Reality of Life (Perception Book 2)

by Shandi Boyes

  I will see you soon.

  Noah xx

  Everything is finally coming together like Noah and I have always wished for. When Noah had asked me to go to Vegas with him to get married, I knew his insecurities that had plagued him most of his adult life were starting to resurface. I would have married him in an instant if I thought it was possible without Noah getting in trouble from Delilah. But I knew she required him to stay attainable to his fans, and after all the hard work he had been doing on their album and seeing the success start coming in, I couldn’t jeopardise his career for my own personal gain.

  The day that I returned to college after dropping Noah off at the airport, I started to clean out my dorm in preparation for going on the road with him. I hadn’t even submitted my application yet, but I was trying to be positive. I had spoken with Jenni in depth when I visited her and Jasper at the hospital the night she had given birth. She had fully deferred her studies, but I didn’t want to do that. That would only delay the inevitable, I would still have to return to college and finalise my studies. We needed to find a solution to our situation that was permanent, not just for a few months, or a year. We researched courses online and that is when I stumbled upon an opportunity to study via correspondence through Parkwood State College. I had to submit an application requesting permission from the Dean of the College, but if my application was approved my scholarship would still be valid and I wouldn’t be required to pay for the courses I wanted to study. This key factor was very important to me as I knew how much attending college cost and my parents couldn’t afford it, and I didn’t want to ask Noah to have to pay for my education.

  I would still be required to put in the same amount of hours I was currently doing at school, but I would be able to do that anywhere that I had an internet connection. I remember how excited I was when I had finally worked out the perfect solution for my situation with Noah, but I couldn’t tell him until it was all approved. I didn’t want to get his hopes up to have them dashed if my request was denied.

  It was only when I started packing my belongings in my dorm that I reminisced on the nearly two years that Noah and I have been together. That is when it finally dawned on me that I wanted to be Noah’s wife and the mother of his children more than anything in the world. More than my career, more than my studies and more than I wanted his band to be a huge success. So I jumped onto my laptop and applied for a marriage licence for the State of Nevada.

  “You have to promise me that you will not tell Noah anything Jacob?” I begged into the phone.

  “You know what Noah thinks about secrets Emily” Jacob replied, while breathing heavily.

  “I know Jacob, but it’s not a secret, it’s a surprise, so it’s different. Promise me you won’t tell him Jacob?” I pleaded as he remained breathing heavy on the other side of the line.

  “Fine Emily, but if he finds out that I kept this from him and he gets pissed, you are the one that is going to be dealing with his moody attitude, not me” Jacob states sternly.

  “He won’t find out Jacob. I promise” I reply before hanging up.

  It took a lot of convincing from me to get Jacob to assist in my surprise for Noah. But I didn’t see it as keeping a secret from him, it was a surprise. I had decided to organise for us to get married on Noah’s twenty third birthday that was coming up in two weeks’ time. Noah had organised a surprise birthday party for me last year on our one-year anniversary, so this year it was his turn to be surprised.

  The following weekend, I went and visited Jenni and baby Jasper at Ravenshoe, where Jenni helped me finalise all the plans for our wedding. We had hired the little white chapel with an Elvis impersonator for our wedding nuptials and then we are all going to go out for dinner at Alize. It’s a famous restaurant that sits on the top floor of the Palms Casino, it has beautiful views of the Vegas skyline. It was nearly impossible to secure a booking for our small gathering of friends as the restaurant is normally booked out months in advance, but Nick asked his brother Isaac if he had any contacts and he managed to secure the booking for us without needing to use Noah’s name.

  I hadn’t had any contact with Isaac since the first time I had met him at the ‘Dungeon’ nightclub when I had used him to get my revenge on Noah after I had thought he was on a date. I was grateful that Isaac was generous enough to offer his assistance in organising this surprise for Noah. It shows that Isaac truly is a gentleman. Because I am an unknown in the entertainment industry, I was able to book the chapel under my name without any fear about my details being released to the gossip sites.

  After talking to Noah Friday night he had let slip that he only had one free night all week and that is when I realised it was the perfect opportunity for Jacob and the boys to take Noah out for his buck’s night.

  “Ssh Slater” I whisper into the phone after he had just greeted my call by screaming my name loudly down the phone.

  “Is Noah there with you?” I whisper, afraid that Noah might overhear my voice through Slater’s phone.

  “No, he is in the middle of the stage doing a sound check. Do you want me to get him?” questions Slater concerned.

  “No, I want to talk to you” I continue to whisper.

  “Okay” Slater replies apprehensively.

  “I am organising a surprise for Noah. Jacob is going to arrive there Monday afternoon so you guys can take Noah on his buck’s party” I whisper.

  “Oh my fucking god! He doesn’t know does he?” Slater questions into the phone.

  “No he doesn’t” I reply honestly, as I bite down on my bottom lip, afraid that Slater may try to talk me out of my surprise.

