It was now the next day, around noon, and Noah still hadn't dropped by. Normally, when we weren't spending the night together, he would come over early and nap with me for a while, and then we'd spend the day together so I was very confused as to where he went.

I dialed his number and he answered on the first ring. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, are you coming over? I thought we're hanging out today," I said while sitting on my couch. My dad was leaving for training at the middle school nearby, he gets back to coaching today, it's what he loves to do. My mom was cooking lunch in the kitchen.

"Um, yeah, I'm sorry. I can't come over today, I'm a little busy," he said while I heard shuffling in the background.

"Did everything go okay last night? Should I be worried?" I asked hesitantly.

"Everything's fine, I just- we still have to clear some stuff up. I can't come over today," he said.

"Okay, just call me if you need to talk or anything else, okay?"

"Mm-hmm," he replied.

"I love you," I said.

"You too, bye."

"B-" He hung up before I could even say it. I frowned in confusion at the phone, putting it screen-down on the couch beside me.

"Everything okay?" my mom asked.

"I don't know," I mumbled.

The next day went by and he still hasn't called. I thought giving him some space to sort things out was the best thing to do, this was his family matter. So the next day went by, and the day after that, and the one after that, and the next one too. With that, one week went by, the week after that and before I knew it, it had been three weeks since we spoke.

I woke up this morning feeling awful. Not physically, but something was wrong. I could just feel it. I had to see him. My bedroom door opened as I came out of my bathroom and I saw Ava and Charlotte.

"Hey," they smiled in sync, sitting down on my bed.

"Hi," I mumbled absentmindedly, sitting down as well.

"What's up? You don't look too cheery," Charlotte frowned.

"I don't know, I haven't really spoken to Noah," I mumbled, scratching my brow.

"Aw, do you miss him?" Ava taunted.

"I haven't spoken to him in three weeks," I admitted.

The smiles fell from both of their faces and they stared at me in confusion and shock. "Wait, what? Why?" Charlotte asked.

"He was supposed to talk to his parents about not wanting to go to Berkeley. I haven't heard from him since," I shrugged.

"What the fuck are you doing here then? Go over to his god damn house," Ava said.

"I thought I should give him some space and time to sort things out," I explained.

"Three weeks?! Bella? Are you out of your mind? Go over there. He might need you," Charlotte said.

"But-"

"Go!" they yelled.

I got out of bed and pulled my flip flops on, grabbing my phone and heading downstairs. "Dad, I need you to drive me to Noah's house," I said while throwing my hair up in a bun.

"Why don't y- hello?" he asked, answering his phone in between.

I groaned, rolling my eyes, hoping he'd hurry up. The sinking feeling in my stomach was increasing by the second, my anxiety and nerves were hitting the floor, I needed to see Noah right now. "Dad, can you please hurry?" I whispered.

"Oh, Noah! Hello! Where the hell have you been, kiddo? It's been a minute since we've seen you come around," my dad laughed.

"Put it on speaker," I whispered.

"Put it on what?" he asked loudly. I facepalmed and he seemed to realize, nodding slowly before putting it on speaker. "Are you looking for Bella, my son?" my dad asked, looking at me warily.

"No, um, I was actually hoping to talk to you, Mr. Miller," he said.

"Noah, hurry up!" I heard his dad say in the background. He ignored his dad and continued talking to mine.

"Me? How can I help, son?" my dad asked, eating his cereal. I rolled my eyes, standing in front of him and listening in.

"You know I haven't been coming around that often anymore."

"That's right," my dad agreed.

"And that's actually because I've been a little wrapped up at home, I actually have to go," he said.

'Go where?' I mouthed to my dad. "Go where?" he asked.

"You're aware of my situation with Berkeley, right?"

"Yes," my dad responded.

"Well, um-" he chuckled awkwardly, "You see, my dad and I couldn't really meet in the middle when it came to this." He fell silent.

"Noah," my dad said slowly.

"I have to leave. For Berkeley," he said. I felt my heart drop while I stared at his name on my dad's phone. I actually think my knees buckled from under me because my dad had to grab my hand.

"Does Bella know about this?" my dad asked, watching me. I shook my head rapidly.

"No, I didn't tell her."

"And why is that?" my dad questioned.

"It's too hard, Mr. Miller. It's too hard to say goodbye to her."

"So you will just leave?" my dad asked, shooting up and grabbing his keys, ushering me to his car. We got in the car while I held onto the phone and he spoke to Noah.

"I don't want her to be stuck in a long-distance relationship with me, she doesn't deserve that and neither of us could take it. I just called you because... Could you please tell her I'm sorry?"

"Noah, I don't think you should leave without seeing her. It'll crush her." I stared out the window, my eyes pooling with tears that threatened to spill out onto my cheeks and within seconds, they did. I kept staring out the window, holding the phone up while my dad drove.

"I can't say goodbye to her, that'll crush us both even more," he said, his voice breaking. Nobody said anything for a good minute or two.

"Noah, let's go!" his dad called out.

"Will you just please um, will you please just tell her I love her?"

"Noah, that's something you should tell her on your own," my dad huffed, turning onto his street.

"Mr. Miller, please understand, I can't do that," he said, his voice coming out strangled.

Was he crying?

"Well, son... I think you're gonna have to," my dad said as we reached his house. "Because um- she's here."

I tossed the phone in my dad's lap and jumped out of the car, seeing his car loaded with two suitcases and a few boxes. He was standing behind the car and stepped forward when he heard me slam the door to my dad's car shut. He put his phone in his pocket and turned to the trunk, pretending to busy himself like I didn't just hear that entire conversation over the phone.

I knew very well that by now I had tears streaming down my face, but I was determined to smack the shit out of him. I wiped my tear-stained cheeks dry and marched over to him. I grabbed his arm, yanking him to face me. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" I yelled, shoving him. Hard.

He stumbled back, catching himself, still not looking at me.

"Bella!" my dad called out from behind me while Noah's front door opened and his parents came out.

"Seriously, what were you thinking?! You haven't spoken to me in three fucking weeks, Noah! You haven't answered my calls, my texts, and you haven't called me either! I can't believe you didn't tell me. I can't believe you were just gonna leave!" I exclaimed.

"Bella, I have to go," he said, his voice soft.

I stared at him in disbelief. I swear to god, I will slap him. His eyes slowly met mine. I looked at his father before looking back at him. He slowly shook his head.

"Noah, you're an adult. You can make these decisions for yourself," my dad said, standing behind me.

"Noah, don't go," I said.

"You'll be late for the flight, let's go," his dad said.

"I have to go," Noah said, closing the trunk.

I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back, realizing what a wreck he looked. He wore a full-sleeved black t-shirt with a pair of jeans, his hair didn't even look brushed and when I looked at his eyes, they were red.

He was crying.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, swallowing past the aching lump in my throat.

"It's too hard," he shook his head.

"You're the one making this hard!" I snapped.

"Bella, don't you get it? If I don't go, I'm going to lose my family. Please, just-" He grabbed my hands and took a step closer to me. "Just try to understand."

"I don't understand," I shook my head, "I don't understand how you're letting this happen," I sniffed.

"I don't have a choice," he replied.

"You're the one who told me there's always a choice. With a cost," I said, tugging at his hands, pulling him closer.

"The cost here is my family," he explained, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"No, the cost here is Berkeley. And if you go?"

"If I go?" he whispered.

"Then the cost is me."

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