NOT EDITED*
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My eyes widened when he stared at a map in his hands. “Oh my gosh. Please tell me we are not lost.”
“We’re not,” Noah mumbled with his eyebrows drawn together.
*Five hours earlier*
“Ewe, do you think they did it?” I heard the familiar wicked child whisper.
“Did what exactly?” a recognizable male voice had asked in horror.
“You know … kiss.”
I groaned in annoyance, snuggling closer to the hard pillow that smelled amazing and defrosted my frozen skin in this icy room. It was too early in the morning and I was too comfortable to wake up. Noah moved beside me, slightly snoring.
“Nah,” Gray replied. “There’s no way Noah could score a kiss from a pretty girl.”
“You’re right,” Maia whispered. “Emmy could do so much better.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed with my eyes closed and laughed harder when the pillow disappeared from under my head. From the yelps and laughs from Gray and Maia, it was obvious that Noah was attacking them with his pillow.
“You guys are annoying. Why are you laughing Emmy?” Noah grumbled, his voice raspy from his slumber. I fell to the floor when he pushed me off the couch, but I was too busy laughing to be angry.
Gray crossed his arms with his infamous smirk on his face. “We’re trying to get an early start on our hike today, but you two lovebirds are too busy making out with each other.”
“Yeah, you guys are making me sick.” Maia shook her head, feigning a gag. She squealed when Noah grabbed her and kept her in a tight hug. “Noah, get your fat butt up already. I want to go hiking.”
After a half hour of constantly rebuking Noah to get up and get ready for our hike, we finally got into the Bertolini’s van and headed off towards our destination. Natalia decided to join Kate and baby Aaron on Kate’s morning yoga classes.
Luca pulled into a parking space. The hiking spot was slightly steep with different types of trees and a dirt trail that led to a picnic site where we would be having lunch. Clear blue skies hinted at a beautiful day, the trees moving in the strong wind. A river somewhere in the depths of the trees made loud sloshing noises.
Although I feared that a clever bear that hid in this supposedly ‘no wild animals zone’ was going to attack me, I was excited. Adventures were hard to find in Beaufort and I was clinging on to this opportunity like it was life support. I ignored the weird looks Gray and Noah were giving as I jumped up and down with Maia in excitement – well, I actually think I was more excited than Maia was.
“Glad to see you pumped up, Emma,” Luca commented, slinging his backpack over one shoulder and shutting the trunk of the van. “Okay, you know the rules. Don’t get lost unless you want me to have a heart attack.”
Gray fell into step beside me as we trekked up the dirt trail. “You know what they say about these woods?”
“What?” I asked curiously.
Noah rolled his eyes with his eyebrows drawn together. “Don’t listen to him.”
“I think it’s true,” Maia added before her eyes grew wide. “We better protect Emmy with our lives!”
“Are you kids still talking about that stupid legend?” Luca asked from the front with a shake of his head. “Oh and never say ‘stupid’, okay, Mai?”
Gray’s mouth fell open. “Dad, it isn’t stupid! There were four girls who went missing here at different times. Aren’t you the least bit suspicious?”
“They were found, idiot, and they didn’t say anything about the Woodsman,” Noah said.
“Who’s the Woodsman?” I asked, growing more and more confused.
“The Woodsman,” Gray started with suspense, ignoring Luca and Noah’s groans. “Is this shape shifting evil spirit that wanders amongst this hiking ground. Somehow with his evil voodoo powers, he makes pretty teenage girls hallucinate and come to him. If the girl doesn’t get impregnated with a devil child who’s supposed to exterminate mankind, he makes them forget about him. But because they didn’t satisfy him, those girls will go to hell when they die.”
I couldn’t help it. I burst into a fit of laughter at the ridiculous horror story that was probably made up by some kid who got high on a pot of glue. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe any bit of it.”
Luca chuckled. “Wow, Noah, you better keep this intelligente woman. If you don’t, I’d check you into a mental hospital.”
“You don’t believe me?” Gray gasped, his eyes flashed with hurt.
