Masked ✔

Chapter seventeen

  
chapter seventeen
    
   
The Masquerade Messes ship felt different when I rose from my sleep the next morning. The air felt tight, the ship's scent smelled strangely foreign though being the exact same as before. I woke up on the right side of the bed only to realize that I was alone on the mattress. I predicted that Noah had eventually left his cabin somewhere in the night and I began to wonder whether or not it was something to worry about.

The sheets had been messily kicked onto the floor. The cabin felt awfully lonely without him.

I swiped the sleep crust from my eyes and slumped over. I had a feeling - no, I knew Noah had slipped out of bed soon after I fell into a deep slumber. The thought of it made it feel like my heart was crinkled up and torn. It may have even hurt me more than him that I was leaving but I avoided the feeling. But I knew I had to go. It was the right thing to do... that was what I told myself.

My gaze shot to Noah's dresser. I gulped down with realization. He had taken his cloak. That was it, a switch flipped on behind my eyes, turning on the waterworks. I didn't have to blink in the slightest for the tears to drip all the way down my cheeks.

Well, what was I expecting? To take his cloak with me all the way to Tipsia?

Actually, I honestly would have liked that.

I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand and slid off the bed, standing up.

I'm fine. I don't need any guy.

An image of Noah flashed in my head and I felt my knees begin to wobble.

Shit.

I need him.

I hastened to the door of Noah's cabin, reaching from the knob and grasping it tightly, ready to swing the door open when I suddenly remembered the night before. Noah had seemed so sweet and comfortable... why had he left in the middle of the night?

With realization, instead of opening the door I rested my forehead onto it, exhaling a large sigh.

Noah was pretending to be happy because I had basically asked him to, wasn't he?

I had asked Noah to forget about the following day and he did so. Was he really just pretending all his comfort so I could feel at peace? I thought he was as at peace as I was but I seemed to have thought wrong. He had just put up an invisible mask, hiding that pain behind gentle eyes and a soothing smile.

The more I thought about it, the more pain I felt in my chest.

I anxiously turned the knob of the familiar cabin door and slipped out of the lonely room.

Noah. I was going to find Noah. I was going to confront him. But what was I going to say? Hey, you - you emotional wreck. Yeah, you. Give me your damn cloak back. It's as cold as a snowman's asscrack on this ship.

Unfortunately, I couldn't say that. He would probably never take me seriously again... of course, I never think he took me seriously in the first place.

Noah was a simple guy; stubbornness mixed with inconsistent doses of confidence. But I had liked that about him. I liked everything about him, from the way he smelled, the way he looked at me, all the way to which direction his strands of hair would fall. No, I'm not exaggerating.

Rushing through the hallway, I accidentally bumped shoulders with someone going the opposite direction. I came to a halt and looked briefly over my shoulder.

Ethan.

"Ethan, have you seen Noah?" The words spilled quickly from my lips without hesitation. He sneered at me and I began to wonder if I should have said sorry or hello first. Both he and I were rude as always.