  “He hates surprises Emily…but I think he will love this one” Slater replies cheekily.

  “Hold on” he says quickly, before the lines becomes muffled with noises in the background.

  I can hear Noah’s voice before the static on the phone clears.

  “Ok he is gone. So what do you need me to do?” Slater questions.

  “I need you to organise the venue for the buck’s party” I reply. Slater’s chuckle rumbles loudly down the phone.

  “Please don’t take him to every strip club in town Slater” I request.

  I knew I should have left the buck’s venue location up to Nick, but he has been busy helping me to liaise with Cormack to ensure Noah gets his birthday off, without giving him any of the details of what we are organising. I like Cormack, but I don’t know if he would pass on our surprise to Delilah, who would in turn ruin the surprise for Noah.

  “Don’t worry Em, I won’t take him to every strip club in town, maybe just every second one?” he chuckles down the phone.

  “Ha ha very funny” I reply sarcastically.

  “I am just joking Em; I am glad everything is starting to work out for Noah. He deserves to be happy” Slater replies seriously, causing a small batch of tears to form in my eyes.

  “Yeah he does” I reply; he deserves all the happiness in the world.

  So in a matter of a week I had organised everything. Noah was going to be attending his buck’s party on Monday night, I was going to travel to him on Thursday and by Sunday we would be married at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas. It was all set and perfectly planned, until Noah turned up here last night! Oh well, I guess he can have a buck’s party after the wedding?

  Looking back down at the note that Noah had just left me, I read it over again. My wife and the mother of my children. I smile at the thought that Noah can’t wait for us to have children of our own. I had asked him if he wanted children just last night, he replied “yes” without any hesitation as he smiled his panty dropping grin. Running my thumb over the word ‘children’ that he had written, it dawns on me. Oh my goodness, I haven’t had a visit from the wicked witch in months. Holy shit!

  Chapter 19

  Holy shit, with everything that was going on between Noah and I the past few months I had not kept track of my cycle. I quickly grab my iPhone off the bedside table and open my period
app, the instant the app opens it dings with a reminder that my period is eighty-nine days late. Holy shit! Oh my god! I can feel my heart beating a million miles an hour. I quickly lift up my nightie to look down at my stomach, it appears to be the same it was months ago, until I lie down flat and I notice a small little curve in the bottom of my belly. I place my hand gently over the curve of my stomach and I instantly know that my baby with Noah is growing inside me, our baby that we had created together.

  I look over to the clock on my bedside table and notice it has just gone 5.09am, I will still have time to reach Noah before he boards his plane. I quickly jump out of bed and grab the clothes that I had been wearing yesterday when Noah had surprised me outside of my economics building. Shoving my legs furiously into my tight jeans I realise that they do seem tighter when I am doing up the top button of the three button fly. I am still roughly yanking my arms into my Van Halen shirt as I hear someone knocking on the door.

  “Come in” I yell, as I quickly pull my shirt down over my white cotton bra, while grabbing my boots from the ground to start untying the laces.

  “Morning Emily, I just wanted to make sure Noah got out of here ok? People were going crazy searching the dormitories last night trying to find him” Crystal advises as she walks into my room.

  “Yes, I think he took a taxi to the airport” I reply, while I hastily finish sliding my bare feet into my undone boots, before searching under all the paperwork on my desk for my car keys.

  “Are you ok Emily?” Crystal questions me with concern, just as I locate my keys on the shelf next to my collection of picture frames.

  “Yes” I state excitedly, giving Crystal a quick tight hug before pulling back to look into her curious eyes.

  “But I have to go, I have to get to Noah before his flight leaves” I declare as I rush out of my dorm room, hearing Crystal’s small laugh sounding down the corridor.

  I reach the elevator and start pushing the button waiting impatiently for it to come up to my floor.

  “Come on” I beg while pushing the button harder.

  Forever being impatient, I push open the stairwell door to start jogging down several flights of stairs. In my hurry, I manage to stand on one of my undone laces causing myself to lose my balance on the edge of the step. My first thought goes to protecting our precious baby, so instead of putting my hands out to shelter my fall I place them over my stomach. Just as I am about to hit the concrete I am caught by a pair solid arms.

  “Are you ok?” questions a male voice, as he assists me back onto my feet.

  “Yes, sorry” I reply, while bending down to tie up my shoe laces. The scare of the fall still in the forefront of my mind.

  “Where are you running to Em?” questions the male voice above me.

  Lifting my eyes, I immediately recognise the pair of blue eyes staring back at me.

  “Zander?” I question unbelievably.

  “What are you doing here? What are you doing in my dorm?” I question angrily.

  This is the first time I have seen Zander in over three years and I will be happy if it is the last.

  “I really need to talk to you Emily. I need to explain to you why I did what I did” he advises while looking down at me as I finish tying my shoe laces.

