A chill ran down my spine as I watched my mom’s car crawling away. It wasn’t the biting air that made me shiver. Rather, it was the disquiet I always felt whenever I had to say goodbye to my mother.
I stood there even after her car had disappeared down the treelined avenue that stretched from the main school building behind me to the tall metal gates at the entrance to Weybridge Academy. A light rain misted the air, but I hardly noticed it. My mom had just left, and I wasn’t sure when I’d see her again.
It had been so good to have her at Weybridge this weekend, but it was hard to appreciate the fun moments we’d shared when our evening at the Halloween carnival had turned into a complete disaster. William Hastings had threatened me, and Noah had punched my father. Despite the past between our families, I’d always felt there might somehow be room for reconciliation. But it was amazing how much could change in one night. The burning-hot anger that now flooded my veins when I thought of Noah and William was impossible to deny. I had no idea how I was going to stomach the rest of the school year seeing Noah every day.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there staring down the driveway, but the rain was no longer spritzing the air. Instead, it was falling in fat droplets, promising a stronger storm to come. I finally considered moving, but it was hard to drag myself away. Walking away meant admitting she was truly gone.
I missed my mom so much already. She’d been reluctant to leave today after everything that had happened last night, but Matthew had to return to New York this morning, and I would be back in class as normal tomorrow. Life didn’t stop, and she needed to get home to her café. Still, I wished she could have stayed. Everything felt so much easier to cope with when she was with me.
I started slowly traipsing my way back to the dormitories. A few students ran past me, trying to get out of the rain as it started to fall even harder. I didn’t join them though. A part of me liked the way it soaked into my jacket and drenched my hair. It was something real when everything else felt so surreal.
When I reached the courtyard between the two dorms, I paused. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back to my room just yet. There were so many things spinning around in my head. Between my mom leaving and the events of last night, I needed to vent. There was only one person I wanted to talk to right now, and I found myself turning in the direction of the boys’ dorm. Wes probably didn’t want to hear me complain about my ex, but he was also one of the most understanding and calming people I knew, and I really needed one of his hugs right now. I felt like they could cure even the deepest of emotional wounds.
When the door to his room opened, I crashed into his arms.
“Whoa,” he grunted, but he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms tightly around me. He hugged me firmly and didn’t question me or let me go until I finally released him and took a step back.
“Isobel, are you okay?” His expression was serious as he reached out to grip my arms and look me in the eyes. I’d briefly spoken to him on the phone last night to tell him that I’d left the carnival early with my mom and Matthew as we’d had a rough night, but I hadn’t explained why.
“I’m okay,” I muttered.
“You don’t look okay. If I’d known you were this upset, I would have come to see you last night.”
“No, don’t worry. You didn’t need to come.” I let out a sigh and walked over to sit on his bed. “I’m just a bit upset now because my mom’s gone home.”
He nodded with understanding and joined me on the bed, the mattress dipping as he sat beside me. He carefully reached out and took my hand in his. “And last night? What happened?”
“It was terrible.” I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I continued. “Noah’s grandfather cornered me in the parking lot and threatened me. Then Noah and my father arrived, and everyone got in a massive argument. I didn’t think it could get any worse, but then Matthew made some comments about Noah’s dad and…” The words caught in my throat. Maybe if I didn’t say it out loud, it would be like it never happened.
‘And what?” Wes squeezed my hand to comfort me.
“Noah punched my dad.”
“He what?” Wes’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Noah punched my dad,” I repeated. It didn’t feel any less surreal the second time I said it. I rubbed a hand across my face as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. “I don’t know what he was thinking.”
“He has been acting weird recently,” Wes said. “He had that fight on the soccer field the other night. But this… This is something else. What did your dad say to him?”
“Something he shouldn’t have. But I still can’t believe Noah’s reaction.” I looked down into my hands. “I feel so damn angry about it all. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I see him again.”
“You’ll do what Noah didn’t and what you always do,” Wes said, making me look up at him. “Take the higher road. You might be a LaFleur, but you’re also a Grace. Obviously, that’s a quality Noah doesn’t have.”
I gave him a small smile but then shook my head. “So, I’m supposed to just ignore it? He needs to know what he did was horrible.”
“Maybe he does,” Wes shrugged. “He might apologize next time he sees you.”
“Maybe.” I didn’t feel confident though. Not after last night. “I kind of want to punch him myself all the same.”
Wes chuckled. “Then go for it. He definitely deserves it. I just want you to do whatever puts a smile back on your face.”
As I stared into Wes’s eyes, it hit me just how lucky I was to have him. He had been a good friend since the day I met him, but I had discovered he was an incredible boyfriend. We’d only been officially dating for a week, and already my ex and my family drama were getting in the way. Wes didn’t seem phased though. He just wanted me to be happy.
