Chapter 12
Noa
A fter what had felt like the longest eighteen hours of her entire life, Noa arrived at the hostel and immediately all but ran from Alex’s vicinity.
She couldn’t find it in her to be embarrassed about it because, after spending a long-haul flight in close quarters with the man who, not even a month ago, basically ignored the fact that she existed and now was following her across the world, she was exhausted.
A more mature person would have known rationally that there was probably a perfectly understandable and rational explanation to this whole debacle, maybe even given him time to explain himself and have a grown-up conversation.
But not Noa. She didn’t want to be grown-up about it.
She preferred to dig her heels in and ice him out.
She was too busy being angry at him to sleep the entire flight so, now, she was ready to find out what napping in a six-bed dorm was really like.
Alex, of course, had been given keys to a single room when they arrived because, of course he had.
He, apparently, just wanted to ruin her trip, not get the fully authentic backpacking experience.
Noa gave the most awkward little wave of her entire life and immediately wanted to shrivel up and die.
How was she going to last an entire month of this if she failed at the first hurdle?
Luckily, as she opened her mouth to finally introduce herself, a red-headed girl in a pair of pink polka dot pyjamas broke into conversation first.
‘Hey, I’m Thea. We were wondering if anyone would be taking that bunk tonight. We were enjoying the girl gang vibes and were praying to the heavens it wasn’t a man.’
‘Not a man,’ Noa chuckled, making her way over to what appeared to be her bunk, then realised she hadn’t given them her name.
Letting her heavy rucksack clatter to the floor she turned, ‘I’m Noa.
Sorry, I’ve literally just landed and don’t feel very human right now. I’m not usually this spaced out.’
‘Oh, god. The first day is the worst. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. I’m Lola,’ one of the other girls said as she carried on applying concealer under her eyes.
As Noa looked around, she realised the girls were all getting ready and must be going out tonight.
She climbed onto her bed, feeling the coil of springs digging into her thighs uncomfortably.
Then the other three girls introduced themselves as Carly, Bridget, and Hattie.
She recited them over and over for several minutes in her head, praying she’d remember them and not come across as completely rude.
Though, in her current fatigued state, she wasn’t feeling hopeful.
They all appeared Noa’s age and wore friendly smiles that made her feel immediately at ease.
‘What are you planning on doing tonight?’ the girl who had introduced herself as Hattie asked.
Noa decided she didn’t have anything to lose.
She needed to unload the events of the last day on someone and, despite only just meeting these girls, she felt like she could trust them.
She told them about Alex—or a brief summary at least—about his reaction when she had returned home to Freymoor, and how he had shown up on her flight and was now, coincidentally, here at this hostel.
She described her sleepless flight and how she had pictured her night involving a shower and a long stint in her bed.
They all looked completely hooked by her story, like it was the most interesting thing in the world, each throwing in a few ‘no ways’ and ‘that’s insane’ as she spoke.
The only person she’d ever told beyond them was Tes, but the past twenty-four hours felt like it had pushed her to the end of her sanity, and she just needed to get it off her chest .
‘Well, you absolutely cannot go to sleep now. It’s ‘how to outrun jet lag 101’. If you go to sleep now, you’ll only wake in the night and your body clock will be all messed up. You should one hundred percent bin that plan and come out with us instead,’ Lola insisted.
‘Besides, it sounds like you could use a drink,’ Carly added.
Noa just nodded as excitement bloomed in her stomach and replaced the anger from earlier. She looked around and thought maybe all was not ruined after all.
O nce Noa had agreed to go out with the girls, they had continued to get ready with Noa joining in.
She wasn’t used to the humidity she’d experienced since arriving, so she decided to pull on an off-the-shoulder flowery dress and a pair of strappy sandals.
Only struggling once to fight through the mess that was already her backpack, she’d made a mental note to ask the girls about their systems later.
She had slotted into their light-hearted conversations easily and enjoyed hearing about all their travels so far.
