We both turned. Vee stood in the doorway, looking like she was seeing a ghost. Technically, she was.
A moment of silence elapsed before she ran to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “You’re alive. I can’t believe you’re alive,” she said in awe. Noah held still as she embraced him. Then, when the relief of seeing him faded, she pulled back and slapped him right across the face. I gasped. Noah glowered.
“That’s for making us all believe you’d died,” Vee stated calmly.
“Guess I deserved that,” Noah muttered, and I chuckled, whether from exhaustion or delirium, I wasn’t entirely sure.
“Did Estella tell you about Sylvia?” Vee asked.
“I hope she burns in hell alongside Victor.”
Vee’s smile was sharp as a blade. “My sentiments exactly.”
Quiet fell as we all stood there, absorbing the enormity of the moment. We’d been through so much. Honestly, I wanted to sleep for a year just to get over it all. A chill crept over me when I noticed Noah and Vee staring up at the house. Then their eyes met, some silent understanding forming.
“Remember what you said to me the night of the remembrance,” Vee asked. “About throwing petrol on the flames and watching the place burn?”
“I do,” Noah replied, his gaze darkening.
“Shall we turn the metaphor into a reality?”
“You want to burn down the house?” I interjected, aghast. It just seemed so … insane, but then, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was the sanest idea Vee had ever had. I’d always thought Ard na Mara was a bad place, that evil lingered within its walls. Making sure it never got its clutches into anyone else was surely the right thing to do.
“A little bit of arson never killed anybody,” Noah said humorously.
“That is the most untrue statement in the history of untrue statements,” I countered, pointing my finger at him. He shot me a grin, his gaze wild in a way that made my belly flutter.
“So, we’re all agreed?” Vee said, a sort of giddy mirth coming into her eyes.
“Oh, hell,” I groaned. “Let’s at least go and get our things out of there first.”
They both chuckled like I’d just made the most amusing statement ever.
***
First there was smoke. The flames came soon after.
Vee, Noah and I stood across the street, watching as fire consumed Ard na Mara. It wouldn’t be long before people in the nearby houses noticed and called the fire brigade. There was enough land separating the houses though, so the fire wouldn’t spread to any other buildings.
For the moment, the three of us needed to savour seeing the place crumble to charcoal and ash.
Vee had packed her things into the back of her car, while mine and Noah’s backpacks were strapped to his motorbike. When sirens began to wail in the distance, we knew it was time to leave. Noah and I walked Vee to her car.
None of us knew what to say. Noah seemed particularly stuck for words as he came and gripped her shoulders. “Where will you go?”
“There’s a small town in Cork that Estella’s father and I visited once. It was the happiest I’d ever been. I think I might go there,” she said, and he nodded.
“Call me when you get settled.”
She gave him a watery smile. “I will.”
Now she turned to me. My relationship with Vee had always been fraught, but I held no grudge or ill will. Instead, I saw her past actions for what they were. The turmoil of a tortured soul.
“I hope everything works out for you,” I said.
“Thank you,” Vee replied quietly, her expression sincere. “I’m sorry for my behaviour all these years, Estella. I was horrid to you, and I just … I just hope you can find it in you to forgive me one day.”
I reached out to touch her hand. “You’re already forgiven,” I said, and I meant it. What was done was done. Hating Vee was pointless.
“You don’t know how much that means,” Vee choked, squeezing my hand before letting go and climbing into her car. I stood back, and Noah slid his hand into mine. We watched as she drove off, feeling like a weight had been lifted.
Her car disappeared around the corner at the end of the street, and I glanced up at Noah, still unable to believe he was alive. My heart didn’t know what to do with itself. I remembered something I wanted to ask him, and I placed my free hand on his chest. “Did you take a picture of me from my room? It’s a sketch that Aoife drew.”
His lips curled in a heart stopping grin. “I might’ve.”
My chest fluttered, butterflies wreaking havoc with my insides. “Why?”
“Because I like your face,” he replied, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to my mouth. “It’s my favourite.”
I giggled, then sighed when he deepened the kiss, my hands fisting his shirt. A deep, guttural sound emanated from the back of his throat and arousal shattered through me. I moaned into the kiss, and his hands travelled down my back, squeezing my bottom. He hummed before giving it a light pat and breaking the kiss. The sirens were close now. “We need to get out of here,” he breathed, guiding me over to the bike. “Here you go,” he said, his voice laced with affection as he handed me the helmet.