The Secret (Book 2 in The Deception Series)

Chapter 24: change and family

Jules

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"Slipfast"- ROLE MODEL

"Why was he saying all that?" Norah asks as we gather all the drinks in the living room.

"He was drunk." I say.

"Drunk words are sober thoughts." She says as she throws an empty beer bottle into the trash bag.

"He's dealing with stuff, Norah. He's just got a lot on his mind." I tell her.

She looks at me and sighs, "I know we already talked about this, but are you sure there's nothing going on between the two of you?" She asks.

I stare at her before shaking my head, "Nothing is going on. He was just caught in the past."

She nods before she continues to throw the trash away. I do the same as I feel guilt creeping through me, it was killing me not telling her the truth. But I knew if I did, it would ruin everything.

We hear footsteps and I look up to see the guys walking downstairs. They all seemed so quiet, it felt weird. In the short time I've known them, I've learned that they were real true friends. They were there for eachother no matter, no matter how many mean words were said, no matter how many lies were told. They always got through all of it. And I honestly think that that's what made them so close.

"Is he asleep?" Norah asks.

"Yeah." Jake says.

Norah sighs in relief. I look at Garrett who was staring at the ground, Brennen some fucked up shit to him about his temper. I felt terrible. He didn't deserve it, he was a good guy. He just cared about his girlfriend.

"He didn't mean it, Garrett." I blurt out.

He looks at me and stares, shocked that I practically read his mind.

"He wasn't thinking straight. You're not a bad boyfriend or person in general." I tell him.

He gives me a half smile.

"Okay, so the kitchen is now free of vomit." I hear Taylor's voice.

I turn around and watch her and Lily walk into the room.

"Hooray!" Chris cheers.

We all let out small laughs before it goes quiet. No one knew what to say or do, we were all confused. No one's seen Brennen like that before, so angry and upset all at the same time.

Me and Norah grab the trash bags full of empty bottles and cans and take the bags out to the trash bins.

"My parents called." She says as she opens the trash bin.

I look at her, waiting for her to go on, "They asked about school and I just couldn't take it anymore." She explains.

I nod as I throw the trash bag into the bin, "Did you tell them?" I ask.

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty. They've been looking at flights for me to come back home." She tells me as she throws in her trash bag too.

"You're leaving?" I question as she closes the lid of the trash bin.

We both stand there looking at each other, "I don't have a choice, Jules."

"When do you leave?"

"In a month. Tickets were hard to find since summer is almost here." She answers.

I look at her, fighting back my tears, "I don't want you to leave."

She gives me a sad smile, "I don't want to leave either."