Ch4

NOVA

My eyes narrow at Noah's text. This has to be about Enzo reporting this morning to him. He shouldn't have. The last person I want to worry about me is my brother.

I stare at his text again and I snort. That alone is enough to tell me he's deeply concerned.

Noah never cares about school gossip. The closest he'd ever come to journalism was accidentally appearing in one of my articles after getting suspended sophomore year.

I look up at Ava. "I have to go."

"What? Where?" She asks.

I shove my phone into my backpack and grab it, before immediately changing my mind. "Actually, hold this."

Before she can protest, I dump the bag into her lap. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"Going to see my brother."

Ava blinks. "And... why the hell are you leaving your phone?"

"Five minutes." I tell her.

"Nova." She shakes her head in disapproval.

"Ten minutes." I say again, then I point a warning finger at her. "Do not touch anything."

She gasps. "The betrayal. The lack of trust."

"Ava..."

"Fine. I wasn't gonna touch anything."

I nod, then I hurry out of the media room before she can ask more questions. The halls are packed as students head toward first period.

A hockey banner hangs from the ceiling near the gym entrance.

GO WOLVES!

Because apparently breathing isn't enough around here. You also have to worship hockey. The familiar sounds hit me the moment I step inside the gym.

Whistles. Sneakers squeaking. Weights clanking. Loud music blasting from somebody's speaker.

The hockey team had early conditioning before classes started. Most of them are scattered around the weight room section.

Noah is near the squat rack, laughing at something one of his teammates is saying. Enzo stands nearby. Of course he does.

Even from across the gym, my stomach immediately does that annoying little flip. I hate that. Especially today.

Because every time I look at him now, all I can hear is... "She needs to get rid of it."

The memory makes my chest tighten. I look away quickly.

"Nova!"

A voice calls out my name. I know who it is even before I turn. Just thinking about him makes me groan internally.

Henry Walker.

Of course. The universe clearly hates me. Henry is leaning against a bench with two of his friends. I glance toward him.

The guy is as tall as a tree, he has dark hair, he's confident, maybe too confident but he's not my type.

Emphasis on not my type.

Ever since senior year started, he'd decided I was the love of his life. Or maybe just his favorite source of entertainment. Hard to tell.

"Morning, sweetheart." He says.

I roll my eyes. "Don't call me that."

His grin widens. "Why not?"

"Because I don't like it." More because my I don't want my brother to hear.

"That's not what your face says."

"My face says you're annoying."

His friends laugh. Henry clutches his chest dramatically. "That hurts, Nova."

"I'll survive." I squint my eyes at him.

"You sure?"

I sigh. "Unfortunately."

Henry pushes away from the bench and start walking toward me.

Across the gym, Noah immediately notices. I see the way his expression darken. That is exactly why I avoid this gym altogether.

Noah makes it his personal work to scare guys off me. I find that attitude of his annoying, but I've come to get used to it.

"Oh boy," one of Henry's friends mutter.

Henry stops directly in front of me. "Listen," he says.

"No." I shake my head.

"I haven't even asked yet."

"My answer remains no."

"Come to the game tonight."

I fold my arms. This guy is bold. It's either he doesn't see Noah watching him, or he chooses to ignore my brother's warning eyes. Either way, it's his problem.

"I always come." I tell him.

"Not as media." His smile turns smug. "As my date."

The entire gym goes quiet for approximately three seconds. Then somebody whistles. Another player starts laughing.

"Oh, he's dead," someone mutters.

I don't know how Noah gets to us, but he's standing beside Henry and he lifts his hand and flips Henry off.

"Get lost, Walker!" He yells.

The team erupts into laughter.

Henry just glances at Noah and grins. "See? Your brother loves me."

Noah flips him off again. This time with both hands.

I can't help but smile as Henry starts backing away. That's when I notice something strange.

Enzo isn't laughing. Isn't smiling either. He's just staring. At Henry. Then at me. Then back at Henry again. His expression is completely unreadable.

Something about it makes me uncomfortable.

Thankfully Noah chooses this exact moment to start talking. "Henry's bad news." He says.

"What?"

Noah grabs a water bottle.

"I'm serious."

"You say that about literally every guy."

"Because every guy is bad news."

"That's now how it works."

"It works like that when you're my sister."

"You're ridiculous." I roll my eyes.

He takes another drink. Then points at me.

"You texted me."

"You texted me first."

"Details."

He tosses the bottle aside. "Come on."

I follow him toward one of the quieter hallways leading out of the gym. Behind us, practice resumes. The noise gradually fades.

For the first time all morning, it's just me and Noah.

My brother shoves his hands into his sweatpants pockets.

"How are you?"

The question catches me off guard.

"Good."

"Liar."

"I'm fine."

"Mhm."

Great. Apparently everyone in my life had started doing the Enzo thing.

I hate it.

Noah nudges my shoulder.

"You've been weird since yesterday."

I shrug. "Just tired."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

The way he says it tells me he doesn't believe a word. But thankfully he lets it go. For now. Instead he grins suddenly.

"I got something big for you."

Something big. Normally those words would have excited me. Now they just terrified me.

Because my brain instantly went somewhere very specific.

A pregnancy. A recording. A scandal. A secret.

I swallow. "Oh?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"What is it?"

His grin widens. "Patience. Trust me. You're gonna love this."

The entire time he's talking, his phone keeps vibrating.

Again. And again. And again.

At first he ignores it.

Then it buzzes another three times in a row.

I frown. "You should probably get that."

Noah groans. "I know."

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

"Jesus Christ."

He finally pulls the phone from his pocket. The second he looks at the screen, his expression changes. The smile disappears. His brows pull together.

"What?"

Noah doesn't answer. Instead he stares at the display. Confused. Then concerned. Then outright alarmed.

A knot formed in my stomach. "Noah?"

Still nothing. He taps the screen. A second later audio started playing. A familiar voice fill my ears.

"She's pregnant."

Every ounce of blood drained from my body.

No.

No no no.

No.

I know that voice. I know that conversation. My heart slams against my ribs so hard it hurts.

"She told you she was late weeks ago!"

My lungs stop working.

The recording.

The recording.

The recording.

The hallway suddenly feels too small.

Too hot.

Too bright.

Noah's eyes widen as he continues listening.

And all I could think is...

How the hell does he have that recording?

Noah stares at his phone as Enzo's voice continues playing through the speaker.

"I can't have a kid right now."

My stomach drops so violently I think I might actually throw up.

No.

No no no no no.

This can't be happening. I never posted it. I promised Ava I wouldn't. That aside, I didn't want to.

My throat feels like it's closing.

"Noah."

He doesn't answer. His eyes stay glued to the screen. The recording keeps playing.

"She needs to get rid of it."

I flinch when Noah finally looks up. And what I see on his face makes my blood run cold. My brother is confused.

"Where..." My voice cracks. I swallow hard. "Where did you get that?"