I guess goodbyes are the only thing left for us.

[39]

bid our final goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Harley before leaving. Adam wraps his hand around mine and gently kisses my knuckles.

"Did I tell you how gorgeous you look?" Adam suddenly asks. I grin at him and laugh.

"Every single hour of every single day," I mutter, rolling my eyes. Adam smiles warmly at me before a frown etches itself on his face. "That's not good enough though, I should be telling you every single second of every single minute of every sin -- "

I quickly cut him off. "Okay - okay, I get it!" I say in between laughs.

Adam grins proudly up at me. "Good," he states firmly. I just shake my head and run off in the direction of the car.

"Beat me if you can!" I yell from in front. I hear Adam laugh before thuds from his shoes come up from behind me.

"Dammit..." I mutter under my breath. Adam soon overtakes me, beating me to the car. When I finally reach him, he just laughs. I suck in deep breaths for air while there, Adam stands like he's done nothing.

"Screw you," I mumble giving him a slight shove. Adam rolls his eyes and then jumps into the car.

"Buckle up, Prezioso," he exclaims not giving me enough time to actually 'buckle up'. Without further notice, Adam presses on the exhilaration and zooms home.

I groggily wake up to the sound of the door being knocked on. I sit up and stretch my limbs and yawning before I actually get out of bed. I chuck a pillow at Adam to wake him up before leaving the room.

My hand hovers over the front door, my eyes trying to work out who the figure belongs to outside the window. Shrugging, I swing the door open.

My eyes water as Nolan stands in front of me. His hair is a mess, heavy black bags are sitting underneath his eyes as if he hasn't slept in for ages, and the same goes for his clothes. Overall, he just looks like a complete mess.

I pull him in for a hug in which he reluctantly wraps his own arms around me.

"Where were you today, Nolan?" I hoarsely whisper into his ear. Nolan looks back up at me and stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"I was there," he says firmly, nodding his head once. I frown and cross my arms over my chest.

"We were looking everywhere for you..." I mumble in annoyance, "and you were there the whole time? You didn't even bother to text us or anything?"

Nolan shrugs his shoulders. "I liked your speech..." he mutters. I suddenly forget all my pent up anger and annoyance, realising that Nolan has had it worse than any of us.

He's lost his twin sister.

I sigh and then grab hold of Nolan's hand, pulling him inside.

"Adam!" I shout.

"Isabelle, I don't think I should tell Adam - " Nolan starts but is cut off by Adam waltzing into the room.

"Hey! What's up, man?" Adam asks, bro hugging Nolan. Nolan smiles at Adam but then quickly glances back to me worriedly. The smile on my face falters as I take in Nolan's worried expression.

"Nothing besides an endless pit of sadness in my stomach..." Nolan says quietly, his eyes on the ground. Adam warily looks my way in which I can only shrug at.

"How about we sit down?" I suggest, clapping my hands together trying to break the awkward tension. Both males nod their heads and follow me to the living room.

"I need to talk to both of you..." Nolan says, glancing at both Adam and I. We both nod our heads and pay all our attention to Nolan.

"So..." he begins. "Before I start, just know that me doing this is my way of dealing with my grief, I'll love you guys no matter what."

Adam and I worriedly look at each other, but, nonetheless, smile at Nolan and nod our heads.

"I'm leaving the country and cutting all contact off with everyone I know, including...you guys," Nolan blurts out, placing his head in his hands. Adam and I both freeze in surprise, neither of us expecting this.

"I'll be travelling the world. It was Lily and my original plan after graduation before she..." Nolan says cutting himself off at the last part. I quickly elope him in a warm hug and rub his back soothingly.

"It's fine, Nolan, you're strong..." I whisper. Nolan nods his head before pulling away from me and turning to Adam. Adam has his hands in tight fists as he stares off into space. I gently rub his arm making him flinch.

Adams' eyes snap towards Nolan, a deadly emotion swirling in them. I keep my hand on his arm, rubbing comforting circles on it.

"Man..." Adam croaks out, tears glazing the surface of his eyes. Nolan sadly shakes his head and pulls Adam in for a hug.

A few whispers are exchanged between the two while I sit on the couch and watch them. A minute later, both males break apart and Nolan clamps his hand down on Adams' shoulder.

"Look after her, yeah?" Nolan murmurs, his eyes darting towards me. Adam looks back at me and smiles, the usual twinkle back in his eyes.

"Of course! What else did you think I was going to do to her?" Adam asks, winking in my direction. My cheeks heat up in embarrassment making both boys laugh.

"Our paths will cross again, trust me, we can't stay away from each other for that long..." Nolan explains. Adam and I both nod our heads in agreement before hugging Nolan once more.

"Bye..." we both mutter, watching Nolan drive down the road. Adam grabs my body and pulls me against his chest, tears now falling down my face.

"We'll see him again, I promise, Prezioso..." Adam mutters quietly for only me to hear. I barely nod my head in reply.

"I know..." I croak out.