“And look, I might be biased,” he continued. “But my advice is just forget about Noah. He’s clearly got some issues, but he’s not your problem anymore. I’m your problem.” He leaned in close to whisper the final words in my ear, and I laughed at the tickle of his breath on my neck.
“You’re not a problem,” I whispered back. “In fact, I think you might be the solution.”
I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders a little as I looked at him. Wes was right. Noah had been acting very strangely recently. After his fight at the soccer match, I’d tried to comfort him, and he snapped at me. But he later apologized. He’d blamed it on the pressure his grandfather was putting him under. Maybe that pressure had gotten to him once again and he’d cracked. It didn’t excuse what he’d done, but maybe he would apologize this time too.
“Got any other problems I can solve?” The low rumble of Wes’s voice tugged me from my thoughts. He was still leaning in close, and his brown eyes were sparkling.
“Maybe…” I replied, my gaze dropping to his lips. He grinned and started to move closer. Our lips were just about to touch when the door to the room burst open.
“Ugh, my eyes!” Sawyer cried out.
Wes grabbed a pillow off his bed and tossed it at his brother, but Sawyer easily dodged out of the way. “We weren’t even kissing,” Wes said.
“But you were going to.”
“Apparently not if you’ve got anything to do with it,” Wes complained. “I thought you were on team Wesobel.”
“Oh, I am. But only when I don’t want to be in our room.” Sawyer winked at me before launching himself onto his bed. It was a mystery how he managed to get comfortable considering the amount of clothes strewn across it. Wes looked like he was about to storm across the room, pick up his brother, and throw him and his dirty laundry out into the hallway, but I didn’t want him to cause a scene. It was Sawyer’s room too, after all, and I didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable in it because of me.
“How was the rest of your night at the Halloween carnival?” I asked Sawyer before Wes could make his move to kick him out.
“Well, everyone loved my costume,” Sawyer replied, totally unbothered by the fact he’d clearly interrupted us. “It makes me wonder why I even go to the gym. Obviously, my Sawyer magic affects the ladies no matter what I look like.”
“Sawyer magic?” I laughed. In an effort to match Wes’s Thor costume last night, Sawyer had dressed as the overweight version of the character from Avengers: Endgame. Clearly, it hadn’t affected his confidence with girls.
“Yeah, Sawyer magic, it’s a thing,” he replied.
“If you were so happy with your costume, why did I see you running round the carnival half naked?” Wes grunted. He was still glaring at his brother but seemed resigned to the fact he was here to stay.
“Well, I left my costume on for the dunking booth, and it got wet. It was so heavy I had to ditch it.”
“You walked around the carnival shirtless?” I asked. “It was so cold last night. Are you crazy?”
“It wasn’t that cold, and I had a cape,” Sawyer replied with a shrug. “Do you mind if I put the TV on? The guys are all watching some movie in the common room, but there’s a game on I want to watch.” Yep, Sawyer wasn’t going anywhere.
“I was just about to head off anyway,” I said.
“You don’t have to leave.” Wes looked disappointed.
“It’s okay. I should get back to my room. Cress might be wondering where I am.”
He followed me as I walked to the door and gathered me up in a warm hug. “Sorry about Sawyer. Let me know if you want to hang out tonight,” he said. “I can come to your room, or we can go for a walk. Whatever you want, I’m here.”
“Thanks,” I said. “But I think I’ll be okay. You’ve already made me feel a lot better, and I haven’t had a chance to do any homework yet this weekend with everything that’s been going on. We could do it together, but you’re somewhat of a distraction.”
“Only somewhat?”
I smirked and pushed him back into his room. “I’ll see you later.”
I let out a breath as I started back to my dorm. Wes might have made me feel better about things with Noah, but I was still missing my mom.
The rain hadn’t let up when I got outside and, even though I ran across the courtyard, the downpour soaked through my clothes quickly. Thankfully, the girls’ dorm wasn’t far.
I was almost to the front entrance when a high-pitched giggle rang through my ears. I saw two figures emerging from the building, and I froze as I realized it was Noah and Veronica.
Rain was pouring down around me, but my feet were pinned to the floor. Noah’s arm was effortlessly slung across the back of Veronica’s shoulders, and my blood turned to ice as she reached up and ran a hand through his hair.
I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t move at all. The way he hugged her close to him betrayed an intimacy that made my heart stop. I was furious with Noah after what he’d done last night, but my stomach still plummeted when I saw him with the girl he’d told me not to worry about.
What was his problem? First, he punched my father, and now he was moving on with Veronica of all people? She’d taken such pleasure in trying to destroy me this semester.
