White Washed

Chapter Nine | Surprise

A few hours after I’d finished my wonderful Skype call with Sammy, who had told me that my tattoo looked beautiful and that he missed me a lot, I was wandering around the campus. I’d already explored quite a bit but I still liked to walk around and look at everything. It helped clear my head. There were still several buildings I hadn't ever been in, because I had no classes in them.

Gabe had offered to accompany me but I told him that I just wanted to think. And it was true. My mind was so overwhelmed, between my gifts, to school, to missing Sammy, to Alix. It made me dizzy.

I knew my parents, my aunt and uncle or grandparents weren’t like me. A witch, or whatever. So where did I get it? Did it just spontaneously happen or was I born with it or what? I’d meant to ask Cass but I only thought of it after he left.

My entire high school career, I’d been called a freak. I’d been known as quiet, awkward and sometimes standoffish even though I’d never been stuck up in my whole life. I’d been friends with few, fought with many. I had never really considered myself a freak because before now, I’d never had reason to. And here I was, a freaking witch that could barely control her powers.

What would Laurie think? Or Spencer, Jess, Gabe, Katarina. Would they waned anything to do with me still? I was aware that I couldn’t tell them but worries about what they’d say if I did still plagued my mind.

I was suddenly dizzy and very, very tired. I sat down on a stone bench to my left and tried to take a breath, pushing everything out of my mind for a second.

“Hey, Amelie!” Someone called, running towards me. It was getting dark so I couldn’t make out more than his silhouette but I recognized his voice.

“Hey Noah.” I replied, turning towards him and coming to a stop. He was standing beside me a moment later.

“How are you? We don’t talk much, lately.” His voice was low and turned slightly accusing towards the end of it.

I bit my lip. We didn't talk much to begin with, but I didn't mention that. “Yeah, sorry about that. I –“

He cut me off, a hard look on his face. “Let me guess. Spencer told you all about my dirty little secret?”

I opened my mouth, ready to defend Spencer, but nothing came out. He shouldn’t be mad at me or at Spencer for telling me the truth! He was the one in the wrong here.

He sighed. “I actually thought you were different, that you’d be the type of girl to come and talk to me before you judged me for something you’d heard. It’s awful high school, don’t you think?” He accused, his tone angry.

A pang of guilt hit me. He was right, I was doing that. “I wanted to, I’ve just been busy lately.” He had no right to be mad at me for not coming to talk to him about it, I barely even knew him.

Noah nodded. “Busy with Alix and Spencer and your other weird friends.”

"Excuse me, you have no right to call my friends weird." I said in a very sharp voice. He sat down beside me, not apologizing. I took a deep breath. “Do you want to try and explain it to me or are you going to snub me and my friends some more?” I demanded, angry still.

Noah snorted. “Are you actually going to listen?”

I nodded. “I’m sorry for not listening sooner, that’s a bitchy thing to do. I've honestly just had a lot of shit on my plate. I will hear you out, though.” I tried my best to soften my tone some.

He sighed and then picked up my  hand, playing with my fingers. It was my automatic reaction to pull my hand away. I folded it politely in my lap. He took a big breath and when he exhaled, it was in a rush of words. “I’m not actually a player or anything. People assume because of what happened last year and because now I don’t really do relationships much. It’s all so high school it’s almost laughable but shit still gets around.”

I nodded to show that I was paying attention and he continued. “There was this awesome girl in a few of my classes. She was pretty and funny. We started going out and we got serious pretty quick. But we weren’t doing anything.” There was a pause and his cheeks heated slightly. “I don’t know why. It’s not like either of us were virgins but I guess we just never found the right time. I didn’t really want to push her or anything.”

They’d never had sex? Then how’d she get pregnant?

The answer came to me seconds before she said it. “She cheated. Not just once but all the time. From the second week of our relationship she was with multiple guys. Some were guys I knew, one was even a professor. One day she tried to get with my best friend, Nate. That’s when I found out.”

He looked so vulnerable and broken that I hugged him, holding him tight for a moment before withdrawing again. He smiled down at me.

“Then she got pregnant?” I prompted, when he didn’t say anything more.

He shook his head. “She’d been pregnant for two months before we broke up. She didn’t gain very much weight and she hid all the signs so I didn’t even suspect it.”

I felt the guilt rise again. I’d believed Spencer without question, assumed he was just some asshole who’d knocked up his girlfriend and left, when really he’d been through this huge mess. It must have left him so hurt. I should have been more fair to Noah.

Noah slung his arm over my shoulders, leaning back against the building behind us. “I’m so sorry, Noah.” I mumbled. It didn’t make up for it but hopefully it would help.

He smiled. “It’s okay. It’s nice to talk to someone about it.”

I smiled, too. “Well, I’m usually a good listener.”

He snickered. “That was cheesy.” I grinned and he ruffled my hair. “I like you, Amelie.”

I blushed red but he didn’t notice since it was dark.

He was so quiet and sweet. And it felt nice to have his arm around me. I wasn’t alone, which made my stomach flip.

~  ~  ~

Later, after Noah had gone back to his dorm and I was in mine, my phone rang. I had switched my ringtone to one of my new favorite songs, Pages by There For Tomorrow. I grabbed the phone quickly, trying not to wake up Katie, who was sleeping contently in her bed.

“Hello?” I asked in a whisper.

“Hey, Amelie. It’s Bridget.”

I rolled my eyes. I could recognize his high pitched, nasal voice easily. And she was the only person who’d be calling me this late, anyway.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m coming up to see you! Surpirse!” She nearly yelled, as if this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened.

“You’re doing what?” I demanded.

“Oh, I miss you so much that I decided to drive up so you. I’ll stay in a hotel and you can introduce me to all your friends. Maybe I’ll meet a new boy.” I could practically hear her eyebrows raising suggestively.

“When are you going to be here?” I asked, trying to fake excitement. I knew I failed horribly but she didn’t catch on.

“I’ll be there next weekend!”