"How goes your first day?" Liam asked. He offered Noah some of his steamed arugula, but his friend declined and opened the bag of potato chips he had brought instead.
"Everyone is pretty cool. Fairly laid back. All those positive adjectives." Noah pulled a chip out and looked at it. "They all know I'm friends with you, though. Everyone in the whole damn building knows."
"Well, you are spending your lunch break in my office."
"And how the hell do I get an hour long lunch break for a five hour shift? That means I'm only working four hours." Noah shrugged and popped the chip in his mouth.
Liam grinned looked at his computer screen. "There are perks to being friends with the CEO. Just don't abuse them, okay? You still have to show up and do everything that Jenna asks of you."
"Yes Sir!" Noah saluted Liam and reached back into the bag.
"Also, Noah, about last night..."
With a groan, Noah set his chips on the floor and wiped his hand on his pants. "Are you going to lecture me about not telling RJ that my ex was in town? Because Amber already did, and I had a screaming match with RJ last night after everyone left. He made me sleep on the sofa."
"I'm not going to lecture you. I didn't know you knew Eden was here, but I knew."
Noah's eyebrows went up in surprise. "How did you know about Eden? RJ and Amber are the only people in the town who knew who she was. Well, besides me. Obviously."
"Obviously," Liam agreed. He swirled his arugula around with his fork, but didn't eat any. "My dad introduced me to Eden days ago, well before last night. She's supposed to be an intern, but he's treating her like a pack mule. Anyway, I looked her up out of curiosity. She still has a Myspace page, and you're all over it. RJ, too. And I never told you the same way you never told RJ."
"No offence, but how does that help me, Liam? RJ is pissed and doing that not talking to me thing he does whenever he gets mad. At least he isn't leaving the country or hiding at his mom's this time. That's progress."
"Yeah, well, things will calm down and you guys can talk about it and work things through. I mean, you didn't tell him your ex was in town because you didn't know how. We all have secrets like that." Liam's mind flashed to Brooke. "You just kept it to yourself to spare his feelings. I get it. He'll figure it out eventually."
Noah looked off to the side and took a deep breath. It made Liam nervous.
"What is it?"
"I didn't just know Eden was in town." Noah kept looking at the wall. "Can you keep a secret?"
Again, Liam thought of Brooke. "I think so, yeah."
"I didn't just know Eden was back in town. I came here and saw here."
"By here, you mean Spencer?" Liam asked.
Noah nodded. He gave a small, brief smile that Liam saw in profile. "When you and I were chatting the other day and I heard your dad say her name... It brought back a lot of feelings I thought I had gotten over. I had to know if it was her. And when I came here, it was."
"Why is this a secret, Noah? Everyone kinda already knows you knew Eden was here, albeit we didn't know HOW you knew."
"Because that's not the secret, Liam. I talked to Amber about Eden being back, and she told me that I should have told RJ. She was right. But I didn't tell RJ she was back and, after my talk with Amber, I saw Eden again.
"She found the loft and stopped by and we talked. She asked me if I still loved her, and I told her I'm with RJ."
"That's not an answer."
"She said that, too." Noah finally looked at Liam. He was sad.
"Do you still love her? Eden, I mean."
"Do you still love Hope?" Noah asked.
There was nothing Liam could say. He was with Brooke, even though they were hiding it. He was happy with her and he was pretty sure he loved her. But every time he saw a picture of Hope, his heart still stopped.
"That's what I thought." Noah's response to Liam's silence cut deep. "I told her to leave. I told her I'm happy with RJ and she could stay here at Spencer: I just couldn't see her or talk to her anymore. But..."
Liam waited a few seconds before asking. "But what?"
Noah's eyes were misty and he licked his lips before answering. "But I kissed her, Liam. And it wasn't a kiss goodbye. I'm an asshole for it. I know that. And I do love RJ, but Eden was the one that got away.
"We had made peace with our past. Or so I thought. There was no way Eden and I would ever be able to be anything again. Except, now, I don't know."
