Page 45 of Echoes of Us

“You’ve been bugging me for months to get out there and ‘do college,’ whatever that means, and now that I’m doing just that, I can’t do it. Is it because I’m not doing it with you? What is it?” I asked him.

“You’re going to get hurt,” Ezra told me.

I glanced at Colin. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

He gave the door a pointed look. “Are you? Hiding something?” he asked.

Cold sweat formed on the back of my neck.

“Noah was in rehab last semester. That’s why he wasn’t here,” Ezra snapped.

I froze.What?

Colin made a helpless gesture with his shoulders.

“He has a serious drug problem, Att,” Ezra said, his voice softer.

“I didn’t know about it until a week ago. Holly let it slip,” Colin said.

My heart clenched painfully. He was so alone in that fucking apartment, in his life.

“I’m not going to leave him because of that. People just leave him like he’s not worth it, and I won’t do that. Not because I feel like I have to, but because I want to. I want to be here for him, and he needs it. He’s allowed to make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. It doesn’t mean I have to give up on him. He’s worth it,” I told them.

They both looked back at me with matching worried expressions. Ezra parted his lips like he was about to say something, and the door opened behind me.

I closed my eyes. Damn it.

“Maybe this is an indoor conversation. Don’t you think?” Noah said.

Ezra was more surprised than Colin.

“They were just leaving,” I said and turned to him.

He looked defeated again, his smile gone. “It’s fine. I can talk about it if that’s what you want.” Noah glanced past me at them. “It’s a fucking terrible conversation for this hour, but I’ll have it if I have to.” His eyes focused back on me. “I don’t want you to give up on me either.”

I walked towards him, and he moved back into the room.

“I get that you’re trying to help me, but I got it from here,” I told my friends.

Ezra gave the impression of wanting to say something, but Colin held him back with a hand on his shoulder. He gave mea nod, and I entered the room, closing the door behind me. Noah was leaning back on the desk with his arms crossed over his chest.

“So.”

“I’m sorry, Atty. I should have told you,” he said quietly, still looking away.

“What happened?” I asked, leaning back against the door. Something was curling in my chest, burrowing inside. So many things about Noah started adding up in the worst way possible.

“Before winter break last year, my mom came. If she told me she was coming, I didn’t remember. She found a lot of things in my house. I didn’t have a choice about whether or not I went,” he said.

I sat on my bed with my elbows on my knees. “Why, Noah?” I asked.

He met my eyes. He pressed his lips into a thin line.

“No, I mean, what is it? What drugs, I mean?” I clarified.

His eyes drifted away from me again.

“Is it the drinking? Smoking?” I pressed.

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