Page 17 of My Kind of Trouble
Alex didn’t know what Ryan had ever done to piss her off, but their relationship was prickly to say the least, and he knew Ryan could never let that lie. He had a perpetual need for everyone to like him. But the more he seemed to push, his antics only seemed to irritate Bella more. It’d been interesting to watch, but was leaving them to take care of his pride and joy together going too far?
Ryan bumped his shoulder with Alex’s.
‘Comeooooooon. You know you want to.’
All of a sudden, Alex’s Spidey Senses tingled. Something was going on here that he was missing.
‘Why are you pushing this?’ he questioned.
‘Well…’
Just then, a light bulb came on in Alex’s head. He must have been tired because how did he not see what Ryan was hinting at until now?
‘No,’ he harrumphed, shaking his finger in front of his friend’s face.
Ryan, truly, had lost it.
‘But hear me out…’ Ryan tried to argue.
But, before he could continue, Alex interrupted, ‘No, no, no, no, no. One hundred times no. I am not babysitting your sister on her travels, Ryan. Have you gone completely insane? Firstly, your sister is a grown-ass woman. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that lately, but she does not need a babysitter. And, secondly, why don’t you go if you are so worried?’
With that he started to look sheepish, like he’d been caught with his hands in the cookie jar.
‘Well, because when I told her I was worried and asked her to wait six months for me, she told me she didn’t want to wait and didn’t want me to go. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when my sister has made her mind up aboutsomething she’s not going to change it. Plus, I know she doesn’t need a babysitter, but have you seen some of the horror stories on the news about the young girls who go on these trips? Maybe you could just look out for her?’
Ryan was quick to add, ‘Think of it less as a babysitter and more as old friends hanging out.’
Alex ignored Ryan’s dramatics over the dangers of solo travel and got straight to the point.
‘Then what makes you think she would be okay with me going along with her?’
‘Why wouldn’t she be?’ he asked, pointing a stare at him. Even though he knew the question was innocent, as he continued to stare at Alex and silence wrapped around them, Alex felt his skin start to itch and feel suddenly too tight. He felt like maybe his secrets were plastered on a neon billboard across his head, which only made him start to panic.
‘I… I… I… I haven’t seen her in years.’
He grasped for any excuse not to do this. He felt like the guilt of the secret he’d been keeping might swallow him and his heart raced, palms sweaty. God, he needed to get a grip of himself quickly.
‘And what a way to catch up,’ Ryan continued persuading. ‘You were like family once and I know you drifted when she left for university for whatever reason, but she’s back now and maybe for good. You are my two favourite people, and you should never have drifted apart. It would be great if you could fix that. This would be a perfect way to rebuild your relationship. I know she’d like that, too. It would kill two birds with one stone for you and me and really save me a whole month of crippling anxiety.’
Alex knew a little something about crippling anxiety. He felt it any time he let someone new get close enough that theirabsence could hurt. He also felt it right then, as his best friend looked at him with pleading eyes. Without spilling all his secrets, which would threaten to destroy their friendship, he didn’t really have another excuse he could pull out to get out of saying yes. He was backed into a corner. After all, Ryan was right. The world was a frightening place, and so many things could go wrong if she was out there on her own. Could he ever say no to protecting her?
He must have gone insane because Alex hesitantly agreed to help his friend out, to keep his sister safe whilst she travelled. For the rest of the night, he sat there in a daze as Ryan went about booking his flights and hostels. It was clear this had been premeditated as Ryan pulled out his list of Noa’s plans, making sure their itineraries left no question as to whether or not Alex would be following her across the world. What had he signed himself up for? And how would he manage his plan to feign indifference around her now?
Double fuck.
Chapter 10
Noa
Noa and Tes walked side by side into the large warehouse that was their local outdoors shop. She had never been much for such activities as a kid, as her stubborn nature had made her continuously fight against anything her parents or teachers had wanted her to get involved with. So, naturally, exploring the beautiful countryside around her had been out of the question.
It seemed sad to her now that she was back and had gotten a newfound appreciation for the rolling mountains and swirling countryside around her. The vastnessof it now made her feel so small in comparison, but in the best way possible, like nothing really mattered in the grand scheme of things. The thought had settled her in the last few weeks.
Freymoor was, in short, her happy place. It was a quaint little market town, home to little more than four thousand townsfolk. It was nestled in the middle of the Yorkshire fells, which painted a breathtaking backdrop to the houses and main street that sat at the bottom. It was one of those places that, if you saw it on a postcard, you would probably assume it was a figment of someone’s imagination. It was so picturesque and known by tourists for both its close proximity to great walking trails and some of the most beautiful lakes in the country. Hence, with its attraction of the outdoorsy type, the town had a generous-sized warehouse to cater to all their adventurous needs.
Tes held up a giant, bright green rucksack in front of her with a huge smile on her face as they passed the climbing and camping section of the shop.
‘Yes, you’re right, they’ll really see me coming with that,’ Noa quipped, walking past her to a much more inconspicuous and less in-your-face black fifty litre rucksack.
