Ch7

NOVA

I take one last look at my room, wondering if I'll ever be able to come back to it, before I grab the handle of my suitcase and drag it out the door.

I don't know what to think of Mom's logic. It makes sense, but at the same time it doesn't. I know for sure Noah will be mad at me, but not enough to hurt me, right? I'm his sister. His biological sister whereas Enzo is just his friend.

What could he possibly do that's making mom scared for me.

The drive to Aunt Joan’s is two hours of silence. I'm not used to this type of silence. Whenever I go on drives like this with mom, we'll spend our time singing along to old school music like our lives depended on it. But, not today.

Today, our favorite radio channel stays off. Mom's eyes are darting to her phone mounted on the dashboard every time it lights up with another missed call. I just stare out the passenger window, watching the familiar city landscape blur and dissolve into the rolling hills of the valley.

By the time Mom pulls the SUV up the gravel driveway of Aunt Joan’s house, I've finally decided she's mad at me. She just doesn't want to show it.

She has every right to be mad. I mean... she sees Enzo as her son. And if I had done this to Noah, mom would be doing the exact same thing she's doing now.

The front door opens, and Aunt Joan steps onto the porch, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Behind her, a small crowd gathers. My cousins... Marcus, Kol and Chloe all poke their heads out.

"Sarah? Nova?" Aunt Joan calls out, her brow furrowed as she walks down the porch steps. "What are you guys doing here? You didn't say you were driving down today."

As Mom and I get out of the car, my cousins trail out onto the porch. Kol and Marcus are in t-shirts and shorts, holding gaming controllers. They are completely oblivious.

Their home here in the valley is a bubble. They don't follow our city's high school sports drama, and the local news broadcast hasn't rippled out this far yet. To them, it's just a random Wednesday.

"Kol, can you grab her duffel?" Aunt Joan says as I get to her. She gasps at my eyes which are bloodshot and swollen.

"Sarah, what's going on? Why does Nova look like she's been crying for a week?" Aunt Joan asks.

"Let's go inside, Joan," Mom says. "Please. Just let us get inside."

We all crowd into Aunt Joan's living room. Kol has dropped my bags by the door and he's sitting beside me on the chair.

"Okay, seriously, you guys are creeping me out," Kol says, breaking the silence. "Did someone die?"

Mom takes a deep breath, standing in the center of the room. She looks at Aunt Joan, then turns to face my cousins. "Kids, listen to me. Nova is going to be staying here for a couple of weeks. And I need you all to understand the gravity of what is happening, because her safety and peace of mind depend on it."

"Staying here? For weeks? In the middle of the school term?" Marcus asks. "What did she do, rob a bank?"

"No," Mom says. "But back home, everything has blown up. Nova... she made a voice recording. An audio recording of her brother Noah and his best friend, Enzo Moretti."

"The hockey guy?" Kol interrupts. He and his brother share glances and then he tries again. "Do you mean Enzo? The one projected to go top three in the NHL draft?"

"Yes, him," Mom sighs, rubbing her temples. "They were having a private conversation in our living room about something... highly sensitive. Something involving a girl at school. Nova recorded it on her phone. She didn't mean to do anything with it, but her best friend Ava took her phone, found the recording, and leaked it. It's on the school forums. It's in the city group chats. It just hit the local televised news broadcast an hour ago."

Chloe walks over and grabs my hand. "Hey, are you okay?"

At least she's receptive. Kol and Marcus look amused.

"Yo... Nova," Kol says. "The internet is going to go literally feral over this. If I'm correct, you practically just ended the Ridgeview Wolves' season before the playoffs even started!"

"Seriously. I think it's kind of legendary. Cold-blooded, Nova. Absolute savage." Marcus says and he laughs.

"It's not funny. His career is ruined, the whole school hates me, and my phone is blowing up with people calling me a snake!"

Marcus smiles fades a little. "You're not a snake. You just did what you had to do."

What I had to do? I wasn't even going to post the recording to the public. I would never do that to Enzo. And... and somehow doing that would affect the team that my brother plays for so why on earth would I do that?

Marcus and Kol are idiots. They'd never understand.

"You know what, I think you both should shut the fuck up. You're idiots." Chloe tells them, her hand squeezing mine a little. She pulls away and wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"Ignore them, okay? They lack what I call emotional intelligence," Chloe whispers in my ear, pulling back to look at me. "I don't care about some hockey player. I care about you. I can see how terrified you are, Nova. But honestly? I am so excited you're here. We're going to get through this, and we actually get to hang out for a couple of weeks without anyone bothering us." She gives my arm a reassuring squeeze. "I've got your back. Always. We'll hide out in my room, watch movies, and ignore the boys."

I nod, trying to smile but failing at it. Mom gives me a wink as she's pulling Aunt Joan into the kitchen corner so I follow them.

"Joan, please," Mom says. "You have to promise me. Look at me."

"I'm listening, Sarah. What is it?"

I stare at both sisters, my eyes moving from one to the other. I know my mom is pretty close with her sister but I've never seen them being this close and it's usually hard to tell when they're on opposite sides of the room shouting instructions at their kids whenever we come for family visits.

"You have to sit Kol, Marcus, and Chloe down and make them understand. You have to beg them not to breathe a word of this to Noah. Do not let them text him, do not let them snapchat him, nothing."

Aunt Joan frowns. "Noah doesn't know she's here?"

"Noah knows she made the recording, or at least he's pieced it together. He is protective of Enzo to a fault, Joan. He is furious. If Noah finds out Nova is hiding down here in the valley, he will get in his car and drive down within the hour. There will be a massive confrontation, and Nova cannot handle that right now. Not until her father gets off his flight and we can find a way to contain everything." Mom looks over at me, then she averts her gaze back to her sister. "Please, Joan. Beg your kids to keep their mouths shut."

Aunt Joan looks over her shoulder at the kitchen counter, where Kol and Marcus are still snickering over their phones, and then at Chloe, who looks worried now.

"Hey! All three of you, look at me right now," Aunt Joan shouts.

Kol and Marcus instantly sober up, putting their phones down. Chloe finds me eyes and smiles.

"Your aunt is asking for our help, and this is serious," Aunt Joan says, glaring pointedly at her sons. "If I catch either of you hinting to Noah, or anyone else from home, that Nova is staying in this house, I will personally confiscate your phones, your cars, and your gaming consoles until you graduate. Do you understand me? Noah cannot know she is here. Period."

Kol frowns, looking like he wants to say son but he doesn't. "Yeah. Got it, Mom."

"We won't say anything, Aunt Sarah. Promise," Marcus mutters.

I look down at the phone in my lap as a new text pops up from Noah.

Noah: I know you left school. Mom's car is gone too. Where the fuck are you, Nova? Answer me.

"Is that..." Chloe asks, her eyes on my phone.

I nod without a word. She mutters some curse words and takes my phone, sliding the power button down and I watch the screen fade to total black.

Mom pulls me into one last hug, rubbing my back as she does. "You'll be fine, okay."

"How long do I have to stay here?" I ask her. I don't want my cousins or my aunt to feel a kind of way because even though I love them, I love my immediate family as well.

Mum shrugs. "For as long as your Dad and I can speak to your brother and get him under control."