It takes a second before anyone besides Soren, Ali, and I notice Noah's betrayal. Emi notices first. I watch her catch Annika's eye, then sit helpless as Annika nudges Luke and so on until the room is silent. I feel eyes moving between Noah and me, but I stare him down.
"Pffft."
The rush of laughter pushing through someone's tense lips breaks my concentration and I turn to see Bella smiling.
"That's gotta hurt, huh Maria?"
"Bella, shut up," Noah says, still staring me down. I briefly wonder when they got to know each other before my brain catches up to my nervous heart.
"Aren't you gonna put a finger down, Els?" I stare at Noah in shock. He thinks I cheated, too?
"You are such a dick," I spit, anger pulsing through my veins as tears prickle at my eyes.
"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Luke says. I quickly glance at him before turning back to Noah.
"You wanted to be the one to tell them, Els. Go ahead. This is what you wanted. And don't leave out a single detail."
Tears of anger begin to pool in my eyes, blurring my vision. I can't believe he's acting like he did me some big favor. So typical of him.
"Mariella, you have to tell them..." Ali says regrettably. I know she's right, and that everyone around me has probably already figured out what happened. I sit with the weight of their stares as they listen for my confirmation. I hate that Noah is deciding how this goes down for me, but I also don't want him to say anything else. I was supposed to be the one who chose what to say. I chew on the words that have been hovering on my lips for days before speaking them aloud.
"Fine. This is what you want?" I say looking at Noah. He looks at me with determination. "Noah cheated on me," I say through tight lips, tears starting to fall. "I told him not to talk about it until we left so that the beach trip wouldn't be ruined, but I guess he didn't get the memo."
I hear a few gasps around me, but don't register who they come from. i'm not even sure how anyone can be surprised anymore. Noah admitted to everything the minute he put his finger down. But I guess my verbal confirmation makes it more real. After all, Noah's not just my boyfriend— well ex boyfriend
now—, but a childhood friend to every person in this room. Except Bella and Soren, of course. Our breakup doesn't just affect me and Noah, but all the bonds that have held so true over the years. It makes everyone question the morals of someone they haven't truly examined since childhood. Because judgments of character aren't something you think about when you already know someone. I can see how this news would make a brother look at Noah in a new light, a stranger's light. And Noah decided now, when we're all sleeping under one roof, was the time to set that evaluation into action like dominos. This is exactly why I wanted to wait.
"Don't act so Goddamn innocent. I was planning on keeping that promise until I saw how you and this asshole act around each other. You think you're up on this high horse, innocent-little-holy-virgin-Mariella, when really, you cheated, too." Noah's face is smug, like he didn't just admit to a group of people that he's a complete douche. If he weren't out of reach, I'd smack that sly smile right off his face.
"I did not cheat. Don't you dare try and pin this on me." My tears leave an icey path down my hot cheek. I try not to let my emotions drift into my words, but I've never been good at keeping a poker face. My words are shakey with frustration.
"Oh please, Mariella! I'm not blind and you're terrible at hiding your feelings."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I spit at him. So maybe I got with Soren pretty quickly after Noah. Who cares? I never cheated and I never betrayed Noah's trust. And I never would have. I don't owe him any kind of explanation for what happened after he hurt me. And i'm not exactly ready to tell everyone how I feel about Soren. There's something so beautiful and delicate about a secret. I want to keep our relationship as close to me as possible, revel in all the new ways he makes me feel, explore every inch of his brain before prying eyes are involved.
But Noah is taking that delicious privacy away from me.
"So you haven't kissed him, then?" He juts his chin out in Soren's direction, confidently. Well, that's a bit of a tricky question. And one I don't plan on answering.
"Fuck. You," I say, pronouncing each syllable clearly before standing and running outside so Noah can't say anything else with that smug face.
YOU ARE READING
The Beach House
Romance--completed- Mariella looks forward to going to the beach house every single year. She's gone with her friends for as long as she can remember. The same people, the same house, the same summer feeling. But this year something's different: her boyfri...
