Presently Perfect (Perfect #3) (32 page)

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Lisa turned toward us, blinking. “
The
Noah?”

I glanced over at Tweet, curious to know how I got the title.

“Yes.” Tweet chuckled, rolling her eyes.

I slid to the edge of the bed and extended my hand. “Hey, it’s great to meet you, Lisa.”

Her drunk gaze bounced from my face to my hands a few times before she finally slipped her palm into mine.

“Well, hellooo,
The
Noah. It’s really great to see you… here… with Amanda.”

She looked back and forth between me and Tweet. A huge grin slowly appearing on her face.

“I guess I should be going.” I stood and collected the trash from our snack.

Lisa jumped up, swayed a little to the left, and then intercepted me. “I’ll take that for you, so you can say toodles to each other.”

She walked to the other side of the room, pretending to give me and Tweet some privacy, while blatantly glancing over her shoulder at us.

Turning to Tweet, I said in a low voice, “I’m not sure what time I’m heading back tomorrow. I want to see you before I go, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to. You know?”

“I know.”

“I’ll definitely talk to you tomorrow.”

“And I’ll be home for Thanksgiving in a few days.” Her face lit up with excitement.

God,
I don’t want to leave.

We must have stared at each other for what Lisa felt was an abnormal amount of time because it sounded as if she were hacking up a lung trying to get our attention. Leaning down, I placed a kiss on Tweet’s forehead. I couldn’t help closing my eyes and savoring the feel of her skin.

“Goodnight, Tweet,” I whispered against her.

“Goodnight, Noah.”

I turned to Lisa who had gotten a little closer to the action, standing only about a foot away from me. “Goodnight, Lisa.”

“Goodnight,
The
Noah.”

I smiled, looking over at Tweet. Apparently, I lingered a little too long again for Lisa’s taste, because it sounded like the other lung was getting ready to make an appearance. Before the girl lost any more organs, I grabbed my phone, my jacket, and headed out the door.

When I got back to his dorm, I was surprised to see a sleeping Travis and shocked to see him alone in bed. I stripped down to my boxers, leaving my T-shirt on, and crawled into the other bed. On my back, hands behind my head, I lay in the dark, grinning, and feeling alive again.

“About time you showed up,” Travis mumbled.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I lost track of time.”

“Mmmhmm.”

“How’s your redhead?”

“Satisfied. How’s your
old friend
?”

“Back where she belongs.”

The next morning I woke up early and headed over to the frat house to get Tweet’s coat. The place looked like a massacre. Passed out drunk bodies covered almost every inch of the main room—sprawled over sofas, chairs, tables, the stairs, and the floor. I walked down the hallway, opening doors until I found the designated pile of coats and jackets. I recognized Tweet’s coat immediately. I was with her last year on the day she bought it. I started to leave when my phone chirped with a text.

Brooke:
Good morning No-No. I missed you last night. Rachel is going to drop me off at Travis’s dorm in a half hour. We can go grab breakfast. See you in a bit.

Me:
Okay.

My mind was spinning trying to figure out how I could see Tweet before meeting up with Brooke. I wasn’t ready to tell Brooke that Tweet was back in my life. Before walking out of the room, I raised Tweet’s coat and inhaled her scent. It would have to hold me for the next few days until I saw her again.

I pulled into the parking lot of Travis’s dorm with five minutes to spare before Brooke was to show. Picking up my phone, I had every intention of calling Tweet to let her know I wouldn’t be able to see her today. But I knew if I heard her voice, I’d be too tempted to put the truck in reverse and haul myself over to her place, so I sent a quick text.

Me:
Mornin’ Tweet. How’s your ankle?

Tweet:
A little better. Thx.

Me:
Not able to stop by. Sorry.

Tweet:
That’s ok. Have a safe trip home.

Me:
Last night was amazing. See you in a few days. Look outside your door.

Tweet:
Ok. Just a sec.

When several seconds had passed, I smiled, knowing full well she hadn’t noticed what I had put at her door. Her coat was in a shopping bag that Brooke had left in my truck. In front of that was something I knew would make her smile, a wind-up yellow bird Koosh toy.

Me:
Look down.

Three.

Two.

One.

Tweet:
Thx for getting my coat back and for my tweet. I love it!!!!!!!
:)

Me:
:)

Vibrations ricocheted through my body each time my foot slammed against the concrete. The only evidence of the cold and that I was still breathing, were the spurts of hot air morphing into puffs of white smoke the second they hit the atmosphere. My neighborhood whizzed by me, so I knew I was moving, but it felt like I was sinking in quicksand. The repetitive thumping of my heartbeat drowned out all other sounds. When the words tried to bulldoze their way into my mind, I shoved them away. I had to focus on getting to her and not on
those
words. If I allowed them to invade my thoughts, I’d collapse.

I found her exactly where I knew she’d be, at our spot. Why none of the others thought to check here first was beyond me. I stopped at the edge of the park, placing my hand against the bare-leaf large oak tree, catching my breath, and trying to gain the courage I needed to have for her.

