His lips pull into a tight line. “It’s complicated, but it’s not what you think.”
“Then tell me. Tell me why you would say things to me that make me believe I’m your world and not tell me you have someone else.”
He sighs and rests his forehead against mine. “Because I can’t leave her and I can’t lose you.”
I pull away from his hold and a cold chill runs through me. “Then why drag me into all this Noel? Why not let me work on the campaign from New York? You forced me to come here because you knew I still had feelings for you. You knew this would eventually happen and you have no intentions on leaving your girlfriend, and yet, you did it anyway. Riff is right. You are a selfish bastard.”
“Riff? He’s how you found out, isn’t it? I’m going to fucking kill him!” He roars and bounces up off the bed.
“Noel!” I reach for him, but he flings the door open and storms down the hallway to Riff’s foxhole before I have the chance to get out of bed.
Noel throws open the curtain and lunges inside. “You fucking told her?”
“You can’t have them both,” Riff yells back. “I won’t let you do that to Sophie.”
I jump off the bed. “Noel, stop!”
In a split second, Noel loses it. He yanks Riff from the bunk and throws him down on the hallway floor. Riff starts to stand, but before he gets the chance, Noel’s on him, connecting a hard punch in his face.
Riff grunts and grabs Noel into a tight headlock. Noel flings his arms wildly, his fists cracking against Riff’s ribs.
“Stop it!” I yell, while standing back. These two guys both have a good foot on me and at least sixty or so pounds. There’s no way I can break them up without getting hurt.
Trip and Tyke’s curtains fly back and they jump out of their bunks. The twins get in-between the two fighting men and pull them apart. Riff and Noel both still red-faced determined to get at each other.
“I can’t believe you fucking told her!” Noel shouts while still in Trip’s firm hold. “You need to mind your own damn business.”
Riff laughs harshly. “Me? Mind my own business? You make it pretty hard to do when you’re fucking my girlfriend behind my back!”
Noel’s mouth drops open. “She came to me. I didn’t go after her.”
“And that makes it fucking okay? Jesus, Noel, you were my best friend—my brother and you still screwed me over. I’m not going to let you do that to Lanie.”
“I was going to tell her!” Noel shouts with his arms spread wide.
“When? When were you going to tell her? After Sophie has the baby?”
I fall back against the wall. A baby? Did I just hear that right? Sophie’s pregnant? With Noel’s baby?
Noel’s body stills and his eyes snap to mine. That’s why he can’t leave her. He fucking knocked her up. I shake my head. No. No fucking way this is happening to me. I am not this person. I don’t get caught up in drama like this.
“Lane?” I hear Noel say my name as I continue to shake my head and back away from him. “Lane, wait!”
I turn on my heels and run back to the bedroom to grab my suitcase. I can’t stay here. I can’t stomach looking at him a second longer. The drawer flies open and I grab a handful of my clothes and throw them in the bag. It looks like a mangled mess, but a few wrinkles are the least of my problems.
The laptop on the bed goes in last and I zip up the suitcase. I freeze when I hear his voice. “Where are you going?”
Is he a complete idiot? Did he actually think I’d stay once I found out about Sophie? I shake my head and step around him into the bathroom to grab my make-up bag. The road with Noel isn’t anything like I planned.
Noel grabs my arm as I pass back by him. “Aren’t you going to talk to me?”
I yank from his grasp and head for the bed. “I have nothing to say to you.”
He slams the door shut to our room. “Well, I have something to say to you.”
I roll my eyes at him. Anything that comes out of his mouth will be a lie and I don’t have time to listen to his bullshit.
I grab my suitcase. “Get out of my way, Noel.”
“No. Damn it, Lane. You’re going to listen to me, even if I have to tie you down to that fucking bed.”
I narrow my eyes. “Wanna bet? Move.”
“God damn it, Lane. Would you fucking stop and listen to me for two seconds.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I fucked up, alright. I know that. Sophie and I aren’t what you think. Trust me. She means nothing to me.”
I gasp. “You’re worse than I thought, if you’d talk about the mother of your child like that. You really are an asshole, like your father.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “I am nothing like that bastard.”
“Oh no? I recall him turning his back on his child, too.”
His jaw tightens and the muscle work beneath his skin. “What the hell do you know about being there for someone, Lane?”
That hurts. It’s a direct blow to the heart. He’s calling me out for leaving him four years ago and it can’t come at the worst opportune time. Doesn’t matter. Before I dumped his sorry ass, I was always there for him. “A hell of a lot more than you do, apparently.”
“That’s fucking bullshit. You turned your back on me. You always do. When you think I put something else ahead of you, you bail. You did it that night on the dock and you’re doing it again now.”