The End Is Only the Beginning

14. Never Over

14. Never Over

"You said this was over."

Aaron and I jumped away from one another like we'd become lava. We were so engrossed in one another that neither of us heard the door click open, nor had we seen Noelle walk in.

I had expected Aaron to instantly turn to denial, or to leave me to deal with the backlash of what had just happened. Instead he stood in front of me, staring at Noelle but keeping close to where I was stood. If I'd have moved even an inch we would have been touching.

"I trusted you Caleb, you said this wasn't happening anymore."

Aaron looked at me, and then to Noelle. "It was my fault," he tried, but Noelle shook her head.

"It takes two to kiss," she spoke, her voice quiet; at least she wasn't trying to let the rest of the house know.

"Noelle, let me explain-," I tried.

She held up a finger, cutting me off. "You don't need to explain yourself to me," she said. The expression she wore looked like one of pure disappointment. "It's his girlfriend in there-," she pointed towards Kasim's room, "who you need to explain yourself to."

Aaron looked at me again, stepping slightly towards me. Our hands brushed for barely a second. "Please don't tell her Noelle, it would kill her," he stated.

"I'm not going to say anything," Noelle replied, staring at Aaron like I was no longer there. "But she's going to find out eventually, and I'm sure she'd prefer to find out from you. Now go, I need to speak to your affair."

Again, Aaron turned to me as if waiting for approval to leave. I nodded and turned my gaze to the ground. "Caleb's not my affair, Noelle. Don't call him that," Aaron spoke, and our hands brushed once more before he left the bathroom.

Noelle and I stared at each other in complete silence until the door of the bathroom clicked shut.

"He's so fucking in love with you."

"What?"

I'd been expecting a lecture, a speech about how I was betraying one of my closest friends. Instead Noelle was stood before me with an overly large grin on her face, and not the grin of someone who was moments away from committing a murder.

"I want to be mad- and I am mad, because you're hurting Lindy so badly- but Aaron's in love with you. It's clear to see," Noelle continued, the grin faltering for a second and then returning just as quickly.

"I don't know what you're on about, Noelle." Was this some sort of joke, was she trying to trick me into a false sense of security before tearing me to shreds?

Noelle stepped forward. I stepped back. She stopped. "Did you not see the way that Aaron was looking at you? Or how he stood in front of you, like he was trying to protect you from whatever I was going to do or say? He didn't just bail when shit hit the fan, he stood by your side. Even before he left, Aaron made sure you were ok before he did." Noelle was waving her arms around frantically.

"You're not going to kill me?"

"Trust me, I wanted to-."

"But you're not?"

"I might if you don't let me finish," Noelle answered.

"Sorry. Continue."

"Aaron loves you, and you love him. Seeing you two just then proved that," Noelle said. She stepped forward, I didn't back away this time. "Yes, I'm angry for Lindy. But I'm sad for you, and for Aaron.