The overcast sky covered everything in gray tones. There was an eerie stillness surrounding our spot. The park was quiet except for the sound of her phone blowing up with calls and texts. We were only two days into our Christmas break. With the semester ending and exams, I hadn’t seen Tweet since Thanksgiving. Brooke had gone out of town for the holiday, so Tweet and I spent the entire time together. Even though we talked and texted several times a day, there was nothing like having her by my side.

She was sitting on the new picnic table. The one I’d destroyed last summer had been replaced. Her back faced me, shoulders slumped, as she stared straight ahead. The sleeves of the USC hoodie she wore were pulled down over her hands. She was cold. As I approached, the crunch of dry grass, leaves, and gravel sounded ten times louder in the bubble Tweet and I were in.

“Tweet.” That was the only word that came out before I felt the tremor in my throat.

I moved in closer, my arms ready to hold and protect her. She leaned away and held up her hand, signaling me to stop.

“Don’t touch me,” she said, in a weak voice.

Please let me take care you.

“Why?”

“Because, if you touch me, I’ll fall apart. I’ve already pulled myself back together once today. I don’t think I could do it again.”

I sent a text to her parents and Emily to let them know I found her, she was safe, and I’d bring her home when she was ready. I sat next to her on the table, but kept a safe distance.
I was going to give her whatever she needed. If she needed space, then she got space, even if it meant I had to wait the rest of the day and night before wrapping her in my arms. Tweet would talk when she was ready.

As the silence ticked by, my mind drifted back to earlier.

Mom and I were wading through our year of “firsts” without Dad. The first Fourth of July, my first college semester, the first autumn, and the first holiday season. The Kelly’s had been incredibly supportive over the past months, having us over for dinner several times a week, but ramped it up big time as the holidays approached. I had been at Brooke’s and told her that I needed to leave in order to help Mrs. Kelly put up some Christmas decorations as a thank you for all the dinners.

Walking through the back door of the Kellys’ home, I felt the tension immediately. My gaze landed first on Mr. Kelly, who was pacing back and forth in the family room. His expression was blank. I was confused as to why he was home this early from work. Then I saw my mom sitting on the sofa with her arm draped over Mrs. Kelly’s shoulders. Emily was on the other side of her mom, holding her hand. All three women were in varying stages of crying.

Mom’s head shot in my direction as I took a few steps forward.

“Noah, thank god you’re here,” Mom said, standing and walking toward me.

“What’s going on?”

She wrapped me in a hug. “I need to tell you something.”

In that moment, I decided to do a mental head count. Everyone who was important to me was in this room except for the most important one.

Pulling away from Mom, I asked, “Where’s Tweet?”

Mr. Kelly stopped pacing, Mrs. Kelly sobbed a little louder, and Emily looked up at me with tears running down her face.

My gaze shifted back to Mom. The look in her eyes was exactly the same as the day my dad passed away. I went numb.

“Sit down, son.”

My head was shaking even before she finished the three short words.

“I don’t want to sit down.”

“Noah…”

“Mom, just tell me where she is.” I begged, my voice was already hoarse from swallowing several huge lumps.

“We don’t know.” She paused for a moment, inhaled a deep breath, and then continued. “Amanda had a doctor’s appointment today.”

My brows pushed together as I narrowed my gaze at her, not understanding what she was getting at.

“Her leg has been hurting since you saw her that weekend at USC. Her mom insisted she go get it checked out.” Another pause, this one accompanied by a slight quiver of her bottom lip. “Amanda has cancer, sweetheart.”

A loud thud came from the other side of the room. Mr. Kelly was leaning against the wall, his hand fisted by his side, his shoulders shaking. Mrs. Kelly’s sobs echoed around the room while Emily’s whispers of comfort were like white noise.

“She doesn’t have cancer, Mom.”

“Noah, sit down and I’ll…”

I took a step back. “I’m not sitting down because Tweet doesn’t have cancer.”

The pressure was building in my chest, up my throat, and behind my eyes.

“She has bone cancer in her leg.”

“Tweet just sprained her ankle, Mom. She was running like a bat out of hell that night she fell.”

“She’s been in pain since then. You’ve seen her limping.”

“She limped because she sprained it. I carried her all the way to her room that night. I checked her out. I ran my hand over her ankle. I didn’t feel anything, not even a broken bone…”

A tear must have escaped because Mom’s hand came up to my face and wiped across my cheek.

“I held ice on it…” I trailed off.

“She was lucky you were there to help her, sweetheart.”

“The doctor must have made a mistake. You’ve seen how beautiful she is, Mom. She can’t be sick. Just because her ankle still hurts a little doesn’t mean she has cancer.”

“She’s been in a lot more pain than she let anyone know. She’s lost weight and has been tired.”

I chuckled. “It’s her first semester at college. Of course she’s tired and she might have lost a little weight, but she’s crazy busy just like me.”

“Noah, they saw the tumor on x-ray.” The deep scratchy voice of Mr. Kelly pierced my ears.

I backed up as Mom came toward me. Turning on my heels, I bolted out the door and headed to our spot.

“You talked to my mom?”

Clearing my throat, I answered, “Yeah. She didn’t know where you were and you wouldn’t answer your phone.”