Chapter 22: Things That Hurt Quietly
As Noel stepped out of the library, sunlight flared against his lenses, and he instinctively squinted toward the open path ahead.
Students flowed like a lazy river across the quad, voices mingling with the distant rustle of tree leaves.
He adjusted the strap of his bag, gaze drifting absently—until it landed on two familiar figures across the lawn.
There was Luca. Laughing.
And next to him, Kian. A guy with sharp features and a confident slouch, his arm casually slung across Luca’s shoulders like it belonged there.
Noel stopped in his tracks, his breath catching for a split second.
He blinked hard, jaw clenching as he told himself it didn’t matter.
Kian said something—Noel couldn’t hear it—but Luca tilted his head back, lips parting in a grin that came too easily, too comfortably.
Kian hand lingered at Luca’s nape, thumb brushing just beneath the curl of hair at the base of his skull.
Noel’s fingers tightened around his bag strap.
He wasn’t sure what stung more—how familiar it looked, or the way Luca didn’t shrug him off. Didn’t even seem to think twice about it.