Noah (45 page)

That morning’s call from Nellie’s mom Margaret had been alarming enough. Nellie had caught Rick red handed and was now in such a state of depression her mother refused to leave her alone, fearing Nellie might overdose on the sleeping pills she’d been taking. That alone was enough to send Veronica running to her side, but nothing prepared her for the shocking news that awaited her when she got there.

Her mother had
on
ly said Nellie had confirmed her suspicions about Rick being on vacation with his mistress, but when she arrived at Nellie’s the details of what she’d found blew her away. Nellie’s father sat
just outside of Nellie’s townhouse
as Veronica hurried up the
stairs
.

He was smoking, a habit Nellie had told her he stopped long ago. Veronica hadn’t seen him in over a year and in that time he seemed to have aged too much. At the moment he appeared tired and there was a sense of defeat in the way he sat, his
back against the chair, shoulders drawn and limp.
Before Veronica could ask him anything he began talking but he wasn’t really speaking
to
Veronica because he was staring out into nothing.

“You do your best to raise your kids to be honest
,
loyal
,
and God fearing. No parent
should ever feel disgust or loathing for any of their children
.
”

Margaret came to the door just then. Veronica turned to her feeling even more upset now. Why would
Nellie’s dad be talking about loathing her or being disgusted? Whatever she’d done in reaction to finding Rick with another women had to be justified. She wasn’t in jail so she hadn’t actually killed the bastard.

Margaret motioned for her to step inside. Veronica did, overcome by sudden feeling of dread. 

“She’s in her bedroom but before you go in to see here there’s something you should know.”

Her mother
’
s eyes were full of pain and concern, but
Veronica saw more in them
. “This is a very hard time for all of us. The whole family is torn right now and it will probably never be the same again but right now our main concern is Nellie.”

Whole family?

“You have to understand that as a mother this completely breaks my heart to have to admit this to anyone but soon everyone will know anyway.”

Veronica stared at Margaret’s wo
r
n eyes. She’d obviously been crying
,
too. What in the world had Nellie done?

“What is it? What happened?”

“Nellie found Rick in Denver
…
with
Courtney.”

Veronica’s heart had practically come to a standstill
—Nellie’s own sister?
T
hen Margaret continued
—
one jab after another making her feel like one of Noah’s opponents in the ring.

“They’ve apparently been having an affair off and on for years. Courtney said they tried many times to end it but were in love and just couldn’t
.
T
hen just when they decided
it was just not something they could continue
,
Courtney was made aware of Rick’s other woman
. That was the one
she confronted him about that sent Nellie to the hospital.” Margaret paused to take a deep breath and wipe away a single tear before delivering the knock out punch. “Courtney found out a few weeks later that she was pregnant with Rick
’
s child. This was during the time that Rick and Nellie were really giving it a go to work things out.”

Veronica was furious and heartbroken all at the same time. How could Courtney do this to Nellie? Then she remembered this is how she’d always been, ever since they were kids. No matter how much more Courtney had than Nellie
,
she was never satisfied until she took what little Nellie had
,
too.

Margaret shook her head and sat down on Nellie’s sofa dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “After all the pain she’s caused her sister and the shame she’s brought to the family,
Courtney
says
sh
e and Rick are getting married just as soon as his divorce to Nellie is final.” 

I
t
was all too much to bear. Veronica could only imagine what poor Nellie was feeling. She didn’t even want to hear anymore. She’d heard enough. “I need to be with Nellie.”

She hurried into Nellie’s room. Nellie sat on her bed staring at the television but the volume wasn’t on. Her face crumbled when she saw
her best friend
and Veronica rushed to her crawling in bed next to her and held her as she wept.
The tears went on for several minutes,
until she finally gathered herself together enough to talk.

“
I’ve decided I’m not going to waste my energy being angry with Rick. He isn’t even worth my breath much less any tears. I’m incredibly hurt over Courtney’s betrayal.” She took a shuddering breath. “The stupid thing is, I’ve always had my suspicions. It bothered me when Rick flirted with her. He flirted with you, too, but I knew I had nothing to worry about. I’ve never trusted my sister completely. Or how they seemed to be around each other.”
 

Nellie said she wasn’t sure now what she’d been more afraid of
—
facing the fact that Rick
was
cheating on her, or
the prospect of
being alone. Veronica knew first hand what it felt like to be alone and
understood that fear all too well
,
though she’d never have stayed with a cheating man. This wasn’t something she’d say to her fragile friend, however. It would do no good now.

