Page 147 of Echoes of Us

“Give me your phone,” David said, and Noah handed it over.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Colin asked me.

I shrugged. “Not well,” I admitted.

“Why don’t you head out? You’ve done enough today. You know you can’t push your shoulder.”

“Yeah, I think I will,” I agreed. The last thing I needed was a Noah concert now.

The music changed, and a new song started playing.

“Hey. Not that,” Noah said while David and a few others joined in on the joke.

I recognized it. My head snapped towards them. Noah was frowning, trying to retrieve his phone, while David held it out of reach, grinning.

“See? I was right. What even is this?” David teased.

“Dave, just give me my fucking phone back. Play something else.”

The singer started crooning the words, and something gripped my chest painfully. I could almost see Noah standing across the kitchen, spatula in hand, singing to me.

“Seriously, Rossi, what is this?” David pressed.

“Att?” Colin asked, but I didn’t turn.

Noah was really upset. I understood perfectly—no one was supposed to touch this. This was just ours. One song for a perfect moment between us, and right now, it felt like a hot knife going through my heart. It was too bright in the gym. Too bright and open and filled with people for this to be playing right now.

“I’m not kidding around. Give it back right now,” Noah said, his tone serious, but David wasn’t looking at him. He was still smiling, looking at Noah’s phone.

“It’s from a playlist. Here it is.”

I braced for the pain.

“Corny love songs for—” David stopped cold. The smile left his face, and he dropped his hand.

Noah yanked the phone away, stopping the song.

“I’m sorry,” David mumbled.

“Fuck off,” Noah spat. He didn’t look up. He just turned and left the gym.

“What just happened?” someone asked David.

He glanced at me and shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Att,” Colin said again. He looked sympathetic, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’d forgotten about that,” I muttered, rubbing a hand over my face. I couldn’t shake off the heartbreak this time. “Fuck, I’d forgotten about that stupid playlist.”

“Sorry, Att. That was one of the songs?”

“Yeah. I’m going to take off.”

I made my way towards the exit, making sure to avoid the parking lot where Noah might be.

Suddenly, I was right there again, all the times Noah sang those stupid love songs. Sometimes with a teasing smile, sometimes seriously. It killed me every time. Noah was usually crass and blunt, always joking. But when he sang those songs, it was incredibly sweet, making my heart race. I couldn’t control how much I loved him when he did. It was sincere and beautiful. I didn’t need to relive this now.

I went back to the apartment, hoping Colin or Ezra would bring my bag. I flopped down on the bed, an arm over my face. It was like Noah was a part of me, a part of my body living outside. I didn’t know how to get rid of him. For every two steps forward, something like this would happen, and it felt like a wave crashing, pushing me a thousand steps back.

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