“-but for Cyrus I would agree to almost anything. He’s a good man. But now my son is caught up in this girl’s life, acting like a friend, tip-toeing around her feelings. I’m worried you grow too attached to something that you shouldn’t.”
His cheeks felt flush with anger. ‘something’? “Dad, don’t you trust me?”
“Of course, but you are still young, Noah. Still easily-”
“No. Think on Valeria. Cyrus was right. He’s seen this before. I can back up his claims now, OK. I’m not duped by a clever soul eater. Eden is a messed up, confused kid who deserves a chance to get the hell out of a world she should never have been born to.”
His father remained silent for a while. “She’s still one of them, Noah.”
“Not if I can help it.”
Noah heard the familiar sound of his father growling unhappily. “Fine,” he snapped.
“Does Mom feel this way too?” Noah squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his fingers into the sockets as if to stem an imaginary headache. Ankh didn’t get headaches. But they got pissed off pretty easily.
“No,” Alain bit out. “Emma thinks we should trust your instincts but I’m still-”
“Maybe you should listen to Mom.”
“Maybe you should remember it is rude to interrupt. I swear every time you go on assignment as a teenager you turn into one.”
Noah snorted. “That’s kind of the point, Dad.”
He grumbled. “Alright. I better go. But be careful, Son.”
“Always am.”
But as Noah ended the call, he gazed at himself in the mirror, a look of mockery curling his upper lip. How could he guarantee anything to anybody in this situation? Nothing had gone to plan so far. Eden had turned everything upside down. And then there was the added pressure of how important this was to Cyrus.
OK. Cyrus was right. He had to get his game face on.
It was sneaky and underhand but Noah couldn’t think of another way. He stood with the door to the janitor’s closet open a crack, as his plan unfolded. As he waited, a fake note from the principal’s office found its way to Mrs. Sorenson’s Business Studies class stating that the Principal wished to speak with Eden Winslow. She’d have to walk this corridor to get to the school office.
He waited another a few minutes.
And then…
There she was.
Noah’s heart picked up at the sight of her and he deftly ignored his reaction to her. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a frown of consternation, clearly wondering why the hell she’d been called out of class. He held his breath, waiting for her to come closer, to nearly pass. He studied her for a moment. She was looking a little thinner, easily noticeable on her tall frame and with her hair pulled back tight in a long ponytail. Noah smiled as his eyes wandered downwards. Over a long-sleeved black shirt Eden was wearing the Killers t-shirt he’d shrunk in the wash. Stupid, but the sight of her wearing something he’d given her gave him hope that this would go his way. He couldn’t lose her.
Just as she past the door he snapped the door open, shot his hand out, and wrenched her into the closet, closing the door with a quiet click.
“What the hell? Noah, you scared the crap out of me!” Eden hissed, her warm breath tickling his throat. It took a moment but his eyes adjusted to the dark until he could make out the shape of her, trapped inches from him in the tiny closet.
“Sorry, but it seemed to be the only way I could have an actual conversation with you.”
She gasped into the dark. “You wrote the note?”
He grinned. “Yup.”
He winced as she slapped his arm in retaliation. “Dude, I was freaking out wondering what the hell I had done.”
For once Noah was glad to hear her call him ‘dude’. “Well if you wouldn’t turn tail and run every time you see me I wouldn’t have to resort to extreme measures.”
“Whatever.”
Drawing on his skills of manipulation, Noah pushed anxiety and hurt into his words. “No, no whatever. OK. Eden, come on, what did I do?”