"I don't want to," Melanie said, shaking her head as she stepped back from him. "I'm tired."
He opened his mouth, ready to protest again, but she turned her back on him. He wanted badly for her to understand that he meant every word he said. If she were willing, he would plow through every obstacle in their way the same way he was on the ice with his opponents. He would go against the world to be with her. But she didn't want to fight with him. She didn't want him as much as he wanted her. Noah stood there momentarily stuck between wanting to stay, kissing her worries away, and accepting that some things weren't meant to be. Maybe they should have never started this thing and had remained friends. Noah made his decision and hugged her from behind, kissing her neck.
"Noah," she warned. "I'm serious. We're over."
"I know," Noah said, though it hurt him to admit it. "That's why it hurts even more because I understand why."
Melanie didn't reply, but he felt a hot tear fall on his arm. But Melanie's tears didn't matter because her resolve would not change, and Noah knew it just like she did. It was over, and she would not let him back in her heart again. Noah kissed her cheek, one more time, nuzzling her soft skin before leaving, resigning himself to the fact that this was the end of the road for them both.
CHAPTER
49
MELANIE
“I
DON’T KNOW HOW YOU CAN BE SO SMART YET SO STUPID, MELANIE.”
Melanie rolled her eyes, ignoring her friend as she continued to scroll through the TV guide to see what she would watch next. She didn't feel good today and had canceled her classes. She was sure her students were thrilled about that. It gave them a much-needed break, and Melanie had to be honest, she needed the break herself. She felt drained.
It had been two weeks since she had broken up with Noah, and she had definitely seen better days.
"So, you're just going to ignore me, huh?" Abigail said as she plopped down next to Melanie on the couch.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Melanie retorted as she settled on the food channel. Maybe watching Barefoot Contessa would take her mind off her own worries. But that would be impossible with Abi here.
"Did you at least watch the game last night?" Abigail asked.
Melanie wanted to lie. After all, she should be moving on from Noah by completely ignoring his existence. But last night, while she was scrolling through the TV Guide, she couldn't help but land on the hockey channel and saw last night's game. Weston's team won, but it definitely wasn't a win to be celebrated. The arena had been filled with blood lust, and Noah led the charge. He was the most aggressive she had ever seen him play, and he had been plowing through his opponents, and at one point, his own teammates. Noah and Josh almost got into a fight and had to be placed in the sin bin together. That was a sight to see, considering that they were arguing back and forth. She knew Noah didn't like Josh and vice versa, but it looked like they were ready to draw blood. The sports commentators were ripping him to shreds for his aggressive, sloppy plays. It got so bad that Melanie had to turn it off. It was hard seeing Noah like that. He was angrier than she had ever expected.
She knew that he would be angry and that it would take him some time, but she never thought it would affect his game in this way. It made her chest ache, knowing that she was the cause of it. It had never been her plan to hurt him, but then again, she had no one but herself to blame. She should have never let things get this far anyway.
Hopefully, by the time they had their final game, Noah would be able to move on. It couldn't keep going on like this, or he would lose the championship. If they did, Melanie didn't know how she would ever be able to forgive herself. Though they weren't together anymore, Melanie still wanted what was best for Noah. She still wanted him to be able to accomplish all of his dreams with or without her there.
"Y'all both should end this soap opera now," Abigail said, and Melanie glared at her friend. "Just be together already. Stop worrying about other people."
"That's easy for you to say."
Since Melanie had known Abigail, her friend had always done what she wanted, no matter what anyone else had to say. Not many people were like that. Not many people could go around without the validation of others around them. But Abigail was different. She never let what other people had to say about her bring her down. Melanie didn't know if she could be the same way.
"I'm not made of stone, you know," Abigail said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Some words hurt me, but I just realize that it's a matter between being happy or being miserable because of other people's opinions. Which one would you choose?"
Here she was the psychologist, spending years in college, studying as much as she could, but her friend made more sense than her. Abigail had a point, and the answer was clear. But everything was easier said than done. Ignoring the opinions of others was like ignoring a fly in your face; in the beginning, you can pretend it's not there, but eventually, you get up to find something to swat it down with.
Melanie pressed her lips together and pretended like she was overly interested in what was on TV, but Abigail continued.
"I only have one life to live, and I want to live that life my way, according to my rules, not to anyone else's. To be honest, if Noah were younger than eighteen or a high school student, then I definitely wouldn't encourage you at all. I have boundaries and morals, even if it doesn't seem like it."
Melanie snorted, and Abigail playfully smacked her arm. "But Noah isn't a boy. You taught him in one class, and it wasn't like you gave him any personal favors because of it. You always gave him the grades he deserved based on what he did and was never biased. I don't see the problem with your relationship."
"You can say that because you know me, Abi. You know I'm not that type of person, but other people don't know that. And even if they do, they'll still make up their own stories regardless. I'm just not sure if it's worth it. Who's to say that my relationship with Noah would even last? Should I even be putting myself through all of this? Besides, what is he going to do, stop speaking to his family for me? I would never ask him to do that for me."
"It's his choice, so you don't have to ask him to do that," Abigail explained. "All of you are treating Noah like he can't make decisions for himself. Let him make that choice, not you. You have a choice between going to the finals or not."
Abigail dug into her wallet and presented her a ticket to the game. Melanie shook her head.
"I'm not going," she said.
