Ready or Not (The Ready Series Book 4)(66)

Not wanting to ruin any cool points Noah might have earned during the day, I stayed back, and for a moment, I pretended to be highly interested in my flowers, all the while looking over my shoulder as he made his way off the giant yellow bus.

Head down, hands shoved in his pockets, he didn’t make eye contact as he headed straight for his own house.

Did he not see me?

“Hey!” I said cheerfully as the bus pulled away. “How was your first day?”

He didn’t answer. He pulled out the key from his backpack and began to unlock the door.

“Your dad is running a bit late. We’re supposed to go to my house and wait for him.”

With the key halfway home, he paused. Shifting slightly, he pulled the key back out of the lock, shoved it in his pocket, and turned back around toward my front door.

Still, there was no peep.

“So, what’s up with the silent treatment?” I asked. I’d been given it more than once in my career. It didn’t really faze me, but it hurt a great deal more coming from Noah.

We made our way through the front door, and he continued saying nothing. He dropped his backpack on the floor next to the couch and followed me into the kitchen.

“Want something to eat?”

He shrugged.

Well, that was something I guessed.

Riffling through the pantry, I pulled out a box of organic cookies he always seemed to love, and dumped a handful out on a napkin. I turned toward the fridge to grab the almond milk—something else he had grown to like since meeting me.

I’d thought I was on that list of likes as well, but now, I was starting to doubt myself.

He begrudgingly sat down at the counter and silently stuffed a cookie into his mouth.

“Okay, Noah. I can handle this with my patients, but this is driving me nuts. Please tell me what’s going on.”

His eyes met mine, and I was nearly slapped in the face by the sheer volume of his anger.

“You lied to me,” he said slowly.

“I’ve never lied to you.”

“You said I would have a great day. You said everything would be okay.” There were tears in his eyes that he quickly brushed away with the sleeve of his shirt.

I took a step forward, wanting to comfort him, but stopped as I watched him move away.

“No one was nice, Liv. No one was kind. They all laughed at me and called me Hillbilly Jack because of the way I speak.”

“Noah, I—”

“Don’t.”

He turned and walked away, collapsing into the couch in the living where he tried to make himself invisible by curling into a tiny ball.

I took a few hesitant steps forward before walking toward the living room. I chose a seat across from him, hoping the small amount of distance would give him some breathing room.

“You don’t need to baby me, Liv, or pretend like you care.”

“But I do care,” I fought back.

“Why? You’re not my mom!” he said, the hurt in his voice bleeding through.

“No, I’m not your mother,” I answered calmly. “But I am someone who loves you, Noah, and that’s all that matters right now.”

Nothing but silence was awaiting me, so I pressed on, “You’re right, Noah. I did lie to you.”

His head popped up, and I was met with more tears and red-rimmed eyes.

“When I said I found my niche, I led you to believe it was the first day. I guess I wanted you to have the courage and belief that if I could do it, so could you. I see now, that was wrong.”

“So, you didn’t have a great first day like you said?” he asked.

With my head lowered, I answered, “No, it was the worst.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I ate my lunch in the restroom. All the girls were mean and catty, commenting on the way I wore my hair and how quiet I was. I was shy, but to them, shyness just meant stuck-up.”

“You’re not shy now,” he said.

“No, I learned to overcome it. Or rather, I learned senators’ daughters couldn’t be shy.”

“Did it ever get better?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, eventually. Being the new kid is never easy. It’s not like the movies. You can’t just stumble in and suddenly become the popular kid. Find one friend, Noah. That’s all you need for now.”

“There was this one kid who seemed nice,” he said, sitting up a bit straighter. “He had the same Redskins patch on his backpack as me.”

“See?”

He shrugged.

“It will get better, I promise. Just take it one day at a time. Your dad and I are here for you, no matter what.”

He nodded, and even though he thought he was all grown-up and tough-as-nails, that boy sprang off that couch and catapulted into my arms in less than a second.

Now, there were two people crying in the room. Even though I’d solved a million problems like this over the years, feeling his arms wrapped around me in gratitude and love felt a hundred times better.

“And don’t worry about your accent,” I added. “They’re just jealous because they don’t sound like a younger version of Matthew McConaughey.”

He looked up at me in confusion. “Who’s that?”

I giggled. “Never mind. Come on, let’s get some more cookies.”