LOGINNoah turned up the music, some pop tune with a heavy beat that I didn't recognise. He hummed along under his, completely relaxed while I was freaking out.I tried to track our route by the turns, but gave up after the third or fourth. We were driving for a while; twenty minutes probably. Or was it thirty? It was really hard to tell. Every few minutes Noah would lean over to rest his hand on my thigh or press a kiss to my temple, "You keep tapping your foot." He laughed. "Relax."I liked it when he touched me, it felt really calming, "But I still really need to know where we were going. Why won't you tell me?""Be a little patient with me, okay?" He brushed some hair out of my face, then kissed my forehead, and that was the end of my arguing.Finally, the car slowed down to a stop."We're here," Noah said.I heard his door open and close. Then mine opened, and he was helping me out, one hand gentle on my elbow.The air was different here, much more humid. I could hear loud, thumping b
The question hung in the air between us, still unanswered even after ten seconds of staring at him, dumbfounded like an idiot.Do you still love Jace?I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.The answer should have been simple. No. Of course not. After everything he'd done, everything he'd put me through—But I simply couldn’t make myself say the words.My mind spun through a thousand justifications, a thousand different explanations for why I couldn’t just be honest, but my throat had closed up completely.Meanwhile, Noah’s expression turned dark."That's what I thought." He turned to leave."Wait—please," I begged desperately, shutting the door and standing in front of it to stop him from leaving. "It's not—of course I don't love him. I mean… love is such a strong word. I don't know if that's even what I'd call it, but—""But what, Lena?" Noah cut me off, his voice eerily calm. "I think I’ve heard more than enough. I don’t need you repeating the same new lines over and over ag
I blinked. "Huh?""You kind of stopped listening and started staring at nothing. You seem really worried about something." Martin poked my arm. "You haven’t done that in a while, are you okay?”Out of the mouths of babes."Of course I’m okay. Sorry about that, bud. Let's get back to work."Martin giggled, “You called me bud, just like Jace usually does.”“Oh.” I blinked. How long have I been doing that?” I asked, surprised to hear it. I barely noticed that I was picking up some of Jace's mannerisms, probably from all the time we used to spend together.“I didn't notice it either, until Jace told me and asked me to keep it a secret.""A secret?" I asled.Martin's eyes went wide when he realised it wasn't a secret anymore. "Uh oh. I probably shouldn't have said that""But don’t worry,” Marcus grinned, “I don’t mind it. And I'm sure Jace doesn't mind either, so it’s okay.”I cleared my throat, muttering, “Alright then. Let’s continue.”We were deep into a discussion about how the introduc
The question hung in the air between us, still unanswered, even after ten seconds of staring at him, dumbfounded like an idiot.Do you still love Jace?I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.The answer should have been simple. No. Of course not. After everything he'd done, everything he'd put me through—But I simply couldn’t make myself say the words.My mind spun through a thousand justifications, a thousand different explanations for why I couldn’t just be honest, but my throat had closed up completely.Meanwhile, Noah’s expression turned dark."That's what I thought." He turned to leave."Wait—please," I begged desperately, shutting the door and standing in front of it to stop him from leaving. "It's not—of course I don't love him. I mean… love is such a strong word. I don't know if that's even what I'd call it, but—""But what, Lena?" Noah cut me off, his voice eerily calm. "I think I’ve heard more than enough. I don’t need you repeating the same new lines over and over a
I stood outside my house for a full minute, my hand on the doorknob, unable to make myself turn it.What if Noah had already seen the photos? What if he'd already decided that I wasn't worth the trouble?What if I walked in there and lost the last person I had left who was still on my side?I took a shaky breath and opened the door to find Noah sitting on my bed, waiting patiently for me.His posture was unnaturally stiff, his spine straight, his hands resting on his knees, and his jaw tight with tension.He wasn't looking at his phone, nor was he looking at anything else. Instead, he just stared at the wall like he was trying to see through it with a betrayed look on his face."So I guess you two are back together, aren’t you?” He started, his voice quiet.I would’ve preferred it if he had yelled at me, because at least then it would’ve been some kind of reaction, instead of this tense silence. I swallowed nervously, wringing my hands, trying to find the right words to say. "Noah—"
I stood frozen in Marco's Pizza, my mind spinning while I tried to process what had just happened. Jace was gone before I could follow while I waited there like a fool, shocked beyond belief, wondering when exactly I’d become the kind of girl that got followed around by paparazzi.At least Jace was gone now, I thought, that’s the end of that. I wouldn't have to think about that again.I was just about to leave when my phone suddenly buzzed in my hand.I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw it was an incoming call from Nicole."Hey, Nicole. How’s your morning going? You won’t believe what just happened to me…” I started, desperately needing to get it all off my chest."Girl." Nicole's voice was cold and flat. Nothing at all like the bubbly warmth that I'd gotten used to over spring break. "What the hell did you do?"“I… I don’t understand. What do you mean?” I asked, my voice sounding thin and pathetic. “If this is about our road trip, I haven’t talked to my mom yet but I think…”"Don't
The church was fuller than I expected.That was the first thing that got me. Walking through those doors with my mother's arm through mine and seeing how many people had come. Some faces I half recognised and half that I didn't. The room was full of people who had known my father in chapters of hi
NINEMartin had fallen asleep mid-sentence.One moment he was telling me about the classification system he'd invented for his train collection that was colour-coded by era, and the next his head was drooping toward the table. No warning. Just gone.I sat there for a moment watching him sleep, his
My mother just stood there stiffly, her fingers twitching with anxiety as she struggled with herself.“Mom? Aren’t you going to do anything?” I asked.“I’m… I’m sorry sweetheart. It’s for the best. You’ll see.”Even as I was pushing myself up off the floor, even as the side of my face throbbed with
“What do you mean he’s staying with us?” I demanded, looking between them both for some kind of explanation that would clear everything up so everything would go back to how it was before.Gerald’s eyes moved to me slowly, his mouth downturned and his eyes hard and unfeeling, as though he’d already







