The Girl in the Hoodie

31

[Chapter thirty-one]

"Y-You're leaving?" Megan stutters.

"Your mom's going to rehab?" Max bites his lip.

"Your mom's abusive?" Dylan clenches his fist.

"YOU'RE LEAVING?!" Megan shouts, standing up from my couch. "Y-You're my best friend. You can't leave. Who am I supposed to stay up until two in the morning and fangirl over Dave Franco with? Or rant about stupid boys while eating ice cream with?"

"Well, you can always make Dylan and Max sit through the torture." I smile weakly. I'm not wearing my hood. What's the point? They all know what I look like.

Megan let's a little laugh slip as Dylan and Max start protesting.

"Wait, does Noah know you're leaving? Never mind the fact that you're leaving, does he know that you have, you know...cancer?" Max questions, trailing off quietly at the last word.

I bite my lip, giving him an answer.

"Noah doesn't know?!" Dylan exclaims, his mouth dropping open in shock.

"Nevaeh!" Megan's mouth also drops open.

"I didn't know how to tell him!" I snap. "You wouldn't understand..."

"How do you know we wouldn't understand?" Dylan asks.

"You just wouldn't." I mumble.

"How are we supposed to understand if you won't tell us?" He asks again.

"You just wouldn't." I repeat, firmer than before.

"Then make us understand!" Dylan pushes, standing up.

"Because I'm in love with him!" I yell. Dylan steps back with a satisfied look on his face.

Max jumps up, fist bumping the air. "I KNEW IT!"

"I'm in love with him and he's going to hate me." I whisper.

Megan steps forward, wrapping her arms around me. "Vaeh, he's not going to hate you. He may be a little angry with you at first for not telling him sooner, but he could never hate you."

"Yeah, he's head over heels for you." Max chips in, shrugging. "He looks at you the way Dean Winchester looks at pie."

Dylan, Megan and I all stare at Max.

"What?" He questions cluelessly.

*~*

"Honey, if you ever need anything, I'm only a plane ride away." Tanya tells me, hugging me tightly. "Seriously, if you need me, I'll be on the next flight to New Zealand."

"Thank you, Mrs Ki—Tanya." I smile sheepishly as I hug her back. "For everything."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"Vaeh?"

Tanya and I break away as Danny's voice floats through the room.

"Hey, little man." I give him a small smile, kneeling down.

"What's going on?" He questions, walking over to me.

I bite my lip.

This is why I don't get close to people.

The less people you have, the less it hurts to say goodbye.

"Uh, I'm going back to New Zealand."

"For how long?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

I sigh. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" He repeats in confusion. "Aren't you just going on vacation?"