CHAPTER THREE #2
With only two years’ difference between them, she and Noah had always been close. But given what had been going on back home—the neglect of the house, Mom sleeping on the couch—either he’d stopped confiding in April at some point or he didn’t know how bad it was.
She wasn’t sure which was worse.
“How was your week, sweetie? Did you make a move on the girl from the library?” Kathy wiggled her brows and Noah grimaced.
“Long, but good. And I told you, the library job was just a favor for a friend.”
Kathy shot April a look. “Is it me, or did your brother just avoid the question?” April hummed, mouth too full of noodles to answer.
Noah rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing going on with me and Tasha—Ethan would literally murder me if I ‘made a move’ on her.
” Noah did air quotes around the words, a look of mild disgust on his face at his mom’s choice of words.
Kathy opened her mouth, her eyes alight with an idea, but Noah held up a finger and cut her off quickly.
“And no, you may not set me up with June-from-Support-Group’s daughter. ”
“OK, touchy,” Kathy teased, and April giggled into her noodles as Noah huffed. “I’ve been meaning to ask whether you and Ethan will be coming round for dinner any time soon? It was so nice to see you boys last month … Oh, and you could bring Luke, too—that would be a lovely little group!”
April’s eyes narrowed as she looked up at her mom. “Surely you don’t mean Luke Pointer?” A fleeting memory of his thumb brushing her lip surfaced, and she shook her head slightly, refocusing her eyes on her mom and brother as they looked at her innocently.
“Well, yes, he and your brother have gotten quite close over the years, haven’t you, Noah?” Kathy said the words simply, as if it was nothing at all that April’s high-school rival was now an accepted part of their lives.
“Yeah, Luke’s a sound guy, April.” She scoffed at Noah’s words, but he ploughed on.
“We always got on well at school. Plus, we’ve ended up doing quite a bit of work together since he started his property development firm a few years back—he’s always good to the guys when we’re working on site together, super fair with hours and pay.
And you know how things work here—everyone knows everyone and there aren’t that many spots to hang out; we’d see him about all the time.
He eventually just became another one of the boys. ”
“It was bad enough that you guys were friends at high school, I can’t believe you’ve kept it up,” April grumbled.
“Quit acting like you’re still fifteen,” Noah chided jokingly.
“This might shock you, but we actually like Luke. He’s a good time, smart and funny, but he’s still got a good head on his shoulders.
You know, sometimes he even reminds me a bit of you.
” There was a gleam in Noah’s eyes as he said this last sentence, and April’s mouth fell open at the comparison.
“That is NOT true, Noah—you take that back right now!” Her voice was louder than she’d meant it to be, but she couldn’t stop the frustration rising inside of her. She knew her brother was goading her, but, dammit, he knew how to push her buttons.
“Hey, that was meant to be a compliment, April.” Noah held his hands up in mock surrender.
“As if, Noah,” she shot back. “God, I can’t believe you’d bring that ass into my childhood home. This is meant to be my sanctuary! My safe place!”
“Noah’s got a point, April,” Kathy interjected. “Luke’s a real sweetie these days.”
“Ohhh my God, not you too! I didn’t realize I was having dinner with the Luke Pointer fan club.
” April’s exasperation at her family’s blind acceptance of her literal childhood nemesis was mounting, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.
“Fine, whatever. Feel free to bring him round to dinner. But make sure you give me enough warning so that I can evacuate the area. I don’t want to see that jerk if I can help it. ”
A knowing look passed between Noah and Kathy, and April’s eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what they were both thinking.
They at least seemed to take these words as a sign that they should drop the subject, and April breathed a sigh of relief before taking another bite of her dinner.
There was quiet for a second as they all chewed, and then Noah’s eyes fixed on April, a softness to them that hadn’t been there a minute before. “Sooo … no Tyler?”
April shrugged, shoving a spring roll in her mouth with enough gusto that her mom winced. But it effectively meant she couldn’t reply. Unfortunately, Noah didn’t seem eager to let it go.
“C’mon, Bug. Why are you really home? And with green hair?” Noah’s grin and gentle ribbing should have put her at ease. But it was impossible with the question he’d asked. This was the conversation she’d been dreading the most.
“Don’t call me that,” she said automatically, busying herself with a gulp of water as Noah watched her intently.
It was a nickname he’d tormented her with through high school, one that had unfortunately caught on thanks to the friendship her brother had struck up with her nemesis.
She was certain that Luke and Noah had only become friends to piss her off—which had worked, obviously—but somehow the camaraderie had stuck and the two were still friendly long after high school, much to her chagrin.
Maybe her mom would have let her get away with half-assed excuses, but Noah …
There was no escaping this conversation.
Not with him. Worse, he’d never liked Tyler and she just couldn’t take the “I told you so” right now.
Not that she had much of a choice. Maybe it would be better to just rip the Band-Aid off, especially with his humor fading and concern lighting his blue eyes as she dodged his questions.
