cowboy like me // noah bridges

4 - party crashers

6 years ago

Sadie's pov
Shutting people out is something I've become quite good at over the years. I don't necessarily mean to, it just happens. That's exactly what I've been doing for the past few weeks. I haven't seen Noah since I left him in his room that night, sitting on his bed. The look on his face was almost enough to make me stay, but it made it so much easier to leave. I couldn't stand to look at him anymore; I knew I was being unreasonable, but part of me didn't want to admit it. The part of me that was tired of the people I loved the most going away, dying, etc. The way I see it, it's better for a person to die; you know that they're up in heaven (or down in hell), you know that they got what they deserved no matter how good or bad. You know where they are. But if they just leave, well they could be anywhere. They could forget you ever existed and move on with their life. And nothing hurts worse than being forgotten.

That's why I had clung to this boy for so long. He had promised me that he'd never leave, never forget what we had. I had believed him and sometime down the line a tiny part of me had fallen for him. Clearly, that was a mistake. As I left Noah's room that night, I had silently sworn to myself that it would never happen again.

Noah's pov
Please, pick up. I pace across my bedroom floor, phone in hand. The first few weeks after Sadie left my room, I hadn't made an effort to talk to her. She probably needs time to think things over, I had thought. She'll come around eventually. It was about a week before I left for college that I started to worry. I had called and texted her phone dozens of times with no reply. "I can't believe I'm being ghosted," I mutter under my breath. The phone went to voicemail and I groaned loudly, throwing it on the bed. "Still no reply?" My mom poked her head in the door, looking anxious. "Uh, no," I say, running a hand through my hair. She frowns. "I'm sorry, honey. I think it might be time... time to give it up. You still have so much to do before school, and-" "Please, mom. Not now," I cut her off. "She's my best friend. I'm not leaving until I hear something." She sighs, then moves to leave. "Is this my fault?" I ask quietly. She stops and looks at me, her gaze softening. "Of course not," she whispers. "Some people just... react differently. You'll see her again, but she has to be ready. You can't force it, okay?" She looks around the room, then offers me a small smile. "We still have a lot to do, you should get some rest."

Now

Sadie's pov
We need to talk. My stomach dropped when I got the message from my grandma, Camilla. She'd been so stressed out lately and waved me away anytime I asked about it. At least I'll finally get some answers, I thought to myself. I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror, then headed out to my car.

For the past 15 years I've shared a tiny two bedroom house with Camilla. After my dad passed away, my mom had went on a trip to clear her head and never came back, so naturally Camilla had adopted me.

As I pulled up the the restaurant, I saw Leah come out of the front door wringing her hands and looking anxious. After parking, I got out and went up to meet her. "Hey, you okay?" I ask, dread growing in my stomach again. She fidgets nervously. "Nothing I won't recover from," she says. "I've been in tougher spots in this," she nods her head, as if trying to convince herself. "Oh, don't mind my rambling, why don't you go inside?" She smiles wearily, then pats my shoulder. "Um... okay, I'll talk to you in a minute," I say. I walk past her into the restaurant, where I find the remaining staff huddled around a table. "Sadie!" Camilla called to me from the table, waving me over. "Is Leah okay?" I ask, pointing behind me as I join her. The other staff members look at me sadly, then retreat back to the kitchen. Camilla smiles gently. "I've got something to tell you, dear." "About Leah?" I ask. She chuckles. "It includes Leah, yes. But it's about all of us. Come, sit down." She pats a chair next to her. I sit down and turn to face her. "There isn't an easy way to say this," she begins, taking my hand in hers. "I've been up all night trying to decide how best to tell you, but..." She shakes her head. "I'm sure I can handle whatever it is," I say. "I'm used to hearing bad news, remember?" "That's exactly why I didn't want to tell you. I've done everything I can to try and delay this, but I always knew it would happen some day." She sighs heavily. "Sweetie, we're losing the restaurant."