Page 90 of Prove Me Wrong
“How’s Sydney going, T?” I ask, changing the conversation as I carry Jade into the living room where a basketball game plays on the TV. I’m not really watching it, but there’s nothing else that’s interesting, and Nathan asked me to.
My friend shrugs a shoulder. “Look, it could be better, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
My brows pull together as Nathan blows out a breath, my eyes glued to his. “What’s happened?”
“She’s been seeing someone,” Nathan answers.
Tatum snaps back, “Nathan.”
I feel a whisper of a smile on my lips. “Who?”
“Nobody,” Tatum answers shortly, but I think her frustration is more directed at the situation, and less at Nathan and me, who exchangea look.
“Someone you work with?” I question. Tatum is never secretive about the guys she sees, so it must be someone important, or someone she doesn’t want to talk about in front of me. “Wait, you knew, Nate?”
“Heck yeah. She told me. Well, more I coaxed it out of her.” He pumps his dark brows.
Tatum groans. “He tricked me into it.”
“Why didn’t you want me to know?”
Tatum sighs, sitting down on her couch. She folds her legs up, letting her loose tee fall lazily around her shoulders. With her hair tied up in a messy bun, I can tell she’s in her mood to relax. “You’ve been so busy, Noah. It’s not important.”
“Hey, anything that’s bothering my friends is important to me, you know that.”
Green eyes fill my screen, and I see the secrets lying within them, colouring them to the point that I want to know what she’s hiding.
She shrugs again, shadows lining her features. “We all have stuff going on.”
I sink back into my couch cushions, knowing exactly what she’s talking about. Nathan’s smile drops a little, and I can tell he’s thinking the same thing. “How’s your dad, Nate?”
His mouth twitches sideways, eyes dropping as he shakes his head. “Still waiting to know how bad his cancer is.”
My stomach twists, like someone has driven a knife through it, and the blade is grinding through my organs and bones. It makes me feel nauseous. “I’m sorry, man.”
“Do you need anything?” Tatum asks, her eyes heavy with moisture.
Nathan’s chest puffs, then exhales a short breath. “Nah. Just being strong for him and Ivy. Not much else I can do right now.”
My mouth tightens when I feel Tatum’s gaze on me through the screen. “How about you, Noah? I heard you’re having a rough time.”
“Nate told you, didn’t he?” My tone is flatter than the horizon.
Tatum nods, and Nathan flicks me an apologetic smile. “Do you want to talk about it?”
No.
Rubbing my forehead viciously, my thoughts go back to school, when Tatum and Nathan saw how much pressure my parents pushed onto me. They saw me break down in the hospital, only to have my own parents toss me aside like I was a failure for wanting to bring up my child. The memory still makes my fingers curl, and my teeth mash together tightly.
“I hate them,” I let out savagely. I mean it, and they’d agree, too. “I just can’t believe that they’d meddle like that in my life. Mainly Mum. I don't think Dad had much of a choice in the matter.”
They’re both quiet for a few beats before agreeing.
“They haven’t been around for you since Jade. I can’t believe they are back now because of a loophole in your contract. Are they really that greedy?” Tatum questions.
“Yeah,” I let out hollowly. Jade moves off my lap to sit on her floor, playing with her toys at my feet. “I haven’t missed them, and I don’t think I will. You should have seen them. Neither of them even asked about Jade, or how I'm feeling. It’s just money and fame to them.”
“But you are so much better than them, Noah. You have made a life for yourself and your daughter. You don’t need them anymore.”
