We used to share things between us, but we’d both found men that distracted us from each other. It was just a shame that they happened to be father and son.
I wanted to cry, too, but I couldn’t find the tears. I wanted to explain, but the words escaped me. Things only got worse from there.
“Hey Noah, Sara!”
Both of us turned at the call of our names. When I saw Alicia and Caroline standing at the entrance to the restaurant, I got a little dizzy. For a second, I wondered if I was going to faint, but I wasn’t that lucky.
“Fuck!” I heard Noah curse under his breath. “I can't believe they followed me here.”
My eyes turned to his face, and his expression didn’t make sense. He looked angry, and also a bit concerned. I’d only pointed them out to him once, so Noah shouldn’t really know either of them. What happened, and why would they have followed him here?
I didn’t know what was going on, but their smirking faces made my stomach churn even more wildly. They weren’t here to say or do anything nice, and before they could shout it to the whole room, I walked over there. Before I got the chance to say anything, they spoke.
“I can't believe you, Sara,” Alicia said, looking absolutely delighted. “Like, what the hell is this? You and Noah are to the point of meeting the parents already? Isn’t that a little ridiculous?”
My face burned in humiliation, but at least they hadn't figured out the situation we were in. They might have been behind Noah, but they hadn't been in time to overhear any of the drama going on between the four of us.
“Look, guys,” I muttered, voice low. “This really isn’t a good time, so can you please leave?”
Caroline snickered. “What, sending us off, so we don’t see the train wreck? Whatever. We came here for something else, anyway.”
Their smug looks gave me a bad feeling.
“What?”
“We know your dirty little secret,” Alicia said in a sing-song voice. “Between you and Noah. That’s your mom, right? I wonder if she knows.”
“Knows what?” I asked, impatient.
“That you had to pay Noah to fuck you,” she said, voice quiet, smirk widening. “And, on top of that, to go out with you, too. I thought it was so funny when I found out, you know? You didn’t want to tell us it was him because of that, right?”
I stared at them in horror. I wanted to turn around and look at Noah, but I really thought I would go crazy if I did. It was just one thing after another today. My emotions felt like they’d been put on a rollercoaster, and every time I thought it was coming to an end, a new twist or turn appeared.
“You don’t want this information getting out to anybody, right?” Caroline continued with a sharp edge to her voice that only increased my worry.
Feeling like the floor had just been pulled from under me, and I was plunging into a big, dark hole, I swallowed.
“If you want us to keep your dirty little secret,” Alicia continued. “You’re going to have to pay us. And make it a lot, or you know we’ll just come back.”
That would have been the best time to suddenly faint, but still, nothing happened. I blinked my eyes, but the sting of tears had gone away. Right then, all I felt was numb. My throat was tight, and I swayed a little in place.
“Sara!”
Someone from behind me had called my name. I didn’t know if it was Noah or Mom, or hell it could have been Greg. But it was what I needed to wake up, and I knew what I needed right then.
I ignored everyone.
With my head ducked down, I walked back to the table and picked up my purse and my phone. My breakfast was still mostly there, and distantly, I felt that it was such a waste, but I couldn’t stay there anymore. It would probably be thrown out, but I didn’t care enough to sit back down to finish. Then, I walked out of there, and away from all of them, without a look back or a final glance at any of them.
It felt like the whole world had gone mad, and if I stayed there any longer, I would go mad, too.Chapter Fourteen
NoahI saw Sara walk away, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure what to do. I hadn't done what I came here to do. Sara being there made things so much worse, because I realized that the woman Dad planned on conning was Sara’s mother.
The fact that she and I were now stepsiblings dawned on me after that.
Of all people, did it have to be her mom?
When she walked out of the room with all of us watching, I felt something go tight in my chest. I had a feeling that, if I didn’t go after her, she might never let me talk to her again. Right on the tail of that thought, I finally moved, going around Alicia and Caroline who were left stunned by Sara walking out on them without a word.