“I broke things off with Tyler.” She kept it short, to the point.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey.” Her mom reached over and touched April’s hand, eyes soft and concerned as she peered at her.
Noah, ever sensitive, was much more exuberant. “Fuck, yes. I’m sorry, but you could do so much better than that asshole.”
“Yeah, well.” She shrugged and focused back on her food, stuffing another spring roll in her mouth to avoid saying anything more while the two of them stared at her.
Dark brows furrowing, Noah set down his cutlery. Crap. Here it came. “You seem … torn up about it, considering you broke it off.”
“I guess.”
Noah pushed his plate away and she grimaced. Damn, he must really mean business.
“What did he do?”
“Noah—”
“April, so help me, if he laid a finger on you—”
“What? No! Nothing like that. He … He just—”
“He what?” Noah’s eyes were hard, flinty, his jaw muscle ticking dangerously. It was an expression she’d seen many times growing up, usually when some guy had broken her heart … or when she’d screwed up. “He what, April?”
“I walked in on him with his secretary.” There. She’d said it. It was officially out there in the world and real and so ridiculously clichéd it was tragic.
Her mom gasped and Noah pressed a hand to his closed eyes, screwing them shut like he was attempting to count to ten mentally.
“I’m going to kill him,” he muttered and April rolled her eyes.
“Get in line.”
Noah shook his head. “I’m sorry, Bug. He’s a dick. You say the word, and me and Luke will pay him a visit.”
Despite the melodrama of the statement, her brother’s support did make her feel a teensy bit better. “It’s fine.” Her nose wrinkled. “I still can’t believe you’ve stayed friends with Luke.”
Apparently recognizing the words as the distraction she’d intended them to be, her mom shook her head.
“It’s not fine.” Kathy leaned across the table and April was shocked to see tears in her mom’s eyes.
Two points of pink flushed in her cheeks and her breathing was rapid as she cupped April’s face.
“You can stay here for as long you need, honey. You don’t go back there unless you’re sure it’s what you want.
OK? Your brother can collect your things. ”
Noah nodded. “Whatever you need.”
April looked away, knowing if she looked at them for any longer she’d end up bawling all over again. She’d promised herself last night that she’d shed all her tears for Tyler, for the future they’d been building, and she wasn’t going to break that promise on day one.
“Thank you,” she rasped, and only looked back up once the clinking of cutlery on plates resumed.
Quiet settled over them for a while as they finished eating. Once their plates were empty, their mom started clearing the table, and April was going to stand so she could help out, until Noah cleared his throat.
“There was actually something else that I wanted to talk to you about, Bug.” The softness in his tone immediately made April nervous, as she knew it meant Noah was about to bring up their dad.
Noah’s stare was piercing and April shrunk back, feeling like he could see right to the cowardly heart of her, to the little girl who just wanted to bury her head under the covers and forget any of this was happening.
“I know things are a bit all over the place for you at the moment, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do with The Last Call. ”
She swallowed hard, the lump in her throat making it difficult.
“Sure. Yeah. Sounds … good.” The bar had been her dad’s baby, along with a dozen other projects because he’d always been restless.
It had been struggling before he’d died and had closed altogether when he’d passed, like the place had gone with him.
But he’d left the vacant space to her and Noah, and she’d known that sooner or later they’d have to figure out what to do with it.
Yet the thought of even returning, of remembering all the time they’d spent there with their dad, was causing April’s eyes to burn, a sharp pain aching in her chest. She looked down at her plate, willing away the tears that were threatening to spill.
“I don’t know if I want to reopen the bar, Noah,” she said haltingly, fighting to keep her voice level. “I think it might be too hard.”
Noah sighed, reaching across and placing a hand over April’s. “I know, Bug, and I’m not saying we have to figure it out right now. But Luke’s been on at me to sell his firm the plot—”
April’s head snapped up at the mention of Luke’s name.
“Pointer wants to buy it? To do what, exactly?” Her voice was stronger now, anger searing away her sadness, replacing it with something hard and inflexible.
“There’s no way in hell we’re selling the bar to that …
” She cast around for the word strong enough to describe Luke, with his arrogant swagger and cocky attitude. “That cockroach.”
Noah, to April’s great surprise, looked like he was holding back a laugh. “I’m not saying we should sell to Luke. In fact, I knew that you wouldn’t want to. That’s why I’ve been fending him off for the last four months until I’d had a chance to talk it through with you.”
“Oh.” April was surprised at how considerate this was of her brother, and it stopped her in her tracks.
Her anger melted away as quickly as it had risen up inside of her, leaving nothing but the aching pain in her chest once more.
“Well, OK, then. Let me think about it for a little bit? I don’t really want to rush into any more huge, life-changing decisions right now. ”
“Yeah, the hair’s enough, huh?” Noah grinned and the smile faded into something softer when she rolled her eyes. “Sure thing, Bug.”