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“I did.” A fresh wave of tears filled her eyes. “When I felt you start to pull away, I panicked. You were the closest thing I had to a best friend, Noah. I loved hanging out with you. And when we had sex, I told myself it meant something. That you felt the same.”
“Sam, I was always upfront with you.” I ran a hand down my face.
“I know that. But I let it get all twisted up in my head.”
“So you pretended your apartment was broken into? That’s messed up.”
“I am so sorry. It started as a harmless, little white lie. I thought it would bring us closer together.”
“Sam… you realize how weird this all sounds, right? It’s not normal behavior to manipulate people like that.”
“I know. I have a lot of stuff I haven’t dealt with from my past. It’s not an excuse, and I know that. I just needed you to know that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done any of it. Lying about the break-in. Turning up in your class. Ambushing Aurora.” My brow arched, and she added, “I knew the second I heard you talk about her. You got this look in your eye.”
“I did not—”
“Yeah, Noah. You did.” She gave me a sad, resigned smile. “It’s why I followed you that night after we studied at Joe’s. Because it was the same look I get whenever I talk about you.”
“You followed me…”
“I didn’t mean to. It just happened… I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
I didn’t deny it because she was right. Aurora had knocked me on my ass the second she’d called me out at the bar that first night we all went out.
“Nothing. I’m not asking you to forgive me. I just want to explain and say I’m sorry. You’re a good guy, Noah. And you deserve to be happy.” She got up, drying her eyes with the heel of her palms. “Maybe one day we can be friends again.”
I stood, feeling all kinds of awkward.
“Can I… have a hug? For old time’s sake?”
“Sure.” Not wanting to make her feel any worse than she already did, I wrapped her into my arms.
I’d known Sam had issues which was why we’d bonded in the first place. But I’d underestimated how deep her trauma ran.
“I hope you find what you’re looking for, Sam,” I said, hugging her tight.
She clung to me a second longer, gentle sobs racking her body. When she stepped back, she drew in a sharp breath and composed herself. “Thanks for hearing me out.” She reached for me, squeezing my hand. “Bye, Noah.”
I gave her a sharp nod, watching as she walked away. Right past—
“Aurora.” Her name slipped off my lips in a harsh breath.
She stared at me—betrayal shining in her eyes.
I rushed over to her, holding up my hands. “It’s… fuck, it’s not what you think.”
“I’m not sure you can even begin to imagine what I’m thinking right now.”
“I guess I deserve that.”
“You deserve a hell of a lot more than that,” she seethed, that fire I loved so much simmering in her eyes.
“How have you been? How’s the new place? The guys said it’s nice and that you’re all settled. Maybe I can come over and—”
“No.”
“Y-yeah. That’s probably a bad idea.” I raked a hand through my hair, my stomach dropping into my fucking sneakers.
