Page 54 of The Secret Of Us

Noah being here with me has made this whole thing less painful. I’m so glad he didn’t leave. He takes my hand in his again.

We look at each other, not a single word passing between us, but there’s an electricity in the air, a charge that makes this moment feel pivotal. None of what’s happened since we entered this room has been for show. He didn’t have to stay with me, hold my hand, clean my scratches, or kiss me. But he did. And I don’t know what that means for us.

“At least you’ve got a good excuse not to play hockey now,” he says, humour in his voice as he tries to lighten the mood.

I huff out a laugh but then his words register in my mind, and I wonder if this is the sign I was looking for to stop completely. Maybe this happened just so that I could stop playing in a way that wouldn’t have Isaac feeling disappointed in me.

“I don’t know who I am without it,” I tell him, surprising myself as I say it because I’ve never thought about it like that before.

I met my best friends through hockey, the girls I can’t imagine not having by my side for the rest of my life. It’s how I figured out Isaac actually liked having me as a sister and didn’t think I was an annoying kid. It’s the reason I go to the gym so much, why I’m so disciplined when it comes to taking care of myself in that way. So many aspects of my life are tied to it, and I’m scared of what will happen when I give it up.

“You’reyou, Izzy. You don’t need to be anything else.” He says it with such a gentle force that it plants itself in my brain. I want to believe him.

The nurse comes back into the room, crutches in hand. She passes them to Noah, who lets go of my hand to help me sit upright. My legs dangle over the side of the bed as the nurse explains what I need to do for the next couple of days, the main focus being on resting.

“I’ll make sure she does,” Noah tells her.

“What a lovely young man you are,” she says, beaming at him and he ducks his head to hide his shy smile. “You’re a lucky girl.”

“I know,” I say proudly.

Noah turns his smile on me then, and I know I’m getting closer to the full thing.

“I’ll take you to your room,” he says right as Luke bursts through the door.

20

NOAH

“Are you okay?”Luke asks, panicked, as he rushes over to Izzy.

I move out of the way so he can get to her, but then confusion kicks in.Why is he so worried?

He’s first aid trained as part of his placement and Mr. Reid said we can go to him if anything happens to one of us. Luke’s been nice to me since the first day I met him, and I figured an extra pair of eyes to look over Izzy wouldn’t hurt. I called him as soon as we got here, but I didn’t expect him to be this concerned.

“I’m fine, Luke. Stop being dramatic.” Izzy rolls her eyes, a heavy sigh escaping her as Luke starts peppering the nurse with questions.

She answers them all before excusing herself and leaving the room, clearly tired of dealing with him after just a few minutes. Luke puts one hand on his hip as he drags the other through his hair.

“Have you texted Isaac yet?” Luke asks.

He knows her brother?

“I fell over, it’s not a big deal.” She swats his hand away.

“It’s a big deal to him,” he says, crouching to check her ankle.

“Luke, if you tell him, I will fight you.”

He points at her ankle.

“And how are you going to do that?” Luke says, deadpan. “I have to tell him.”

“No, you don’t,” Izzy says, exasperated.

She surprises me when she swings her good leg and knocks Luke over. I have to stop myself from laughing at him sprawled out on the floor. They’re way too familiar with each other to just be a teacher she’s comfortable with, but I still don’t know exactly what their relationship is.

“And why was he the one to tell me?” Luke stands up, swinging his attention to me and pointing his hand in my direction.

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