He huffed, pulling off the sheets and sitting up on his bed. “I’m fine, physically. I justquite literallyfucked up last night, okay?” He let his head hang low, hair grazing his forearms and partially covering his face.
“What do you mean?”
Bitterness flooded his mouth. “I fucked someone that isn’t Zach.”
It was subtle, but she gasped. Not wanting to hear what she had to say, he stood up and walked past her to lock himself in the bathroom. He stayed there longer than necessary, doing nothing but pee, shower, and sit on the toilet lid with his head between his hands, and he took care of his bruised face. He looked like a damn Picasso painting with his purple eye, a cut on the eyebrow and another on his lip, completing his gutter-rat look. Just what he needed right now.
When he got out, he dragged his feet to the living room, where Trine was sitting on the couch reading a book.Guess she’s already had lunch.He plopped onto the armchair across from her, but she didn’t say a word. She actually allowed him a minuteor two to stare out the window before starting a conversation he didn’t want to have.
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“What happened?” she insisted.
He sighed. “Kaj. That’s what happened.”
Again, a gasp, this time followed by a subtle grumble.
“Yeah, yeah, you didn’t raise me like that.” Noah rolled his eyes.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I know what you’re thinking, and that I should be ashamed, and I am. Trust me, I am. I have no idea what got into me.”
“Is it awful that you did it? Yes. But honestly...” She rested her mug on the table. “I don’t think it would have happened with anyone else. You’re not like that.”
“Apparently, I am!”
“It was Kaj.”
“That doesn’t make it any better.”
“I’m not trying to make it better, just pointing it out. You don’t trust or love people easily, and when you do, you do it deeply. And Kaj... he was always special to you.”
“He’s not anymore.”
She twisted her mouth and avoided his gaze, considering what to say next. “Still...”
They fell silent, basking in the light seeping through the thin linen curtains. It made the area look that much more cozy and warm, enhancing the color of the room. Noah wished he could stay forever and die here. Why was taking responsibility for his mistakes so fucking hard?
“What are you going to do?” Trine asked, exploding his bubble.
“About what?”
“Kaj? Zach?” She lifted a shoulder.
Noah’s brows furrowed for a second. “Nothing? I mean, it was a mistake.” His heart writhed. “Never gonna happen again.”
“Oh, okay. Then... you’re gonna keep dating Zach?”
“We’re not dating, Mom.”
“Call it whatever you want, but you’ve been seeing himexclusivelyfor how long? Five months?”
“Yeah.”
“So, that. Are you going to continue sleeping with him? Are you goingto tell him?”