"What are you saying, Noah?"
"If you were back with RJ's sister Steffy, or still with that bitch Ivy, or had someone new that you really cared about, and Hope showed up on your doorstep asking if you still loved her, what would you do? What would you say to that, Liam?"
Closing his eyes, Liam took a calming breath. Then he opened them and shook his head. "I don't know."
"Neither do I." Noah picked up his bag of chips and set it on Liam's desk. "I'm not hungry anymore."
B&B
"You're sure you're okay with this?" Maya asked RJ. He nodded but didn't say anything. "You know, once we start, we can't stop. Your dad and Caroline are going to be ruined."
"Good." RJ crossed his arms and reclined back into the chair. He hadn't been to the Forrester mansion in weeks. Maybe even months. RJ was never particularly close to any of his siblings except for Hope, so when Rick and his dad were fighting over Forrester he never bothered to pick a side. It was honestly a little surprising that he was involved at all in a power struggle for a company he wasn't even a part of, let alone that it was Layla and Maya who came to him.
"Rick and Layla should be here soon." Maya clearly didn't know what else to say to RJ.
He was still furious from the night before, still mad at Noah over Eden, but, after Genoa City, he had promised Noah he wouldn't run away from their problems. They would talk about Eden, probably even scream at each other again like they had the night before, but RJ wouldn't abandon Noah. He couldn't.
They waited in silence, Maya nervous and RJ stewing in anger and directing it all to his father and his much younger whore.
"Did you hear that they found another victim of the axe murderer?" Maya asked, clearly trying to make conversation. "It's the seventh in three months, according to the news. Always attacking homeless people or network television executives."
"I don't care."
Maya sighed and pulled out her phone, so RJ did the same. He looked up Eden's Facebook page. She hadn't updated it in months. Not since just before that fucking bitch Taylor outed him and Noah. But there were comments on her page: some asking about Noah and him, or Noah and Brooke, and others asking where she'd gone. It made sense that she was avoiding everyone.
It made sense that she was avoiding RJ. He got why she didn't want him to know she was in Los Angeles. He even understood why Noah didn't want him to know. It didn't make him any less angry about it.
"Maya?" RJ closed the app on his phone and looked at her. "How did you forgive Rick after he left you for Caroline?"
"I didn't." She sat her phone down on the table and he followed suit. "You weren't in town for all of that, so you wouldn't know all the details, but I'm the one who left Rick. He's the one who forgave me. And I'm glad he did because that was the biggest mistake of my life."
"Why did you leave him?" RJ's voice was small. He felt like he was two feet tall. "If you loved my brother so much, and I can tell you do, why would you give that up?"
Maya sat for a few moments, completely silent. "I guess you can say that it's because I got scared. Why are you asking me this, RJ? You know I was Rick's mistress after he found out that Caroline was cheating on him. Did you cheat on Noah or something?"
"Hell no. I'm nothing like my slut of a father or Caroline's whore ass. It's just that..." RJ took a deep breath and slowly let it out before continuing. "Noah's ex is in town, and he left me for her once before. It was a long time ago, but it still happened."
"And you're worried it'll happen again?" Maya asked. RJ nodded fearfully. "I left Rick for Carter because I wasn't honest with myself about what I wanted. And by the time I realized I wanted Rick, he had already married Caroline. So being honest with Noah about what you're telling me right now, forgiving any mistakes he may have made in the past, that's what you need to do if you want to keep him.
"Second chances are incredibly rare, and it sounds like you're on yours like I'm on mine. If you really want Noah, you better fight tooth and nail to keep him. But never forget that your self-respect is worth more than any man."
"Is it worth more than Rick?" RJ looked into Maya's eyes and could see there was something there. There was something she wasn't saying.
She never answered him because Rick and Layla chose that moment to arrive. Rick looked at his brother and his fiancée, clapped his hands, and grinned. "So, are we ready to finalize this thing?"
