“I bet she would have put you in your place a few times.”
A fond smile spreads over his face as his thumb moves back and forth over the skin of my thigh. “She sure fucking did. Apart from you, she’s the only one who’s ever been able to shut me down.”
A million questions fly through my mind but now’s not the time. “She sounds like my kind of girl,” I tell him. “Do you miss her?”
Noah lets out a sigh that has me desperate to take away whatever pain is filling his heart. “More than you could ever know,” he admits before a soft smile graces his lips. “You know I haven’t been able to eat a strawberry since.”
“What?” I grunt. “Why the hell not?”
“The day she… passed, she kept asking me to go get her a strawberry milkshake. She wasn’t supposed to be eating, but we knew time was nearly up, so I went to get her the stupid milkshake just to make her happy, even though it probably would have made her throw up.” Sensing he needs me, my fingers run down his body until they find his hand on my thigh. My fingers weave through his and I let out a sigh of relief when he doesn’t push me away. “I got back just in time to see her last breath,” he continues. “That stupid shake nearly took away my last moments with her.”
“You never know,” I tell him. “Maybe she was trying to save you the burden of having to say goodbye.”
Noah brings up our hands and traces my finger over the pattern of the heartbeat on the lily tattoo. “This was her final seconds,” he tells me. “Whether she was trying to save me from it or not, I never would have forgiven myself if I wasn’t there for her.”
“Well, the way I see it,” I smile. “If she loved strawberry milkshakes so much, she’d probably be pissed off that you haven’t been having them. How’s she supposed to happily live through you if you’re not drinking her favorite milkshake?”
“Fuck me,” he groans “That’s the worst reasoning I’ve ever heard, but crazy enough that it might just be true.”
“So, you’ll start looking at strawberries like you can’t live without them?”
He rolls his eyes. “We’ll see,” he murmurs. “Now, go to sleep before you end up barfing all over my bed.”
With that, I close my eyes and let out a breath as Noah’s arms tighten around my body. “Night, Noah.”
“Goodnight, Spitfire.” Those final words send me into a world of unconsciousness and I find it’s the best damn sleep I’ve ever had.
Chapter 16
Something crashes down on my face and I wake with a start. “What the fuck?” I grunt, looking around and realizing I’m in Noah’s bedroom. “Shit,” I groan, hoping I haven’t done anything stupid.
A voice clears near the door and I turn to find Tully leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, and a less than impressed scowl across her pretty face. “Glad to see you’re still alive,” she snaps.
“Ummmmmm….?” I question, not able to remember much of what must not have been a very good night going off of the killer headache pounding away inside my head..
“You left,” she screeches. “I was at that party searching for you all night. You left your phone with Spencer and just took off. Who the hell does that?”
My brows pull down. “Spencer?”
“For fuck’s sake,” she groans, stepping back out of the room and slamming the door behind her.
What the hell did I do last night and what does it have to do with Spencer? And what’s that awful taste in my mouth?
Before I have much time to question myself further, the door is barged open again and Tully launches my clothes across the room. “I love you,” she says. “But I’m so damn angry at you right now.”
With that, she slams the door once again, making the noise pound through my head like a sledge hammer.
Fuck. Whatever it was, it must be bad. It takes a lot to work up Tully Cage into an angry fit. I must have really fucked up.
I climb out of Noah’s bed, glad to have a moment to myself to try and figure this out. I remember going to a party with Tully. Rivers was there acting like our protection detail as usual. We were drinking and then…Oh no. Then Jackson showed up.
Shit. I skanked around with Spencer. I let him touch me in the hopes of forgetting. I hope I didn’t let it get too far.
Something buzzes and I look around the bed and find my phone, realizing this must have been what Tully had thrown at me to wake me up. I find a more than a few texts from dad.
Dad – Where are you, Squish? It’s getting late.
Dad – Henley. Where the hell are you?
Dad – Get your ass home.
Dad – You better be lying dead in a gutter somewhere, or help me God, I’m going to rain all sorts of hell down on you, girl.
Dad – Are you ok? Did something happen? Are you hurt?
Dad – Fuck Henley. Get your ass home. NOW!
Then there’s one from this morning.
Dad – Home. Now.
Shit. That was over an hour ago.
I grab my jeans from last night and draw them up my legs before grabbing my black tank. I look it over and cringe. This is gross and kind of sticky.
I look down at myself and realize I’m in one of Noah’s shirts and wonder how the hell it got on me. Actually, from memory, this is the shirt he was wearing yesterday before we left for the party.
Hmmmm…. If only I could put this puzzle together.
I slink out of Noah’s room, still wearing his shirt, and duck into the bathroom to get a good look at myself. I pee and sitting here on the toilet, I remember all the action it got last night and not only that, the way Noah tied my hair back and witnessed me at my worst.
How fucking embarrassing.
I wash my face, fix my hair, and straighten up my clothes. I guess this is as acceptable as it’s going to get. I can go home and shower, I just need to get out of here first. Hmmm, I wonder if climbing out the window is my best option?
