Page 82 of Catching My Dreams

He covered her hand with his, earning a lick on his fingers from Archie. “Thank you.”

“Does Olivia know as well?”

Noah sighed. “No. Her mom thought it was better that she didn’t know about Riley. Some crap about teenagers not being good at keeping secrets.”

Ella winced. “She’s not going to be happy when you guys finally tell her.”

“She’s going to be pissed,” he agreed. “But it’s up to Riley to trust her with it.”

“Do you think she ever will?”

“I hope so,” Noah replied. “It seemed like their relationship was getting better, but after the other night, I’m not so sure anymore. If they don’t sort their shit out, Riley might never tell her.”

“And you’d be okay keeping it from her?”

Ella thought of the teenager who was obviously hurting now that her half-sister was back in the picture after so many years. If it ever came out, this would just be another thing that would cement her belief that Riley was her family’s favorite.

“Honestly? No. I already hate that I am.” He let out a heavy breath. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Either I betray Olivia by keeping secrets from her, or I betray Riley by telling Olivia everything.”

Ella felt a wave of bitterness. Riley had betrayed Ella’s trust by telling everyone what she could do, yet she expected Noah to keep things from his half-sister.

She knew Riley had felt pressured into it, and she’d technically forgiven the lavender-haired woman, but it felt unfair all the same. But then Ella remembered that she herself had expected Riley to keep secrets from Asher, so she couldn’t really judge without being a hypocrite.

“What a mess.” It was all she could say when she could understand both sides of the story and couldn’t begin to give him any advice.

“Pretty much.”

She felt something tickle her shoulder, and she stiffened. It was probably just a strand of her hair, but the sensation sent Ella back to her standing in front of her bathroom mirror.

“You okay?” Noah asked, his gaze cutting to her.

“Fine,” she replied, her body still tense.

She looked over her shoulder, half-expecting to see Brett sitting behind her, but there was nobody there. Or at least nobody that she could see. She turned her head back to the front of the car.

“Just remembered that I didn’t bring my purse. It has my pills and everything in it.” It was a convenient truth.

“Your pain medication? My dad probably has some Tylenol you can take.”

“It has my birth control pills as well,” she said, though the strong painkillers she kept in her bag sounded pretty good, given the tension in her neck. “I took it this morning, but I’ll need it tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you call Riley? They’re probably still at the house.”

Ella nodded and took her phone out of her back pocket. She made the call, feeling like she was in a dream, like she wasn’t fully present. The rest of the drive felt much the same. She responded to Noah’s questions and scratched Archie behind his ears, but her focus was on her skin, on waiting for a phantom touch that never came.

23

“Thank you for letting me stay here,” Ella said to Noah’s dad and stepmom. “I really appreciate it.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Hugh replied with a warm smile. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”

Ella tried and failed to return his smile. They’d met her and Noah in the driveway, but as good as their intentions were, she just wanted to have a moment alone.

“I’m going to get Ella settled,” Noah said, thankfully giving her the escape she so greatly needed. “The others should be here soon.”

“Okay,” Hugh said, sending a concerned look at Ella. “Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee? Tea?”

“I’m okay, thanks.” Water sounded lovely, but what she really needed was to get to the room she was staying in.

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