It Was Always You (Ridgewater High Romance Book 3)

by Judy Corry

  "I couldn't help but overhear you talking to Easton's sister in the hall. But is it true that you're watching Pride and Prejudice after school?"

  "Yeah." Hopefully, he hadn't noticed the way she'd almost rejected me too. That wouldn't be good for my plan to make everyone think we were dating.

  "Mind if I join you? I could use a refresher, but my mom is weird and thinks that's cheating."

  "It's only cheating if you don't read the book."

  "I've read most of it." He bounced his backpack higher on his shoulder. "Are you the English test police or something?"

  "Of course not." I was the one who was watching the movie as a refresher, wasn't I?

  "So can I come?"

  "I'll have to ask Lexi first. I'll text you when I find out."

  Jake clapped me on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

  Then he disappeared down the hall.

  I rounded the corner to the sophomore hall a minute later. Lexi smiled tentatively when she noticed me.

  "Hi," I said breathily when I reached her. She looked so vibrant right then. Had something changed since lunch? Or was she just happy to be done with school for the day?

  "Hey," she said.

  Her books were in her backpack this time, so her hands were free. Free for me to just take in my own.

  "Ready to go?" I asked, chickening out from touching her.

  "Sure."

  I turned back the way I'd come from, and we started walking toward the school's exit. I asked her, "Is it okay if Jake Haley comes over to watch the movie with us?"

  "Jake Haley? Why?"

  "I guess he heard us talking about it."

  She bit her lip. "Sure. Yeah, he can come."

  It didn't sound like she liked the idea.

  "I can tell him no if you want. It's really no big deal."

  She shook her head. "No that's fine. I mean, we have plenty of room downstairs."

  "Great." I hurried and shot Jake a text, telling him to come around three-thirty. That should hopefully give us enough time to scrounge up a copy of the movie from somewhere.

  "You know you're going to owe me big time for watching this movie with you, right?" Lexi asked as she took the DVD out of the case. We'd been fortunate enough to find a copy of Pride and Prejudice at the library, so I didn't have to borrow from Ashlyn, the only other person who I knew for sure would have one of them on hand.

  "It can't be that bad." I shrugged. "I mean, I read the book and didn't hate it too much, and I'm a guy."

  "Yeah, but two hours and nine minutes without even a single action scene is a really long time."

  "You don't have to watch it if you don't want to." I didn't want this to be some sort of chore for her.

  "No," she hurried to say. "I'm going to watch it..." She looked around uncomfortably. "I mean, what would Jake think if I didn't watch it with you?"

  "He'd probably wonder if something was up between us."

  "Exactly."

  "So what do I owe you, then?" I asked, feeling guilty about having her watch a movie she clearly hated.

  She slid the disc into the movie player then looked at me over her shoulder. "Information."

  Information? Really? That was a weird request.

  "What do you want to know?" I wasn't going to give her my social security number if that's what she was hoping for.

  She stood up and walked toward me. "Why did your stepdad kick you out of your house?"

  Oh, that kind of information.

  I ran a hand through my hair, and then dropped myself onto the sectional.

  "It's stupid."

  That was kind of the truth. The whole situation with Paul and my mom was stupid because she should have left him a long time ago.

  Lexi sat on the cushion next to me, tucking one leg under her. "Just tell me. Ever since I found you in your car I've been going through all sorts of reasons in my mind for why you got kicked out. You're not in some kind of legal trouble, are you?"

  "Legal trouble?" I laughed. She really did think I was some delinquent, didn't she?

  She looked at her hands in her lap. "I-I overheard you talking to Ashlyn a couple of months ago about someone not pressing charges. And I just thought that with your reputation..."

  "My reputation?" I blinked my eyes shut as my temper flared. "I’m so sick and tired of people thinking I'm a bad guy."

  Lexi touched my arm briefly. "Hey, you don't need to get mad. I'm sorry if I offended you. I'm really just trying to figure this out with the few facts that I do have."

