Page 126 of Make Us Yours
With that decision in mind, I grab my phone and head to the door. “I just need to grab something from my other purse in the kitchen. I’ll meet you by the elevator.”He doesn’t even look up, only nods as I walk out of the room.
I hurry down the stairs, into the gym where I know Gabe is in the middle of his workout session. The second he spots me, taking one look at my outfit, he rises from the ground and walks over to me.
“Vixen? What’s going on? Why are you dressed like that?” Worry seeps through his voice as his eyes bounce over my features.
“I don’t have much time to explain, but I need you to do something for me. It’s urgent. Noah can’t know,” I rush out quickly, looking over my shoulder to make sure Noah isn’t down to the main floor yet.
“Anything, baby. What do you need?”
I quickly fill him in on what I need from him. The more I say, the more the heartache for his friend becomes visible in his eyes. Once I’m done, he grabs my face and crashes his lips against mine.
“Thank you for being here for him. But you’re doing the right thing,” he breathes against my mouth.
“I hope you’re right.”
He steps back, quickly going to his phone and shooting off text after text after text. I scurry out and lock myself into the laundry room. I swipe through the contacts on my phone and call up the person I’m looking for. The one who will understand this situation more than anyone else.
It rings three times before the line connects. “Hey, Em… I know you’re still upset with Noah for what happened at Maddie’s funeral… but I really need you right now… he needs you. All of you.” I let out a breath, praying she understands. “But I understand if this is asking too much after what he did… I wouldn’t blame you for not wanting to help me. But I promise, Em… once I tell you this, everything will make sense.”
She’s quiet for a minute, and I wonder if she hung up on me. I pull the phone away, but no, the line is still on. I bring it back in time to hear her deep, long sigh. “What do you need my help with?”
NOAH
We stand in the middle of the cemetery, the heavy rain pouring down on us. Umbrellas open as we wait for the ceremony to start, the dark sky crying along with us. We’re only ten people in all, and that’s including the funeral conductor, Veronica and I, Everly and Jannice, Dr. Daltonsen, and four other staff members from the care facility.
I understood that not everyone could be present given the short notice and some having to work, but I’m grateful at least a few could make it. Although it’s still sad to see the outcome.
Some part of me feels guilty for not telling the people I consider my family about today, about Trinity. For keeping my sister’s memory only to myself. Maybe I’m just being selfish… but it’s too late now.
“Is everyone present?” the conductor asks, looking from Veronica to me.
I nod and say, “yes,” just as Veronica says, “no.” My head whips to her with a frown, confused at the word she spoke.
“We’re just waiting on a few more. They should be here any moment,” she tells the conductor, who nods with a soft smile.
When she looks up at me, I see it in her eyes before she even voices it. The guilt, the apology. “I’m sorry, Noah. I know I promised you I wouldn’t tell anyone, but none of this is right. None of this feels right, can’t you see it?”
Just then, ten or so black cars pull up along the road, bodies all dressed in black descending from the cabs and making their way toward us. My family. My friends. My team. They’re all here. My heart squeezes at the sight, my throat clogging as my eyes fog over.
“Hate me if you want, but please don’t hate them. We’re a family, Noah. We should all be together at this moment. Trinity would want that,” she says softly, tears tumbling from her eyes.
I pull her in, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and swallowing past the lump in my throat. “Thank you,” I whisper with a heavy breath, my voice cracking at the end.
And when I squeeze my eyes shut, burying my face into her hair, I feel it. The first tear in thirteen years slips past my lid and falls into her skittle hair.
This beautiful fucking woman. How did I ever get so lucky? She knew exactly what I needed, despite me saying otherwise. She did all of this for me. How could I not be in love with her?
Within a few minutes, they’ve all joined us, standing behind us and squeezing myshoulder on their way past. Emma comes to stand before me with an expression I can’t read as she stares at me. I know I owe her an apology for the way I acted the other day, but I can’t get the words out, not right now.
Luckily, she does it for me, circling her arms around my neck and pulling me in. I hug her back instantly as I whisper the words in her ear. “I’m sorry…”
“I forgive you, Noah, but I wish you had told me. I feel guilty for being mad at you when you were going through the same thing I was.”
“You couldn’t have known. No one but Veronica knew, and that’s on me,” I admit with a sense of shame.
She pulls back, hands along my arms, and smiles warmly up at me. “No more secrets, okay?”
I know I can’t make that promise, given that both Veronica and Gabriel have their own. But I can still answer for myself, at least for this part. “Okay.”
