27
Noah was one of the most frustrating people I'd ever had the displeasure of dealing with. When he held a grudge, he really held it. Just like the last time he'd shut me out, he wouldn't answer texts or phone calls or voicemails.
I gave him a couple days to cool off. He'd soon realize I would never betray his trust like that. He was probably just shocked and taken aback. I knew why Noah was upset. I didn't blame him for that. I just hated that he jumped to conclusions and automatically assumed it was me who let the word out.
I spent more time with Ivy and Natalie. I hadn't wanted to tell them about my fight with Noah, but as a Darkest Days fan, Natalie immediately asked me about Lily.
"I'd totally forgotten about Noah's little sister," she said as she slid into the chair next me during one of our weekly lunches. "It's been years since anyone's heard of her. Do you know anything?"
"No," I lied. "Noah doesn't say much about his personal life."
"Not even after all that… you know?" Nat raised her eyebrows.
"All that what?"
"Kinky sex."
"Nat," I groaned.
"You have been sleeping together for a while now," Ivy chimed in.
"He told me a few things," I admitted. "But it was private. I don't think he'd want me blabbing his secrets."
"So Lily is a secret?" Nat jumped on the last word.
"Can we not talk about this?" I said.
Ivy agreed. "We shouldn't be gossiping about Jen's boyfriend."
My heart sank. "He's not my boyfriend," I mumbled.
"Your lover, then."
My heart thumped at the word. Love had never been part of the equation when it came to me and Noah.
At least, not on his part.
"Jen, what's wrong?" Ivy asked, distressed. "You look upset."
"Did that asshole hurt you?" Natalie asked in outrage, clenching her knife and fork in her fists. "Because if he did…" she stabbed her butter knife into the table.
I choked out a laugh. "Thanks, Nat."
"But something did happen, right?" she pressed.
"Noah has trust issues," I explained. "I just need to give him time."
I hoped giving him some space would allow him to see the mistake he'd made.
I spent some time reading up on Darkest Days gossip, especially gossip pertaining to Lily. I wanted to know if there were any disgusting trash sites putting a price on pictures of her. I couldn't find anything in my searches, but who knew what kind of gross stuff happened behind paywalls and on secret forums.
Even on normal sites, though, most of the comments were gross. Lily was only nineteen. It made me sick to think of the media and fans objectifying her like that. In my head she was just Noah's baby sister.
Somehow they'd found her social media accounts and were tracking her every move. Like Noah had said, she was traveling around Europe. From the photos she shared, it looked like sometimes she was alone and sometimes she was with friends.
Even if I hadn't known they were related, the resemblance would have made me wonder. Lily's dark hair and eyes were the exact same as Noah's. Their faces shared similar contours, although her cheeks had more of a cute cherub shape whereas Noah's was more angular with sharper cheekbones.
She was cute, there was no denying that. Noah would have to beat the guys off with sticks. I had no doubt he would act even more like the overprotective big brother type if and when she came home.