Lola was by far the most outgoing of the group and reminded her the most of Tes.
Noa took an instant liking to her. She just had a warmth that drew Noa to her.
Being around these girls had immediately lifted her mood.
As they headed down to the hostel bar and got caught up in happy hour, which was in full swing, Noa took in her surroundings, letting it really sink in that she had made the jump and that she was here.
Even if Alex was here, too. She tried to focus on that achievement over her earlier irritation, refusing to let it ruin her trip .
She scanned the bar and its cheap and simple aesthetic that was so different to most bars and pubs in the UK.
It lacked décor, the concrete floor simply covered in a wide range of seating spaces scattered around plywood tables.
There were beanbags and benches and bar stools putting people on all different levels and, despite the extremely minimalist setting, the atmosphere felt electric.
Freeing somehow, if an atmosphere could feel like that.
Chatter and laughter could be heard in all directions, with accents from all around the world permeating the space, even above the music.
The girls took seats around a long table, then began quizzing her on Alex. They wanted to know what he looked like, particularly if he was hot, and if she thought she would have a ‘steamy holiday fling’ with him as Lola had so delicately put it.
Noa looked at her with an expression of mock-chastisement before Lola shrugged and said, ‘What? We all know brother’s best friend is the best trope.’
‘No,’ Noa responded. ‘We both made that clear after our one mistake of a night together eight years ago. It was a one-time, never-to-be-repeated-again event, and we have barely even acknowledged it happened since.’
She rocked herself, considering her next words. She’d only ever spoken to Tes about this, but there was something really freeing about these girls being holiday friends, and it made her want to talk through all her secrets.
‘Maybe that night was meant to happen, to get it out of my system, but he’s a moody, arrogant, playboy these days, and I just don’t see him that way. So, no steamy flings here girls. Sorry to disappoint,’ she shrugged.
‘So, what’s the plan then? No steamy love affairs, but do you plan on at least speaking to him?’ Hattie, who was the quietest of the bunch asked this, and Noa took a second to consider her response.
‘You said you were friends once. Travelling can be hard on your own sometimes. It might be nice to have someone to fall back on,’ Hattie continued, clearly sensing Noa’s uncertainty.
‘But I’m just so angry at the underhandedness of it all. I know I’m projecting it all on him when my brother is more likely to be to blame. But Alex still agreed to it. He’s still here. Why do the two of them think they can control my life like that, you know?’
‘All I’m saying is that I can think of a good way to work through that anger in a way that sounds a lot more fun than the silent treatment,’ Lola winked, just to punctuate her point.
Thea added, ‘Sometimes a man in control isn’t all that bad, if you know what I mean.’
She wagged her brow before Noa brushed off their jokes.
‘Guys, this is serious! I don’t know what to do. I’m meant to be taking back control of my own life here.’
They all looked at her, nodding and looking deep in thought, before Lola banged on the table with a force not strictly necessary, almost spilling their fourth round of cocktails onto the floor.
‘I’ve got it,’ she slurred, looking so proud like she had just solved the Rubik’s cube.
Noa just stared at her before she continued.
‘Well… revenge is best served by a pissed off woman. If they want to try and put you in a box and treat you like a child, then I say you let them. And by them, I mean Alex.’
She was sporting the grin of some supervillain cooking up their next diabolical plan, but Noa didn’t get it yet .
‘That doesn’t quite sound like the trip I had in mind,’ she frowned. ‘This trip is supposed to be about reclaiming my own happiness and finding out what I want next from my life.’
‘I didn’t say that means you have to make it easy on him,’ Lola winked. ‘This could be so much fun for you! Make his job to “babysit” you, as you put it, as hard as possible and show him just how much you are a woman and not a child after all.’
‘Lola, has anyone ever told you are an evil genius?’ Thea laughed.
‘Not lately.’
Noa just smiled brightly and downed her drink. Alex Fletcher wasn’t going to know what hit him.