  I sucked in a breath, trying to calm down my boiling blood. She just wanted to know why I was sleeping in my car. And she deserved to know after everything she'd done for me.

  "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She trained her gaze down. "I'm just worried about you, Noah."

  I wanted to tip her chin up so she would look me in the eyes, but I settled for sitting up straighter.

  "I'm sorry I got mad. My dad is always talking about me being into trouble, since every time he sees me it looks like I've been in a fight." A fight with Paul. "I'm just tired of being the bad, messed-up kid, I guess. And I'm trying to be better."

  She nodded and slowly met my gaze. "I know. I've noticed how much you've mellowed out since last year, even more so the last couple of months."

  "You have?" She had watched me that closely?

  She seemed to grow uncomfortable and adjusted her glasses. "I notice a lot of things about you, Noah."

  She did? My throat grew thick, and I suddenly found myself wanting to tell her more. "M-my stepdad is the real reason I got kicked out. I got in his way when I thought he was about to hurt my mom, and he punched me."

  She gasped. "He punched you?"

  I nodded. "And it wasn't the first time, either."

  Fear and shock filled her eyes. "You can't go back there, Noah."

  My heart squeezed in my chest. "I don't want to." I flexed my jaw. "But I have to watch out for my mom and my sister. My mom thinks Paul will calm down, but I'm not so sure. He goes through phases."

  "Why doesn't your mom leave him?"

  I leaned my head back against the high headrest, letting my eyes fall closed for a moment before meeting her worried gaze. "She tried, once."

  Lexi waited for me to say more, so I continued, "Last fall, he was on one. My mom got beat up pretty bad. I was just coming in from a party when it was going on. They were in the kitchen, dishes were smashed all over the floor. And then when I tried to stop him, he went nuts. My mom and Brielle were able to get out of the house, and then I followed them. We went to the women's shelter, but I wasn't allowed to stay since I'm too old and other women see me as a threat because I'm a guy."

  "Is that why you said this wasn't your first time sleeping in your car?" she asked, probably putting all the puzzle pieces together.

  I nodded. And just because I didn't want her to find out from someone else, I said, "Your family was out of town that weekend, so I went to Ashlyn's house that first night. But then, yeah, I stayed in my car for the next few days."

  She rubbed her arm and raised her eyebrows as if trying to get up some courage to say something about that. Was she going to kick me out for being in the habit of sneaking into girls’ rooms?

  I was about to tell her that I'd only done it out of desperation when she finally spoke up and said, "So I'm not the first girl whose room you've snuck into?"

  Was I a terrible person because I liked the hint of jealousy in her voice?

  "Ashlyn even let me sleep in her bed." Yeah, I couldn't help myself with that one.

  Lexi gasped and scooted back, like my words had burned her. "I thought you said you didn't do that with her..."

  She was jealous. And maybe I'd pushed a little too hard with my last comment.

  "Ashlyn slept in her chair that night. I literally fell asleep as she was bandaging me up."

  "Don't tell me she gave you ice, too? I thought that was our thing." She smiled, and I was happy she wasn't too put off b
y me spending one night at my ex-girlfriend's house.

  "I tend to need ice a lot in my life." I shrugged. "Hazard of being Noah Taylor, I guess."

  "So why did your mom go back if he treats her that badly? Why doesn't she press charges?" Then realization dawned on her face. "That's what you meant by 'not pressing charges' when I overheard you, huh?"

  "Yeah." I looked at her solemnly. "I don't get it. He treats her terribly, but she's scared to leave him." I drew in a shaky breath. "I'm worried that one of these days, I'll come home and find she stayed one fight too long." I turned my head to the side, trying to ward off the tears that pricked behind my eyes. I would not lose it in front of Lexi. I would not be a wimp.

  But I couldn't help but be scared for my mom. She was a good mom: loving, caring, smart, and fun. She was just brainwashed into thinking she needed Paul for some reason. And I blamed that on my dad. If my dad hadn't betrayed her— If he hadn't left us for a younger woman, my mom wouldn't have gotten it in her head that she was lucky to have any man at all. She would know that she was worth so much more than what the men in her life had been giving her.

