Chapter 27 #2
Unfortunately, it didn’t matter what realization she might have come to. Things between us would never be the same. It was a fact I was only more certain of after today. I’d seen what true friendship was, and what Nina and I shared didn’t compare to the relationships I’d built with my friends here.
“Anyway,” Norma said. “My psychic senses tell me you didn’t call to talk to me about Dory.”
I laughed in response. “No, I was trying to get ahold of my mom.”
“Ah, I thought you might be. She’s not here right now. You know she takes Monday nights off.”
“I know, but I’ve been struggling to catch her all week. I thought maybe she’d been pulling extra shifts.”
“Not tonight. I wish I could help.”
“That’s okay. Any chance your psychic powers can tell me where she’s at?”
“Hmm … Well, they’re currently telling me that she’s not near her phone.”
“Anything more concrete than that?”
Norma chuckled. “I’m afraid not, love.”
“It was worth a try.” I let out a sigh, knowing I was just going to have to wait until Mom finally got back to me. “It was really good to speak to you, Norma.”
“You too, sugar. Feel free to call here again anytime. I know your mom hates the line being busy, but I don’t mind if we miss a few phone orders. They always call back.”
“I think Mom might disagree with you.” I smiled.
“Well, she can’t disagree if she doesn’t know.” I could easily picture Norma’s sly grin over the phone. “Now, I’ve got to run. Talk soon.”
“Yeah, talk soon.”
I lowered the phone from my ear and closed my eyes as I slumped back against the bookcase behind me.
I’d really hoped to talk to my mom, and I was struggling to understand where she could be and what she was doing.
On Monday nights we usually stayed home, ordered pizza and watched movies together.
Did she have some new tradition now that I was gone?
“Hey.”
I opened my eyes and found Noah standing over me. His hands were tucked into his jeans pockets, and he was frowning as he watched me. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”
“Not at all,” I replied.
He took that as an invitation to sit at my side.
He slid to the ground and leaned back against the bookcase as he stared at the shelves across from us.
He didn’t speak right away, and the silence that stretched between us was like a huge empty void.
He was sitting so close to me that our shoulders gently brushed, but he still seemed so distant.
I was guessing he’d seen Veronica’s posters.
“I was hoping I might run into you tonight,” he said, still keeping his eyes locked on the books on the other side of the aisle. “Veronica showed me your Instagram account.”
Given the way he still refused to meet my eyes, I knew he wasn’t reacting well to the news.
I should have known that if, by some miracle, he hadn’t seen the posters himself, Veronica would have still made sure he knew the truth about me.
It sounded like Anna was right; Veronica had done this whole thing to sabotage my chances with Noah.
“She said you were hiding who you were to manipulate me.”
I drew a deep breath in before I responded. “Is this the part where you say you want nothing to do with me?” My voice sounded surprisingly scratchy, probably from the nerves that had started bubbling in my chest.
I hated to think that Noah and I would be over before we even began.
I’d foolishly begun to open myself up to him and the connection I felt between us.
The idea of abandoning those feelings upset me more than the stunt Veronica pulled today.
But if Noah couldn’t accept me for who I was, then it was probably for the best. I wanted someone who would love every part of me.
Still, I knew I would be in for a tough year pretending my pulse didn’t quicken whenever he was near.
“No, this is the part where I ask you why you felt you needed to keep it a secret.” He turned to me and his eyes were clearly filled with hurt and confusion.
“I know there are a lot of jerks at this school, but I didn’t realize you thought I was one of them.
Did you really think I was so shallow that knowing your mom runs a café would make any difference to me? ”
“I don’t think you’re a jerk or that you’re shallow,” I replied. “I wish I had been honest, but when I first arrived, I was so overwhelmed.”
“So you lied?”
“I didn’t know what else to do. Weybridge is a completely different world to the one I grew up in.
I knew I didn’t belong, and I didn’t think anyone here would understand.
” I could feel my emotions welling up in me as I spoke.
For some reason, this felt so much harder than when I’d explained it to my friends.
“I’m kind of broken when it comes to trusting people,” I continued. “My ex-boyfriend cheated on me, my friends back home betrayed me, and I have a father who just appeared out of nowhere and will probably disappear just as fast. So, yeah, I lied.”
I blew out a breath and stared across the aisle at the books on the shelves opposite us.
As I looked at some of the titles, I realized they were history books.
I might have laughed if I wasn’t so upset.
It was pretty ironic that Noah would end up breaking things off with me in what Anna considered the romantic corner of the library.
Noah’s hand brushed against my leg, and my eyes shot back to his. There was still hurt in his gaze but perhaps a flicker of understanding too.
“Just because you had a different upbringing than everyone else here, it doesn’t mean you don’t belong,” he said.