Noah grumbled, disregarding Luca’s teasing laugh. “Emma and I are just friends.”
I struggled to find the right words to say after I realized that I unintentionally hurt Gray. “I-I, uh, you really believe that?”
“C’mon, you don’t like Emma? Not even a tiny bit?”
“I do believe it, but if you don’t, it’s fine with me,” Gray continued
“Si prega di smettere di torturarmi,” Noah spoke in perfect Italian, dragging his hand down the length of his face.
It was hard to concentrate on the presumptions and theories Gray was desperately trying to make me believe, but more than half of my attention was on the foreign conversation that Noah and Luca were having. I was beginning to grow more and more annoyed every time my name was thrown in a jumble with Italian words. I was starting to regret my opposing decision on taking a foreign language class.
“ – girls don’t remember a thing? Are you even listening to me, Emma?” Gray snapped his fingers in front of my face.
“Perché non basta dire di lei?” Luca asked Noah in that infuriating alien tongue of his.
Gray smirked. “He’s a coward that’s why.”
“Wait, Uncle Luca, can you speak a little bit slower so I could understand?” Maia requested with her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to make sense of every word that came out in Italian.
I smiled sarcastically. “I got a better idea! Could you speak in English?”
“I’ve got an even better idea,” Noah uttered as he held a branch out of the way. “Why don’t we drop this topic and talk about the Woodsman?”
“Sei un vigliacco,” Gray said in a teasing manner.
Noah shoved him. “Lo non sono un codardo.”
“Quindi dille poi.”
“Tell who, what?” Maia interjected as she looked up at her older cousin.
Ignoring Maia’s question, Noah continued to bicker with his cousin. “Vaffanculo!”
“Noah,” Luca warned. “I thought we all agreed that we wouldn’t teach Maia vulgar language in Italian?”
Maia scoffed and snapped. “I’m old enough, Uncle Luca. I could say fuck if I want to.”
“Maia!” I shrieked, looking down at her. Luca smacked the back of Noah’s head and scolded him in bullet fast Italian. “Don’t say those words!”
Maia folded her arms across her chest and poked her tongue out at me childishly. “You’re my babysitter, Emmy. Not my mom.”
“Emma’s right, Mai. I know you’re seven already, but saying vulgar words isn’t respectful. It’s rude and dirty – especially for a girl,” Luca said cautiously, patting Maia’s back. “See. Emma doesn’t even cuss.”
“Okay, fine, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t say any bad words,” Maia said with a roll of her eyes, but her face scrunched up as she danced in place. “But I really need to pee.”
Luca’s eyes widened. “Mai, I told you to go before we went!”
“But I didn’t need to go at that time!”
Luca groaned as Maia climbed onto his back. “Well, you guys either walk faster or I’ll meet you on the camp ground.”
“I need to go too,” Gray muttered, scratching his head in embarrassment. “Sorry, dad. Maia and I were too excited to go to the bathroom.”
“All right,” Luca sighed with a shake of his head. “Let’s go you two. Emma, Noah, no funny business in a forest. I don’t want you two catching a disease, so keep your clothes on.”
I feigned a laugh as Noah groaned outwardly. “Funny, Luca. Very funny.”
He winked and trekked forwards with Gray and Maia as Noah and I stopped for water. “Just be careful out here. Noah should know the way to the campground. The campground is only ten minutes away.”
Five minutes after Luca, Gray, and Maia disappeared into the trees, Noah and I continued our hike towards the camp ground. It was comfortably silent as we concentrated on our footing and moving branches out of the way. So far, we haven’t encountered evil animals or stepped on crap. My jeans and boots were slightly dirty, mosquitoes came and go, and my skin was faintly sticky with sweat, but somehow, I found this part of hiking to be the best.
However, my smile faltered more and more the longer it took for us to reach the campground. It should’ve been only ten minutes, but approximately thirty minutes have passed and we were nowhere near our destination. I was certain that all that should’ve been heard the closer we got to the campground was the annoying buzz of mosquitoes, but the sound of cars honking and speeding by filled the silence as if we were near the main road. I lengthened my strides so I was walking besides Noah.
