We get ourselves set up and to be honest, putting a tent together with Noah is something I never want to experience ever again. He’s far too bossy and alpha for that shit. I left it to him and watched with a smirk as Rivers joined him and it quickly turned into an argument over who has the biggest set of balls.
Neither of them won. Tully had her tent up in half the time and sat back with a smirk, watching the show as she poured herself a well deserved drink. I guess reading the instructions has its benefits after all.
The day buzzes by in a relaxing, and incredibly amazing day. Who would have known that hanging out in the woods with nowhere to go would be so great? Tully and I escaped the boys and followed the little creek for a good twenty minutes and found that it came out into a huge pond or lake or whatever the hell it’s called. All I know is that it had crystal clear water with perfect pebbles along the bottom. The sun glistened off it and it was simply radiant. We ended up going back and getting the boys before taking a swim and hoping to God that there were no weird creatures hiding within.
We gathered wood for the fire, we made ourselves a really shitty lunch, and we laughed. It was an incredible day. It gave me hope that maybe our little group could go back to normal. Tully and Rivers didn’t fight from the second they stepped out of the car. You know, there were the normal little stabs here and there, but they came from a good place. It wasn’t the ugly taunting and hating on each other that they’ve been doing lately.
The day has been incredible…until now.
The sun went down a little while ago and the chill has started to seep into the air. I pull my blanket more firmly around me, despite the fact that the fire has been burning strong for the past hour. I mean, it’s doing a great job of keeping my legs warm, but the rest of me is starting to feel the cold. I’d brought my blanket and pillow over here purely for the whole comfort factor, but now I’m wondering if I should go and start rifling through my bag for a hoodie.
I pull my stick out of the fire before dunking my melted marshmallow in a cup of Bailey’s and devouring it. Mmmm, now that’s perfection. I thought Tully was going insane as I watched her dunk a marshmallow into the cup of Bailey’s, but she insisted I try it and now there’s no way I can go back to eating them plain. It’s freaking delicious.
Rivers lays on the ground in front of the fire, propping his head up on his elbow, watching the flames before him as they light up his face. Noah sits beside me, hand held in mine as he plays with his phone in the other. A second later, he tosses the phone aside as music comes pouring out of the speakers, making the night that much better.
Noah looks up at his sister from across the fire. “You never told us how your date with Rocko went?”
My eyes shoot down to Rivers who hasn’t moved an inch. His eyes are still focused on the fire, but something tells me he’s listening intently. Tully pushes another marshmallow onto the end of her stick before hovering it over the fire. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear about it,” she murmurs in a nervous tone, her voice barely audible over the soft crackling of the fire.
The fact that this is a dangerous topic isn’t lost on anyone.
“Of course, I want to hear about it,” Noah says. “You’re my sister. I need to know if the guy is going to be hanging around and if I have to play nicely or if you realized what a fucking tool he is.”
“He isn’t a tool. He’s actually kind of…sweet,” she muses. “I mean, he’s a bit rough around the edges and a bit cocky, but apart from that, he’s ok.”
And just like that, we all have our answer. Rocko won’t be hanging around for long. She might try a few more times, see if she can build a connection with him, but looks like he’ll just be mindless fun for now.
“Just ok?” Rivers murmurs.
“Just ok,” she confirms, neither one of them looking at each other.
A breath escapes Noah and I glance over to see him struggling with whatever he’s wanting to say. I squeeze his hand and his thumb instinctively rubs back and forth over my knuckles. He watches his sister silently for a moment. “Why are you dating him?”
“What do you mean?” she questions cautiously as Rivers sits up so he can read her expressions more clearly.
“Rocko. You don’t like him. So, I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time with him when you're clearly in love with Rivers.”
My mouth drops open as the four of us sit in silence, not one of us knowing what to do or say. It’s like Voldemort. It’s the topic that is known but not talked about. Never talked about. Especially in this company.
Tully’s breath comes in deeper as her eyes flick across to Rivers, both looking equally as shocked that Noah would say that or that he even knew how she felt. “It’s true though, right? You love him?”
“I…” she looks back up at Noah. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”
“I think we should,” he says. “Isn’t that the whole point of us coming out here? To get everything out in the open so all this bullshit arguing can stop. I miss our fucking pack. So, what’s it going to be, Tully? Do you love him?”
Her eyes flick back to Rivers and then to me before settling on Noah with a heavy brokenness that tears me apart. “Yes, ok. I do,” she says as Rivers watches her closely. “I love him.”
Noah nods. “How long?”
She lets out a small breath before a smile lifts the corner of her lips. “Years,” she tells him.
“Why have you never told me?”
She shakes her head as though the answer is obvious. “Because he’s your best friend, and besides,” she adds, “I figured you always knew, just didn’t want to hear about it.”
“I guess I’ve always had my suspicions,” Noah murmurs to himself. “So, why the whole Rocko bullshit? Why aren’t you two together when he so clearly loves you too? It’s not that hard to figure out.”
Rivers shakes his head, not once denying Noah’s claim. “It’s not that easy, man.”
“Why the hell not? Because of me?” he grunts. “What if I told you I’d give you both my blessing?”
