How to Love Your Neighbour(96)

“Sorry my misery is irritating you.”

He thought of how mad he’d been when he came back from New York. How much anger he’d felt toward his dad and how Grace pulled him out of it. Now when the devastation felt like it might suffocate him, he couldn’t turn to the one person who would make it better.

“You’re not irritating me. I get it. But I seem to remember a time when I felt like you do now and you said there were no problems we couldn’t solve.” Chris sat up, throwing the remote onto the coffee table.

Noah threaded his hands behind his neck and stared at his brother. “Dude. We threw money at your problem. I tried to do that here.”

Chris laughed, but Noah didn’t know what was so funny. “We threw money at it because that helped us out of the situation and it worked in that case. What we didn’t do was throw money at Everly and disregard her feelings.”

Noah’s hands dropped. “I was helping. I wasn’t disregarding her feelings. I was saving her from that nightmare she calls a mom. Seriously, man. That woman ought to marry our father.”

“Ew. She’d be like your sister then,” Chris said.

Noah stared. “No, she wouldn’t. What’s wrong with you?”

Chris stood. “Me? You said it, you weirdo.”

“I was just saying how perfectly matched they’d be.”

“Never mind them. Think about Grace.” Chris walked over to stand in front of him.

“All I can do is think about her, Chris. She’s it. I can’t think of anything else.”

His brother clapped his shoulder, kept his hand there. “I know, man. That’s how it happens. Hard and heavy.”

“That’s what she said,” Noah said with no inflection.

Chris arched a brow. “Really, jackass?”

Noah shrugged. “It seemed necessary.”

Chris dropped his hand, walked around the wall that divided the living area from the galley kitchen. Noah followed.

“We wouldn’t want anyone taking care of Dad for us. We did it ourselves because it felt damn good to do it. To make that break without anyone else’s help.” He grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge, tossed one to Noah.

Noah caught it, tapped the top before popping it open. “I know. I just . . . I wanted to do it for her. I didn’t want her to have to face that alone. She did it her whole life and I needed her to know I’m in this for real.”

“Yeah but you did it in a way that made her feel like she couldn’t do it herself. You took the choice away.”

“So I shouldn’t have helped her?”

“No. You shouldn’t have tried to save her.”

“I just need to fix it.” He hated the desperation in his own voice.

“Let her lead.”

Noah stared at his brother, wondering when he’d gotten so smart.

Instead of asking, he shoved Chris’s shoulder. “Mr. Know-It-All.”

Chris shoved him back with a wide grin. “Which one of us is living with the love of his life? You could learn from me, young Jedi.”

The two were locked in a futile double headlock when Everly walked through the door. From his awkward, bent position, he saw her hang her keys on the little hook by the door and remove her shoes.

“This is new,” she said, coming into the living room.

“Hey, Evs. How was shopping?” Chris’s breathing was heavy.

She stood close to them, her hands on her hips. “Crowded. How was the visit with your brother?”

“Pretty good. Except he doesn’t like being told what to do,” Chris said.

“Just because Everly took pity on you doesn’t mean you’re a relationship guru,” Noah grunted.

They shuffled but neither of them gained any traction and Noah was starting to get a kink in his neck.

“Is Grace okay?” Everly asked, tilting her head to better meet Noah’s gaze.

“He hasn’t heard from her,” Chris said, circling them around again.

Everly bent and tilted her head so she was looking sideways at them. “Do you two need someone to yell ‘break’?”

“You can’t yell, Evs.” Noah grinned, rubbing his knuckles on Chris’s head.

She gave him a wry grin, stood up, and said, “Break,” at a perfectly reasonable decibel.

They released each other, both of them groaning a little as they stretched, rolled their shoulders.

Everly kissed his brother on the cheek, leaned her head against his shoulder, but looked at Noah. “You okay?”

He shook his head. “I just need to see her. Talk to her. I need to make it right.”

“How did her presentation go?”

“It’s not for a few more days.” His thoughts started turning like gears, making him miss whatever Chris and Everly were saying.

He pocketed his keys from the kitchen table and started for the door.

“Wait. Where are you going?” Chris followed him to the door.

He turned back, unable to contain his grin. “I’m going to win back my girl and show her I always keep my promises.”





46


Grace was livid at herself. She glanced around the classroom once more, taking note of how many of her classmates had brought significant others, including Rosie. Noah had left her alone for four days now, and the emptiness that crept inside of Grace’s body was unlike any she’d ever known. Different from the nights she’d hidden in her closet in their trailer because she kept hearing strange noises and her mother was out at the bar. Different from hearing that the grandparents she’d never known had died. But it was her own fault. She’d sent him away, told him to respect her words, and he did. He did exactly what she’d asked and he was going to miss her presentation.