“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, looking up at Noah.
He stood facing the storage unit, his fists clenched at his side. “I have to do it eventually. If I do it now, it could help.”
I’m not sure what he was looking for, but I wanted to help as much as I could.
He took the pad lock off of the unit and lifted up the door. There wasn’t much, but it was basically Jesse’s life. Noah took another deep breath, and stepped inside. “Is there anything specific we should be looking for?” I asked slowly, and softly.
There was a small light overhead and Noah tugged on the string to turn it on. “Anything that doesn’t look right to you.”
But I didn’t know Jesse, so I didn’t know what wasn’t out of the ordinary. “Okay.”
I turned around, facing a large stack of small boxes. I struggled to get the top one off of the pile, but managed without Noah’s help. I sat it down on the ground and opened the folds. It was a bunch of papers. I sat down on the ground, and took out a small stack. I fanned through them, only seeing a few math problems and old essays.
I picked out another stack, only seeing old school work. I don’t know why he kept all of this. Most of them were marked with nothing over a C. I folded the box back together and moved onto the next one. I dropped the box on the floor and looked up to see what Noah was doing. He was intently searching through a box as well. I wanted desperately to ask him if he was okay, but I decided against it. I know he’s not okay and it would be stupid to ask.
Pictures among pictures were piled in this box. Jesse was in all of them I’ve picked up and Noah was in several too. There was one that caught my eye and I giggled before I could stop it. I’m not sure how old they were, but I was guess maybe thirteen. Noah had an eyebrow piercing. “What are you laughing at?” Noah asked.
I lifted the picture, covering my mouth to keep from laughing. “What is that?” I mumbled into my hand.
He stepped forward, snatching the picture from my hand. “This is so old.” He smiled.
“You had an eyebrow piercing. What were you thinking?”
He gave me back the photo and stared down at me, “I thought I was pretty badass.”
I put the photo back down in the pile and waved my hands, “If you still had that, I wouldn’t be able to take you seriously.”
“You barely take me seriously anyway.” He teased, making his way back to the other side of the storage room.
I stood up, brushing off the back of my pants. “That’s not true. You’re probably the only person I can take seriously.” Except when he has his shirt off. “I mean, after what we’ve been through together.”
The corner of his mouth flicked into a small smirk. “I might just consider getting it re-pierced.”
I wrinkled my nose, shaking my head. “Not if you want me to stay your friend.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
He looked down at the small stack of pictures in his hand, his smile quickly fading. “What is it?” I moved behind, peering down at the picture.
“Is that—?”
“Scott.” I breathed, recognizing the person immediately.
YOU ARE READING
The Bad Boy's Secret (Book 1)
Teen Fiction(Book 1) "What exactly did you do to get kicked out of your last school?" I felt my chest tighten when the vicious smirk played across Noah's lips. He leaned toward me in a flash, pressing me against my bedroom wall. "If I told you, I would have t...
