Kat Wells is the perfect student, cheerleader, and daughter. But that's not who she really is, not truly. The real her is hidden behind a perfect mask that nobody sees, except him.
Wally Clark was the perfect jock, friend, and son. But everything ch...
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As Kat made a horrific discovery, Nat was getting ready for bed.
She had not been getting much sleep in the last few weeks, and her body had begun to shut down. She really tried every night, going to bed early and turning off the light.
But every time she closed her eyes, her best friend's body would replace any other thought or dream. She didn't want this to be the last memory she'd ever have of her, yet it was poisoning her mind.
She tried again tonight now that she knew her personal investigation wasn't in vain. She didn't have the proof anymore, but she had a lead. If she didn't make it as a teacher, maybe she could try becoming a private detective. She tried to focus on something else, something pleasant to try to fall asleep. But everything she loved, Kat used to love too, so inevitably her mind would end up thinking about her again. So, she tried harder, really focusing as she told herself like a mantra, "think about something you love, think about something you love."
Suddenly, she heard Noah's voice from afar, "You have to be fucking kidding me." At first, she believed her mind to be deceiving her, but his voice didn't stop and was soon followed by a rock thrown at her window. "What the actual—" she ran to it, carefully opening it not to receive a stone in the face.
And there he was, all dressed in black with half of his face hidden under a hoodie. But she recognized him immediately. "Are you alone?" he half shouted; half whispered with a malicious grin. "I swear to god Noah, if you climb up here, I will kick your ass."
"Good," he responded before doing just that.
She just watched in disbelief as he made his way to her small bedroom, almost falling headfirst on the carpet as he barely managed to fit through the window. She grabbed an ugly dolphin sculpture she had since she was five, threatening her intruder. Her room was in total darkness, only the streetlight and the moon to light up the space between them. "What are you doing here, Noah?" she demanded as he stayed silent.
Both got a "deja-vu" feeling as it wasn't the first time, he had climbed up this window, even Katherine never knew about that. Everybody believed they hated each other because of that stupid valentine note when they were kids. But it wasn't the entire truth. Noah was Nat's first love, and she was his. Two summers ago, they were forced to kiss during a spin the bottle game. From there, a sweet yet cruel summer had begun that had left a bittersweet taste in Nat's mouth. As Kat had gone to summer camp that year, Nat never had the heart to tell her, too ashamed to admit she had been fooled. Chase two girls, lose the one.
But little did Nat knew, everything was the biggest misunderstanding of the century, as the only girl Noah had ever chased was in front of him in this darkened room. "I just wanted to see you," he replied, letting go of a shaky breath as he stepped forward.
"Bullshit."
"I never lied to you, Nat. You just convinced yourself I had."
Her heart clenched at these words. Two summers ago, he was sneaking in for a stolen kiss, and she closed her eyes at the memory, refusing to give it any more attention. Two days later, one of her friends had confessed to her that he had asked her out, and this was the end of the best summer of her life. And by friend, she meant Clara, who at the time was really one of her closest friends. Even if they had grown apart since then and she was basically convinced that she had something to do with Kat's death, she couldn't bear to admit that she may have been fooled by her.
And even if she had, all that hate and resentment couldn't be for nothing, Nathalie was stubborn like that.
In response, she raised her homemade weapon higher above her head, ready to swing. "Get out, Noah," she said. She was waiting for an annoying playful response from him, but instead, he dropped the hoodie, revealing his face. Suddenly, she dropped the dolphin on the ground as she gasped in horror. He had a bruised eye and a cracked lip, which was still bleeding. All her conflicted feelings faded away in an instant as she rushed to his side. She tried hugging him, but he grunted in pain as she helped him settle down on the bed.
"Who did this to you?" she asked, inspecting the injuries. He laughed, holding his ribs in pain. "Couldn't you say something less cliché?"
"Well, you're the one showing up in my room in the middle of the night after being beaten up. I just wanted to stay on theme."
"Oh, shut up," he closed his eyes for a second.
"You shut up," she whispered back as she made her way out of the bedroom to find something for the wounded. "Stay here."
In her bathroom, she couldn't help but quickly brush her teeth again, fix her hair, and put on some perfume before going back with a medical kit.
Noah was still there, sitting in her bed, his tall frame in the darkness making Nat's heart race a little faster. She lit up a small sunrise light, making the room an intimate orange and yellow lighting. They both settled on the end of the bed as Nat cleaned up his lip, forcing herself not to focus too much on it.
She noticed he still had a hand on his ribs. "What happened here?" she pointed at it, and he smirked. "You can just ask if you want me to take it off." She punched him gently in the chest but immediately apologized as he cringed in pain. "Okay, take it off" "Pardon me?" "You heard me." And so, he did, with a little assistance.
He had bruises on the side of his right rib. She grazed it. "Who?" She was suddenly furious someone had done this to him, even if she hated him, or at least tried to convince herself she did.
"My brother." She froze, her finger still running on his chest as she lifted her face to meet his gaze.
"I confronted him about the damn pills. They're sleeping pills for my mother's treatment." "So, not a part of his normal shady business," she guessed, putting the pieces together. His voice broke as he placed his hand above hers.
"I think you were right, Nat." He applied a small pressure. "I think my brother did something to Kat." Nat didn't respond, suddenly lost in her thoughts, feeling a wave of anxiety filling her senses as she took deep breaths.
"Nat?" She couldn't respond, as if her lungs had been sucked out of air. She only looked at him with fear in her eyes. He didn't waste a second, knowing exactly what was going on with her, and he grabbed her face between his hands, forcing her to focus on him.
"Hey, hey, just look at me, it's okay." His thumb gently caressed her cheek as she focused on her breathing, fighting the tears back. "I'm here," he said, "I'm right here."
It took her several more minutes before she could speak again, only to ask, "Can we pretend we don't hate each other for tonight?" He let out a small laugh as she lay down in her bed, letting him space to settle next to her.
He put back the covers over them before whispering against her ear, "I never hated you, sweetheart." She let out a small cry before admitting, "It's getting really hard for me not to think about you."
"I know, baby, I know." And for the first time in almost two weeks, she finally got a full night of rest.
★☾★
OMG this clara girl in getting on my nerves (says the writter)
i can't believe how fast i'm writting this story, it's already chapter 15 ? what the fudge is going on
