Page 94 of Finding Noah

I blew out a shaky breath, then bit my lip as I nodded. “I, uh … I appreciate that.”

He narrowed his gaze at me. “Ya are comin' back, right?”

“Jesus Christ, Patrick,” I grumbled, wishing I could tell him the truth, but knowing if I did, he'd stop me. He'd tell my parents. He'd ruin everything. “Of course I'm coming back. I'm just going to stay with my aunt for a few days—that's all. It's … God, it's not that fucking deep.”

“I know. I know,” he said, giving his head a little nod. “Meg's just … she's emotional, ya know? She, um … she's worried, and I think she's feelin' a little insecure. It'll be all right. Just keep in touch with her, will ya? She needs some reassurance.”

“That was already a part of the plan,” I said, holding his gaze.

He clapped a hand against my shoulder, continuing to nod. “You're a good man, Noah. Have a good weekend. We'll see ya on Tuesday, right?”

“Tuesday,” I promised.

“All right.”

Then he smiled, wrapping that arm around my shoulders and pulling me in for a hug that surprised me. It felt unnecessary. It felt weird. But still, I hugged him back.

“I love ya, kid,” he said, backing away just as quickly.

I gripped the back of my neck as something inside my soul seemed to rock out of place, leaving me shaken. Unsettled.

“Love you too,” I muttered as he walked away and down the hall to his office. Giving me the space to go and find myself in Massachusetts.

***

“I can't believe you're not telling your parents,” Meg said, following me out the door.

I sniffed a laugh. I couldn't believe it either, but …

“I'm calling them from the road,” I told her. “If I told them now, they'd talk me out of going. Or insist on coming with me.”

She was quiet, and when I glanced over my shoulder as I opened my car's trunk, I saw the scowl on her lips.

“So, you're saying they have that power over you, but I don't?” she asked, tightening her arms over her chest.

“Babe,” I said, throwing my bag inside and closing the door. I went to her, taking her shoulders in my hands. “It's not too late. If you want to come, you can.”

“I …” She bit her lip, like she wanted to say something, then shook her head. “I can't. I haven't seen my mom in months, and she'd tear me apart if I didn't go to this damn bridal shower. I have cousins coming from out of state for it who I haven't seen in forever.”

The relationship with her mother's side of the family was a complicated one. I didn't know much about them, and I'd only ever seen her mother for Christmas, sometimes Easter.

“I mean, you could go to Massachusetts next weekend—”

I shook my head regrettably. “Aunt Stormy and Uncle Charlie aren't gonna be around, and I really just wanna get this over with. I don't want to drag it out.”

She sighed but nodded because as much as she didn’t support my desire to go away, she did understand the necessity of ripping this bandage off as quickly as possible. My mind would never rest, and I wanted to get back to the regular routine of life as badly as she did.

Then she sniffled and wiped her hand beneath her nose. “Plus, you know, you have a birthday next weekend.”

“That's right,” I said, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into my chest. “And all this shit will be behind us.”

I wished. I hoped.

But that was what this weekend was about. Getting over the past and moving forward. Moving on. And hopefully finding contentedness in this life without the need for more. Because that, I knew, she would never be okay with.

Her hands fisted in my T-shirt as she sucked in a deep breath, pulling in my scent and blowing it out. “I don't understand this whole thing,” she whispered for the fiftieth time in the last few days. “But I hope you get what you need from it. I really, really do. Just … God, Noah, please stay safe. Come back to me.”

“Babe,” I said, kissing the top of her head and burying my nose in her nest of curls, “I'm not disappearing. I'm going to be a phone call away, and I will be back on Tuesday morning at the absolute latest. This is where I live. This is my home. You. You are home. Okay?”