My eyes widened when he stared at a map in his hands. “Oh my gosh. Please tell me we are not lost.”
“We’re not,” Noah mumbled with his eyebrows drawn together.
“So why is it taking so long to get there?” I asked, feeling my heartbeat quicken when he didn’t reply to that question. “Oh my freaking gosh, we are lost.”
I stopped walking as I began to hyperventilate. Looking alertly at our surroundings for hope, I began to pant in and out when I realized we’d probably be lost in here for days. All there was were mossy trees and dirt – the trail long gone. My fingers shook as my palms became clammy. Thoughts of death, illness, animal attacks, kidnapping, filled my mind.
“Emmy?” Noah asked in concern as he dropped his bag in worry and rushed towards me. “Calm down! We’re not lost.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as Noah rubbed my arms to calm me down. The towering trees seemed to close in on me. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, we’re lost!”
“No we’re not,” Noah replied calmly.
“I can’t believe we’re lost! Why did I decide to stay with you?”
“We’re not lost. We’re – “
“Oh Jesus, what if this was the trickery of the Woodsman? What if he thought you were a girl too? I mean, you have girl lashes and a big butt. I’m not saying you look like a girl, but he probably got confused or he probably went gay for you because you’re that good looking. Oh my gosh, we’re going to get raped, Noah, and we’re going to go to hell for not satisfying him! I should’ve listened to Gray! This is karma! Oh my gosh, I cannot lose my virginity to some evil, horny – “
Noah grabbed my face in his hands, cutting my words short. My breath hitched in my throat as his wary blue eyes stared into mine. “Calm down, Emma. We’re not lost. I promise I’m telling the truth.”
“I’m not stupid,” I deadpanned. “We’re far from the trail and the campground.”
Noah slowly let go of my face and rubbed the back of his neck in guilt.
“Noah,” I hissed in between clenched teeth, nostrils flared. “What’s going on?”
Noah chuckled nervously. “Um, about that – “
“Just spit it out! I’m not in the mood for some sugarcoating.”
“Fine.” He shrugged, grabbing his backpack off the ground. “We’re going to my friend’s house.”
“What?” I screeched, my brain not quite processing what he said. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? Why didn’t you tell Luca?”
Noah shrugged once again – something he did often when he was having trouble explaining himself. “I did tell Luca.”
I felt my face heat in anger. “And why didn’t you tell me? I’m the one you’re dragging along!”
Noah rolled those pretty blue eyes. “Relax, okay? I think you’re overreacting.”
“Relax? I almost had a heart attack because you failed to inform me on plans that were made without my consent. You’re insensitive, Noah Callaway!”
Noah shrugged once more and began to walk again. When I didn’t follow, he looked back at me and smirked. “Well, you could stay there and meet the Woodsman you were so afraid of or follow me and not get lost. Your choice.”
I groaned and stomped my foot when I realized I had no choice. Noah walked beside me as I trudged along in anger. My arms crossed as I refused to converse with the handsome jerk beside me.
I was somewhat fed up that he didn’t at least apologize for failing to inform me on something as important at this. I could feel Noah glance at me every now and then. He exhaled loudly, stuffing his fists into his pocket.
“The cops told my family that my brother committed suicide,” Noah finally said. I tried to hide my surprise at his honesty, but my wide eyes defied me. “It sounds like a whole lot of bullshit to me. They found a suicide note. Who’s able to beat themselves up with a bat? I mean, there are other easier ways to commit suicide – overdose, drowning, cutting. There’s no way he beat himself to death. Something’s not right.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The information didn’t sink in so well. In fact, I felt sick to my stomach every time he talked about the terrifying death of his brother. I’ve never felt so helpless in my whole life until I saw Noah attempt to blink back the tears as he tried to explain himself.
I should’ve told him he didn’t have to tell me anything, but I walked beside him in silence. I wasn’t going to deny the fact that I was both curious and selfish. I really wanted to know what everyone – Natalia, Paul, Callum, Maia, Noah, the Bertolini’s – kept stashed up in the dark, away from me. Here I was, in the middle of this particular situation, but completely clueless. I was tired of feeling helpless and admittedly, I may have been a tiny bit curious about this whole thing.
