Chapter 17

Noah

"Mom says come downstairs." My cousin said seriously, bursting into my room without knocking.

"Lewis what the hell?" I frowned, looking up from my laptop. "Knock."

"It's not like you have a girl in here." The eight year old grimaced. "My mom says come downstairs and be nice."

"She didn't say be nice." I rolled my eyes, shutting my laptop. "You're making that up."

"She did. And she told me to not forget to say it." Lewis nodded, his eyes wide. Then, he put a huge smile on his face and darted out of my room. I heard his little feet as he made his way to the kitchen, followed by the sounds of my aunt and uncle talking.

What did Aunt Josie want?

It was Thanksgiving and she made it very clear that Lewis and I were supposed to stay out of the kitchen at all costs.

I was a disaster around the holidays. Even though I could cook, everything stressed my aunt out and she preferred to do everything herself.

It was a quarter to six now, though, and people would be here any minute. So I guess she wanted me downstairs to make sure everything was set in the living room and dining room.

I glanced in the mirror on my way down the stairs, fixing my tie and smoothing down my hair.

I couldn't wait to see Harper. Even though my aunt and invited Harper and Coach for dinner, they decided that they were going to have their own little Thanksgiving together, since it had been a while since they spent the holiday together.

Things with Harper have been great lately. Football season ended a month ago but things have only been improving from there.

We'd been going out on dates, binge watching West Wing on Netflix, and spending quality time with her dad.

Getting to know him as more than a coach has been more than I ever thought it would be.

He's an actually genuine guy who really cares for Harper and I couldn't be happier that she's happy.

Living with her mom always made her tense and uneasy. But now that she's with her dad, life is a breeze.

As I got to the bottom of the stairs, a smile was on my face at the thought of Harper.

The atmosphere in the house was different than normal, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

It smelled like delicious food, it was warm inside, and it was lightly snowing outside.

Highlights from the Lions game were playing on TV and soft Christmas was coming from the kitchen.

But then my ears tuned in and I heard tense voices, particularly from my uncle.

I cleared my throat, straightening my tie again as I walked into the kitchen.

"Here he is!" Lewis announced, jumping up from his seat. He let out a maniacal laugh before running out of the room at the scolding look that he got from his mom.

But that's not what sent a shiver down my spine.

I braced myself against the counter as I looked at my parents. My actual parents were standing in the kitchen, looking at me with regret and disappointment.

"Hello." I said quietly, my heart thudding in my chest.

Did they know I was seeing Harper again? Why were they here?

"Hey Noah." My mom sighed, her face falling even more.

"Why are you here?" I asked my parents. "Why are they here?" I repeated to my aunt and uncle.

My hands were shaking and sweaty, my heart was pounding, and I was getting slightly dizzy.

What was happening right now?

"Noah." My dad said with a sigh.

The voice sent chills down my spine and the room was moving around even more.

I braced myself against the counter, pressing my hands flat to try and keep myself steady.

"Why are you here?" I asked quietly, glancing between the two of my parents.

I hadn't seen them in eight months since the last tense meeting and I would've gladly gone another eight...

"It's Thanksgiving, Noah." My mom told me, sounding annoyed.

Classic. She shows up out of nowhere and gets annoyed with me for being shocked.

"And?" I prompted. "You didn't show up to Thanksgiving last year."

"What your mom means is that it's a holiday that you should be spending with your family... And we thought... Noah we miss you." My dad said seriously, resting his hand on my mom's back.

She looked down at the floor, shifting her feet nervously.

"Ryan, let's go check on Lewis." Aunt Josie said quickly.

They left the room and I instantly felt nauseous at the fact that I was alone with my parents.

"So what's going on?" I asked quietly, squeezing the edge of the counter.

I stopped once my fingers started hurting, but an anxious pit started forming in the base of my stomach.

My dad sighed, looking down at my mom.

She looked up at him and both of them seemed hesitant.

"Noah..." My mom said quietly, turning to look at me.

Her eyes were shining with tears and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

She thinks that after two years they can waltz back into my life and everything is just peachy?

"The way we left things..." My mom sighed. "Noah, it has killed me every day since."

"You could've called." I replied.

"It's been too long, Noah." My dad added, looking pained himself.

"You could've called. You could've come to visit. You could've let me move back home rather than kicking me out." I said firmly. "The way you handled everything was horrible, you know that right? Throwing me onto your sister?" I said harshly to my dad.

"Noah..."

"Like who does that to a kid? After you already lost one son, you give up the second?" I snapped.

My mom's eyes narrowed and I instantly knew I crossed a line.

I didn't even care. I wanted her to hurt. I wanted her to feel betrayed.

Not that it would ever come close to what I felt the first few months here...

"We had to get you away from that girl, Noah." My dad said harshly.

And here we go.

Anger instantly pulsed through my veins as I tightened my hands on the edge of the counter again. I didn't even care that my fingers were starting to hurt.

I felt nauseous and angry and heated and the room was getting too big.

"There's nothing wrong with Harper Lawrence." I said seriously. "She is a wonderful girl and we made a mistake and that's just life. Shit happens, you deal with it, you move on. None of that was grounds to kick your kid out."

"You left on your own accord."

"And you wouldn't let me come back!" I exclaimed. "Aunt Josie and Uncle Ryan were a hell of a lot better parents than you two were and I'm not even their kid!"

"We've been going to therapy." My mom said suddenly.

I froze, my eyes widening.

"And what the hell does that have to do with me?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"We've been going to therapy to save our marriage, Noah. And you're part of it." She whispered.

"Bullshit." I whispered.

"Yeah." My mom said softly, her voice breaking as the tears grew into something more. "We need you back in our life. You're the missing piece that-"

"Stop, no. This isn't healthy." I said quietly, stepping back from the counter.

"Noah..." My dad said carefully. "What are you-"

"I don't think it's a good idea for this to happen. You cut me out of your life. I'm not coming back just because you're trying to recreate yourself." I shook my head, fumbling to grab my keys out of the bowl by the door. "Nope, not happening."

"Noah where are you going?" My mom asked between sobs.

"Noah!" My dad yelled.

I shook my head again, walking out of the front door.

My entire body was shaking as I got into the car.

I took a deep breath, ran my hands down my face, then turned on the engine and pulled out of the driveway.