012 - CONFRONTATION

012

CONFRONTATION

NOVA

"Nova," Marcus gives me a pointed look. "Did you know she was going to Ridgeview?"

"No! I didn't know, Marcus, I told her not to go!" My voice cracks. I drop to my knees to grab my phone, my hands shaking so hard it takes me two tries to scoop it up. "She said she wanted to buy a dress. She joked about running into Noah, but I thought... I thought she was just being stupid. I didn't think she'd actually do it!"

"Well, she did. And she ran right into him at the plaza near the campus." Marcus rubs a hand over his face, pacing the small space between my bed and the closet. "Kol was with her. You know how Kol is... he can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. Noah cornered them, and Kol cracked. He told Noah that you're here."

Noah knows. Fuck. I thought that I wasn't scared of my brother before now. I mean, I thought... what could he possibly do? But now, I do not want to know what he's gonna do.

"What do we do?" I whisper, looking up at Marcus from the floor. "Should I hide? Should I call your Mom?"

"Call my mom? For what? She’s an hour away at the office," Marcus scoffs, shaking his head. "By the time she gets here, Noah will already be through that door. Besides, look outside."

I scramble to my feet and rush to the window, pulling the blinds back just enough to peer down into the driveway.

A familiar black truck is already roaring down the street. It screeches to halt right behind Marcus’s car, blocking the driveway entirely. The driver's side door flies open, and Noah steps out. His face is pale, his eyes fixed on the front door of the house.

But he isn't alone.

From the passenger side, Enzo steps out.

Behind them, Kol’s sedan pulls up to the curb. Chloe steps out of the passenger side, looking terrified, her hands over her mouth as she watches Noah and Enzo march toward our front porch.

"They're both here," I mutter, backing away from the window as if they could see me through the glass. "Enzo's with him."

"Great. Fantastic," Marcus mutters, already turning toward the hallway. "Stay up here. Let me handle them first."

"Marcus, wait..."

But he’s already heading down the stairs.

A second later, the front doorbell rings and someone... I'm guessing Noah, starts pounding on the door.

I stand frozen in the center of the guest room. Every instinct I have is telling me to lock the door, to crawl under the bed. But the muffled sound of shouting starts drifting up the stairwell.

“Where is she, Marcus? Don't lie to me, I know she's up there!” That's Noah's voice.

Fuck.

I have to call mom.

“Man, back the fuck up from my face,” Marcus fires back. “You don’t come into my house yelling.”

“We’re not here for a fight, Marcus,” another voice says. Well that's Enzo. “We just want Nova. Now.”

I swallow the lump of fear in my throat. I can’t let Marcus take the fall for my mess. I’m the one who kept the recording. I’m the one who let Ava get her hands on it, even if I didn't want her to leak it. Running away got me this far, but looking at my phone lying on the bed, I realize there's nowhere left to run.

I walk out of the room and step onto the landing, looking down the spiral staircase.

They're all crowded in the foyer. Marcus is standing at the base of the steps. Noah is right in front of him. And right behind him is Enzo, his dark eyes scanning the house until they lift... and lock directly onto me.

"Noah," I call out.

The entire foyer goes dead silent. Noah pushes past Marcus, his eyes tracking up the stairs until they meet mine.

He looks at me while blinking, and then he says... "Nova," he says. "Get down here."