Page 121 of Echoes of Us

“You think I care about your daddy’s money? I don’t give a shit, not even where it came from in the first place,” Ezra spat.

Noah’s face shifted. If he was mad before, it was nothing compared to now.

“What did you just say?” Noah asked.

“You heard me,” Ezra answered.

Noah shoved him back hard.

Shit. I grabbed him by his waist and pulled him back forcefully. Ezra moved closer, but Colin stepped in front of Noah, holding him back.

“You’re a fucking loser, Tate. You can’t stand that he outgrew you. You don’t know a thing about my family or my father, and if I were you, I’d shut the fuck up about it before you say something you really regret,” Noah yelled back.

“Yeah, I’m the real loser here, not the junkie who flunked out of college. Like I’m going to listen to any threats from you,” Ezra yelled.

I froze. Noah did what?

Two big security guys reached us as Noah shrugged me off him.

“Mr. Rossi, is there a problem here?” One of them asked Noah.

There was clearly a problem. I scowled at the man and back at Noah. He had settled down and stopped pushing towards Ezra, but was still fuming, his chest heaving in anger.

“Yes, get him out of here.” Noah didn’t take his eyes off Ezra, who scoffed.

Ezra’s eyes locked with mine, still addressing Noah. “Thisis good. At least he got to see the real you this time.” Ezra glanced at Noah again before turning.

The security guys walked over and escorted him out, with Colin following closely behind.

I turned towards Noah again. He was clenching his jaw, hands on his hips.

“What the fuck was that?” I asked him.

He looked up at me before shrugging. Then he turned and left.

I gave Holly a questioning look.

“I’ll try to calm him down,” she said, walking after him.

I didn’t know what to make of this. I glanced around at the rest of Noah’s friends. They just went back to drinking, business as usual. It was unsettling.

I went towards the exit, following Colin and Ezra outside. Once I got there, I spotted them talking down the block. Colin saw me first and gave me a helpless look.

“Ezra, what?—”

“I’m not going to apologize, Att. I saw what he was doing. He was trying to push you into doing more with him, wasn’t he?”

“Still, you didn’t have to get aggressive with him. I can handle Noah.”

He scoffed. “Please, Att, spare me. You can’t handle him. You can’t even see how brainwashed you are.”

“Ezra, come on,” Colin sighed.

“No, I’m tired of holding my tongue and staying out of it. Have you seen yourself lately? I know we weren’t super close in high school, but I’ve known you for years. You’ve never apologized for being who you are or for doing the things you like. You’ve never compromised that, and I know how hard you worked to get here. I know it wasn’t easy for you. You’re throwing all that away for him.”

I pressed my lips together.

“You’ve changed, Att. You’ve changed so much since youmet him. I know you’re doing it to keep him. The clothes you’re wearing, the watch.” Ezra gave my wrist a pointed look.

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