As I walk out of the bathroom and up the hallway, I find four sets of eyes staring at me. Tully sits with her legs crossed on the couch, a perfect scowl on her face. Rivers sits beside her with an uncomfortable, awkward distance between them and an equally as pissed off scowl on his face. Noah is across the room, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, leaning forward on his knees with nothing but that broken confusion that’s been plaguing him all week.
Seeing him sparks the memory of his arms holding my body all night, keeping me tucked into his side, making sure I was safe. I swear, I’ve never felt so loved in my life. Those memories are torn away as my eyes land on Monica leaning against the entryway for the kitchen, staring at me with a strange mix of shock and pure disgust.
She storms forward into the center of the room. “What the fuck is she doing here?” she demands, staring at Noah. “And is that… is that your fucking shirt?”
Her voice is loud and pierces straight through my skull. “Fuck, Monica. Shut the hell up.”
Tully smirks at Monica being put in her place and I can’t help but feel a small victory. At least Tully wasn’t lying; she still loves me, but needs time to cool down after I decided to leave the party without so much of a goodbye. She was probably worried sick.
“Excuse me?” Monica grunts, stepping forward and placing herself right in front of me. “You don’t belong here.”
“Like you do? The only reason you’re here is because you got yourself knocked up. If it wasn’t for that you would have been long gone. In fact, you were long gone.”
Her face flames and her hand strikes out, slapping me hard across the face.
My jaw clenches as my hands curl into fists at my side. Don’t hit a pregnant girl. Don’t hit a pregnant girl.
“Fuck,” Tully gasps, seeing the potential ass kicking that’s about to go down, but she’s wrong. I won’t do it. I won’t punch a pregnant chick, but if she pushes me enough…
Noah is on his feet in seconds, winding his arm around Monica’s chest and dragging her back a step, away from the cr
azy girl. He looks over the top of her head at me, his eyes piercing into me and causing all sorts of havoc within. “I think you should go,” he tells me.
My heart shatters in a way I never thought possible.
Monica grins like she’s won…again, and all it does is piss me off.
I grab the hem of Noah’s shirt and tear the fabric up over my head before slamming it into Monica’s chest. “Here,” I say, standing before a room full of pissed off people in my bra. “Have your fucking shirt.”
With that, I storm towards the door, pinching one of Tully’s jackets on the way.
“Shit,” Noah curses as I barge through the front door. “Rivers, drive her home.”
“Don’t fucking bother,” I call over my shoulder before darting down the front path to get the hell out of there.
I storm down the street, unable to even process what I’m thinking. But with a much clearer head than what I had last night.
How could Noah just let this happen? I get he feels like he’s somewhere in between, but there’s a clear right and wrong here.
I get to the fork in the road. One way leads me home, the other leads me down to the old boardwalk over the beach. I toss up my options. Be alone on the beach or suffer through dad screaming at me? It’s not exactly a hard decision.
I head down to the beach and sit under the boardwalk, curling my toes into the sand in the place that Kaylah and I used to come. I haven’t been here for ages, but right now, the complete aloneness where no one could possibly find me is exactly what I need.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out to find a text from Noah.
Noah – Don’t hate me.
I shake my head, wanting nothing more than to throw my phone across the beach and never see it again. I quickly hash out a reply before I can think too much of it and change my mind.
Henley – Too late.
Noah – I’m sorry.
Henley – For what? Hurting me, choosing her, last night, or kicking me out this morning?
Noah – Everything.
I close my eyes, trying to make the pain disappear.
Henley – Goodbye Noah.
Noah – Don’t do that.
Henley – You’re the one who did this. Not me.
With that, I turn off my phone and slide it back into my pocket, not wanting to see what he comes back with, knowing that no matter what he says to me right now, it’s all going to hurt and it’s a pain I simply can’t handle.
My head drops into my knees and the tears start streaming down my face, pissing me off more because I should be stronger than this. I shouldn’t be crying over boys who weren’t even mine in the first place and I realize that unintentionally, I gave Noah the power to break me.
After an hour of sitting on the beach, I pull myself together. It’s probably past midday and my stomach is beginning to growl.
I trudge back to my place, fearing the lecture dad’s been preparing for me since yesterday, but when I stand in front of the house, the first thing I notice is that the truck is gone. I let out a sigh. He only got back yesterday.
I make my way inside and head straight for the kitchen, knowing that when he goes, he usually leaves me a note, and just as I suspected, it’s right there in the middle of the clean table.
I cringe at the cleanliness of it all. If dad cleaned, that means only one thing. He was up all night panicking about me.
Shit, I owe him an apology.
I grab the note off the table and read over it as I pinch the two fifties between my fingers.
Henley,
I have another big one. Should be gone about a week this time.
You better have a good explanation as to why you weren’t home last night.
Be safe. Lock the doors.
Call me as soon as you get this.
Love you.
Shit. Henley, not Squish. That’s big trouble. Like, really big trouble.
I get busy pulling my phone back out of my pocket and dialing his number while ignoring the buzz of the incoming text which is no doubt from Noah.
