“You say that I’m not there when Gabby needs me, but she knows she means the world to me. That is the only reason I didn’t tell her about you talking shit behind her back.”
Noel’s words seemed to take some of the steam out of Amber, because her tone hardly had any bite left. “Like you’ve never said anything that may hurt someone’s feelings?”
Amber didn’t wait for an answer, just turned away. Noel took the table cloth to the laundry room. She didn’t speak to Amber for the rest of the two-hour cleanup, but she did consider her words. Noel hurt people without realizing it. She knew sometimes she could be waspish, but she never set out to intentionally harm anyone who didn’t strike first.
She needed to make things right with Gabby. Bury the hatchet with Amber, who’d been holding onto her own resentment of Noel. Amber throwing her relationship with Nick in her face still burned, but maybe Noel should consider Nick’s suggestion that she talk to someone. A few appointments to help work through her unresolved anger and hurt. Give her some perspective and teach her to let things go.
Noel thought about the storage unit bill in her purse. She’d planned on stopping by tomorrow and paying another year on the unit to keep her parents’ belongings safe. To leave it closed and untouched, but maybe it would help to go through her parents’ things. She’d been thinking about them so much lately, that it may be cathartic. Stop keeping her memories in a bubble, away from the world and share them with others.
But first, she needed to go to the ER and get her eye looked at. Amber may be a heinous witch, but she had great aim.
Chapter 22
NICK
Nick looked up from his guitar when Noel came down the stairs into his parents’ basement on Sunday afternoon wearing an eye patch over her left eye, white gauze peeking out beneath the black fabric. His mind immediately went to Trip and his temper tantrum last night.
He stood up, setting his guitar against his amp. His sisters were both running late, so it was just the two of them in the basement.
“What the hell happened to your eye?”
A ghost of a smile flittered across her lips. “A stray M&M. Don’t worry, I went to urgent care. The doctor said it should be all right by the weekend.”
“Wait, how did a candy end up in your eye?”
Noel hung her coat and purse strap over the end of the banister. “Your ex-girlfriend threw a handful of them at me today and I didn’t duck fast enough.”
“I have even more questions now.”
“Maybe they could wait a while? I’ve had a pretty emotionally exhausting day.”
Without hesitation, Nick went to Noel and pulled her into his arms, holding her against his chest. He ran a hand over her dark hair, stroking her, and he loved the way she melted into him.
“Does this help at all?”
Her arms looped around his waist and she squeezed. “A lot. Don’t stop.”
Nick chuckled, rocking her back and forth in his arms, humming under his breath. Noel lifted her face to watch him, grinning.
“Are you singing ‘Must Be Santa’？”
“Good ear.”
“It used to be our favorite. Remember in second grade, before the Christmas recital, our moms banned us from singing it at home because we wouldn’t stop?”
Nick chuckled. “Yeah. I don’t know what their problem was. It’s a very catchy tune.”
“Right.” Her smile slipped a bit. “During the holidays, when she’d put me to bed, my mom would turn on this Christmas CD before she shut off my light. That song was always first.”
He held her a little tighter, noting the sadness in her tone. “She was a great woman. I know she loved you very much.”
“Do you think I’m selfish?”
Nick pulled away, holding her by the shoulders. “Where did that come from?”
“Amber said I was being selfish because I didn’t want to use my parents’ cabin for the bachelorette party.”
Nick scoffed. “Please, Amber has no right calling you anything. She once told me she couldn’t pick me up from the airport because she had a mani-pedi appointment and,” he said in a high falsetto voice, “didn’t I want her to look good?”
He fluttered his eyelashes, but she barely cracked a smile.
“But do you think I should let Gabby use it? I can’t find anything else available.”
“Not if you don’t want her to. That is your parents’ place. It’s special. If Gabby doesn’t get that, she isn’t a real friend.”