Chapter 5
I was still agitated as I hurried from the parking lot and into the dining hall.
I wished I could blame my irritation on the fact I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet or my failed driving lesson.
But, no. Surprise, surprise, it was Noah who had yet again gotten under my skin.
For a boy I wanted nothing to do with, who seemingly wanted nothing to do with me, he sure was an expert at riling me up.
“What’s wrong?” Cress asked as I sat at the table with them.
Considering how late in the morning it was, I was relieved to find her and Anna still at breakfast. “Am I that obvious?
“Uh, sort of,” Anna said. “You should have seen the way you marched in here. What happened?”
I let out a sigh. “Noah happened.”
Cress’s expression fell while Anna rolled her eyes.
“What did he do this time?” she scoffed.
“He was trying to tell me Wes and I don’t have chemistry.”
“That’s crazy,” Anna gasped. “You and Wes are hot AF. Right, Cress?”
“Of course,” Cress agreed. “I thought the school was over that stupid rumor.”
“Apparently not.” I sighed.
“Noah, of all people, should know better than to give oxygen to gossip like that,” she continued. “Why is he being like this?”
“Yeah,” Anna added. “Can’t he just leave you alone?”
I had asked myself the same two questions many times since the Halloween carnival. One minute it felt like Noah wanted nothing to do with me. The next minute, he seemed to be going out of his way to hurt me. I couldn’t figure him out.
“That’s not the only thing he’s done recently,” I said. “I swear he’s purposely parading Veronica around in front of me, and he told Luther and Kaden not to talk to me.”
Cress’s mouth dropped open. “He did what?”
“He told them not to be friends with me,” I explained. “They wouldn’t let me sit with them in math.”
“What the hell.” Anna gasped, shooting a glare across the dining hall at the two boys who were sitting at their usual table. Neither of them seemed to notice. “Why would they agree with that?”
I shrugged. “They’d do anything for Noah.”
“Still, it’s ridiculous,” Anna continued. “Anyone who forces you to do something like that is no true friend if you ask me.” Anna looked like she was finding it hard not to stand up, walk over to Kaden and Luther, and give them a piece of her mind.
“Has Noah said anything to you, Cress?” I asked.
“He hasn’t asked me to choose between you and him, if that’s what you mean,” Cress said, her voice surprisingly gentle. “Maybe because he knows I’d pick you.”
My heart warmed at her words, and I felt like I could cry. It was stupid, but I’d needed to hear that. To know that Noah couldn’t steal another person from my life. Especially not one I cared about so much.
“Well, of course, you’d pick her,” Anna said, bristling at the idea that might be in doubt. “You’d have to be an idiot to pick someone as grumpy and irritable as Noah. He might be pretty to look at, but who would want to be friends with the guy?”
“He’s not so bad once you get to know him.” I came to his defense before I’d even realized. “At least, he wasn’t…” I quickly corrected myself. Noah didn’t deserve defending anymore.
“You’re right; he’s been different,” Cress agreed. “He’s been spending a lot more time with his grandfather recently. That doesn’t usually have a positive impact on Noah.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“William has started flying Noah out to the company headquarters on weekends,” she explained. “I think he wants Noah to take on more responsibility there. And apparently, they are making a major announcement soon.”
“What kind of announcement?” I wondered out loud.
“I’m not sure,” Cress continued. “All I know is that spending more time with William can’t be good for Noah.”
“You think William could be the reason Noah got Luther and Kaden to cut ties with me?”
“Maybe. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
I cast my gaze over to where Kaden and Luther were sitting. Noah was almost always with them in the dining hall, but having seen him getting in a car with a large backpack, I assumed he was on his way to see his grandfather as Cress had explained.
I should have felt relieved my weekends would now be free of Noah.
I’d hated seeing him at school this week.
I’d despised sharing the same air as him.
But even when I hated him, this place still felt oddly empty without him.
Even now, my body felt strangely flat without the constant tension I experienced knowing he could enter the room at any moment. It was a little messed up.
As I watched Kaden and Luther, I almost felt grateful they had chosen Noah over me.
He really needed those guys in his life.
They grounded him and made him feel like he had a safe space in a world where everyone wanted something from him.
I worried what his life would be like without them.