I speak to dad for a good twenty minutes as he yells at me and I tell him over and over again that I’m ok. I confirm that I didn’t spend the night in hospital or jail, and I lie just a little when I tell him that I didn’t spend the night in a boy’s bed.
When he’s finally satisfied that I’m alright, he lets me go and I walk straight into the bathroom, desperately needing to relax. I turn on the bath, throw in a few bath salts, add some bubbles and pour myself a glass of orange juice. Then I grab a banana from the fruit bowl as I wait for the bath to fill and before I know it, I’m standing butt naked in front of the mirror desperately wishing there was some kind of magic trick to get rid of the markings that Spencer left on my body.
I mean, how dare he do that? I look like I’ve been claimed by someone. It’s disgusting.
I try and let it go in the hopes that the hot bath should help. I’ll add a little cream to my skin and in a few days, I should look like my regular self. I’ll just have to wear a scarf to school on Monday, but who knows? They might be gone by then.
I bring up my playlist on my phone and place it on the counter so I don’t accidentally drop the phone into the bath as it’s something that seems to happen to me quite a bit.
I turn off the bathroom light and slip into the water, excited by how damn badly I need this right now. I quickly scrub myself clean and finally get the chance to relax. Within the space of two minutes, my head is back on the edge and my eyes are closed, soaking in the peacefulness of the relaxing bath.
I don’t get out until the water starts to cool and I start looking like a prune.
I dry myself off, throw my silk robe around my body, and grab the blanket off my bed before trudging out to the living room which is exactly where I stay.
It’s not until after dinner that I pluck up the balls to check the message Noah had sent me earlier in the day. I let out a breath, hoping this doesn’t break me like everything else seems to have done today.
I unlock my phone and sitting right there is his unread text message, along with a few from Tully from this afternoon.
Noah – I wish things could be different.
I read it over and over again and find that I couldn’t agree more.
But what’s the point in telling me that? All it does it remind me that I’ve missed out on something incredible. I think I’d be able to deal with it better if it was because I’d screwed up in some way, but this is completely out of my hands and makes it that much harder for me to accept. We were so close to finding happiness. It was there, hell, I’m confident enough to say that we did have it for a moment before it was ripped away.
With that, I exit out of the message and focus on Tully’s, knowing this should help a little with my disastrous mood.
Tully – You get home ok?
Tully – Sorry I yelled at you.
I smile at the messages, thankful that she’s still talking to me. I hash out a reply.
Henley – It’s fine. I’m ok.
Tully – Thank god! Where have you been all afternoon? Should I come around? Are you sure you’re ok? That shit with Monica was brutal this morning. I thought for sure you were going to deliver a smack down.
Henley – No, I need to sleep it off. And believe me, if she wasn’t up the duff, I would have kicked her ass. Are we ok?
Tully – Tell me about it. I was worried for a minute!
Tully – Yes! Of course. Honestly, I was more pissed off because I was finally going to seal the deal with Rivers when he noticed you’d taken off.
Henley – Shit, you got clam jammed.
Tully – Uhhhhhhhhh….? What?
Henley – Female version of cockblocked.
Tully – HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Tully – HAHAHA
Tully – I can’t even…
Tully – I’m coming around. Movie night.
I put my phone down. There’s no point denying her now. She’s probably alr
eady on her way here. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was already pulling into the drive.
By the time I get up and pee, the front door is being barged open and as I walk out of the bathroom, Tully’s arms are thrown around my body. “Come on,” she says, dragging me along. “I brought ‘Paranormal Activity’ and popcorn.”
Shit. I guess I won’t be sleeping ever again.
Chapter 17
I stop by my locker on Monday morning, still struggling to forget the shitty weekend I just had. I guess that’s not entirely fair. Tully kept me up all of Saturday night, slept over, and refused to leave until the early hours of this morning, making sure I was fine with my aching heart.
I think she could tell how hurt I was by Noah’s rejection and I think she hates the way he dismissed me on Saturday morning, but she’s caught in the middle. He’s her twin brother and no matter what, they share a bond that no one will ever be able to break.
She supports him, while also doing everything she can to support me. It’s a tricky situation for her, but I’m damn pleased that she was able to see past my bullshit and spend all of yesterday with me.
We fucked around all day doing all sorts of stupid shit to cheer us both up. She had a missed opportunity with Rivers that apparently, doesn’t tend to come around often with him, despite his endless flirting. So, to say she could really use the girl time is an understatement.
It was an awesome Saturday night and Sunday spent with her, even though the movie scared the shit out of both of us and we had to watch ‘The Notebook’ afterward just so we could get the idea of a demon living in the roof out of our heads; though it’s completely Tully’s fault for bringing that movie over in the first place. It’s terrifying and she knows it.
I finally get to my locker and put in the combination. Call me crazy, but I’m actually excited to be here today. It means that everything can go back to normal. I’m done with Noah so all I have to do is go to class, scowl at the rude bitches, and mind my own business, just like I used to. No more of those secret glances from across the room, no more flirting, no texting. It’s all done.
Untouchable: Haven Falls (Book 1) Page 16