Exit Wounds | Noah Sebastian

T W E N T Y T H R E E

I reluctantly follow him out to his car, it's flashier than Nick's car, but not as flashy as the one he drove when we were living together.  The Weeknd plays in the car when he turns it on, immediately he turns up the air.  I have to bite my tongue to not complain about it, it's only in the low 60s outside.  I watch him from the corner of my eye, he's wearing a sweatshirt and sunglasses, his hair hangs over his eyes like a curtain.  I guess old habits die hard because he runs his hands through it constantly.  

My phone buzzes in my lap and I pick it up.  It's a text from Nick and I can't fight the grin that forms when I read it.  I glance at the road again and I see the whites of Noah's knuckles, I turn to look at him and he's grinding his jaw again.

"Your teeth are going to fall out if you don't stop grinding them," I comment, turning away from him.

Noah doesn't reply, but instead turns up the radio so that neither of us can speak to the other.  And that's just as well because Nick is texting me.  I look up from my phone when we finally park and Noah turns off the car.  We've been in the car over half an hour, and we're parked in front of a ship that looks like the Titanic.

"What is this?" I ask, getting out of his car.

"Only one of the most haunted places in California," he rolls his eyes at me and it feels so familiar that I don't try to fight the grin that's creeping up on my face.

"I'm glad to know you've gained some culture," I reply sarcastically, because I can't help it and he grins at me.  That grin that crinkles the skin around his eyes, it's a grin that takes me back five years when I didn't get enough time with him.

"You can pretend like you don't like my adventures, but I know you," he whispers in my ear and a shiver snakes down my back.  It's a shiver that has nothing to do with the cool air or the impending ghost tour.  It's a reaction that is dangerous.  He has a girlfriend, and I am just starting something with one of his friends.

I take a step away from him and he nods, like he just remembered that he shouldn't have done that, and leads us onto the ship.  We make our way to a enclosed balcony where there's a sign for us to wait for our tour.  

The tour itself is about an hour long, and after we can go explore the ship on our own.  I look around, expecting other people to join us, but Noah and I are the only two here when it's time for the tour to start.

"Did you buy out the whole tour so it would just be the two of us?" I tug on his arm to pull him to me, the accusation heavy in my tone.

"Must be a weird coincidence," Noah shrugs and pulls free of my grasp.

We follow our guide through the ship, he talks about the most active ghosts and their stories.  He explains what happened to them, and why they are still here.  And I'm not sure if it's for the theatrics or if there are really ghosts here, but we hear several things that I can't immediately explain.

We pass by a port hole that has a Ouija board, Noah nudges my arm and points to it, but I vehemently shake my head.  Absolutely not.  When the tour is over Noah and I walk around, going back to some of the more haunted spots.

"I know it's not abandoned, but how did you like it?" Noah asks, seemingly nervous of if I had a good time or not.

"I really enjoyed this," I say grinning at him, "but please don't ever bring me anywhere that is haunted.  I'm going to be so mad if I bring one home with me."

Noah chuckles in earnest as we walk out to his car.  The sun has almost set behind the ocean, and the breeze is perfect.  I don't want to get back in his car, I don't want him to take me back to my hotel.  I want to live in a delusion where he doesn't have a girlfriend and we are on a date.