My eyes widen just as Tully and Rivers do. “Fuck off, Noah,” Rivers says, leaning back on his elbow as Tully watches the two men in her life like a tennis match. “Like hell you’d do that. Besides, it’s more than that. I’d fucking be with her with or without your blessing and you know it. It’s more.”
Noah raises his chin to Rivers. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you don’t want to hear that shit, not from me,” he says, repeating the answer Tully had given him.
Noah shakes his head. We all know they’re right on that one.
Noah watches the two as eyes continue flicking around the circle. “You’re going to have to help me out here because I’m at a fucking loss,” Noah says. “You’re in love with each other but you’re both fucking other people. It’s clear as day that Alyssa and Rocko are just means to an end. Neither of you gives a shit about them and you clearly don’t give a shit about me standing in the way, so, what’s the fucking problem? ‘Cause from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re fucking hurting her for nothing.”
“Noah,” Tully says with tears in her eyes, gently shaking her head. “Please, just stop.”
The boys completely ignore her and a pang rips through my heart for her. This can’t be easy.
Rivers shoots to his feet and the movement has Noah moving right along with him. “You can’t honestly stand there and tell me you wouldn’t have a fucking problem with me dating your sister,” he roars, getting in Noah’s face as me and Tully slowly move in, hovering on either side of them, ready to step in if need be. “I’m fucking nothing and you know it. She needs better than this. She needs someone who can get her the fuck out of this shithole, give her the fucking world, not me.”
I watch Noah’s jaw clench. “You’re really just going to screw her over like that? You two have been leading each other on for years and when it comes down to it, you’re just going to bail lik
e a fucking pussy.”
“It’s not that easy,” Rivers repeats.
“So, what the hell happened then?” Noah demands. “You let her get close and then crush her just to put her in her place? Don’t act like I don’t fucking know all the times you two sneak off. You’ve been fucking her, haven’t you? She’s good enough to use, but not good enough to be with, is that it? She’s not some fucking whore, she’s my sister.”
“Noah, stop,” Tully demands, pulling at his arm.
“Answer the fucking question,” Noah roars.
“Fuck,” Rivers grunts. “It’s not what you think.”
“Are you fucking her? Yes or no.”
“Noah,” Tully demands, pulling at him once again. “Just…yes. Ok. Once. It happened once.”
Crack.
Noah’s arm shoots out like lightning, cracking hard across Rivers’ jaw. Tully screams and dives for Rivers who flies backward, landing hard on his ass. I rush in front of Noah, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to look at me. “You need to calm the fuck down before this gets out of hand.”
“It’s already out of hand,” he seethes. “They’re fucking sleeping together.”
“Once,” I tell him. “It only happened once.”
Noah narrows is eyes on me and I realize my mistake. “You fucking knew about this?” he demands as betrayal pours from his features.
“I…yeah. I did, but it wasn’t my place to say. This needed to come from them.”
He shakes his head at me before brushing my hands off his shoulder. “Just fucking perfect,” he mutters before walking away, leaving me standing behind feeling like absolute shit.
“Well,” I say to Rivers and Tully who are in a messy heap on the floor as Tully tries to get a look at his jaw. “That went well.”
Chapter 16
I stand by the fire with the blanket over my shoulders, pulling it tighter around me as I look out towards the dark woods for the hundredth time. Noah’s been gone for over an hour and I’m starting to worry.
Nothing has really happened here apart from Tully drinking straight from the bottle of Vodka. Neither one of them have spoken a word. Each of them completely lost in their own mind, their feelings trampled and hearts hurting.
Rivers hand continues rubbing over his jaw but when he finally allowed us to get close enough, it was clear it wasn’t broken. Though come tomorrow, there will be one hell of a nasty bruise.
“Noah just needs some time to cool down,” I tell them. “He clearly suspected something had happened between the two of you, so he’s probably more hurt that I kept it from him.”
Tully gives me a grateful look, knowing I’m talking shit. We all know that while Noah is indeed pissed at me, that’s not what’s got him walking through the woods in the dark of night.
I give her a tight smile. “You ok?” I question, making Rivers glance up for the first time in over an hour.
Tully shrugs a shoulder and presses her lips in a tight line before holding up the bottle of Vodka. “Will be when I finish this,” she tells me.
Rivers lets out a breath and reaches across until his fingers curl around Tully’s, silently letting her know she’s going to be ok in a rare display of affection. I gape at their hands for a moment. Hearing them talk about it and seeing it up close and personal are two very different things. These two really are in love with each other. It’s a damn shame they can’t make it work.
Tully watches their hands too, but it’s not with the same gaping that comes from me, it’s a desperate longing for something more. He tugs on her hand and she instantly gets up, takes the step towards him, and drops down into his lap, burying her face into his neck as the tears start to fall.
Rivers’ hand rubs up and down her back and I feel like I need to disappear inside my tent and give them a little privacy. I turn around and just as I start to head towards the tent, I see the light from Noah’s flashlight app on his phone up in the distance.
