Page 4 of The Secret Of Us

I’m drawn out of my thoughts by Chloe tapping my knee as Amelia waves her hand in front of my face.

“Earth to Izzy. Do you want to go out for dinner later?” Amelia asks.

“Sounds good, but I want to get a quick workout in first. Would anyone like to join me?” I ask them, already knowing what the answer will be.

“I’ll come with you, but I’m too tired to do anything,” Chloe says, and Amelia agrees with her. I’ll take it, though. Even if they just stand in front of the treadmill while I run, at least I can keep talking to them.

“I’ll get changed and meet you there?” I ask them, pushing myself up from the ground. They do the same so we’re all standing together.

“We’ll secure your favourite machine,” Amelia says, lifting her hand in a salute. A laugh escapes me as I draw them both into a hug, squeezing them tightly.

My phone pings, and I let go of them to check who’s texting me because my friends are in front of me, and Isaac and Violet won’t be home yet. I wish I hadn’t.

I throw my head back to face the sky, letting out a groan of frustration.

“Is he still bothering you?” Amelia asks, taking my phone from my hand. When I tip my head back down, they’re both huddled over my phone, scrolling through my messages with Ryan. Very one-sided messages because I haven’t replied to a single one since we broke up before summer.

“He’s relentless,” I tell them as Amelia hands my phone back to me, and I pocket it.

“I can get Josh to fight him,” Chloe says, referring to her own boyfriend, who is on the football team with Ryan. We all burst into laughter at the same time at the idea of gentle Josh fighting anyone.

“It’s fine; he’ll give up eventually when I ignore him in real life, too,” I tell them. “I’m going to go and get changed, and I’ll meet you guys at the gym.”

Amelia and Chloe link arms as they walk toward the sports building, and I turn to walk back in the opposite direction, to the dorms.

When I get back to my room, I ditch my jeans for shorts and change into running shoes. I lace them up, pushing away any negative thoughts about the upcoming school year. Maybe spending these next few months thinking positively will help me avoid making any big mistakes when it comes to decisions about my future.

2

NOAH

This isthe biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

That’s the only thought running through my mind as I stand in the bathroom attached to my new bedroom. The room is bigger than I expected, the bed tucked against one wall and a long desk fixed to the opposing one with a few shelves lined above it. There’s a small closet too, already organised with my clothes, thanks to Appa.

I’ve lucked out coming to Coates—there were definitely worse options—but I still feel like coming here was a mistake. Maybe I would have been better off staying home for my final year and taking my exams at a test centre. I’m smart enough to teach myself everything I need to know, and my parents are aware of that, too. But they didn’t want Mina coming to a new school alone, especially after what happened at the last one. So, here I am.

I’ve already felt the stares of the other students on the walk back and forth from my room to Appa’s car. If that’s anything to go by, my plans of flying under the radar and going unnoticed for the year have already failed. I have no intentions of getting close to anyone here, and I’m determined to keep to myself so I can get through the year unscathed.

“Adeul.” Appa’s voice drags me out of my thoughts. He hardly ever calls me by my name, choosing to call mesoninstead. “Let’s talk.”

I step out of the bathroom to see him perched on the edge of my desk, his ankles crossed over each other and his hands folded in his lap. He stares down at his hands, his thumbs twisting together. He’s started getting some grey streaks in his hair recently, a stark contrast to the black on the rest of his head.

I steady myself and approach him, taking a seat in the chair next to him. I’d hoped we could continue avoiding a conversation like we did on the journey here, but it seems there’s no chance of that. In my mind, there’s nothing left to discuss now that I’m already here.

I keep my gaze focused on the floor, on his leather shoes, his black trousers, his cashmere grey jumper—anywhere but his face. He takes my silence as a cue to start speaking, switching to his mother tongue.

“I know the past few months have been hard,” he says, his voice deepening as he speaks in Korean. “It can be stressful to start over at a new school but keep your head down, focus on your grades, and it’ll be over soon.”

I nod, pursing my lips together to stop myself from speaking. I’ve been finding it difficult to talk to him kindly recently, so I’ve settled on not saying anything at all.

“Your mother and I love you a lot.”

But you don’t love each other.

He lets out a deep sigh and I realise I’ve said it out loud. I let myself glance up at his face for a second, just so I can see his reaction to hearing it. His eyes are closed as he shakes his head ever so slightly, and I find myself mimicking the action.

“I didn’t mean to say that,” I tell him, my voice coming out croaky from not being used for a while.

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