Page 17 of Catching My Dreams

“Riley’s not going to die.”

Chris gave him a look that said he was being stupid. “We all die.”

Noah thought of his mom. It was exactly what he was afraid of. Her dying. But that didn’t mean he would choose not to care about her to save him from the pain if it happened. That wasn’t how life worked. “Does that mean you don’t give a damn about me or Asher?” he asked, already knowing the answer but trying to make a point.

Chris’s expression darkened further. “I do, but don’t you remember how it was when Asher went missing?”

Asher’s disappearance had hit them both hard, but maybe Noah had underestimated just how badly it had affected Chris. He opened his mouth, ready to say something comforting, but Chris didn’t let him have the chance.

“Just forget it. If Asher is happy, good for him.”

He went to the showers before Noah could reply, but Noah’s mind didn’t drop the topic. Chris had an amazing dad and older brother, but his mom had been anything but a stable presence in his life. Noah was sure she was a big reason for him wanting to stay unattached. And nearly losing Asher clearly hadn’t helped.

Chris always seemed to be the least serious of the three of them, but it was all an illusion. An illusion that Noah was starting to see through more and more. An illusion that was firmly back in place when they met up with Asher at a pizza place not far from campus.

“How’s the Mrs?” Chris asked their friend as soon as they’d sat down.

“If you mean Riley, she’s good,” Asher replied with a grin that seemed out of place on a guy who’d been through what he had. “I didn’t get to see her much today because she was working in the library after class.”

Chris hummed thoughtfully. “Are you saying you didn’t visit her and get down and dirty in the history section?”

“You’re disgusting,” Noah complained. “That’s my stepsister you’re talking about, remember?”

Chris smirked. “Well, I may or may not have caught our friend here doing some pretty inappropriate things with your stepsister in the shelves a few days ago.”

Noah and Asher both let out curses.

Noah really didn’t need to know what Asher and Riley got up to in their free time. He wasn’t related to Riley and had known her for only a few months, but he’d grown up hearing all about her from his stepmom. She was family, and people did not need to hear about their family members’ sex lives.

“We were just making out,” Asher explained, his eyes narrowed on a cheerful-looking Chris.

“I’m pretty sure things would have escalated had I not interrupted.”

“Could we not talk about this?” Noah begged. He preferred not throwing up if he could help it.

Chris sighed. “Fine. Why don’t we talk about you and Ella instead?” the traitor suggested.

Noah tried to keep his expression neutral. “What about me and Ella?”

“I thought I might have to stop you from killing each other this morning.”

Asher groaned. “Are you two still at each other’s throats?”

“I think they’re getting worse,” Chris informed him. “We might have to hide all the sharp objects when we have our board game night this weekend.”

Noah scowled. “You’re hilarious.”

Riley had begged and pleaded with them to have a game night on Sunday, and she’d not only invited Ella but somehow convinced her to host it as well. It was a disaster in the making.

“Just telling it how I see it.”

“Why the hell do you two hate each other so much?” Asher asked him for the hundredth time.

Only this time, Noah decided to give him as close to an honest answer as he ever had. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with how she decided Chris and I weren’t good enough for her and started ignoring us when we were kids. Did you forget that little nugget of information?”

Noah knew he sounded like a grumpy asshole. Clearly, Asher had done as poor of a job as Chris had of cheering him up.

Asher shifted uncomfortably on his chair. “That was a long time ago, and I thought you were the one who didn’t want her following us around all the time anyway.”

---