“If anything, it might make you more worthy than all the kids here who don’t appreciate what they’ve got.
I wish you would have been open with me, but maybe if we’d gotten to know each other better, you would have realized where you come from doesn’t matter to me.
I guess this is why we need our date on Saturday.
So we can both learn to trust each other. ”
My mouth dropped open with shock. “You still want to go on a date with me?”
A smile tugged the corners of his lips as he nodded.
“But why?”
“Because as much as I was surprised to know you were keeping something from me, I can see you weren’t doing it to try and manipulate me. I want to give us a chance.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
I hadn’t realized when he sat down how close we were or how his scent seemed to wrap its way around me. We were far too cozy in this corner of the library, and I could see why Anna found the secluded spot so appealing. His eyes lowered to my lips like he wanted to kiss me.
My phone beeped with an incoming text, and I quickly looked away. I was somewhat grateful for the interruption, because I had no intention of kissing Noah for the first time in Anna’s secret make out corner.
As I glanced down at the screen, I was hoping to see a notification from my mom. Instead, it was a text from Wes saying he was back at the study tables with our coffees. It was hard not to be disappointed. I let out a sigh as I returned my gaze to Noah.
He nodded at my phone. “Are you expecting something important?”
He was always so surprisingly perceptive, and I could see he was genuinely concerned. I decided to tell him the truth. He’d probably think I was pathetic for missing my mom, but if I’d learned anything today, it was that I needed to be more honest.
“It’s my mom,” I finally said. “I haven’t been able to talk to her all week. She keeps missing my calls, and since she’s not working tonight, I was hoping to catch her.”
“You miss her.”
“So much.” I gave him a sad smile. “I’ve never been separated from her for this long before, and I’m finding it really hard.
It’s especially difficult when I can’t even speak to her.
I know she’s busy, but after today, I just want to hear her voice, and I would do anything to have a hug from her right now. ”
“It’s never easy being separated from the ones you love,” he murmured.
Looking at him now, I got the feeling I wasn’t the only person missing my family, and I wondered if he was thinking about his parents.
Cress had told me his father passed away some years ago and his mom was never around.
It was difficult being separated from my mom, but I couldn’t even begin to fathom what it was like for Noah.
“What about your dad?” he asked. “Would it help to talk to him?”
“No. He’d probably just give me a lecture on how I’m embarrassing his legacy.”
“I get the same one from my grandfather all the time,” Noah admitted. “What does your father do?”
I let out a tired sigh. “Sorry, I don’t really like talking about him.”
“I understand. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“It’s no intrusion. It’s just, after everything that happened today and when I miss my mom so much, my father is the last thing I need on my mind.”
He gave me a sad smile. “How far is Rapid Bay from here?”
“Far enough that it feels like forever away. I’m guessing I’ll have to wait until school holidays to visit my mom though. It’s too far for me to visit for a weekend.”
“Surely you won’t have to wait until the holidays to see your mom. Won’t she be coming to the ball next week? Parents are all welcome.”
I hadn’t found a chance to tell my mom about it yet, but I already knew there was no way she’d come. She never took weekends off at the café. “No, she’ll be working, so I don’t think she can come.”
“That’s a shame.” From the touch of sadness in Noah’s eyes I could see he truly understood.
“It is.” My phone lit up with another text from Wes, telling me he’d also smuggled us cookies into the library. “I should probably get back to my homework.” I slowly started to stand.
Noah pushed himself up as well. I wasn’t sure why, but I always seemed to forget just how tall Noah was, and as he straightened to his full height, he practically towered over me.
His broad shoulders seemed to fill the aisle, and when I raised my gaze to his face, I could see him watching me with concern.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked. “What Veronica did today … Well, I know it can’t have been easy.”
“I’ll be fine.” I somehow always was.
Noah nodded before his eyes dipped to the phone in my hand. “Can I have that?”
“Uh, sure.” I passed the phone over, wondering what he wanted with it. His fingers flashed across the screen, and when he handed it back, I could see he’d given me his phone number.
“If you can’t get ahold of your mom and need someone to talk to, you can call or text me anytime.”
He’d surprised me again, and I wasn’t quite sure what to say. That was actually pretty sweet of Noah and the last thing I would have expected from him after everything that had happened today.
“And, Isobel?”
“Yeah?” I glanced back up at him.
“I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t trust anyone here.” His voice was quiet, and his eyes were earnest, like he truly wished I hadn’t felt so alone.
“I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps I can …”
He shared a soft smile with me. “I’m glad to hear it.” I’d never seen him smile that way before, but it seemed to reach out and thump me straight in the chest. Noah stepped back so I could pass, and it took me a moment to figure out how to use my legs again after being hit by his smile.
Anna definitely had one thing right. There was something special about the history section of the library.