Page 79 of Remember Us This Way

The tears stream down my face, and the quicker I wipe them away, the sooner they’re replaced with more. “We can manage two hours,” I say, trying to sound confident about it, but in reality, two hours is still two hours away, and when I’m missing him and not getting to see his face every single day, those two hours are going to feel like two light-years.

“Yeah, we can,” he tells me, moving his hand to my thigh and giving a firm squeeze. “If we can make it through three years of radio silence, then we can do college. It’ll be one year, and then you’ll be right there with me.”

I nod because I can picture it perfectly. Where Noah goes, I go. If the roles were reversed, I know without a doubt that he would follow me blindly.

Sitting back in my seat, I watch him drive, my heart so full and happy. The guy I’m looking at now is the real Noah, and so many times over the years I was worried I would never get to see him like this again. He’s come so far, and I’m amazed by the man he is today, but from the first day I met him, I knew he’d be incredible.

Since pushing away the pain and guilt, he’s been able to reclaim a part of himself, and he’s soared ever since. He’s no longer drowning or sick with internal agony. Don’t get me wrong, there are days when his grief cripples him, just as it does me, but he no longer pushes me away. On those days, we spend a few hours down at East View Cemetery, and when we leave, it’s just a little bit easier to breathe.

It’s a long road, and he still has miles to travel—we both do, but we’re heading in the right direction, and I can’t wait to see where it leads us.

It’s a short trip back into East View, and before I know it, we’re pulling up at the lake. A crowd falls in around Noah’s Camaro before he’s even able to cut the engine. He squeezes my thigh again, and in this very moment, the world has never been so perfect. “Are you ready?” he questions, turning that all-too-charming smile on me and knocking the breath right out of my lungs.

“I’ve never been so ready.”

32

Zoey

Christmas and New Year’s Eve came and went in the blink of an eye, and before I know it, I’m waking up on my seventeenth birthday to the sound of pebbles striking my bedroom window. A warm smile spreads across my face, and I stretch with a groan as I open my eyes.

Another pebble hits my window, and I can’t wipe the grin off my face. It’s not hard to guess who’s standing outside my window. Throwing my blanket back, I get out of bed and trudge across my room to open the blinds and peer out into the front yard, immediately laughing.

Noah stands in the middle of the lawn with an old boom box resting on his shoulder. In one hand, he clutches a stack of papers, and the boom box wobbles as he reaches down to grab another pebble from the pile at his feet. I open the window, more than ready to throw myself right out of it and drop straight into his arms, but I’ll settle for hearing whatever it is he’s come to say.

Only, he doesn’t say a word as he reaches up to the boom box and presses a button, filling the whole street with the sweet sounds of My Neck, My Back by Khia.

My cheeks flame with embarrassment, and my gaze quickly darts up and down the street, hoping no one decides to come out and see what the hell all that noise is. “NOAH!” I hiss, reconsidering the whole jumping out the window thing, only it wouldn’t be to drop into his strong arms, it’d be to kill him.

Noah doesn’t say a word, just simply smiles as he holds up the papers in his hand with big bold letters scrawled across the first one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZOZO

The first page falls away, and I suddenly don’t care about his choice of music as I read his second message.

I AM EMBARRASSINGLY IN LOVE WITH YOU

A wide smile pulls across my face, and the next paper falls away.

SO IN LOVE WITH YOU THAT I FEEL IT’S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO TELL YOU…

I wait on bated breath, the anticipation burning through my veins. But then he drops the next piece of paper, and that wide smile vanishes as though it never even existed.

YOU’RE REALLY FUCKING LATE FOR SCHOOL

“WHAT?” I screech, my head whipping back toward my bedside table to look at the clock, seeing that I’m not just really late, I’m it’s just about lunchtime kind of late. “Oh shit.”

I grab the window and yank it down, Khia’s demands to lick her all over now muffled through the closed window, but it does nothing to muffle the barking laughter that quickly follows. Rolling my eyes, I ignore him and quickly scramble around my room, searching for something to wear before dashing into the bathroom and throwing my hair into a ponytail. I don’t bother with any makeup, and before I know it, I’m grabbing my things and hurrying downstairs.

Noah sits at the island counter, helping himself to the muffin Mom left out for me this morning, and I pluck it out of his hand before shoving it into my mouth and giving him a muffin-filled kiss. “You’re an ass,” I say around my muffin.

“Bullshit,” he says, taking my things out of my arms and leading me to the door. “You can’t honestly tell me that you’ve had a better wake-up call than that.”

“Maybe I have,” I challenge, knowing damn well he’s right.

Noah scoffs as we reach the door, and he grips my elbow before pulling me to a stop and turning me to look up into those dark eyes I love so much. He pauses just a moment, his gaze sailing over my face before gently brushing his fingers across my forehead and fixing my unruly hair. “Happy birthday, Zo,” he murmurs, his deep tone sending butterflies soaring through the pit of my stomach.

A soft smile spreads across my lips, and I press up on my tippy toes to give him a proper kiss. His arms curl around my waist and hold me to him, and my knees grow weak as I melt into him. My eyes flutter, and before I lose all sense of control, I pull back just an inch, meeting his dark gaze. “Thank you.”

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