Page 62 of Echoes of Us

“Oh, that’s so sad, Atty. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, it is, and so that was him calling me just now, you know, telling me he wasn’t doing so well, and I asked him if he wanted to come over and spend the rest of the break withus. I’m sorry I didn’t check with you first. I just wanted to help.”

“No, that’s okay, sweetie. He can stay with us. Is he getting here tomorrow?”

Relief flooded me. “No, I think he can make it tonight. I can go get him at the airport.”

“Sure, Atty, you can go. I’ll head over to the store and get some more things. What does he like to eat?”

I thought about that. The only thing I had seen Noah eat regularly was chips.

“I’ll ask him. Thanks, Mom. You think I could take the car? I haven’t gotten him his Christmas present. I’ll call Dad and ask if we can reschedule for tomorrow,” I told her, and she agreed.

I left again and called him. He answered on the first ring.

“I’m sorry for doing this. I feel like a fucking nutjob right now,” he said quickly.

I laughed warmly. “It’s okay, Noah—change of plans. You’re staying with us,” I said, hearing the relief in his breath on the other end.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I told her I had asked you over, so technically, you’re not here yet. I’m going to pick you up now. It’ll take me about twenty minutes to get there, and we’ll figure out the rest.”

“Are you sure? Because I can just get a hotel.”

“I’m really very sure. She’s going out to the store to pick up more food for you as we speak,” I told him.

He let out a soft laugh. “Oh god, she doesn’t have to do that,” he said, embarrassed.

I smiled. I had never seen Noah be bashful about anything. It was going to be interesting seeing him around my mom.

“She’ll do it anyway. I’m going to pick you up, okay? I’m on my way.” I grabbed the keys and left the house.

Driving to the airport, a knot formed in my stomach. I was excited to see him and happy he would be spending the break with me at my house, but was this too much? I couldn’t imagine telling Colin and Ezra about it. Ezra was going to find out either way, and I wished I could avoid that, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to lie to my mom, which I hated. I hadn’t told my dad about him either, and now he would be finding out about it pretty soon. Noah was like a hurricane, sweeping through my life and leaving nothing untouched.

I saw him standing at the door with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, looking down at his phone. The airport’s fluorescent lights cast a harsh glow over his tousled hair, but his smile lit up his face as soon as he saw me. I smiled to myself and parked next to him. He walked quickly towards the car, the cool air swirling around him, and slipped inside with a rush of warmth.

He closed the door behind him and leaned over to kiss me. “I’m so sorry,” he said against my lips.

I kissed him again. I had really missed him.

“It’s fine,” I said.

His hands grabbed my face and held me close to his lips. I kissed him while trying to pry him off me.

“Come on, let me drive.”

He sat in the seat next to me and took a deep breath. “This is crazy,” he said, shaking his head.

“You’re crazy,” I corrected.

He laughed, a mixture of excitement and nerves. “I am, I’m so sorry.”

“I haven’t got the faintest idea what we’re going to do until it’s feasible that you got here. How long is the flight?”

“Six hours.”

I gave him a look, to which he cracked up. “You’re insane, Noah.”

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