“I…” she looks back up at Noah. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”
“I think we should,” he says. “Isn’t that the whole point of us coming out here? To get everything out in the open so all this bullshit arguing can stop. I miss our fucking pack. So, what’s it going to be, Tully? Do you love him?”
Her eyes flick back to Rivers and then to me before settling on Noah with a heavy brokenness that tears me apart. “Yes, ok. I do,” she says as Rivers watches her closely. “I love him.”
Noah nods. “How long?”
She lets out a small breath before a smile lifts the corner of her lips. “Years,” she tells him.
“Why have you never told me?”
She shakes her head as though the answer is obvious. “Because he’s your best friend, and besides,” she adds, “I figured you always knew, just didn’t want to hear about it.”
“I guess I’ve always had my suspicions,” Noah murmurs to himself. “So, why the whole Rocko bullshit? Why aren’t you two together when he so clearly loves you too? It’s not that hard to figure out.”
Rivers shakes his head, not once denying Noah’s claim. “It’s not that easy, man.”
“Why the hell not? Because of me?” he grunts. “What if I told you I’d give you both my blessing?”
My eyes widen just as Tully and Rivers do. “Fuck off, Noah,” Rivers says, leaning back on his elbow as Tully watches the two men in her life like a tennis match. “Like hell you’d do that. Besides, it’s more than that. I’d fucking be with her with or without your blessing and you know it. It’s more.”
Noah raises his chin to Rivers. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you don’t want to hear that shit, not from me,” he says, repeating the answer Tully had given him.
Noah shakes his head. We all know they’re right on that one.
Noah watches the two as eyes continue flicking around the circle. “You’re going to have to help me out here because I’m at a fucking loss,” Noah says. “You’re in love with each other but you’re both fucking other people. It’s clear as day that Alyssa and Rocko are just means to an end. Neither of you gives a shit about them and you clearly don’t give a shit about me standing in the way, so, what’s the fucking problem? ‘Cause from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re fucking hurting her for nothing.”
“Noah,” Tully says with tears in her eyes, gently shaking her head. “Please, just stop.”
The boys completely ignore her and a pang rips through my heart for her. This can’t be easy.
Rivers shoots to his feet and the movement has Noah moving right along with him. “You can’t honestly stand there and tell me you wouldn’t have a fucking problem with me dating your sister,” he roars, getting in Noah’s face as me and Tully slowly move in, hovering on either side of them, ready to step in if need be. “I’m fucking nothing and you know it. She needs better than this. She needs someone who can get her the fuck out of this shithole, give her the fucking world, not me.”
I watch Noah’s jaw clench. “You’re really just going to screw her over like that? You two have been leading each other on for years and when it comes down to it, you’re just going to bail like a fucking pussy.”
“It’s not that easy,” Rivers repeats.
“So, what the hell happened then?” Noah demands. “You let her get close and then crush her just to put her in her place? Don’t act like I don’t fucking know all the times you two sneak off. You’ve been fucking her, haven’t you? She’s good enough to use, but not good enough to be with, is that it? She’s not some fucking whore, she’s my sister.”
“Noah, stop,” Tully demands, pulling at his arm.
“Answer the fucking question,” Noah roars.
“Fuck,” Rivers grunts. “It’s not what you think.”
“Are you fucking her? Yes or no.”
“Noah,” Tully demands, pulling at him once again. “Just…yes. Ok. Once. It happened once.”
Crack.
Noah’s arm shoots out like lightning, cracking hard across Rivers’ jaw. Tully screams and dives for Rivers who flies backward, landing hard on his ass. I rush in front of Noah, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to look at me. “You need to calm the fuck down before this gets out of hand.”
“It’s already out of hand,” he seethes. “They’re fucking sleeping together.”
“Once,” I tell him. “It only happened once.”
Noah narrows is eyes on me and I realize my mistake. “You fucking knew about this?” he demands as betrayal pours from his features.
“I…yeah. I did, but it wasn’t my place to say. This needed to come from them.”
He shakes his head at me before brushing my hands off his shoulder. “Just fucking perfect,” he mutters before walking away, leaving me standing behind feeling like absolute shit.