Page 97 of Cruel Elite (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 3)

I run to him and drop to my knees. “What is it, Noah? What’s wrong?”

“My parents are getting a divorce.”

He speaks the words with no emotion, though I can see the pain of it in his eyes.

They are black, midnight black. Darker than I’ve ever seen them.

“Oh my God.”

I sink down so I’m sitting on my ankles, too shocked to care about the rocks biting into my skin.

Noah’s parents are happy.

They love each other.

His dad makes scrambled eggs and toast on the weekends—double portion for me when I join them because he knows how much I like them—and his mom fresh squeezes orange juice.

Occasionally, she even sneaks a little bit of champagne into each of our glasses with a wink, never letting on that we’re having a boozy brunch.

When my house becomes too much to bear, I escape to Noah’s house.

To his cozy sunken living room and his warm family and his loving parents.

Sometimes, I imagine what it would be like to have his parents.

I never let myself dwell on it, of course, because that would make Noah my brother, which would be a nightmare.

Still, I envy his parents, and now… they’re separating.

“Why?”

Noah’s cheeks flush a deeper red, and he stands up, his hands fisted at his side.

The emotion he’d been hiding before is revealing itself now, a simmering storm just below the calm surface.

He paces back and forth, too angry to speak for a while.

I’m on the edge of my seat, but I wait, letting him process everything at his own time.

At long last, he grits out, “The son of a bitch cheated on her.”

“He cheated on your mom?” I clap my hand over my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“And his whore is pregnant.”

“Noah, I’m so sorry. Wow, I—I can’t believe it.”

“Neither can my mom,” he says, his top lip curling in disgust. “She’s been crying all day. He’s packing up his stuff now so he can move in with the other woman. Apparently, they’re going to start a little family. His first one is worn out, I guess.”

I blink—once, twice.

A thought comes to me, but I dismiss it almost as soon as it enters my mind.

I need to focus on Noah and comforting him, not on my own problems.

Besides, what I’m thinking can’t be true.

This town is small, but it’s not that small.

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