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I considered protesting further, but my parents looked exhausted. Last night had been draining for all of us, and I didn’t want to make it any more stressful on them. At this point, I just wanted to get back to school and pretend this weekend hadn’t happened. If going with Noah would get me there sooner, perhaps it was a necessary evil.

“Okay,” I said, turning to Noah. “Thanks.” I felt like I was speaking through gritted teeth, but Noah smiled in return. The look struck me somewhere deep in my chest. He seemed genuinely happy I’d agreed, and I couldn’t remember the last time he’d given me such a carefree smile.

“When do you want to go?” I asked him.

He turned to my father. “Do you need me for anything else?”

Matthew shook his head. “I’ll call you if something comes up.”

Because apparently, they called each other now too.

“I’m ready when you are then,” Noah said, returning his focus to me.

“After breakfast?”

“Sure.”

I finished my toast and went upstairs to shower and pack. I was just putting the final items in my duffel bag when there was a knock at my door.

“Can I come in?” My mom’s soft voice floated through the slightly open door.

“Of course.”

She came to sit on the bed and watched as I zipped up my bag. Her eyes were studying me closely, probably trying to work out how I was feeling about all this.

“I’m so proud of you, Iz,” she finally said. “I know this must be hard, but you’re taking it all in your stride.”

“I’m trying my best,” I said. “I just…

“What?” she asked when I let my sentence drift into silence.

“Well, I’m sure Matthew and Noah did what they felt was necessary. I just wish I didn’t have to get so battered in the process.”

She stood and pulled me close, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. “I know,” she said. “I wish that too.”

“It’s hard because I know how much they both lost,” I mumbled into her shoulder. “And I hate bringing up my own pain because it doesn’t compare. But they don’t seem to realize how much this has hurt me.”

She pulled back slightly so she could look me in the eyes.

“They do,” she said. “After you left last night, I spoke to them a little more. It really sounds like they didn’t have a choice, and they both feel terrible about it.”

I shrugged.

“You have every right to be upset,” she continued. “But maybe the drive back with Noah will help. If you still feel upset when you get back to Weybridge, I’m always just a phone call away.”

“Okay,” I replied. “Thanks, Mom.”

When we got downstairs, Noah and Matthew were waiting in the lobby near the elevator. Noah had finally changed out of his suit from last night, and it looked like he’d showered too. His hair was still damp, and he was wearing a pair of jeans and his red Weybridge sweatshirt. He looked remarkably good considering he’d probably had no sleep.

My father turned when he saw us and took a step toward me. “I know this weekend probably didn’t end the way you imagined it,” he said. “But I’m glad you were here. And I enjoyed our time together very much.”

To say the weekend hadn’t turned out as I expected was an understatement of epic proportions, but I couldn’t deny I’d enjoyed most of the visit as well.

“I did too,” I said. “The ice cream was good, at least.”

He chuckled under his breath and nodded. “It was. We’ll have to have some more over Christmas.”

“We will?”