Chapter 20 #2
“Well, I’m sure Matthew and Noah did what they felt was necessary. I just wish I didn’t have to get so battered in the process.”
She stood and pulled me close, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. “I know,” she said. “I wish that too.”
“It’s hard because I know how much they both lost,” I mumbled into her shoulder. “And I hate bringing up my own pain because it doesn’t compare. But they don’t seem to realize how much this has hurt me.”
She pulled back slightly so she could look me in the eyes.
“They do,” she said. “After you left last night, I spoke to them a little more. It really sounds like they didn’t have a choice, and they both feel terrible about it.”
I shrugged.
“You have every right to be upset,” she continued. “But maybe the drive back with Noah will help. If you still feel upset when you get back to Weybridge, I’m always just a phone call away.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Thanks, Mom.”
When we got downstairs, Noah and Matthew were waiting in the lobby near the elevator.
Noah had finally changed out of his suit from last night, and it looked like he’d showered too.
His hair was still damp, and he was wearing a pair of jeans and his red Weybridge sweatshirt.
He looked remarkably good considering he’d probably had no sleep.
My father turned when he saw us and took a step toward me. “I know this weekend probably didn’t end the way you imagined it,” he said. “But I’m glad you were here. And I enjoyed our time together very much.”
To say the weekend hadn’t turned out as I expected was an understatement of epic proportions, but I couldn’t deny I’d enjoyed most of the visit as well.
“I did too,” I said. “The ice cream was good, at least.”
He chuckled under his breath and nodded. “It was. We’ll have to have some more over Christmas.”
“We will?”
He nodded. “I want to visit Rapid Bay at some point over the holidays to spend some more time with you and your mom.”
“I guess I’ll see you then.”
He smiled down at me, and it felt like, despite the bombshells he’d dropped last night, we’d somehow become closer this weekend. We stood opposite each other, and there was an awkward silence. I was surprised I wanted to hug Matthew goodbye, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react.
I decided to risk it, and I closed the distance between us to wrap my arms around him.
It took him a second to respond, but then he lowered his hands to my back, and ever so cautiously, he tightened the hug in return.
My chest felt warm, and a hint of a smile pulled at my lips.
This was the first time I’d hugged my father, and even though we were both completely awkward, it felt perfect.
When I pulled back from him, Matthew had a faint smile on his lips too. He looked like he was trying to contain whatever emotions had been brought to the surface. I’d clearly taken him by surprise, but I felt like he’d enjoyed the hug as much as I had.
“I’ll let you say goodbye to your mother,” he said before he turned to Noah.
“Have a safe trip back, Iz,” my mom said as she gathered me up in her arms. “And be careful on that ski trip. I don’t want you showing up for Christmas with a broken leg.”
“I’ll try my best, Mom.” I laughed.
When I looked back, Matthew was shaking Noah’s hand, and the two of them were smiling broadly at one another. There was a look of pride in Matthew’s eyes, and it struck me that Noah probably didn’t have many people in his life who looked at him that way—if there was anyone at all.
Clearly, his grandfather didn’t feel true human emotions.
And he never saw his mother. His father had died years ago, so it must have been such a long time since Noah had someone he could truly look up to.
From the way he was looking at Matthew, it seemed like perhaps he’d found one.
The interaction only lasted a moment, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind.
I quickly gave my mom one last hug before I followed Noah to the elevator, and we went down to the garage where his car was parked.
I had no idea how it had gotten here, seeing as he was in the limo with us last night.
It was a mystery I was quite happy to leave unsolved though—the less Noah and I spoke today, the better.
“Are you getting in?” Noah was waiting for me by the car, holding the passenger door open. I didn’t respond as I tossed my bag in the back and then slid past him into the seat.
When Noah got into the driver’s seat and started the car, I let out a sigh and glanced out the window. This was going to be a very long trip back to school and not nearly as pleasant as the drive here with Cress.
