And I choose Noah. I’ll always choose Noah.
“Veronica, there’s something you need to know about—”
Suddenly, the front door swings open. Kevin marches in, grinning like he owns the place. “How’s everything going? Do I smell cupcakes?”
My body goes rigid the second I see that smug, shit-eating grin. I want to wipe it off his face. My blood boils remembering what he did to Noah—how much I trusted him, and how little he cared. My fists burn before I even realize I’m on my feet.
“Oh no,” Veronica cries, burying her face in her hands again.
His eyes widen as he gets closer, assessing the damage and realizing the secrets out. “That little shit. Where is he?” Kevin backs up.
I don’t think—I march over to him, grip his jean jacket collar, and thrust him against the wall.
“Ow! What the fuck—”
“I trusted you,” I spit out.
“Y-you didn’t give a shit about her. We both know it.” Kevin claws at my hands, struggling to loosen my hold around him.
“How dare you put your hands on him?!” I pull him close before knocking him back against the wall again, determined to knock the wind right out of him. I don’t care if I bust a hole through the drywall. I’ll burn this goddamn house down.
Kevin tilts his head back against the wall and lets out a wicked laugh as he tries to regain himself. “Right, right. Because why inhellwould I assume you’d be upset aboutherwhen you’ve gothimto worry about, huh?”
I hesitate. My hands tremble against the rough denim as I meet his cold, calculating stare.
“What’s he talking about?” Veronica’s voice pipes up behind us.
I draw in a sharp breath, realizing what’s about to happen.
Shit.I wanted to be the one to tell her but it’s looking like the situation isn’t going that way.
Suddenly footsteps come trekking down the stairwell. I look up to see Noah, stopping slowly, taking in the scene.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Kevin successfully pushes my hands off of him before straightening his jacket. “Step-daddy over here has been railing your son.” He points over his shoulder.
I look up to see Noah’s face go white. His eyes go from mine to his mothers.
I look over my shoulder to see her. Her mouth is dropped open, looking back and forth between Noah and I.
“You’re lying,” she whispers, like it might make it untrue. But her eyes, red and wide, tell me a part of her believes it as soon as he uttered the words.
“Veronica,” I say softly, walking towards her. She steps back, shaking her head like I’m a wild animal. I don’t want her to hate me. After everything…after all of this, I don’t want us to be on bad terms. Not just for Paislee’s sake but also for Noah’s. They might not be close, but I don’t want to be the catalyst between them. It should be on his terms, between them.
“No. You—andNoah?No.” She shakes her head again, bumping into the wall across from us, not allowing her to go any further.
“Okay, listen,” I say, my palms up like I’m not going to make any sudden movements. “It’s not like how Kevin made it sound.”
“Oh really? How else could someone interpret what I saw the other night at the fair then? Looked pretty clear to me.” Kevin speaks up.
I turn back towards him. My brain searches for an explanation for his betrayal, but I come up empty. Years of friendship down the fucking drain. What did I ever see in this guy?
Suddenly I see Noah tap Kevin on the shoulder. He turns to look at him and before he can think to step out of the way, Noah lands a hard punch to his jaw.
Kevin stumbles back, gripping his face. “Shit, fuck! You little shit!”
“There. Now you can shut up.” He smirks. Noah shakes his fist out, opening and closing his hand. I’ll have to put ice on that later.
A quick wave of pride flows through me. He’d really do anything for me.
