Leaving Laurabelle Falls

Chapter 21

Thanksgiving night was the night that everything changed for me.

It had been a month and a week since I had messaged Clyde. I had checked the chat to see if he had responded every single day since I'd had my phone back, searching for any sign that he had seen my message. He was still posting daily, but it looked like he hadn't even seen my message.

Madeline still hadn't started talking to me again. My school work just kept coming.

I was almost to the point I could walk with a cane instead of a walker.

I had watched every new episode of Bethany Lawless again and again, searching for some sort of message.

The dinner table was full of all of our favorite foods. We had fried chicken for Noah, a mashed potato bar for my mom, and a large platter of sushi for me.

We sat around the table, and Noah said grace. We dug into our respective plates, as was tradition.

"So," Noah said, "Have you thought about applying to colleges yet?"

"I haven't really, no." I confessed. "I think I might take a gap year. I just don't know what to do now, with... Y'know. Everything."

He nodded. "A gap year isn't a bad idea. Therese thought it would be terrible, but I think I've got a lot more figured out now than I would have."

"...And how is Therese doing?" My mom pried. Something in his voice must have tipped her off.

"I have no idea." Noah spat, his vitriol suddenly coming to the surface, "And I don't want to know."

"What happened?" I asked, my eyebrows raising sharply.

"She took my car because hers was in the shop," He elaborated, "And drove through a nail on the way back. It's gonna need a new tire. I asked her to chip in-- not pay for all of it, just chip in, and she told me that it was my car and she shouldn't have to."

"Well," Mom said, "The girl always was a little spoiled. You can't expect people like that to take responsibility. It's never theirs to take."

I sat there, frozen as I processed this new rift.

"What about Velma?" I asked. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah," He said. "Velma said she doesn't want to get involved in it. There are two sides to every story or whatever. I think she's just copping out because she doesn't want to lose one of the few female friends she has."

"Female connection can be really important for a woman." My mom put in.

"I get that." He agreed, "But I do think she could pick someone who wasn't a total bitch."

Noah was not a good actor. The hatred in his voice was real.

The hatred for his friend who he had spent years loving... The hatred for his soulmate.

I knew that they wouldn't remember everything, but surely they remembered how they had felt for each other? Surely, they knew that they were supposed to be in love. That they were supposed to work it out, and find a common ground together on the other side of the matrix. Nobody would have to pay for tires in Laurabelle Falls.

But there was no hint of forgiveness, love, or even fondness in Noah's voice. This was a real fall-out.

Noah genuinely disliked one of his soulmates.

Noah and Therese falling out. Maddie leaving. Clyde not responding to my text messages.

I flashed back to something that Deacon had said, back in Laurabelle Falls.