  My lip trembled, and I wiped at the tear threatening to leak out my eye. My voice wobbled when I spoke, "I just wish she knew what she was worth."

  Lexi's eyes filled with compassion, and before I knew what was happening, she moved closer to me and tentatively touched my shoulder. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this Noah. It isn't fair."

  She looked at her hand and seemed to get embarrassed for touching me, so she removed it. I felt cold when she did that. Like she was rejecting me.

  Awkwardness permeated the room as we had a hard time meeting each other's gazes. What was going on between us? We'd been fine holding hands this morning as we walked into school. Why could we only touch when other people were around? Had that practice kiss really scared her off from me?

  She tucked some hair behind her ears. "I want to tell you to go home and watch out for your mom and sister, but I also don't want you to be in danger."

  "I know what you mean. But I'm going back this weekend. I can't overstay your much-too-generous hospitality for long. I don't want to risk your dad taking away your college tuition if he finds out that you're letting me sleep in your closet."

  "Does Easton know about any of this with your mom?" she asked.

  I shook my head. "No. I, um, like to keep some things just in the family."

  She nodded and gave me a small smile. "I appreciate you telling me. I know it wasn't easy."

  "That's the understatement of the year." I blew out a low breath. "Just try to forget the whole part where I teared up. I kind of have a reputation for being a tough guy."

  She laughed lightly. "That secret is safe with me, too."

  17

  Lexi

  The doorbell rang a few minutes after Noah and I had finished our conversation.

  "I'll get it." Noah stood from the couch.

  I watched him as he walked up the stairs. His broad shoulders carried much more of a load than I'd ever imagined. I still couldn't believe what he'd told me about his stepdad. I'd always wondered who Noah was getting into fights with, but I'd never imagined it was happening in his own home. It hurt my heart to think about what was happening to his mom and how because she was too scared to leave, she was putting Noah and his little sister in danger.

  Noah was even stronger than I'd known. I definitely couldn't deal with all the stuff he had to. He should be having a fun, carefree senior year. Not sleeping in his car or sneaking into my bedroom because he had nowhere else to rest his head for the night.

  "The movie is all set up downstairs," I heard Noah say to Jake as they walked closer to the top of the staircase.

  "Hi, Lexi." Jake waved when he made it to the family room. "Thanks for letting me join you guys."

  I nodded and adjusted my position on the couch. "No problem."

  "I don't think we've officially met, but I've definitely been hearing a lot about you this week." Jake sat on the opposite end of the sectional, tossing the throw pillows to the cushion next to him.

  "Hopefully good things," I said. Though I knew the reason why everyone was talking about me was because of my new ‘relationship’ with Noah.

  Jake laughed. "Yeah, mostly good." He turned to Noah. "How was it to have Ashlyn and Luke find you two making out under the bleachers today?"

  "What?" I asked, feeling my neck grow hot. I knew Jake and Luke were good friends, but why were they talking about that?

  "Who told you they saw us?" Noah asked.

  "Luke overheard Raven talking in P.E. about how she thought you guys were only pretending to date. So when he heard what she was saying, he told everyone what he saw."

  I looked at Noah, anxious to see what he felt about this. His jaw flexed. He wasn't happy about Ashlyn and Luke catching us after all. I should have known. I knew he wasn't over Ashlyn yet. It was obvious with how he hadn't touched me again after they'd found us.

  But he pushed the annoyed look off his face and took his seat on the cushion next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me against his side. "Oh, it's real, right babe?"

  "Yeah, definitely real." I managed to croak out.

  But I wondered if Jake bought it, since Noah removed his arm from my shoulders the next moment to grab the controller and get the movie started.

  He really didn't want to touch me anymore, did he? He'd been so touchy-feely in front of people at school the past couple of days that his complete lack of physical contact after our kiss was messing with my mind.

