Page 46 of Covet (The Red #3)
Chapter Forty-Six
Elle
Listen to Die with a Smile
by Bruno Mars in my right to touch and kiss him; and the endless possibilities ahead.
Noah came back to my place. We talked about the best moves to make next and agreed he had to tell Daisy. We clasped hands and tried to brainstorm ways to explain, but each came out awkward and fake.
“I’ll speak from my heart and tell the truth,” Noah finally said. “It will be a hard conversation. Daisy may want to confront you so we need to be ready for that possibility.”
My stomach lurched. “I know. But she has every right. I should tell Coop about us, also. And call Gabby. She probably knows about Coop and I because she left a few texts asking to get a hold of her. I haven’t returned her call yet.
But out of everyone, her and Landon will probably have my back, even if they disapprove. ”
“Agreed. I have Adam. Max will lose his shit and defend Coop. It’s going to be a nightmare.” His gray eyes turned serious. “You’re sure, Elle? That I’m worth all this?”
“Yes. Am I?”
He smiled. “Hell, yes.”
“Then we do this together.”
We had a make out session and Noah left. I had to tell Gabby, then Coop. I wished I could space out all these heartbreaking tasks, but everyone had to find out at once. I could trust Gabby to keep my secret until I had a chance to contact the group.
I left a message and she eventually called back. “Finally! Girl, I need to ask you some questions. But first, are you okay? Do you need me to come over? Are you working tonight?”
Oh, yeah. She knew everything. “I’m sorry. I was having a hard time and needed to process.”
“What happened?”
“I broke up with Coop.”
She blew out a breath. “I’m so happy you told me! Max heard from Coop and called me to see if I’d heard anything, which I hadn’t, so I’ve been dying to talk to you. Babe, I’m so sorry. Do you want me to come over? I’m assuming Landon knows? What do you need?”
This was harder than I thought. Her concern and support killed me with guilt. “Gabs, I have to tell you something big. It may freak you out.”
Her voice filled with worry. “Oh, my God. It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I took a breath and spilled. “I broke up with Coop, but I’m also in love with Noah.”
“What!”
I winced. “I know. We’ve always been close friends, but when we started writing songs we began to fall for each other.
We fought it for a long time, Gabs. We didn’t want to do this.
We pretended it would go away. But it didn’t, and I realized that even if I’m going to blow up my life and hurt one of my best friends, I have to try with him. I just can’t…not.”
“Fuck, Elle. Fuuuuuck.”
I closed my eyes as silence fell over the line. Her disapproval seemed to soak through the line and I realized Gabby may tag me as an enemy to girl code and our group and her inner circle. How could I blame her?
“I think Daisy was suspicious,” she finally said. “She mentioned something in the club that she was noticing you two looked close.”
My heart squeezed in my chest. “No way. She said that?”
“Yep. We talked a little bit. Made excuses because you were working so closely together on the songs. I didn’t think you and Noah would end up being serious. Guess I was wrong.”
“I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t sure,” I said quietly. “I love him, Gabs.”
“Fuck.”
I heard a clatter in the background and a low, urgent voice whispering. “Are you with someone now?” I asked.
Another noise. “No. Just me. What’s the plan? Did you tell Coop and Daisy yet?”
“Not yet. Noah’s telling her today, and I’ll do the same with Coop. I just wanted you to know what’s going down. Max will hear next.”
“Probably. Listen, do you need me to come over? It may be fucked up the way it happened, but love is love. Neither of you went looking for this. I’ve got your back, okay? But I’ll also need to be there for Daisy and she may be saying some really bad things.”
“I understand. Thanks, Gabs, it means a lot.”
We hung up. A few steps closer to finally having the truth flushed out.
I wondered how Noah was coping right now.