From London to Rome

Chapter 52

Leaving New York after only a few days was hard, but I knew I won't have to go without Luca for long. I got on a plane last night and landed in London early this morning. As if sitting on a plane for seven hours isn't enough, I also have the privilege of taking a train out of London for over an hour.

Noah has his car in Oxford and is driving home for the summer. I already packed all of my stuff before leaving for New York, so Noah could stop in London to pick up my stuff before making his way south to our parents' house. He should have gotten home with my stuff last night already.

I will be moving back to my flat after the summer, so luckily, I don't have to move everything back home. There were just two boxes with books and personal stuff and a duffel bag with clothes. It should fit in Noah's Ford Focus without trouble. He obviously also had his own belongings with him, but when we moved out last summer Noah was able to get both of our bags and boxes to fit.

My mum and Hailey are waiting for me at the train station. I am happy to see them again after not seeing them for 6 months. They ask questions about my final weeks of school, Luca and the trip to New York. When we're almost home Hailey suddenly grabs my arm.

"You'll never believe who's also waiting for you at home."

She doesn't give me a chance to think, let alone respond to her.

"Abby came to visit! And I also found out who the girl is that Noah went on a date with. It was quite obvious when he arrived at home and he brought her with him."

Now I really can't wait to get home. I've been wondering who Noah has been seeing. He refused to tell me who she is, only that he really likes her and that they have known each other for quite a while before they went out on a date the first time. I hate how people refuse to tell me stuff. Not only Noah has been keeping his dating life a secret, but my best friend as well. It's a good thing I'll see them both again today so I can give them the third degree.

Carrying my suitcase inside, I can't be fast enough to drop my stuff and find Noah and his mystery girl. And Abby. I was not expecting to see her today already, but I'm glad to finally see her again. I don't see anyone else, which is kind of strange since Noah's girlfriend should be here as well.

Dad sees me through the window and comes inside to greet me. He tells me that we will catch up later. I'm still a bit confused about what's going on, but slowly the puzzle pieces start to fall into place. Noah's seeing someone. Abby is seeing someone. Noah brought his girlfriend home. Abby is in our backyard right now. It takes me a few minutes to make 4 out of 2 plus 2, but once my mind gets an idea of what's going on, I make my way outside.

"Well hello there, best friend and brother."

Both of them give me a hug and try to put on a smile. I know both of them well enough to see through their façade and see how nervous they are. Abby is fidgeting with her bracelet and Noah scratches his neck.

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

They quickly glance at each other before they start stumbling over each other's words.

"Well, it's your fault actually. A few months ago, you asked me to give Abby a ride to the airport and after that, we kind of kept talking. We would run into each other in the library and went to get coffee a few times. After a while, I asked her over for dinner after studying all day. One thing led to another and we kind of are dating right now."

Noah's explanation has my mouth drop open. This has been going on for months already and I had absolutely no idea. Either they are really good at keeping their lives a secret for me, or I was so busy with myself and Luca that I had absolutely no idea what was happening around me.

Abby promises to tell me everything tomorrow before she leaves to go home. Hailey and Noah help me unpack everything I brought from London. It's nice to have both of my siblings in the same house as me. We've always been close and even when we all lived somewhere else, we would keep in touch with each other, but it's different when you are actually together. We talk about everything that happened in the past months and I quickly see that Noah really likes Abby. I'm kind of happy that they found each other. They both deserve the best and I hope they can be that for each other. I also like the fact that I indirectly set them up. I think it's time to start to prepare my maid of honour speech.

Hailey tells us she has been talking to someone recently and Noah is on the verge of hacking her phone to find out who needs to be threatened. He will always be the protective big brother but we both know that there is no stopping Hailey if she wants something and she is more than capable of taking care of herself.

We chat until mum calls us to get ready for dinner. I'm glad I have a few days to spend with my family. I haven't seen them in so long and in just over a week I will be leaving for Italy again. Luca will come in a few days and he'll stay with us for another three days before we hop on the next plane.