Chapter 39
Olivia
After two hours spent in the barn with Cole, and eventually Carter, I have the full picture.
And, man, do I feel like a piece of shit.
I tried to text Noah on my way home from Fishy’s, thinking maybe I could bypass his fan club and go right to him, but he didn’t answer.
I even tried to call, and was sent to voicemail.
He is taking my demands about never speaking again way more seriously than I need at this moment.
Once I finally convinced Cole to talk to me, I learned that Bec found the letters, and was reading them in the breakfast nook, tears streaming down her face when their mother walked in.
Bec never heard her coming up the driveway, or even into the house.
Since Archie is now living with Noah at his house, he couldn’t have even alerted her.
Their mom waltzed right up to Bec, asked what she was reading, grabbed a letter and the first line she read was, Graham, you have promised to leave your wife and wretched children for almost a year now, I'm starting to believe I'm the fool for believing our love was real.
And that is when everything went to literal shit.
Noah was working a shift at the fire station, but it was a relatively quiet night so they were in the gym getting some additional training in when Bec came flying into the gym out of breath with some of the rest of the crew behind her.
Through broken statements, Bec told them what happened and that their mom was on an angry rampage, ready to murder the women who wrote the letter.
Who, all too, conveniently lived along the far side of the lake.
I'm glad she went the angry route as opposed to the catatonic one that happened when Mr. Kneland passed away. In reality, I’m angry for her and I want to jump right on the train behind Mrs. Kneland and rock someone's world.
This entire situation would be nearly impossible for any of them to understand or even process in such a short amount of time.
I can't imagine if Noah has to become a caretaker again.
Noah was able to get to the house before she absolutely lost everything and talked her down from the murderous rage ledge, but in the process Noah left his phone at the station where it later died.
They then spent the next three days removing anything related to their father from the house and burned most of it.
They experienced a mix of anger, sadness, and confusion and it wasn’t until he went back to the firehouse he realized he didn’t have his phone.
But also when he saw my missed calls, and voicemail.
Noah did exactly what he’s always done best, dropped everything and showed up for the people he loves in a crisis.
And what had I done? I had been so caught up in my own thoughts and feelings of reliving the past that I wasn’t even willing to hear him out.
What does that make me? Certainly not a good friend, or a girlfriend.
I’m not sure where Noah and I stand but one thing is for sure.
I owe him an apology and it’s going to be a big one.
I just may need a little bit of help to pull it off.