Noah stared at his feet as he continued. “There was this new club fifteen minutes outside of town. Nick, Callum, and I decided to scope it out and be fucking stupid teenagers. We even had the fake IDs and made up stories – it’s what we used to do every Friday night. We tried new things. We tested how far we could go without falling over the edge.
“S-so we got drunk and a couple of other guys from Bellevue High showed up at the club. We were friends with a few of them, but they were our rivals and we had enemies. Someone fucking put drugs in our drink. All I remember was the bouncer kicking us out because we were underage and everything after that went black – not a single memory of that night.”
“All I remember was – was,” Noah shook his head furiously as a traitor tear rolled down his cheek. I watched stunned as he yelled angrily and punched a nearby tree. “God, I was so fucking stupid! How could I not remember shit when I was right there next to my own brother?”
When he punched the tree once more and his knuckles started bleeding, I tried my best to hold back my own tears at the hurt buried deeply in Noah. However, tears flowed freely from my eyes as he choked angrily on his tears and pulled at his hair.
I placed my hands cautiously on his shoulders. “Noah – Noah! Calm down please.”
“Calm down?” He asked with spite, staring at me coldly with his blue eyes. But I knew he wasn’t mad at me. He was angry at himself. “Imagine this: You’re half asleep, the smell of copper fills your nose, and your skin feels crusty with dirt. You open your eyes, a bloody bat is placed on top of your shirt, staining the white material and your brother is lying next to you in his pool of blood. Only, you aren’t sure it’s your brother because his fucking head is smashed up and it’s hard to identify him until you see familiar clothes, a familiar bracelet, or his favorite pair of sneakers.
“Then the cops come, but you’re too numb to move. They accuse you of killing your own brother, but you’re okay with it because you feel like it’s your fault anyway. You’re desperate for help, but the people you were with that night couldn’t remember a single fucking thing as well. Your father doesn’t want you at your own brother’s funeral, so you have to hide in the back so he doesn’t see you. Every day you spent in juvie paying for a crime you didn’t commit is torture because everyone beat the living daylights out of you for what you’ve “done”. So you’re a little relieved that you got out, but the outside world is worse than what it was in there.
“How could you be calm? Someone was behind this. I was there. It was all bad timing. And I will not rest until I find who killed Nick,” Noah finished.
As if he realized that he shouldn’t have lashed out that way or tell me anything, he looked away into the distance. His tears came slower now and his breathing was slowly going back to normal.
Minutes passed and I still haven’t said anything. I don’t think I’ll ever have the right words to respond to what I’ve just heard. I could barely even process what was going on or even imagine what Noah had to go through. I just stared at him as I cried too.
I realized there was only one thing I could attempt to do. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought him closer to me in a hug. He didn’t pull away or start crying harder. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck as he continued to control his breathing.
“I’ll help you,” I whispered eloquently running my hands up and down his muscled back. “I mean, I’ll help you look for the answers you’re searching for.”
“You don’t have to, Emmy.”
“But I want to.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Noah said stiffly. I frowned slightly as he pulled away suddenly. He started walking again. “We need to get to April’s house before lunch or Uncle Luca will worry.”
“Ok,” I simply replied, resisting the urge to ask who April was and if we were going to her house to find out information on the death of Nick.
However, it didn’t make sense as to why we would scrounge for information in Raleigh when his death happened in Beaufort. I wiped my face and walked slightly behind, the silence now tense.
Twenty minutes later, we got out of the forest and walked into a small street surrounded by seven or eight houses. Noah walked up the pathway of a small white house with flowers on the windowsill. The porch was creaky as we stepped on top. Awkwardly, I shuffled behind him and tried to ignore the strange painting of a naked man drying up on the porch. Noah finally knocked on the pale door. Not a minute later, a beautiful female around my age stepped outside with a big smile on her perfectly structured face.
