Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
SAVANNAH HOLLINGSWORTH
I spread out the blanket on the grass next to the marina. A goose walks by, joining others a short pace away. A light breeze blows the late afternoon heat away. It’s a beautiful June evening.
Noah opens the picnic basket and pulls out a water bottle. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I’m extremely thirsty and I wonder how Noah knew. I unscrew the cap and take a long drink.
I had no intention of telling Noah about the thing my family doesn’t speak of. But I couldn’t stand the way he looked so hurt. I never want to hurt him again. He doesn’t deserve that. He’s doing so much for me.
I settle in on the blanket as Noah gets the plates out. He continues setting up the picnic before us. I watch the people walking by on the path that runs along the shore. I chose this place for a reason. This is a popular walking and bike-riding trail.
After Noah finishes, he sits beside me. “Is this good enough, or should we sit closer?”
I know if we’re going to convince people we’re dating, we’ll need to show more PDA. “Closer.”
Noah tries again, but I motion him even closer. We end up with Noah behind me, his legs curled to the side, and me leaning my back into his chest. I must admit, it’s wonderful to snuggle into his rock-hard chest.
I hand him a sandwich and take one for myself. We sit in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the food and watching the ships coming and going.
“Who is Levi dating these days?” Noah asks.
I turn to him. “You don’t know?”
“I can’t keep up with his girlfriends.”
I laugh. “Yeah, he’s kind of a player. I think he’s still dating that girl named Lisa. But I don’t see her often. He told me he’s enrolled in online school, and I know he’s busy with that.”
“Really?” Noah shifts. “I’m surprised.”
I realize my mistake too late and clamp my hand over my mouth. “Oh, he told me not to mention it to Tobias. You won’t say anything, will you?”
“Why?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. He just seemed adamant about Tobias not finding out.”
Noah slowly nods. “Probably because Tobias gets uptight about college. If he quits, that’s another school he’s dropped out of, which drives Tobias crazy.”
“I see. Why is Tobias so uptight about college?” I grab an apple slice.
“He didn’t get to go. He’d gotten accepted into Princeton, but Mom and Dad died, and he gave it up to stay and take responsibility for all of us.” Noah’s voice grows raspy, and I turn to look at him. He swallows, struggling with his emotions.
I place a hand on his arm and snuggle my back more into his chest. “Wow. I never knew that. I mean, I knew you were being raised by him, but I didn’t realize he’d given up so much.”
Noah rests his chin on my head. “I owe everything to Tobias.”
The way he says it implies there’s more to the story. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t take my parent’s death well. You knew I’d been in Juvie. But I don’t think I ever told you the whole story.”
I run a finger along his arm, for no reason other than skin contact. It feels good. “Tell me.” I know it’s not fair of me to ask, especially since I’m keeping so much for him, but I want to know all about him.
“I was so angry after Mom and Dad died. Angry at Tobias, for trying to boss me around. Angry at God for taking my parents from me. Angry at myself for … I was just angry at everyone and everything. And I took it out on everyone. I found other angry kids and took to street fighting and other activities.”
I knew Noah beat up some kids, just because of what the kids at school said about him. But he’d never told me what happened from his side of the story. “You’d lost your parents. I can see how that might make you really angry.”
He places his hand on my knee, and my body lights up like a Christmas tree. Tingles shoot through me, and I have to concentrate on what he’s saying. “I was on a path to self-destruction. Skipped a lot of school. We started stealing things. Just beer and cigarettes at first, but the kids I was hanging out with were older and bad news. I didn’t realize this until I got caught stealing a car with them.”
I freeze, the tips of my fingers hovering over Noah’s arm. “Oh, dear.”
“Since it wasn’t my first offense, it could have been really bad. The judge could have put me in juvenile detention. But Tobias went to bat for me and got me into an alternative detention work camp.”
“What was that like?” I let my fingers go back to touching Noah’s skin. He stills, like my touching him is affecting him, but I can’t stop. I’m craving the physical contact right now.
“I was on a farm doing manual labor. It stunk. It was hard work, and I hated every second of it … until I didn’t.” Noah’s voice grows quiet. “There’s something about farm work that cools hotheads like me. I learned to love the horses and other animals on that ranch.”
“That’s awesome.”
Noah leans down and his cheek brushes against my ear. More zaps of attraction shoot through me. “It was incredible. Those animals turned my whole life around. Same with the Mom and Pop on the ranch. Instead of wanting to go fight people, I learned I could get my anger out in productive ways. When I left, I was a changed person. I went back to school. But no one saw the changes. Everyone treated me like the delinquent I was. And that’s when I met you.”
I remember high school Noah. He was older than the other boys. Stronger. And the kids all said he was dangerous. Bad news. Stay away. But I couldn’t.
My fingers skim over his hand, and he flips it over, pulling my fingers through his. I give his hand a squeeze. “I’m glad we got paired up in class. I never would have talked to you otherwise,” I say.
“And I never would have talked to you. I was intimidated. You were the epitome of grace and poise. You were respected. The good girl. Everything I was not. You were untouchable.”
I hate hearing how Noah saw me back then. “That’s the fake version of me. Of my family.”
Before Noah has a chance to reply, my friend Elizabeth runs up to us. She’s wearing pink sports shoes that match her top, a white tennis skirt, and looks like Exercise Barbie.
“Hey, Savannah.” Her gaze travels over Noah and she raises her eyebrows. “Noah? Are you two…?”
I realize I haven’t talked to Liz for the last two weeks. “Yeah,” I say, snuggling into Noah. “We’re back together.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widen and she gasps. “No way!”
“Yep,” I say, enjoying her shock. Elizabeth always disliked me and Noah together, and she made it clear back in school. She told me all the time that he was no good for me. That he was using me and didn’t really like me. I feel a tiny bit petty rubbing my fake relationship in her face, but I don’t care, because she was wrong about Noah.
Liz and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. She lived down the street from my house growing up, and we played together as children. Liz is the epitome of the flighty-blonde type, but she’s endearing in her own way. However, sometimes I feel like I’m trying too hard to impress her. Even now.
Liz recovers quickly. “Well, you won’t believe what Daddy got me for my birthday.” She puts her hands on her hips and presses her lips together like she’s holding in a massive secret.
I laugh. Liz’s family is quite well-off. It could really be anything, from a new car to a summer house. “What?”
“A photography studio!” Liz claps her hands and does a jump, which makes her white skirt flair out.
My blood goes cold. “A … photography studio?” My head spins. What is she talking about? Liz hasn’t ever shown interest in photography.
“When you said you were making one, I admit, I got a little jealous. I mean, how cool to be a photographer? And I’ve been trying to figure out a good career, so I thought, what if I did that too? Isn’t that great?” She claps again.
Noah stiffens behind me. I stare at her, not fully understanding her words. “Uh … yeah.”
“Daddy got me a great spot downtown. It’s got fifteen hundred square feet, high ceilings, automated backdrops, and tons of props. I’ll have a waiting area, and Daddy said he’s going to advertise for me.”
As she talks, Noah tightens his grip on my hand. “That’s great,” I hear myself say, but I feel like I’m no longer inside my body. I’m floating above somewhere, looking down on us, sitting on our picnic blanket.
“Well, see ya!” Liz waves and runs off down the trail.
Noah places a hand on my shoulder. “Savannah? Are you okay?” His voice sounds far away.
He puts his arms around me, giving me a back hug. “Savannah?”
I shake off the shock that Liz left me with. “I’m okay.” I say the words, but they are a big fat lie. I’m not okay.
Liz stole my dream.