After hours of rehashing everything Veronica got her to eat a little and even laugh a few times. She hadn’t planned on talking
to her
about Noah
—
this was supposed to be about Nellie
,
not her, but Nellie insisted. The change in subject turned out to be a good thing. Nellie was pleased at how well things were going for Veronica and assured her that everything would work out.

She agreed with Veronica that she should ask
Noah
about the baby he m
ight
have
b
ut reminded her not to judge him for the things he
’d
done in the past. Everybody had skeletons in their closet but
she did
urge her to
make
sure he was no longer involved in anything dangerous.

By that evening Nellie
was
r
eady to take a long shower and then try to get some sleep—sleep not induced by any medication. She promised Veronica she’d stop taking the pills and Veronica warned her she’d be back to check on her often
before she left
.

Veronica had only been home a few minutes. She’d just messaged Noah to tell him she wasn’t going to make it to Gio’s when she heard the knock at the door. She peeked through the window cautiously and saw Derek. She had to wonder if maybe he’d been parked up the street
,
waiting for her to get home.

He’d left two messages on her phone that day she hadn’t had a chance to listen to. A little annoyed that he apparently thought it okay to just drop by like this for the second time, she opened the door.

“Hey,” she said but made it a point not to smile too big. She didn’t want him thinking she took this as a pleasant surprise.

“Hey.” He ran a hand through his hair
.
T
he usually
intimidating
looking
dean
appeared
a little
e
motionally exposed
. “I uh, was hoping we could talk. I tried calling but you’re not answering. I hope you’re not upset with me about the other day.”

She hesitated for a moment not sure if she should step outside or invite him in.
A
gainst her better judgment she opened the screen door and let him in. The thought of Noah arriving with him still there and things possibly getting ugly was a very real one. But if she had to
m
ake
a
choice
between
things getting
loud or ugly inside the privacy of her own home or outside on her porch for all her neighbors to hear and
see
she’d do this inside. Besides her plan was to send him on his way quickly.

She saw him glance around as he walked in, trying to get a feel for
how much things had changed since he’d last been there
. Perhaps pick up more clues on her relationship with Noah.

As rude as it was Veronica
didn’t
offer him something to drink. She wanted him out as soon as possible. He started apologizing again about the other day but she stopped him.

“I’m not upset
at you
, Derek, so don’t worry about it. I was a little surprised that’s all.”

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“No
,
I haven’t had the chance.” They stood just inside the doorway and it was
awkward but she refused to ask him to take a seat. She was keeping this
conversation
short and to the point.

“I
won
’
t
say anything else negative about him. But I will say this, Roni.
As your friend,
I’m worried about you.
I don’t think you realize this but you’re still
in
a very vulnerable
state
.
It hasn’t even been a year since your mother died and this guy showed up at the perfect time when you needed someone
—
anyone
even this kid
in your life.
You didn’t even do a background check on him.”

“I told you. He’s my friend.”

“But for how long?”

“Over a month,” saying it made his point sound even more valid. “Almost two
,
”
s
he added the doubt suddenly creeping in. Had she really just allowed
herself
to get involved with someone she would’ve
have
under normal circumstances because she was afraid to be alone again? What Nellie said earlier came back to her. You do things out of your nature when you
’
r
e
afraid.
Because of that same fear,
Nellie
had
continued to look the other way
, ignoring valid
suspicions that her own sister might be doing the unthinkable with her husband.

Derek tilted his head and their eyes met.
“Can I ask you something?”

He
didn’t even have to ask her. She already knew exactly what he was thinking. As usual he’d figured the whole thing out. That Noah had moved in at a time when she needed him most and of course she’d easily fallen for him. But there was so much more to their relationship than her just
needing
him.

Her phone ran
g
before she could respond and she took advantage of it to give her a moment to think—breathe. She pulled her phone out of her purse an
d
saw it was Noah. Perfect.
Exactly what
she needed
.
T
o hear his voice—a reminder of why
he was much more than just a need. “I have to take this,” she said and answered.

Derek motioned that he was going to use her
bath
room and Veronica nodded, glad for the privacy. She walked into her kitchen where she’d have even more.

~*~

Sipping their
beers,
the guys watched him,
Hector still munching on his nachos as Noah waited for Roni to answer her phone.
Noah was
certain
that he’d soon have the simple explanation. As confident as he was
a
very small part of him
worried that
Roni
might
still hav
e
feelings for
Kratz
, especially
considering
the pictures she not only hung onto but
had
kept up front row center in her darkroom.

He shook
o
ff
his insecurities.
S
he said she wanted nothing to do with him and after the week they’d had not to mention their morning, Roni would know he’d have an issue with her hanging out with her asshole ex.
This had to be some kind of fluke.