“Oh my gosh, Noah Callaway!” She said happily with a laugh. She embraced him in a hug. “Hey sexy, how are you? How come you didn’t tell me you were coming into town? What happened to your hand?”
I looked away awkwardly as they exchanged greetings. Admittedly, I was jealous of the fit, perfectly tanned, beautiful brown eyed girl with silky brown hair. Noah had to be attracted to someone like her. She was probably every teenage boy’s wet dream.
“Hey, April,” Noah laughed. I felt stupid when my plastered smile faltered just a bit as Noah beamed down at her. “I’m … okay, I guess you could say. It was sort of last minute.”
April’s eyes landed on me and her smile seemed to grow even bigger. Her hand shot out in front of me. “You must be Emma. Hi, I’m April. Noah’s never good at introductions. He sucks at them. I sat next to Callum for three hours and Noah didn’t even care to introduce us to each other.”
Although I was completely confused as to how she knew my name already, I was more intrigued by her friendly and amusing personality. I may have gotten a bit more jealous when I realized that she was both perfect inside and out. However, I couldn’t help but shake her hand and laugh along with her.
“Yes, I’m Emma,” I replied. “He really is bad, isn’t he? I remember the first time we met. He got mad at me because I apparently stared at him too much.”
I elbowed Noah in the ribs when he mumbled, “You did.”
“Who wouldn’t stare at you? You’re as cute as a kitten,” April cooed, pinching his cheek. She then smiled apologetically and placed her hands behind her embarrassingly. “Sorry. I would invite you guys in, but there’s an old man in his underwear. Gran is painting again.”
In ten minutes, April happily told me stories much to Noah’s reluctance. We sat on the steps of her porch as we conversed. I hated to admit that I felt much better when she announced that they were just friends. She used to live in Beaufort and was practically a sister to Nick and Noah, but moved in with her Grandma due to some untold issues. She told me many amusing stories. Like how Nick would be frustrated when Noah wet the bed or how Noah was caught by Old man Jenkins for throwing rocks at his Chihuahua.
All in all, April wasn’t bad. In fact, I think I wouldn’t mind being her friend.
“Okay, enough,” Noah groaned, interrupting April in the middle of telling the story of when Noah threw up in the bus next to his crush. “Do you always have to embarrass me?”
“It’s my job,” she joked and winked at him.
Noah shoved his hands into his pockets. “Look, April, I have to ask you something.”
April’s smile faltered. “What’s up?”
“Did you hear anything from Nick before he die – passed away? Anything that seemed suspicious?”
It seemed like April was slapped in the face multiple times. Her smile fell as she stared at Noah in incompetence. I wouldn’t blame her. She was best friends with the two boys since they were little. I felt like I was intruding on a very personal conversation, but I simply sat there frozen too.
This was why we came to April’s house.
“Uh, um,” April stuttered and shook her head. “I don’t know if this will help. He – he messaged me two nights before he died. He told me he loved a girl in your grade, Noah, but he was stuck.”
Noah’s eyebrows knitted together as he froze. “What girl? Why was he stuck?”
April started to cry. “I don’t know. Someone named Chelsea. Chelsea Everheart. He used to say her name a lot.”
At the mention of Chelsea’s name, my insides froze and I felt uneasy. There was no way Nick Callaway loved the sinister brunette twig who hated my guts. I couldn’t even recall them being together or even talking to each other. If anything, Nick Callaway and Chelsea Everheart were polar opposites. There was absolutely no way they had a connection.
“What? Chelsea?” Noah whispered, clearly as confused as I was. “There has to be more. Why was he stuck?”
“I-I don’t know, Noah. He said that it was better if I didn’t know. It’d keep me safe. What’s that supposed to mean? So I decided to comply with his wishes, but I wish I did more. I wish I was there more or talked to him more so I knew what exactly happened that night. Nick hid so many things, but I know s-suicide wasn’t on his to-do list.”
Noah pressed on. “What else did he tell you?”
“That’s all I know, Noah. I’m sorry. I wish I knew more,” April cried, but kept her calm. “Chelsea Everheart won’t reply to my messages. She has to know something, Noah.”
