Page 88 of The Kissing Booth
‘What’s that all about?’ Brad asked.
‘How should I know?’ I snapped back at him.
‘How should I know?’ he mimicked, and I tossed a cushion at his head in reply, trying to hear what Dad was saying. I felt sick to my stomach. What was going on?
Dad finally came back into the room, staring down at the phone in his hand.
‘Noah’s gone.’
My heart skipped a beat. ‘What do you mean, Noah’sgone? Gone where?’
‘He and Lee had a big argument, and June said he packed a bag and left. Didn’t tell them where he was going, or how long he planned on being gone. He won’t answer his cell phone, so Matthew’s out trying to find him now.’ Dad shook his head hopelessly.
‘Well... I mean... He – he can’t have gone too far, right?’ I stammered.
‘I don’t know. He left about twenty minutes ago.’
My stomach dropped away, like it would on a rollercoaster. I gulped. ‘Did – did June say what – what they were arguing about?’
My dad looked me in the eye before saying, ‘Brad, why don’t you go take a shower and get ready for bed?’
‘What? That’s not fair, it’s not even nine o’clock yet!’
‘Brad.’
‘Fine,’ my brother grumbled, and stomped upstairs. His bedroom door slammed behind him. My dad sighed before sitting down in the armchair, and I took that to mean I ought to sit down too.
‘Apparently,’ my dad said, clasping his hands, ‘they had a fight about you. Anything you’d like to tell me, Elle?’
I gulped, feeling sick all over again. ‘What did June say?’
‘Don’t avoid the question, young lady.’
I looked at my knees. ‘I – I’ve kind of... kind of been seeing Noah.’
‘What do you mean, “kind of been seeing” him?’
‘Well, we – at the kissing booth we did for the carnival, he kissed me, and then – we, um, we’ve been... I guess you could call it dating in secret.’
‘You’ve been dating him.’
‘Not exactly, though. It’s complicated.’
‘Better start talking, then.’
Was there any way to word this situation without disappointing my dad? I knew well enough that he didn’t exactly approve of Noah – how he got in fights, that he had a motorbike... It had never been a problem – until now. Because there was no way he’d be happy with me dating Noah.
‘We’ve been seeing each other in secret because I didn’t want Lee to find out. Noah and I argue all the time, and I didn’t think it would really work out between us but I wanted it to – which is why we carried on, and then Lee did find out, and now everything’s ruined and my life is over.’ I sucked in a breath when I was done.
My dad looked... well, I guess shell-shocked is the only word to describe the look on his face. Like he couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of my mouth. Like he didn’t want to believe it. I dropped my eyes to the floor again.
‘How long has this been going on, exactly, Rochelle?’
‘About two months. Since the carnival.’
Dad removed his glasses, pushing them onto his forehead and rubbing at his eyes like he did when he was really stressed out. ‘And all that time, you didn’t tell Lee?’
‘I thought I was protecting him,’ I explained.
