Page 9 of My Kind of Trouble
To forget about her problems and how much her life has spiralled in the last three days was the obvious answer. Oh, and to dull the annoyance she felt that Alex didn’t even seem to acknowledge her existence, never mind her return to town. They were friends once. Or so she had thought. As much of a friend as you can be with your older brother’s annoying best friend who enjoys teasing you and behaves like an overprotective caveman. The second brother you never asked for. She swore one of Alex’s and Ryan’s favourite past times growing up was to scare off any boy who even looked her way, and she never knew which one of them was worse than the other. Their childhoods had been intertwined in one way or another. Alex spent most of his time at their house, usually scowling and cursing. Always angry, but never at her. For her, he just used to save his most elaborate, exasperating pranks and incessant teasing, which annoyed her to no end but, at least, she felt like he cared in some way.
But Alex also had a softer side, and he had always been able to show it around her. It often made her feel lucky, like they had a connection that he only shared with her. Like the time she had found him practically buzzing with hurt and anger in a tree house the three of them had once found near the woods. She’d gone to look for him, hoping she would find him there. She knew it was a place only they would know about and he would likely feel able to hide out in.
After seeing how broken Alex looked when she arrived, the hurt his dad had caused when he left and continued to cause now—well, she hated him for it. A man she had nevermet, but wished she could, just to tell him what a mistake he had made.
She’d had to fight to hide that anger, needing to be there for him through this but, to her surprise, the moment he saw her he softened. His eyes warmed like she was the only person he wanted to see.
Last night, though, he was cold. His features were hardened and completely stoic. He looked at her with the same indifference he’d often offered the rest of the world growing up, like she was just another random person and their history was non-existent.
It hurt.
The anxious part of her brain had spun into overdrive, questioning her ability to judge people. Had she gotten it all wrong? Could she trust her instincts anymore? First, she’d misread—or just simply missed—the signs with Lucas and, now, Alex had treated her like a stranger. Was it something about her that made her merely a short-term option? But, the more she let the ‘what ifs’ snowball, the more her hurt merged into anger.
Becausefuck them.
Fuck Lucas for not communicating and wasting her time. And Alex, well, she guessed the rumours were true, the towns biggest fuckboy really had earned that title. Not only did she get little more than a nod here and weird eye contact there, but he’d also spent the whole night flirting with Suzie Whitehead when he wasn’t in his office, a girl Noa had never gotten on with in school. Had it not been for that fact, Noa might have considered that Alex was just busy with the bar and that she was overreacting. Because second guessing herself was kind of a hobby at this point.
She didn’t expect a welcome home party to be thrown in her honour. She didn’t know what she was expecting. It wasn’t like they had seen each other since getting naked together eight years ago. And now, after the way he had reacted last night, Noa couldn’t help but think it had been intentional on his part. She wasn’t sure why, whether she had hurt him then, or whether it was the opposite and that night genuinely meant nothing. Maybe he’d actually been relieved when she suggested the pact. She’d always brushed off his absence when she came home, but the way he had blatantly ignored her could not be brushed off.
Was a smile and a conversation in reaction to seeing her too much to ask? Clearly.
She flushed with anger. Would she have to avoid the bar now that he not only worked there, but owned the damn thing? She shook her head to erase the thoughts that filled her with only annoyance, immediately regretting it.
‘Ouch,’ she moaned.
Her mum came into the kitchen in that moment, her fleece dressing gown with tiny flowers decorating it wrapped around her and cinched at the waist. Her brunette hair, the exact shade as Noa’s, was still a tangle on top of her head, as if she’d just dragged herself from bed.
She placed some painkillers in Noa’s palm, effortlessly taking care of her like she always had.
‘There you go sweetie. I hear you need these this morning,’ she said with a playful wink in her direction. Noa groaned, realising Ryan had more than likely tattle-taled any embarrassing stories from last night to her mum, as always.
‘Oh, we’ve all done it, love. Don’t look so mortified. Is it really a breakup if you’ve not botched Single Ladies on the karaoke? It’s a rite of passage into a new chapter if you ask me.
At least you kept all your clothes on, unlike Ryan when he and Melody broke up.’
Noa giggled at that, and she could feel the weight on her chest lift a little bit more. It was true that sometimes all you needed was your mum.
Like they’d summoned him, Ryan came barrelling into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around their mums’ shoulders from behind, leaving a kiss on her cheek.
‘Oh, you ladies are just jealous you can’t get the crowd going like me. There wasn’t a set of dry knickers in the house that night, and I’ve been fighting off booty calls ever since.’
‘Ryan!’ their mum shrieked, scolding him with a thump on his shoulder and an exasperated glare.
‘Don’t bite, mum. You know it’ll only encourage him,’ Noa chuckled and ducked out of her brother’s arms as he came to hug her, only to see him smirking at her as he sat himself on the kitchen side.
‘You know it would be boring here without me. Now, where’s my coffee? I thought with having two women in the house now it would be ready and waiting. It’s the only reason I’m here,’ he replied, ducking before mum could launch her spoon at his head.
‘Oh, it has nothing to do with revelling in my alcohol-induced misery then?’
‘That, my dear sister, is just an added bonus.’
Noa harrumphed, but grabbed two more mugs of varying shapes, colours, and patterns to make them all a coffee. The mugs were only the start of their mum’s eclectic taste when it came to their kitchen. The mismatch of colours and decorations that came with years of collected memories gave it so much heart and personality. It was almost like the space had a life of its own.
The large polka dot vase, for example, pulled Noa back to her mum, Bethan’s, birthday ten years ago. Noa had been so busy, lost in the chaos of exam season, and had forgotten. Her face fell when she’d walked into a set table, gifts decorating it, ready for a celebratory meal. Without a word, the warm, firm hand of a thoughtful boy planted itself on her back. He slid a gift bag next to her, sacrificing his own gift, and saving her the mortification of having to apologise to her mum. But that boy was not the man Alex Fletcher she had become last night.
Clearly sensing a shift in her mood, Noa’s mum tried to lift it, like she always did, and Noa was thankful. But the topic of conversation didn’t quite work as she intended.
‘I’m sure Alex enjoyed your performance,’ she said, lifting her brows. ‘You two always did love a Christmas karaoke competition.’
