Cupidity (Sequel to Cupid's Daughter)

Chapter 26~ Do I have a Target on My Back Reading 'Drop Bombshells Here'?

"I know it doesn't make any sense." Noah reasoned as I stared at him with my mouth gaping. He let out a short, humourless laugh. "It's just something I have to do. She says that she went to my father's house to beg him to take her back. Supposedly he got so mad at her for showing up after he'd told her to stay away that he roofied her, hit her and knocked her unconscious. He has a court hearing in less than two weeks."

I was unable to articulate words as I continued to stare at him in shock.

What?!

"What are you talking about?" I finally stuttered.

Noah licked his lips and glanced around the room as if he were trying to find a way to explain. "Sabrina has taken everything important from me-- my family..." His gaze flickered to me, "you. If I let her get revenge on my father too, then she wins. She'll either take every cent my family has or watch my father rot in jail. My father deserves whatever consequences he gets for what he did, but I won't let him be punished for something he didn't have do. I won't let her win." Noah told me with such intensity in his voice that I wondered if he was going to punch something. His hands were wrapped around the chair he was sat on and his knuckles were turning white.

I stood up and dragged my chair over to him, a sigh escaping my lips. It had been over half a year since we'd graduated high school and yet Sabrina was still finding ways to mess with us all. Why couldn't she just get a part-time job or something to pass the time?

"If you take the blame Noah, she wins anyway. You're innocent." I told him slowly, hesitantly resting my hand over his on the arm of the chair.

Noah glanced sadly at our entwined hands and then at me. His gorgeous face looked tired and pale, and I briefly wondered how long it had been this way. He'd been suffering through this alone for months--even while we'd been together-- and yet I'd never noticed the dark circles hung under his eyes, or his down-turned mouth. Had I been so selfishly caught up in my life at Princeton that I hadn't even seen that something was clearly wrong? 

It was one thing for me to be mad at Noah for not telling me about his issues, but it was something else entirely for me not to notice. Guilt washed over me instantly-- some girlfriend I was. 

"My dad is innocent too." Noah continued. "He's done horrible, terrible things Issy, and this isn't his first time in a court room. But regardless of the fact that he has no alibi, I know he didn't do this-- never this. The consequences for a first time offender have to be less harsh than they would be for him."

It took a few moments for me to fully understand what Noah was telling me. If Sabrina fabricated enough evidence and won the case, Noah could end up in jail. The thought sent a jolt of electricity through my body. When I finally looked at him, I could tell instantly that I wasn't going to be able to persuade him otherwise on this one. I'd lost that power over him when we'd broken up, and this was bigger than just me.

Eventually I sighed, my stomach churning and my resolve disappearing into thin air. "Well," I concluded quietly, reluctantly, "if this is what you have to do, I'll support you however I can."

***

I took a few hours after my conversation with Noah for me to gather my thoughts, and I headed back to my dad's house to freshen up and catch up on some much needed sleep. So much had happened in such a short amount of time and I was too tired to sort through any of it.

I made my way through the house sluggishly, leaving a trail of clothing as I went. I jumped into the shower and turned the water as hot as I could handle, letting it wash away the tension in my shoulders and neck. I buried my face in my hands and focussed on the sensation of water streaming through my hair and onto my back, trying to calm the tornado that was brewing inside of me.