Noah engulfed April in a brotherly hug, but stared at me. “She definitely knows something.”
It took us a while to leave April’s house. I found it hard to say goodbye to someone who was as friendly as April. All I wanted to do was stay at her house and listen to all her stories. Noah found it hard to say goodbye to her as well. I gave them some privacy as they reminisced about Nick. Once Noah met me back on the street, his eyes were bloodshot red.
Although I wanted to desperately discuss the matter at hand, I knew it wouldn’t be the wisest thing to do after such an emotional day. It seemed that the more I knew, the more complicated questions developed. Everything I’ve heard today wasn’t quite registered in my brain just yet – the events Noah had to go through and April’s revelation on Nick’s love for April.
There was an awkward silence between Noah and me as we continued our hike. I fidgeted when all you could hear between us was our heavy breathing and leaves crunching underneath our footfalls. There had to be something I could do to lighten the mood – to make things between us at least civil.
Mustering the little ounce of courage I had, I quickened my pace to match his. With a small amused smile, I asked, “So you wet the bed until you were twelve?”
“So you’re a virgin?” Noah retorted in a teasing matter, his smirk growing into a full blown smile when I frowned.
This time, his smile had no affect on me. I stared at him with nonchalance before pinching his arm hard. Ignoring his snide comments on my violent act, I said, “Unlike you, having sex with people is not my hobby.”
“How would you know? You never even tried,” Noah joked, chuckling at the end of his sentence.
It was weird how bipolar our attitude towards each other had become lately or how quick we fell back into place. However, it seemed like Noah was more than happy to push the situation aside for a bit. I wasn’t complaining either. If he wasn’t moody, I wasn’t protesting.
My eyebrows hitched upwards. “I hardly believe that banging whoever capable is fun.”
“I could show you if you’d like,” Noah replied with a smirk.
It seemed that Noah’s earlier outburst seemed to improve how comfortable we were around each other. However, never in a million years had I thought that Noah would attempt to flirt with me. Being the lame and dorky person I am, my cheeks flushed and I stumbled as I found the right words to say.
Instead, I punched him in the arm, fulfilling my role as the violent person that everyone claims me to be. “S-stop flirting with me. It’s weird. I’d rather have you angry and moody.”
Noah chuckled and seemingly walked closer to me, his arm brushing slightly against my own. “Who said I was flirting?”
“You’re invading my personal space,” I mumbled, my heart thudding loudly in chest when all I could smell was him.
“Is Emmy nervous?”
My eyebrows rose to my hairline at the sound of my ridiculous nickname. “I’m not n-nervous.”
“So why are you stuttering? Scared the Woodsman will come and get you?”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms above my chest. “Has anyone ever told you you’re extremely bipolar?”
“A few people,” Noah said sarcastically, causing me to laugh out loud. Noah winced as he examined his hand. “I guess I pitied myself too much for one day and I just saw one of my best friends, so I’m in a good mood.”
I wasn’t surprised to see Noah’s knuckles bruising, slightly swollen. After all, he did punch the tree earlier as if he were the Hulk and could smash anything to pieces. Being bold was something I’ve learned from Paige. She always told me that boys liked females with courage – something about making the decisions in bed which I’d rather not discuss.
So I decided to do what’s bold since Noah was being bold himself.
I held Noah’s somewhat balled up hand in both of my slightly shaking hands. I inspected it for a while, frowning at the injury that most likely hurt like hell. I stepped closer to him and carefully brushed my lips over his knuckles.
Noah was frozen, staring down at me with an unreadable expression in his steel blue eyes. His mouth was slightly agape as we locked gazes, his hand still in my hold.
After a couple seconds, his voice cut through the silence like a knife. “Um, we should get back. We’re running a little late.”
He retracted his hand and started walking ahead of me. I wasn’t sure whether I felt stupid about kissing his injury or remotely thinking it’d be bold and okay to do so or both, but I was beyond embarrassed. He obviously didn’t want that type of relationship with me out of all people.
And just like a knife, I was hurt and this time, I was the one who cut myself.