Noah had insisted there was nothing between them when he’d taken her to the White Ball instead of me at the start of the term. Had it all been a lie? Had I been so stupidly infatuated with Noah I hadn’t seen the truth? From the way he was looking at Veronica now, it certainly appeared so.
The hot anger I thought had cooled after my talk with Wes returned with a vengeance. I felt like a cornered alley cat, and it took everything in me not to bare my teeth and hiss at him. This boy had already caused me so much heartache, and now this?
I might have yelled at him, but shock stilled my tongue. I was so furious I was practically shaking, and I couldn’t get my thoughts in order quick enough to speak. It didn’t help that Veronica was still on his arm. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing they were getting to me.
When Noah’s eyes met mine, he held my gaze and seemed to smirk. His arm tightened around Veronica’s shoulders, and he pulled her slightly closer. Veronica followed suit, and the corners of her lips kicked up in a pleased smile, which she flashed in my direction as she gladly snuggled closer to Noah. They were just rubbing it in my face now.
“Today was fun.” Veronica raised her voice slightly, and I knew she was talking for my benefit.
“It was,” Noah agreed. “I’ll call you later.”
He lowered his lips to brush a kiss against her cheek, and I felt the freezing rain against my skin once again. The cold crept down my spine, and my wet clothes clung to me. It all seemed to hit me at once, and I wrapped my arms around my body as I shivered.
Veronica untangled herself from Noah and returned inside the girls’ dorm while Noah pulled the hood of his jacket over his head and started toward the boys’ building. He walked right past me without acknowledging my presence at all. I’d foolishly thought Noah might apologize the next time he saw me. That maybe by now he would have come to his senses and realized he’d acted completely out of line. But apparently, he had instead gone out in search of the next best way to hurt me.
I’d been willing to consider Wes’s advice to take the high road and forget about Noah. But, right now, that didn’t seem possible. Seeing Noah with Veronica had reignited my anger. And the more I thought about Noah punching my dad, the more I trembled with rage. Was he really not going to apologize to me? Why was he being so vindictive?
I whirled to face him. He was nearly at the entrance to his dorm, and I stormed across the courtyard after him. He was just about to pull the door open, but as I caught up with him, I placed my hand against it and slammed it shut.
“What is wrong with you?” I yelled.
He stepped back from me and slowly lowered his hood, lifting one eyebrow as he stared down at me. His eyes filled with judgment as he looked upon my drenched hair and clothes. “Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Isobel.”
“Jealousy? I’m talking about you punching my father.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “He insulted my dad.”
“So? Do you solve all your problems with your fists now?” I shook my head as I stared at him.
“If you’re waiting for an apology, you’re not going to get one,” he said.
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to. You owe my father an apology.”
“That’s certainly not going to happen.”
‘And what about Veronica? You two are suddenly together now?
“Like I said, jealousy isn’t a good look on you.”
I was so mad I had to clench my hands into fists to control myself.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you Noah, but I’m done. I thought you were different. But clearly you take right after your grandfather.”
He flinched a little, and his eyes briefly disconnected from mine. I wondered if my words had made him see sense, but he soon regained his composure. His back became rigid, and his expression turned cruel.
“Maybe I am.” He leaned in closer, towering over me, but I held my ground as I glared up at him. He was only inches away from me, and our chests were heaving with emotion. I knew Noah’s anger matched my own as he scowled down at me.
“What? Are you planning on punching me too?” I asked.
“You think I’m capable of punching you?”
“I don’t know what you’re capable of anymore. I thought I knew who you were, but I can see now I was wrong.”
We were still standing so close, and the air was charged with fire. Even when I hated him, there was an undeniable connection between us. I wished I could burn it away, along with every other emotion I felt when Noah was near.
“You believed what you wanted to believe about me,” he replied. “It’s not my fault you made me into some fairy-tale prince.”
“How could I have ever thought you were a prince when you’re so clearly the villain?” I replied.
Noah released a dry laugh and stepped away from me. “Finally, you’ve got it all figured out.”
The way he was looking at me, it was hard to believe he’d ever cared about me at all. “Just stay away from my family, Noah. Stay away from me.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
“Good.” I turned and started back out into the rain, my anger driving me away from Noah. He wasn’t the same boy I’d dated just a few weeks ago. He wasn’t even the same boy who’d broken up with me. He’d done it so reluctantly at the time, bowing to his grandfather’s wishes without a fight. Now he was physically attacking my family members and going out of his way to hurt me.
Something in him seemed to have changed. The line of division between us and our families was clearer than ever. Noah hated my family, and he hated me. I was more than happy to make the feeling mutual.
