❝He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.❞ -Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
There was a tension in the air that no one except Richard and I could explain. The others felt the shift in mood, but decided not to comment on it. The only reassurance I got was Noah's subtle squeezing of my hand, letting me know he's here for me.
"So, Diana, where are you going to school in the fall?" Mabel asks me.
"NYU," I reply. "I'm really excited for it."
"That's far away from LA," Richard notes passive aggressively. "How's long distance going to work?"
Mabel elbows her husband, not even trying to be subtle. "Not right now, mon amour."
But Richard ignored his wife's suggestion and all the adults begin to argue, except Chris who was eating his soup peacefully. Rachel was telling Richard to bud out of our relationship, Mabel was defending Richard while also telling him that Noah will be fine in LA and Richard's calling Rachel "naive" and "blind" for supporting mine and Noah's relationship. Noah jumps into the conversation at this point, arguing with his father.
Cam pipes up, "what are we talking about?"
Reina shoves Cam's little head, "be quiet. They're talking about Noah and Diana."
"What about them?" Cam asks, turning to Harley.
"They love each other," Harley whispers to him, but I could still hear them over the bickering of Rachel and Richard. "Like your dad and Mabel. He doesn't want them together, though."
"He's your dad, too," Reina corrects Harley lightly. Harley's eyes narrow slightly, but she doesn't say anything else. "Diana makes Noah happy so shouldn't it be okay that they love each other?"
Harley shakes her head at the little girl, "it's not that simple, sweetheart."
"This soup is delicious, kids," Chris says to Noah and I, ignoring the fights amongst the family. "You can really taste the spices."
Noah doesn't answer him as he was too busy yelling at his dad, "who gave you the right to suddenly monitor my every move? You've barely made any effort to be apart of my life! It's always me going to you! Do you even care about me? Or Harley?"
Harley takes the twins' hands, one in each of hers and ushers them upstairs, shutting the door to her bedroom behind them. Despite the current situation, it was nice to see this side of Harley.
"I love Diana, I really do," Mabel says as if I'm not sitting right in front of them. "But maybe your dad's right, Noah. You worked hard for that scholarship and it should be your priority."
"Don't talk to me like you know me," Noah snaps coldly.
"Noah, babe, it's okay," I murmur to him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Maybe I should just go..."
"No," Rachel insists. "Please stay, Diana. I don't want our first time meeting to be ruined by this conversation."
"A little late for that," Noah comments dryly.
Richard turns to me, "it's nothing against you personally, Diana. You seem like a great girl; you know how to look out for yourself, but I'm looking out for my son. You need to understand this."
"You have no right," Noah seethes. I had never seen him so angry before. "I can't believe I thought we could have a nice family dinner. I guess that's impossible with you as my dad."
YOU ARE READING
The Art of Falling in Love
Teen Fiction❝I never used to believe in soulmates, but now I find myself questioning every thought I once had about love. It was almost as though love was too weak a word for what I felt for him, that perhaps soulmate is indeed the correct term. Perhaps every s...
