Page 19 of Echoes of Us

“Well, if your dad said so, I guess I agree,” Colin said.

I turned to look at him, smiling. “Does that make you my mom?” I asked.

He threw his head back laughing.

We left the party a little while after that. On our way out, I spotted Noah again. He was making out with the girl from earlier against a wall in a dark corner. He had his hand up her shirt, and her hands were on his waist, pulling him closer to her.

I tried to shrug it off, but the image kept haunting me. I didn’t know why it upset me so much, and I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to figure out the nagging feeling I had in my chest. Then, I finally put a name to it, but it didn’t make me feel any better. If anything, it made it worse.

It made him look cheap.

CHAPTER

FOUR

AFTER

Isped away from that gym as fast as I could without running. I had never missed a practice before. Never. Not when I had a fever in tenth grade. I still showed up, even though the coach kicked me out. Not when my dog died, and my mom was so heartbroken I had to get on a plane right after practice to get to her. Not when Noah?—

I stopped myself. I was done thinking about him. I was done with him.

“Atty, stop,” he called again.

My heart was pounding louder with every step. “Leave me alone,” I shouted.

“Atty, come on, just give me a minute,” he pleaded, his voice closer now, tinged with desperation.

“No,” I yelled, my throat tightening.

“Just talk to me for one second, I swear,” he insisted.

I turned to look at him, fury bubbling up inside me. “Why? Why do you want a second now? You didn’t botherwith a second before. You just left, Noah. I don’t want to talk to you. You don’t get any more seconds. Not from me,” I spat out, barely able to look at him.

But I did.

Of course I fucking did.

He looked so much better. That was what my stupid head supplied me with. He was still lean, but he seemed healthy, and that made me a little happy, even if I still hated him. His green eyes locked with mine and it was like a million memories came flooding back with enough force to knock the wind out of me. Sitting with Noah on his couch, the sound of his laughter, the solid weight of his body over mine, his voice when he sang, the way he rolled his eyes with fondness, his face when he slept, the lingering notes of sandalwood he left over my skin, the taste of his lips. One by one, memories flashed fast without filter, causing my heart to splinter over and over again.

“Atty,” he tried, his voice softer, almost breaking. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head and left as fast as I could.

“Stop calling me that,” I muttered to myself before breaking into a run. I couldn’t go through this again. I couldn’t reopen this. I barely got out of it the first time.

CHAPTER

FIVE

BEFORE

After the party, Noah started texting me semi-regularly. At first, he began slowly, sending me volleyball articles or similar things. I’d see his name pop up on my phone, and my heart would do a little flip. Then he started asking what I was doing or what I thought about something. Sometimes, he’d stop for days and then return to the last question I had asked, offering no explanations. Each time I saw his message, a mix of excitement and anxiety churned in my stomach.

His presence was like a magnet, pulling my attention even when I tried to focus on drills. Colin and Ezra hovered around me whenever Noah was present, and no matter how much I asked them to stop, they kept doing it. They even forced me to go to a couple of parties but didn’t leave my side or even talk to girls if they spotted Noah.

Noah invited me over to his place, too, but the thought of it still made me uncomfortable, even if I did want to see him.Whenever he saw me around campus, he would wave hello before returning to his friends. It was frustrating, like we were friends, but at the same time, there was something wedged between us, keeping us apart.

As the next tournament approached, he stopped coming to practices again. I stopped seeing him, and his texts became more sporadic, making me panic. Maybe this was him starting to disappear from my life. After all, we had nothing holding us together. I either had to accept an invitation to his house or ask him out in a friendly capacity.

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