Blood Money (1) | The Inheritance Games

XXXVI. the lakes

"And I want you right here, a red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground with no one around to tweet it. While I bathe in cliffside pools with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief."

I placed first for track. I don't know how I do it but apparently when I put my mind to it I'm just a really fast runner?

The second I won, Noah sprinted for me, grabbing me in his arms and spinning me around as I squealed. He peppered me with kisses, holding my body tight to his with pride.

Our school swarmed back to our individual campsites, buzzing with joy after my win.

After I've taken a few hours for lunch, showering and getting ready into a cute white dress, we all gather round the campfire. Noah's muscled arm drapes over me, keeping me warm as the night grows close. 

The whole group heads off to dinner together, laughing and joking, the air light and carefree. But as we approach the crowded table, my stomach churns, a knot of anxiety tightening in my chest. I try to swallow it down, but the thought of eating in front of so many people makes my palms sweat. Before I can even voice it, Noah catches the shift in my mood.

He gestures for us to step away from the group and leads me outside, toward the waterfront. The quiet of the evening soothes the raw edge of my nerves. 

"This better?" He smiles, sitting down on the sand with his burger on a paper plate and the sun shining down on his brown eyes. His smile lines growing when I sit down beside him.

"Yeah." I nod with a subtle smile, leaning my head against his bicep as I slowly pick apart my hot dog into smaller pieces to eat at.

"You know how I have an eating disorder?" I ask, looking directly at the hot dog and not up to him. I feel his arm instantly wrap over my shoulder, sensing the vulnerability and showing me he's here.

"Yeah baby." He nods sadly. 

"And you know how I've had one for a while?" I continue, he nods. "And you know that I didn't tell anyone." 

I take a small bite of the dry bun, staring out to the moon shimmering down on the dark waves. He continues nodding, having finished his burger now and placed the plate aside to give his sole attention to me.

"Well, would you say it's accurate that leaving it so long made the whole thing worse for me? Because the longer I left it, the worse it got?" I continue.

"Yeah.. I think that if you told us we could've helped you sooner before it got as bad as it did." Noah nods in agreement, rubbing my arm comfortingly. "Is there something else you want to tell me about?" He offers gently.

I finally look up at him. "This isn't about me, Noah." I whisper.

His whole body tenses up, his eyes looking away from me to avoid my intense stare. He retracts his arm from my body. 

"I don't have an eating disorder, Spence." He clarifies. "That's not what I'm saying and you know it." I sigh.

"I don't know what you're talking about to be honest." He states sharply.

"Noah, I know something's wrong." I clasp his hand in mine and plead with him to look at me.

"Nothing's wrong." He dismisses coldly, snatching his hand away. His hand is quick but I still notice it. He swipes a tear off his cheek. My heart shatters.

"Talk to me, No." I beg.

"I think we should head back now." He mutters. 

"Who's hurting you?" I plant a hand on his jaw, pulling him back to me and demanding his red eyes on mine.