“And he didn't tell you he was buying the land?” Adele pressed.
“No, it didn't come up,” I said sharply and instantly felt bad. This wasn't Adele's fault. I didn't need to take this out on her. I needed to go home. I needed to think. “You know what, Adele? I'm actually not hungry. I'm just gonna go home.”
Adele nodded and wrapped her arms around me again. She smelled like cinnamon. “I understand, dear.”
No, you don't, I wanted to tell her, but I just smiled meekly and quickly broke away. I couldn't get out of the restaurant fast enough.
The door closed behind me and I gave serious thought to going back in. Waiting patiently for me in front of the restaurant was Danica. I wanted to punch the smug smile off her face. She had seen me look at the paper through the window, and I could only imagine what was going through her head.
“Leave me alone.” I glared at her and turned to walk in a different direction, but she just moved to intercept me.
“Why do you think he stayed on the island after the party?”
“I told you to leave me alone.” I clenched my jaw and worked my fingers into a ball. I really wanted to hit something, and she was looking like a good target.
“Did he tell you it was because of you?” she asked sweetly. “Because, if I were you, I'd think it was so he could sign the papers before you and your scientist friends had a chance to do anything.”
The truth struck me like a baseball bat, but I didn't want to give the evil reporter the satisfaction of seeing me break. I couldn't breathe again. The air was too thick to get past the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest. I was glad I hadn't eaten anything, because if I had, I would have been sick right there.
“I'm not going to give you a sound byte,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice level. I even impressed myself by managing to keep it steady. “Leave me alone.”
I pushed past her; every muscle in my body was wound too tight. She moved out of my way, eyes dark and full of derision.
“If you think he'd do the same thing for you, you don't know Noah Black,” she called after me. I ignored her, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. I needed to get to where I could think and cry. I needed to be alone.
The buying of the land, I almost could have forgiven. I hadn't said anything about it to him, and I could give him the benefit of the doubt. But it was the rest of what Danica had said that irritated me and rubbed like salt in a fresh wound. It had truth to it. Why else would he stay on the island? Bring his personal assistant? He needed to be on the island for the sale. I was just a convenient way to pass the time. That thought hurt more than the loss of the land. I wasn't sure if his love for me was real or just a comfortable lie.
I hurried up the walk to the house, desperately trying to keep my tears at bay. One of the boats was missing, and I hoped that meant everyone was off on an expedition. I wanted the house to myself. I just wanted to curl up in bed and pretend this was all a terrible dream. I was going to wake up and find out that Doc had gotten the property and that Noah was here for me and not his business. Things were going to be the way they were supposed to be, which wasn't like this. This had to just be a bad dream.
Chapter 20
The house was mercifully quiet as I stumbled to my room. I opened the bedroom door and felt a rush of gratitude that Brooke's bed was empty. I had the place to myself. The sob I had been holding in finally escaped as I clicked the door shut and slid down to the floor. I felt so heavy with betrayal I couldn't stand anymore. Everything hurt. How could he have done this to me? He had said he loved me! I had loved him, and truthfully, I was still in love with him.
Every beat of my heart hurt. I cried into my hands, sobs wracking my body with every strangled breath. I wished I could stop breathing and just let the heartache die out. I wanted to cry until I was empty and it didn't hurt anymore, but somehow I just kept finding more tears.
I cried until my butt went numb from sitting on the floor, but even then, I still felt miserable. There was a box of tissues on my nightstand. The bed looked like a better option than the floor. At least there I could cry myself to sleep. With far more effort than I had expected, I hauled myself away from the door and up onto my bed. I felt a little better with a cleared nose and a cushioned bottom, but not by much. Small steps, I told myself. Small steps.
“Izzy? You okay?” Brooke asked, carefully opening the door and peeking in. She must have heard me crying. She saw me and my new pile of tissues and gave me a sympathetic look. “We'll figure something out with the Grove and your research. It'll be all right.”
“I never should have fallen for him, Brooke. I should have listened to you.” I looked up at her, fresh tears welling up in my eyes. I could tell her to go away, but knowing Brooke, that would only make her nosier. It was better just to get it out now. At least then she'd go buy me ice cream.
“What?” Brooke closed the door behind her and knelt on the floor by my bed. “What'd he do?”
My chin quivered. “My Noah is the Noah Black who bought the Grove. He used me.”
Brooke's face went pale. Then red. Then pale again. Her mouth opened, and she worked it silently for a moment as she decided which emotion she wanted to feel first. She finally settled for shock as she stood up and wrapped her arms around me. We could be angry together later. That's why I loved Brooke. She was always there for me.
“Oh, Izzy,” she whispered in my ear as she hugged me close. Her hand ran down my hair to my back in a soothing, petting motion. “I'm so sorry.”
The words were still bitter in my mouth. My Noah was Noah Black... A heaviness descended on my soul. I had said it out loud and made it a reality. Until that moment I had hoped that it wasn't, that if I didn't say anything, by some sort of strange magic, it wouldn't be true. But it was. My Noah was the one who had bought the Grove. My Noah was the one who was going to destroy my research and dreams. And my Noah wasn't here because he loved me.
With Brooke's comforting arms around me and my world teetering on crumbling apart again, I started to cry. Brooke didn't say anything. She just held me close and rocked me gently, like a child. I cuddled into her, wishing I was still small enough that I could hide under my blankets and make the monsters disappear.
Chapter 21
“Izzy doesn't want to see you.” Brooke's voice drifted through the open window and interrupted my nightmares. I was in the Grove running from a giant backhoe that was ripping it up. Noah sat in the driver's seat and laughed as he chased me. I was glad to wake up and find I was safe in my bed and not running and tripping on mangrove roots.
I sat up in the dim gray of twilight with a blanket tucked neatly around me. My face was crusty with tears, and my ribs ached from sobbing. My laptop was still open on Noah's Wikipedia page but set neatly on the desk. I must have fallen asleep crying, and Brooke had tucked me in and saved my computer from falling off the bed. I stood up and tiptoed through the living room to stand at the entrance of the kitchen.