Page 73 of Sweet Ruin

“Well, it was very convincing.”

A hint of a smile curved the corner of his lips. “Jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous?” I said, turning back to look out the window. “I have Wes.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw his half smile drop, and I knew I’d gotten to him. It didn’t make me feel better though. If anything, I felt like I was being unnecessarily harsh.

We had just reached the end of the bridge when Noah suddenly switched on the turn signal, swerved across two lanes of traffic, and took the first exit.

“What are you doing?” I said, gripping the edge of my seat with both hands.

He didn’t answer.

“Noah?” I prompted. We pulled off the bridge and into an area close to the water that was still very built up but not nearly as vertical as Manhattan. I didn’t know where we were going, but I knew it wasn’t the way back to school, and it seemed Noah had made a sudden decision to take us this route. He continued to ignore me, but it wasn’t long before he stopped the car alongside a small park.

As he turned off the ignition, he released a heavy breath.

“Noah?” I asked, my voice soft. “What’s going on?”

He heaved out another breath before he responded. “There’s something I want to show you.”

I glanced around trying to figure out what he was talking about. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary, but when I looked back at Noah and saw the gravity in his eyes, I knew, whatever it was, it must be serious.

“I don’t know if I can handle any more surprises,” I said.

“I understand this is a lot to ask right now, but can you trust me?”

It was a difficult question to answer given everything that had happened recently. But I found myself nodding. “I guess.”

Noah swallowed and then nodded before he opened the door and got out of the car. He walked around the front of the car to the passenger side and opened my door for me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“This way.” Noah held out his hand, and as I took it, he gently helped me from the car. He kept hold of my hand and led me to the green park.

On the sidewalk next to the stone archway that marked the entrance to the park, there was a man selling flowers out of a small wooden cart. Noah walked up to him, selected a colorful bouquet, and gave the florist some cash. He caught the look of confusion on my face and chuckled softly.

“This isn’t what I had to show you,” he said. “I know I’ll need a lot more than flowers before you can forgive me for all this.”

We left the florist and walked along the gravel path that led under the arch and into the park. It wasn’t a huge area, but it was lush and green with pretty manicured gardens and a duck pond in the center. The trees that bordered the area were bare of leaves, but it would have been beautiful in the spring. On the far side of the park, beyond the trees, I caught a glimpse of the water and, beyond that, the sunlight glinting off the glass and metal skyscrapers that made up the New York skyline.

When we reached a bench that overlooked the pond, Noah stopped. He walked past the bench to the edge of the water. He was approaching a square stone block that was sticking out of the ground about waist height. When he reached it, he bent down and laid the bouquet of flowers on the grass in front of it. I slowly edged closer to Noah, and it was only when I came to stand next to him that I noticed the small rectangular plaque attached to the stone. Etched into the golden plaque was his father’s name.

“Noah,” I whispered. “What is this?” His eyes were fixed on the plaque, and they glistened with unshed tears.

He sighed and blinked the moisture from his eyes. “This is where they died,” he murmured before looking up at me. “My father and your aunt.”

The pain in his eyes caused my chest to tighten, but as I glanced around a look of confusion formed on my face.

“This was the site of Hastings Laboratories’ main research center,” Noah explained. “Of course, it looked very different back then. After the fire, my grandfather had the building torn down and converted into a park in my father’s memory.”

“Oh,” I murmured. “It’s beautiful.”

He nodded and looked out over the pond. "I try and come here every time I visit the city.” He sighed again before he stepped back and lowered himself onto the bench. He gestured for me to sit with him. It was cold today, and the pond showed hints of icing over, but the sun was out, and its glow warmed my skin despite the cool breeze. I nodded at Noah and sat beside him.

“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I needed you to see this place,” Noah said, waving a hand at the park, the pond, and the plaque. “This is all that remains of my father. This is why I stopped at nothing to bring my grandfather down. And I’m so sorry I had to hurt you in the process. That I didn’t treat you the way you deserved. That I made my friends avoid you, and I pretended to date someone else so my grandfather couldn’t see how much I cared for you.”

He leaned forward on his knees and bent his head low. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to forgive Noah, but I was beginning to understand the enormity of what he’d been through. Being in this park. Seeing the one thing that was left of his dad. It really hit me.

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