Noah didn’t say anything as he pulled the car out of the parking garage and onto the city streets.
He seemed tense though. I wondered whether it was simply because of the awkwardness between us or whether he was thinking about last night.
The move he’d made against his grandfather had been bold, and he had to still be reeling from its success.
It couldn’t be easy to steal your grandfather’s company—no matter how much you might hate him.
There was a lot of traffic in the city, and Noah seemed especially anxious whenever we came to a stop.
Just when he looked like he might say something, the light turned green, and we set off again.
It wasn’t until we were free from the gridlock of cars and onto a long bridge over the water that Noah finally said anything.
“You’re going on a ski trip?” he asked.
My head was resting against the window as I watched the New York skyline shrink behind us through the side-view mirror, but I slowly glanced at him.
Noah’s eyes were on the road, and he was gripping the steering wheel tightly.
The ski trip was the last thing I’d expected him to talk about, given everything that was still unsaid between us.
How did he even know about it? He must have overheard me talking with my mom at the apartment.
I considered ignoring him, but the silence that filled the car was starting to drive me crazy.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m going to Aspen with my friends.”
“Wes going to be there?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but, yeah, he is. We’re staying at his family’s place.”
Noah grunted. I didn’t know what to make of the reaction, but I could tell he wasn’t thrilled by the idea.
“You don’t get to be pissed off that I’m going away with my boyfriend,” I said.
“I can feel whatever I want.”
“I think I preferred it when you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“I certainly didn’t. Do you know how hard it was for me to act like that?”
This time, I grunted. “I’m sure it wasn’t that hard. You certainly looked happy enough with Veronica.”
“That was all for show,” he replied.
I sat up straighter in my seat, my full focus now on Noah. “What do you mean?”
“Veronica needed the arrangement just as much as I did,” he continued. “But it was never real.”
I frowned at him, trying to process what he was saying. Veronica had hinted there was something strange going on with her and Noah, but I hadn’t been sure exactly what it was. I had never imagined the entire relationship was fake all along.
“Well, it was very convincing.”
A smile curved the corner of his lips. “Jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous?” I said, turning back to look out the window. “I have Wes.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw his half smile drop, and I knew I’d gotten to him. It didn’t make me feel better though. If anything, I felt like I was being unnecessarily harsh.
We had just reached the end of the bridge when Noah suddenly switched on the turn signal, swerved across two lanes of traffic, and took the first exit.
“What are you doing?” I said, gripping the edge of my seat with both hands.
He didn’t answer.
“Noah?” I prompted. We pulled off the bridge and into an area close to the water that was still very built up but not nearly as vertical as Manhattan.
I didn’t know where we were going, but I knew it wasn’t the way back to school, and it seemed Noah had made a sudden decision to take us this route.
He continued to ignore me, but it wasn’t long before he stopped the car alongside a small park.
As he turned off the ignition, he released a heavy breath.
“Noah?” I asked, my voice soft. “What’s going on?”
He heaved out another breath before he responded. “There’s something I want to show you.”
I glanced around trying to figure out what he was talking about. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary, but when I looked back at Noah and saw the gravity in his eyes, I knew, whatever it was, it must be serious.
“I don’t know if I can handle any more surprises,” I said.
“I understand this is a lot to ask right now, but can you trust me?”
It was a difficult question to answer given everything that had happened recently. But I found myself nodding. “I guess.”
Noah swallowed and then nodded before he opened the door and got out of the car. He walked around the front of the car to the passenger side and opened my door for me.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“This way.” Noah held out his hand, and as I took it, he gently helped me from the car. He kept hold of my hand and led me to the green park.
On the sidewalk next to the stone archway that marked the entrance to the park, there was a man selling flowers out of a small wooden cart. Noah walked up to him, selected a colorful bouquet, and gave the florist some cash. He caught the look of confusion on my face and chuckled softly.
“This isn’t what I had to show you,” he said. “I know I’ll need a lot more than flowers before you can forgive me for all this.”