Filmed_ An Alpha Bad Boy Romance(57)

I didn’t bother to respond, just rolled my eyes and started heading toward campus. It was a decent day, though on the chilly side. I didn’t see his car anywhere nearby and assumed he had walked over. He joined me on the sidewalk and we began to head toward Broad Street, moving slowly and not talking. The crowds were thick for a Monday afternoon.

We stopped at the corner of Broad, waited for the light to change, and then walked toward the bell tower, enjoying one of the last few seasonable days of autumn. Winter was fast approaching and soon walks wouldn’t be so easy. I found myself completely forgetting about my troubles with Noah, and began to lose myself in the comfort of having him around. I loved walking and people watching, and could do it for hours every day if I had the time.

“Look, Linda,” he started, breaking the silence.

He stopped, and I turned to face him. He looked serious and sad, and he shoved his hands into his pockets, which was something he did when he was nervous.

“You don’t have to say anything,” I said quickly.

“Just listen.”

I nodded, looking away. It was the conversation I had been dreading. Part of me wanted to ignore the whole thing, pretend like he hadn’t disappeared, but I knew we couldn’t move on if we did that.

“I love this idea. I think we have a real shot at winning.”

I looked back at him, confused. I had assumed he was about to bring up his absence, but instead he was grinning at me. Part of me was pissed that he wasn’t explaining himself, but he didn’t owe me anything, and I couldn’t force him to say the things that I wanted. It had to be enough that he wanted to work with me again.

“Yeah? I figured you might like it.”

“Miss H will be the perfect subject for a documentary.”

I nodded. When I was on the Facebook page earlier, it hit me like a truck. Miss Havisham was one of the strangest, most interesting people I had ever met, and I knew her story would be fantastic. I wasn’t sure how I’d go about it, but I knew for sure that Noah would be interested. He loved Miss H, and probably had something to do with getting her hired at the theater in the first place. Her life was so long and rich, full of drama and information about the film industry, and I knew that if we did it right, we could make something worth watching.

“So you want to do this?”

He started walking again and I hurried to catch up. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” He had seemed all about it just a second ago. This was classic Noah: hot and cold, with no explanation.

“I mean, shit, dots. It’s going to be a lot of work.”

“It is, but we talked about wanting to actually make something for ourselves, didn’t we? This is our chance.” It felt weird bringing up that night, and the hours we had spent lying idly in his bed chatting between intense sessions of his body pressed against mine.

He nodded, absorbing that. We kept walking in silence for a bit longer, and I took in the campus. People were everywhere, walking in groups or sitting around laughing. There was a guy playing his guitar, and a drum circle had formed over by the owl statue. It was every college cliché I had ever imagined all jammed into one scene, and I loved it. It felt like everything was happening for Noah and me, the music and the laughter, and although I knew that it was just because it was one of the last decent days before winter set in, I couldn’t help but think it was a sign. There was still good out there, and Noah could still be a part of it.

“I want to do it,” he said softly. “But there’s something you should know.”

“Why did you disappear, Noah?” I asked suddenly.

He looked up at me, surprised, and then his expression softened. “After I dropped you off that day, my grandfather died.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” I knew how important his grandfather was, and I could only imagine the pain that brought. Still, he could have talked to me about it, and that didn’t explain what happened next.

“Thanks. But that’s not it.” He took a deep breath and seemed to steady himself. “My dad was at the funeral. And I mentioned you to him. He threatened me, told me that he’d take away my trust fund, which would mean I’d have to pay for the rest of college myself. He still has this insane thing against your mom, and he used it against me. Fuck, I let the piece of shit get to me.”

He stopped again and I faced him. I could tell he was conflicted, a raging sea of years of family issues churning below the surface, all dredged up because of the history between our parents.

“I knew that if I didn’t rip myself away from you, then I wouldn’t have stopped. I was a coward, Linda. He’s been controlling my whole life, and no matter what I’ve done, he’s found a way to bring me back in. He told me my fucking mother would be disappointed if I gave up on my trust fund.”