Page 15 of Echoes of Us

Ezra looked relieved, and we walked back to my dorm, talking about something else. Noah texted me his house address, and I scanned the message, not opening it so I wouldn’t have to respond to it just yet. Ezra’s words kept swimming in my head. I knew how different Noah was fromme. I knew it, but I still wanted to be around him. And Noah was hardcore? What did that even mean? I thought about the vacant way he looked up at the house, the way it had unsettled me.

When I finally opened the message, I told him I didn’t think I would make it, and he just typed,Okay, in response.

As luck would have it, Colin showed up looking for me at my dorm. I was sitting in my sweats playing a video game when he walked in and looked at me expectantly.

“Why aren’t you ready?” he asked.

“Ready for what?” I replied, confused.

“To go to Noah’s,” he said, as if it were obvious. “I’m heading over there now, and he told me he asked you too.”

“Did he say I agreed?”

“Well, no, but I assumed you did. Are you not coming?” He sat on my bed, leaning back.

“What about Ezra?”

“He’s got a date,” Colin said, wagging his eyebrows with a smile. “Come on, get ready.”

“I wasn’t planning to go, actually,” I admitted, though I wasn’t sure.

“So you’re just going to stay here playing video games alone on a Friday night? Att, you’re in college. Please just do college,” he urged.

I sighed. “Ezra was the one who told me not to go. You two need to align your parenting; otherwise, you’ll just end up confusing the kids,” I said, pointing at myself.

He snorted with laughter. “Why did he tell you not to go?”

“He said Noah’s parties were too hardcore for me,” I explained.

Colin made a face.

“What?”

“All parties are hardcore for you,” he teased.

“Fuck you,” I said.

He laughed again. “I mean, he’s not lying. Noah doesn’t live in the dorms; he has his own apartment. Things get a little heavy there, and you know, right?”

“Know what?”

“That Noah’s into drugs.”

“I know he smokes,” I said.

Colin sighed. “Smoking weed to Noah is like you playing video games on a Tuesday. That’s his tame behavior,” he explained.

I felt uncomfortable again. How bad could it be? It was still Noah.

“Is that why he’s so out of shape?” I asked.

Colin assented with a smile. “It’s cute that that’s how you notice it. Everything revolves around the game for you. But, yeah, living that way would do that to you. As long as you’re aware of what we’ll be walking into, I think it’s okay.”

“I’m aware,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure. “What do I have to change into?” I asked, looking down at myself.

“Anything’s fine, Att.” He sighed, grabbing the console from my hand, and playing while I changed.

Noah lived in an upscale building. It wasn’t one of those huge complexes with a thousand tiny apartments. He had a doorman, and the lobby was like the entrance to a high-end hotel. The marble floors gleamed under the soft lighting, and the air smelled faintly of fresh flowers. I glanced at Colin, and he made a dismissive motion with his shoulder as we walked inside. Noah lived on the top floor, and the elevator opened directly into his apartment. That’s where the fanciness stopped. It was like walking into a cloud of weed. The place was packed with people, so there was little furniture. There was a massive window towards the back that opened to aterrace. The view of the city skyline was impressive, lights twinkling against the night sky.

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