The Jealousy Game {Completed}

Chapter Seventeen - Broken

~Chapter Seventeen - Broken~

Two weeks later, Logan was finally out of hospital. And three days after that, his parents and the doctors let him go back to school.

It felt like all eyes were on us as we walked through the school, his arm wrapped around my shoulder not only for romantic reasons, but also to help support his weight.

Although a thick bandage wrapped around his torso, he was still in a lot of pain because of the ribs. Things like that didn't heal overnight, and they were still bruised. Despite the copious amounts of medication he was on, it didn't stop all of the pain.

Maybe that was the thing that stopped me from approaching Noah. The all-too-present reminder of Logan's injuries.

It had been two and a half weeks since I had last texted or spoken to Noah. I hadn't spoken to him since that night when I had told him I needed space. He had been good enough to let me have it, and he hadn't pushed me on the subject. But that was the kind of person he was; he respected my decisions and abided by them.

In return, I had also managed to convince Logan and his parents not to press charges on Noah. That it was a simple misunderstanding. It took a little while, but it was worth it in the end. Noah got off scot-free. Of course, Logan had been hurt and confused about why I had wanted Noah not to be arrested, but I had made up some excuses and sweet-talked Noah's way out of trouble.

I felt it in my heart, though. The distance between us. I thought it was impossible to miss someone as much as I missed Noah. I know I had been the one to tell him I needed space, but I had too much pride to go back and speak to him. Even if it was a stupid conversation about donuts or foosball, I still would've liked to have a conversation with him.

Even one of our arguments that made me want to tear my hair out would've been better than the radio silence I was currently subjected to.

That morning as we made our way down the corridors and I tried to guide Logan to his locker through the teeming throngs of students, I saw Noah at the end of the hallway. He was talking to one of his friends, gesticulating with his hands as if enunciating a point, and his friend was nodding in understanding.

Somewhere behind us, I heard someone call out his name, and immediately his head jerked in our direction, responding to the call.

His eyebrows were raised as he searched the faces for the perpetrator, before he looked at us.

He did a double take as he took us in, and I saw his face completely fall.

He was just standing there, frozen, as teenagers conversed around him, and the world moved on while he seemed completely immobile. He stared at Logan and I, and I realized it was the first time he had seen me with Logan since the fight. He didn't know we were back together.

The look on his face made my heart plummet. He looked crestfallen; heartbroken. Like his whole world had ended.

It broke my heart.

His eyes never left my gaze, but I knew I had to leave Noah behind. As much as it hurt, he had beaten up Logan, and he had tried to sabotage my relationship with Logan. Who knew what else he had lied about? Maybe he didn't even care about me after all, and was just doing it for a laugh.

It hurt, and I knew I would miss those incredibly kind hazel eyes, the tousled hair. All I wanted was to run forward and fling my arms around his neck and pull him close. Kiss him, or maybe just hold him. Talk to him and tell him how I really felt. That it took everything in me not to text him or go to his house. Not to lean out of my window at night and call his name, like I had done so many times before we had fought when we were fourteen.