  What did he think about me after that kiss, anyway? Had I really been that bad of a kisser? I'd thought it had gone well enough. It had definitely been good on my end, at least.

  And he wouldn't have told me those things about his family if he'd felt nothing for me, right?

  But then again, he had invited Jake to watch the movie with us. Was that so he wouldn't have to be alone with me again?

  Noah started the movie and reclined his seat, so I found the lever between the cushions to recline mine as well, hoping the show would take away my worries for the moment.

  "You two aren't going to start making out, are you?" Jake narrowed his eyes at us. "I really don't need a second showing to prove Raven's accusations wrong."

  Noah and I looked awkwardly at each other for a moment before Noah pasted on his signature bad-boy smirk and said, "You're the one who wanted to watch the movie with us. Beggars can't be choosers."

  Jake threw a pillow at Noah, but it fell on Noah’s lap instead of hitting his face. "Thanks for the pillow." Noah smiled. "We'll use it as a shield if we do decide to make-out.”

  Jake just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Maybe I really should read the book instead."

  "Now that would be the day." Noah laughed before focusing back on the TV screen.

  About a minute later, just as I was finally beginning to relax, Noah leaned closer with his mouth next to my ear and whispered, "You should probably sit closer than that." His eyes darted over to Jake briefly, indicating that we had an audience and therefore a show to put on.

  I scooted an inch closer, so now there were only five inches between us instead of six.

  "So much better," he said sarcastically. I'd hoped that he'd do the typical Noah thing of pulling me closer, forcing me to cuddle with him, but he didn't.

  I sighed. Trying to dissect every little movement Noah made would only make me crazy. I needed to stop trying to figure him out. So I tried to shut my brain off. I was doing a pretty good job of focusing on the movie, and to its credit, I did find myself actually enjoying it a little, but about halfway through, Noah stretched and adjusted his position to get more comfortable. His arm bumped against mine. My skin warmed on contact, and I wanted him to bump into me again.

  Why didn’t I scoot closer when I had the chance?

  Maybe I could accidentally move closer to him? Or was that stupid? Would it be totally obvious that I wanted to touch him?r />
  I glanced over at Jake to see if he was watching us. If he was, that would give me a good enough reason to move closer, right? But he was super focused on what was happening on the screen, he had even pulled a notebook out and was taking notes on the movie.

  I chuckled to myself. He wouldn't read the book, but he was diligent enough to take notes.

  I gestured at Noah to check out what Jake was doing. He grinned at me, and it kind of felt like we had a moment. But then he went back to watching the movie.

  I sighed and pulled out my phone to give my mind something else to focus on. Juliette had posted a bunch of photos of her and some guy at the Eiffel Tower. He was cute and had his arm around her. I would need to ask her about him the next time we talked.

  "What are you looking at?" Noah leaned closer, his cheek almost touching mine as he peeked at my phone's screen.

  I cleared my throat, surprised at how close he was. "J-just some photos of Juliette. Apparently, she doesn't have a problem finding guys in foreign countries, either."

  He glanced down at her photo briefly before shrugging. "Eh, she's not my type."

  What? "She's always been the type of every guy I've ever known."

  Noah shook his head. "I don't see it."

  I rolled my eyes. He had to be totally lying, but it was nice of him to try to not make me feel as self-conscious.

  "I'll make sure to tell her she's not your type when she gets back next week."

  He smiled back. "Make sure that you do."

  "Hey, shhh." Jake waved a hand to quiet us. "Mr. Darcy is proposing to her like a boss."

  Noah and I just looked at each other and laughed.

  "You're really getting into this, aren't you?" Noah asked after his laughter died down.

  Jake held a finger to his lips. "Seriously guys, he's asking her to marry him and insulting her at the same time. This guy is awesome."

  Noah shook his head, as if realizing he wasn't going to get Jake to take his eyes away from the riveting movie.

  I shoved my phone in my pocket and settled back in my seat. But as I resumed watching, I couldn't help but notice that Noah kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.