Page 30 of The Secret Of Us

If even a fraction of what they’re saying is true though, I want to hear it directly from Noah. I’m all too aware of how small the school is, and how quickly words can spread and get twisted. So, for now, I’ll keep believing in the Noah that I’ve come to know.

The moment Noah’s hand curled around mine flashes in my mind. All the anger I felt toward Ryan was bubbling inside me, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Even though I could feel Noah looking at me, I kept staring straight ahead, hoping he would look away. But then he reached over, took my hand in his, and all the anger escaped me.

I stop pacing and hold my hands out in front of me, placing them on top of each other in different positions to try to mimic the way he did it. Nothing matches up to it, though. That calm feeling doesn’t wash over me like it did when Noah did it.

“Izzy.”

I spin around, and he’s there, standing in a white T-shirt and navy blue shorts, with a grey hoodie draped over one shoulder.

“Noah. Hi.”

His eyes drop to my hands and I realise I’m still holding them weirdly. I separate them and pull them behind my back, hoping he can’t read my mind and figure out what I'm doing.

“What are you doing?” he asks, stepping closer to me.

“I’m waiting for my sister to pick me up. Thought it might be good to go home for the weekend.”

Noah nods, measuring his next words carefully.

“Do you have any other siblings?”

His question catches me off guard. It’s not something I expected him to ask. Apart from yesterday, our conversations have been focused on school, neither of us speaking about our families. He never mentions his, and mine is too complicated to get into, so I think we’ve made an unspoken mutual agreement not to talk about them. But now he’s asking, and I want to tell him.

“Well, she’s not really my sister. Not yet, anyway. I have an older brother and she’s his girlfriend. They’ve been with each other for so long that it feels like she’s my sister.”

“That must be nice,” he says, the tiniest smile appearing on his face.

“It is.”

I feel the corners of my mouth tilting up, matching his. I’m smiling more these days, and it happens a lot when I speak to Noah.

I wait for him to ask another question. Iwanthim to.

“Has he bothered you anymore today?”

It’s not exactly what I wanted, but I understand his concern. Especially considering he’s caught me in the middle of running away for the weekend.

“No, I’ve managed to avoid him,” I say, heaving out a sigh.

Noah’s eyes latch onto mine before he tilts his head downward, his bottom lip caught between his teeth for a second.

“Good,” is all he says.

“Thank you, by the way.” I realise I haven’t said it to him yet. We sat together during classes as usual, but didn’t say much to each other. I wasn’t ready to speak about it, and I think Noah could tell. He’s already under so much scrutiny from our classmates that I thought he would be more hesitant about getting involved, but he wasn’t.

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I mainly wanted him out of my seat.”

He laughs to himself, and it’s the first attempt at a joke I’ve ever heard him make. It has me doubling over with laughter, and the sheer ridiculousness of the entire situation this morning is finally hitting me. My eyes start watering, and I can’t stop laughing, my hands crossed across my stomach as it starts to hurt.

A gentle hand on my shoulder is the reason I finally lift my head. Noah looks at me with concern in his eyes, and I notice that he’s ducked down to match my height. Once he realises I’m laughing and not crying, his face brightens a little, his usual polite smile back on his face again—but it’s slightly wider this time. I’m getting closer and closer to seeing the real thing.

I stand up properly, clutching my stomach as I try to catch my breath. Noah’s hand is still on my shoulder when a car horn beeps. I turn around, and Violet’s there in Isaac’s car, waving at me through the windshield. I hold up my index finger to her, signalling that I’ll be over in just a minute, before I turn back to Noah.

“That’s my sister, Violet. I’ve gotta go.”

“Right, of course.” He drops his hand, shoving it into the pocket of his shorts.

“Have a good weekend, Noah.”

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