Page 61 of The Secret Of Us

“Sit down, Izzy,” Luke says, exasperated.

I do as I’m told, but only because I’m tired of standing. I place the crutches across my lap, and once Luke is satisfied that I’m not going anywhere, he jogs back onto the field.

I look for Noah again, and he’s got the ball at his feet, dribbling it until he kicks it powerfully toward Josh. Honestly, I don’t know much about football. I never cared enough about Ryan to pay attention to anything he said about it, but I want to learn more for Noah. From what I’ve seen, he plays really well when he’s given the chance to.

It takes a couple more minutes for Noah to realise I’m here, but when he does, his entire face lights up. He sticks his arm all the way up in the air and waves at me, the corners of his mouth turned upward. I wave back at him, and I’m glad he’s far enough away that he can’t see my cheeks turning red.

When they finally finish playing, about ten minutes later, Noah runs over to me as soon as the whistle blows.

“Thanks for coming,” he says. He stands with his hands on his hips, his chest moving up and down rapidly.

I smile at him, shrugging, because it’s not even something he needs to thank me for. My face drops when I see Ryan walking toward us though. I hope he’ll walk straight past and realise how serious I am about Noah by showing up for him even while I’m hurt.

Instead, he completely disgusts me by spitting at the ground near Noah’s feet.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I shout at him, unable to hold back the resentment I feel toward him.

“You should ask him that,” he says snidely, nodding his head in Noah’s direction.

“I know you keep saying stuff like that because it makes you feel big and smart, but it just shows what a waste of oxygen you are,” I say, finally letting out everything I’ve wanted to since he started acting like this. “Leave my boyfriend alone and leave me alone. If you say one more thing to either of us, I’m going straight to Mrs. Fisher. I’m sick of your shit, Ryan. Get over yourself.”

Ryan’s mouth drops open, his eyes wide at my outburst. I’m sick and tired of dealing with him. He’s a constant thorn in my side while I’m already struggling to figure out so many other things. He opens his mouth, but I shut him down before he can say anything.

“A single word and I’ll be at her office,” I warn him.

This has gone on long enough now. I’ve given him chance after chance to stop, to grow up and realise that I want nothing to do with him. I’ve also let him get away with treating Noah badly for too long. I should have put a stop to it as soon as I realised how bad it was. I haven’t done enough in the past, but I’m putting my foot down now.

One of Ryan’s friends comes over to us, grabbing his arm and dragging him away. Ryan looks back at us, glaring as he walks up the stairs. I do the same right back to him. He’s not as scary as he thinks he is.

Noah’s hand on my knee is the only thing that stops me from shooting daggers at Ryan. I turn my head, and he’s crouched in front of me, his gaze steady as he watches me. He takes my free hand in his.

“Thank you,” he says again.

I clench my jaw as I feel my chin start to tremble.

“I don’t get how you can just ignore the way they treat you,” I tell him. I’ve only encountered it a few times now, and each time has been mentally draining. I can’t begin to imagine how much else he’s been going through when I haven’t been with him.

“It doesn’t bother me. I know it’s only for a few more months, and then I can leave all this behind.”

In my head, I excuse myself from that generalisation. I don’t want him to leavemebehind.

“Well, it bothers me,” I huff out, trying to act tougher than I feel. In reality, I want to cry. I dip my head to hide the tears I can feel forming from my frustration and sadness.

“What does?” Noah asks. He rests his chin on my knee and looks up at me through his long eyelashes.

“I don’t like the way they treat you. I don’t want them to think the worst of you,” I confess.

“What do you think of me?” he asks softly, a warmth in his hazel eyes that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

“I think you’re…”Brave, wonderful, funny, the best person I’ve ever met.“Kind.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” He smiles softly at me before pressing a quick kiss to the back of my hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Noah stands up, letting go of my hand so I can fiddle with my crutches. He steps to my side, and I let out a squeal when he hooks his arms under my knees and around my shoulders to pick me up. I don’t fight him on it, though. Today has been exhausting, and if I can take this tiny bit of comfort from him, then I want to.

He’s careful as he carries me up the stairs, toward the dorm buildings, and right back to my room where he lets me down gently onto my chair.

“I’ll come get you tomorrow morning, okay?” Noah tells me as he takes the crutches from me and leans them against the wall. “Do you want pancakes again?”

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