His grandfather would have complete control over him, to mold him in his own twisted image.
That was something I hoped to never witness, but from the way Noah had been acting lately, it felt like it was happening before my eyes.
*
It rained all weekend, so I spent most of my time inside.
It was probably a good thing seeing as my English assignment on Romeo and Juliet was due next week.
I’d missed the play when our class went to see it in New York, so it felt like I had to put in extra work to try to make sure my essay was up to standard.
I’d been looking forward to seeing Wes when he got back from his rowing regatta, but as Sunday evening neared, he sent me a message to say they were delayed because the bus had broken down. He was going to arrive after curfew, so I wouldn’t get to see him until Monday.
His text message had also seemed quite blunt. I was surprised he hadn’t called me, and I was starting to worry he was still upset about the way I’d kissed him in front of his teammates. In front of Noah. It was a disappointing way to end an already crappy weekend.
As I headed back to my room after a long study session, my phone rang, and I was pleased to see it was my mom calling. I needed to hear a friendly voice right now, and even though I’d only just seen her last weekend, I was already starting to think about when I’d get to see her next.
“Oh, I’m so glad I caught you, Iz. I’ve missed you,” Mom said. “Is it too soon to come back to Weybridge?”
“Maybe.” I laughed. Other than our daily texts, we hadn’t spoken since Halloween, and just hearing her voice made everything a little better. “But perhaps it’s not too soon for me to come back to Rapid Bay? I was thinking for Thanksgiving…”
“Really?” Mom gasped on the other end of the phone. “You’re coming home for Thanksgiving? That would be wonderful.”
”Yep, I’m coming home.” I hadn’t fully decided until this moment.
It was only a four-day break, but while Mom and I had discussed me coming home for the holiday, I’d been worried about taking too much time away from school when I had so many projects due and tests I needed to take in December.
But I also needed to see my mom, and I couldn’t let my life revolve around schoolwork.
If I didn’t take this opportunity, I might not see her again until Christmas, and I wasn’t okay with that.
Mom sounded like she was over the moon. “This is the best news,” she gushed. “Okay, I better start working on my pumpkin pie recipe now.”
“Mom, every year you try to perfect your pumpkin pie, and every year I tell you it’s already the best there is.”
“No, there’s still something missing. It will be even better this year.”
I smiled, knowing there was no point arguing with her when it came to pumpkin pie.
“Also, I was thinking of inviting your father,” she continued.
“You were?”
“Yeah. He was so welcoming to me over Halloween. I thought it would be nice for us all to spend the holiday together. But I wanted to check with you first. What do you think?”
I paused as I considered it. It had been nice hanging out with both Matthew and my mom over Halloween.
Right up until my ex-boyfriend attacked my father.
Inviting Matthew to our home felt like a big step.
But I was surprised to find it felt like a step I was willing to take.
I hadn’t spoken to my father since the day after the carnival, and I suspected he was snowed under with work in New York.
“I don’t have a problem with it,” I said. “But Matthew is always so busy. He might not be able to make it.”
“We’ll see,” Mom said. I got the impression she’d already been in touch with Matthew and invited him because she quickly changed the subject.
“How’s school going?” she asked. “Have you seen Noah after what he did last weekend?”
“School’s fine. And let’s not talk about Noah.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Well, he refused to apologize for punching Matthew. He seems to want nothing to do with me. Oh, and he’s dating Veronica.”
“Is that the girl who was so mean to you?”
I loved how that part shocked my mom the most. “Yeah.” I sighed. “But it’s fine. I’m fine.”
“It’s okay if you’re not,” she continued. “Even after everything that’s happened between you and Noah, I know how hard it can be to turn off your feelings. It’s not like there’s some switch you can just flick, and they’re gone.”
“I know.”
“I mean, even after all these years, I still felt something when I saw your dad again.”
“Wait, you felt something for him? Like, romantically?”
“No, no, not like that.” My mom said the words a little too quickly. “I just mean that familiarity was still there. It was good to see him. I didn’t realize I’d feel that way especially when we haven’t seen or heard from each other in seventeen years.”
“Well, I’m glad you guys got along.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “Which is why I think it’ll be nice if we all spend time together at Thanksgiving. We have a lot of missed time to make up for. I know Matthew certainly feels that way.”