me now . ''

`` i do n't understand . ''

`` because he 'll know the truth about pierce , and then maybe he wo n't believe whatever he says about me . ''

`` i 'm sorry , i do n't think i should be in the middle of this . ''

whatever it is .

`` please , please ... '' i hear her gasp and the clear sound of crying .

`` i have n't talked to nate in so long ... he 's my son , he 's my son . ''

`` but you chose to leave him ... '' `` is that what pierce told you ? ''

`` no , nate . ''

`` he heard it from pierce .

i left pierce because he was cheating on me .

but pierce is used to having everything his own way , and he was furious .

he was the one with the money , i came into the marriage with nothing , and signed a pre-nup .

i mean , i barely even looked at the thing at the time-i thought we 'd be together forever .

he had an expensive lawyer and managed to get full custody in the divorce .

i never had a chance .

i 've been trying to get in touch with nate for years to tell him the truth ... i left pierce , not nate .

i would never leave my son .

i never would have divorced pierce , even though he was cheating on me , if i had known i 'd never see my son again .

i thought after seeing this woman on tv , maybe he 'd believe me ... '' she dissolves into sobs .

`` eileen , eileen , it 's ok , '' i whisper , feeling sick .

something about what she 's telling me rings true .

i can feel it in my gut .

`` i want to help you , but ... nate , he 's really touchy about his father .

i do n't know what i can do . ''

`` i know , and i 'm sorry to put this on you .

i call the house now and then trying to get nate , and i was just hoping that he would pick up tonight and not hang up on me . ''

a sound behind me makes me fly around .

pierce is standing in the doorway to the dining room .

`` everything ok ? ''

he asks .

`` yep , everything 's fine , pierce , '' i reply so that eileen can hear me .

`` just take down my number , alright ? ''

eileen says quietly .

`` please , just tell him what i said . ''

i write the number down on a small notepad on the counter , conscious that pierce is watching me .

`` got it , thanks .

talk to you later , '' i say , and hang up .

`` not a reporter , i hope , '' pierce says with a sad smile .

`` no , just a friend , '' i reply as nonchalantly as possible , and rip the paper off the pad and stuff it in my pocket .

`` god , this has been the longest day of my life , '' he says with a sigh , running his fingers through his hair .

`` i hope you and your mom do n't get dragged into anything .

there might be some reporters hanging out by the gate tomorrow .

probably best to just avoid them . ''

`` sure , no problem . ''

he looks so tired , and i find myself quickly feeling sorry for him .

he seems so genuine right now that it 's hard to believe what eileen and this other woman are saying about him .

the man in front of me paints such a different picture .

`` on the other hand , though , i 'm glad that you and your mom are here right now .

maybe it 's selfish of me .

but i do n't think i 'd make it through all this without her .

she 's really brought light back into my life . ''

`` she 's ... yeah , she 's great , '' i reply awkwardly .

`` are you having a good time at the internship ?

not too much busy work , i hope . ''

`` no , not at all , pierce .

it 's wonderful , thank you . ''

he nods .

`` well , i better get back to work .

you 'd think i 'd have gotten a lot done , considering how long i 've been in there , but i 've just been staring at the wall . ''

`` oh , well , i 'll see you tomorrow then . ''