B&B
"Eden Baldwin!" She chirped into her phone while watching the movers shuffle the last of the things into her new apartment.
"You and I both know that isn't true, Ms. Sloan," Victor Newman laughed into the phone. "I'm calling to see how you like your new lodgings."
Courtney looked down at her floor and smiled. "I like them a lot, Lauren. The place is great. Gorgeous. The view of the Los Angeles skyline is probably going to be gorgeous at night. And my neighbours are bound to be interesting."
"Good. And how are things progressing on your end?"
Flashing back to Noah kissing her, Courtney smiled. She traced her lips and then gave her reply. "Things are going great. I may have already met someone. As soon as I'm all settled in and I'm certain his roommate isn't home, I think I'm gonna pay him a visit."
"Very well, then. Don't disappoint me." Victor hung up on her.
As soon as the loft was empty, Courtney sat on her bed and laughed. "Oh, Victor, when all is said and done, the only person who will be left disappointed is that insufferable brat RJ."
B&B
"Are you going to leave me?" RJ didn't want to fight, but, when he walked into the loft and saw Noah on the PlayStation, it was the only thing he could think to say.
"Why would I leave you?" Noah paused his game and put the controller on the table. Concern was written across his face.
"That's not a no." RJ slung his bag on the floor and sat next to Noah, leaning into him and holding onto his arm. "I want you to stay here. Stay with me. Eden's in LA and I know she's the love of your life, but you're the love of mine. I didn't fly to a third world country and get on my knees in front of your grandfather just to have you walk away."
"I'm right here, RJ." Noah pulled out of RJ's grasp and slid his arm around RJ's shoulder. He kissed his temple. "I want to be here. If I didn't, I wouldn't have kept Eden from you. I would have just left like I did before. But..."
"But what?" RJ croaked. He remembered what Maya said about forgiving Noah's mistakes and balled his hands into fists, his manicured nails biting into his palms. All the anger, all the indignation, it was replaced with cold fear.
"Eden was here the other day. Before last night, I mean. We talked. We did more than talk." Noah swallowed and RJ stopped breathing. "I know you're going to be mad, RJ. You're going to say a lot of things to me that I deserve. All I can say is that I'm sorry."
"You slept with her." RJ wasn't asking. He wasn't even yelling. He just removed himself from Noah's warm embrace and stood on unsteady feet. Sitting there, face wracked with guilt, Noah looked as small as RJ felt. "You slept with her in the same bed that you and I share."
When Noah shook his head, RJ almost collapsed from the relief.
"I didn't sleep with her, RJ. I wouldn't, especially not here... But I did kiss her."
"You mean she kissed you and you were so surprised that you didn't pull away?" RJ could barely hear himself. His voice did nothing but tremble and croak. "That's what happened. Right?"
Noah used his right hand to grab his left arm. He cast his eyes to the floor at first, but then looked up into RJ's. He looked terrified: RJ was familiar with the feeling.
"She was leaving. She was walking out the door and out of my life. But... All I could see was her walking out on me again, just like she did in Paris."
"Just like you did to me in Paris!" RJ shouted, the venom in his voice doing nothing to mask the hurt.
"It makes no sense. I know that!" Noah yelled back. He immediately looked as if he regretted it and folded his hands in his lap. "I'm so sorry, RJ."
"I forgive you." RJ didn't feel it as he said it. All he felt was fear and rage and hurt, but he was certain that, after those feelings subsided, he would mean the words that he had said.
"You do?" Noah almost smiled and that just pissed RJ off even more.
Focusing on what Maya had told him, RJ repeated himself. "I forgive you."
Noah jumped off the couch and kissed RJ, who returned it out of habit; he wondered if Noah had kissed Eden the exact same way. And as his boyfriend hugged him, thanked him, and assured RJ that he loved him, RJ began focusing his rage onto his father and Caroline. He wouldn't lose Noah, he couldn't, but he could sure as hell make those two pay for everything they did.