  “We have nothing to talk about” I state, attempting to walk past him, causing him to grab a hold of my arm roughly.

  “Please Emily” he begs, his eyes clearly showing his remorse.

  “Not now Zander, I have something really important I have to go and do” I advise while staring directly into his eyes.

  Looking into his blue eyes, I realise that I no longer have any feelings left in my heart for Zander, my heart fully belongs to Noah. Zander stares deep into my eyes before he slowly releases his grip on my arm.

  “I’m sorry Emily” I hear Zander yell as I quickly jog down the last few flights of stairs, before running to my car that is parked in the college dormitory carpark.

  I jump into my car and turn the key in the ignition, my car struggles to kick over in the cool winter morning temperatures.

  “Come on you piece of shit” I mumble to myself, as I continue turning the key until the engine finally sparks into life.

  “Yes” I yell loudly to myself, doing a happy little jig in the driver’s seat.

  I start to pull out of the carpark, before glancing at the clock displayed in the dashboard to see it states 5.19am. The airport is normally a forty-five-minute trip, but I have to make it to Noah before he leaves. I quickly push down on the accelerator as my little pink VW beetle skids against the slippery iced grounds, before it gains enough traction to start bolting out of the college carpark.

  The traffic is noticeably more quiet as the peak hour has not yet begun. I start to pull roughly on the seatbelt latch to fasten it in place, but it keeps getting stuck from me pulling on it to harshly. I turn my gaze from the road to the seatbelt latch and tug more gently. It takes several gentle pulls before the mechanism finally releases its tight grip, allowing me to latch my seatbelt into place. Turning my attention back towards the road, I notice that I have veered off the edge and am heading directly for a guide post. I squeal loudly as I pull sharply on the steering wheel to the left, attempting to manoeuvrer my car back onto the road. I pull too sharply and nearly attempt to slam my foot down hard on the brake, but then I remembered Noah telling me once that pulling the steering wheel hard while pushing down the brakes is what causes cars to start spinning out of the control. So I try to keep control of my car without touching my brakes. I ease my foot off the accelerator and grip the steering wheel tightly until my car eventually starts to straighten.

  I can feel my heart beat racing a million miles an hour, it is beating so fast it feels like it is trying to break out of my chest cavity. I try to take in some deep breaths as I continue down the highway driving well over the speed limit in a hope of reaching Noah before he boards his plane.

  “Come On!!” I yell at the car in front of me.

  “I need to reach to Noah before he leaves” I advise the occupants of the car in front of me. Not that they would be listening to my pleads.

  The traffic had become bumper to bumper for the last few miles, before we come to a complete gridlock around five miles from the airport. I can see the line of cars appears to go on for miles. Looking at the clock on my dashboard it illuminates that it is 5.38am, I am going to be too late. I slowly lower my head down on the steering wheel, feeling defeated that I was not going to make it in time to see Noah before he boards his flight. I want to tell him about the baby in person and not over the phone, so now it is going to have to wait until I surprise him on his birthday on Sunday. He is going to be reach his quota of surprises that day, a wedding and a baby, I hope he loves both surprises.

  A brisk tap on my driver’s side window startles me that I jump in surprise. It causes me to hit my horn and it lets out a loud beep. I look out the window and notice a female police officer is standing outside glaring her eyes at me, before I quickly wind down my window.

  “This road is going to be closed for a while. You will need to turn around and take exit I43 to get to the airport” she advises, before she attempts to start walking towards the car behind me.

  “What happened?” I quickly ask, causing her eyes to return back to mine.

  “A very serious traffic accident, unfortunately there has been a fatality, so the road will need to remain closed while the accident is investigated” she states remorsefully.

  That poor family, imagine losing someone you love so close to Christmas. Just the idea of losing someone I love at this time of the year causes my eyes to start watering. Then a pit starts to form deep within my chest, as the feeling of overwhelming sadness starts to overcome me.

  “Noah” I whisper harshly, before I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and throw open my car door.

  Oh god no, please say he made it through here before the accident happened. I start running down in between the lanes of cars. My heart
frantically racing with every step as I sprint closer to the crash site.

  “Please don’t let it be Noah, please I am begging you” I pray silently as I continue to run.

  As I reach the end of a large line of cars, I notice the remnants of a taxi that has been crushed beyond recognition by a semi-trailer. My eyes frantically dart around the crash site searching for any indication that Noah was in that taxi.

  “Noah” I yell panicked while standing behind the police barrier.

  I can see a detective looks over towards me, his face clearly showing his distress as he starts walking away from the crumbled wreckage towards me. “Please don’t let it be Noah” I silently pray as I place a hand over the tiny bump in my belly.

  “Emily?” questions the detective once he reaches the barrier, his eyebrows pulled together closely.

  My gaze shifts to his eyes as I slowly nod my head. How did he know who I was?