Page 86 of The Kissing Booth
‘That was her choice,’ Noah spat out, pushing his brother into the wall again. I saw Lee’s eyes flit past Noah to me, and all I could do was look back at him mournfully. Yes – it had been my choice.
I chewed my lip for a moment, watching my best friend’s face warily. For the first time ever, I had no idea what was going through his mind. His eyes were shadowed, his expression neutral, and his stance calm. In a scary kind of way, he was just like his brother for that moment.
But instead of reacting to me, Lee swung a fist and clipped Noah right on the jaw, hard enough to make him loosen his grip so that Lee could shove him away. He looked at me one last time, his expression so incredibly disappointed, and then he was out of the room, storming down the corridor.
Noah rubbed at his jaw. ‘Not a bad swing, actually.’
I gaped at him before jolting back to my senses. This was no time to argue with Noah. Right now, the most important thing was making sure I didn’t lose Lee.
And in a split second, I was running after him, hurtling down the corridor and yelling his name, trying to catch up with him as he escaped down the staircase and out of the building towards the parking lot. I heard Noah chasing after me, but didn’t pay him any attention. Lee was all that mattered.
‘Lee, would you please just stop for a second?’ I yelled, clutching at the stitch in my side. I was totally out of breath.
Lee was just about the biggest person in my life. Except for the whole Noah thing, he knew everything about me. He knew my bra size. He knew I hated the smell of jojoba in the shampoo he used to use. Hell, he even knew I had a birthmark shaped like a strawberry on my butt. He was my other half. I couldn’t lose him. We were supposed to be best friends until the day we died – and we’d probably even do that together too. We were born just minutes apart.
Some people say you’ll fall in love, and that’s the person you’ll spend forever with; the person who’ll know your deepest and darkest secrets and still love you even then, the person who’ll know exactly the right thing to say to make you laugh or smile or feel better. They’ll be the person who, no matter what, you can’t live without.
I couldn’t have cared less about whoever I fell in love with, to be honest. I just cared about losing Lee.
Lee stopped in his tracks, his back to me. I could see the tension knotting the muscles of his back, and he was breathing hard. What felt like eons later, he turned around to look at me, just as Noah jogged up and slowed to a stop behind me.
Lee’s hands were balled into fists, but they still trembled. His jaw quivered too; he was fighting so hard not to cry.
‘Please,’ I said quietly. ‘It’s not like you think.’
‘Then what the hellisit like?’ he snapped back. ‘I can’t believe you, Elle. Lying to me for months and going behind my back to be with my brother, of all people. Do you have any idea how that feels, knowing my best friend picked my brother over me, just for sex?’
‘I wasn’t – I didn’t, I mean – I didn’t pick. No, wait, I mean, it – it wasn’t for...’ I shook my head, trying to get out some words that made sense. ‘I didn’t know what else to do! I knew you’d react like this if I told you, but I – I couldn’t... I thought I was doing what was best for you, I—’
‘You know what, Rochelle? Save it for someone who gives a damn.’
He climbed into his car. He put the engine in gear, reversed out of the space, and left.
And I wasn’t sure if he’d ever come back.
Chapter 19
I STOOD LOOKINGat the empty space where Lee’s car had just vacated. The growl of its engine and the screech of rubber on tarmac rang in my ears.
I crumpled to the ground, only now there was nobody to catch me.
Noah walked up slowly, cautiously, behind me. I heard his footsteps, and his shadow fell in front of me, but I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t bear to.
He stopped just behind me. My limbs stiff and reluctant, I pushed myself to my feet and dusted myself off.
Lee had left me. He was my best friend, my twin, my other half. And he’d left me.
He hated me. I’d ruined everything.
If only I’d told him sooner; if only we hadn’t been stupid enough to kiss in school, or—
Or I’d just never been with Noah in the first place.
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. What if Lee never talked to me again? What if I’d lost him, not just for a little while until he came around, but forever?
Noah laid a hand softly on my shoulder. ‘Elle,’ he started quietly, but I shrugged his hand off and turned away. If it weren’t for Noah and that stupid kissing booth, none of this would ever have happened.
‘Elle,’ he said again as I began to walk away.