I start walking towards him, hoping to God that it’s actually him, otherwise this could go south very quickly. It’s not long before we meet in the middle and his arms instantly wrap around me with his lips pressing against my forehead.
I close my eyes, soaking in the feel of his arms wrapped around me. “I’m sorry,” I murmur into his chest, my words muffled by his shirt. “I wanted to tell you, but it wasn’t my secret to tell. I’ve felt awful all this time.”
“Shit,” he says with a teasing tone. “All this time? How long ago did it happen?”
I pout up at him. “Don’t ask me questions about it. Go and talk to them if you want details.”
“I know, I will,” he tells me before holding me a little tighter. “I just need to make sure you’re alright first.”
“I’m fine,” I tell him, raising my chin to press my lips to his. “But it’s been one hell of an awkward hour since you stormed away.”
“I bet,” he smirks. “I probably shouldn’t have punched him.”
“Are you kidding?” I scoff. “He’s your best friend and he slept with your sister then failed to tell you about it. He deserved it. Why do you think he didn’t get up and fight? He took it. I bet he’s been waiting for that punch since the moment he fell in love with her.”
“You think?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I do.”
Noah looks up over my head before I feel his body go rigid. "It’s like they’re rubbing it in my face.”
I look back over my shoulder to take in Tully still sitting on Rivers’ lap with his arms wrapped securely around her. “No, they’re not,” I tell him. “She was hurting. She hates that you’re upset with her and probably has a million awful things going through her mind. He’s comforting her in the best way he knows how. Probably in the only way that could make her feel ok. It’s what you’d do for me.”
“They really do love each other, huh?”
“Yeah,” I breathe, “more than I think they know.”
“I should probably go talk to them.”
“Yeah, I think Tully would like that,” I tell him. “Just remember that despite you yelling at her and punching Rivers, she’s still hurting from his rejection. It’s fresh and that’s why all this fighting is happening. She’s an emotional mess so just…don't be too harsh on them, ok?”
“I won’t,” he says. "I think I got it all out of my system.”
“Good,” I smile, pulling out of his arms and taking his hand. “Then let’s see if you can somehow get the answers out of Rivers that me and Tully have been failing to get.”
“Is that a challenge?” he questions.
“As much as I want to say yes, I can’t. I don’t want you to push the topic and make things worse for them.”
He rolls his eyes. “As if I would do that.”
“As if you wouldn’t.”
“Come on,” he tells “Let’s go get this over and done with so I can take you to bed.”
“Now, that’s a plan I can get on board with,” I laugh as he starts pulling me back towards the campfire.
Neither Tully or Rivers look up from their embrace, but as if sensing us near, Rivers nudges Tully, and I guess out of respect for Noah, she moves back to her seat. Noah walks right up to Rivers and holds out a hand before they do one of those weird bro back clap things. “Sorry ‘bout your face,” he tells him with a grumble.
“It’s fine,” Rivers murmurs before dropping back down into his seat.
Noah walks around and takes the seat he was sitting in earlier as Tully watches him like a hawk. I sit down beside him, wrapping myself back up in my blanket and hating the weird tension that sits with us. “Alright,” Noah sighs, looking up at Tully. “Start talking, and I want the long, drawn out version. Don’t skip any details. I want to know exactly what’s being going on behind my back.”
She cringes as Rivers looks horrified, probably preparing himself for another fist in his jaw. After all, if Tully describes the dick piercing, I think we’ll be packing up and heading straight to the hosp
ital. “You don’t mean…every detail, do you?”
“Fuck, Tully,” Noah curses. “Everything except that.”
I watch her whole body relax as Rivers lets out a shaky breath. “Oh, good. I was worried you were turning into some twisted, creepy perve then,” Tully grins.
“Tullz,” Noah snaps. “Get the fuck on with it. When did all this bullshit start?”
She turns to Rivers and gives him an apologetic smile, knowing that some of the things she says will probably make things worse, but it’s now or never and this shit needs to be aired while it finally has a chance.
“It started the second you brought him home when we were eleven.”
“The fuck?” Noah grumbles as Rivers turns to her with a proud, shit eating grin. “For real?” Rivers questions as cocky as ever. “I didn’t know that.”
“How could you?” she laughs. “You were a stupid boy with the biggest fucking ego. You walked through the door and winked, and that was it. I was a goner.”
“Fuck, yeah, you were,” River says, showing us exactly what Tully meant with the ‘ego’ comment.
“Can we get back on track?” Noah prompts.
Tully shrugs. “I guess…I don’t really know what to tell you. Nothing really happened until a few weeks ago. Before that, it was nothing but the occasional flirting and chilling out, but you knew that.” She looks across at Rivers with a smile in her eyes though her words are meant for Noah. “He’s my constant. Always there. Protects me when you’re not around, and not to mention, he’s sexy as fuck. How could I not fall for him?” she continues. “I mean, we had a few weak moments that were generally brought on by alcohol, but nothing ever went further than making out.”
Noah whips his head around to Rivers. “You didn’t touch her until then?” he questions, clearly not giving a shit about the fact that they’ve been making out at parties, but I’m sure he would have known that already.
Untameable: Haven Falls (Book 3) Page 15
