by Judy Corry
"Just wait till you have to fold the laundry and put it away. That's when the real work starts. Anyone can just drop a load in the washing machine."
I shrugged. "Lucky for me I'm living out of a duffel bag, so I can pretty much just shove it in there and call it good. Bet you wish you could do that."
She rolled her eyes and opened the fridge. "Maybe I should try out this whole sleeping-in-your-car thing. Just think of all the time I could save."
I laughed. "Yeah, wouldn't that be a great addition to our scheme. Raven and Harrison would go crazy if they found out we were sleeping in my car together."
She turned back to me and gasped. "You know that's not what I meant."
I winked at her, unable to resist a chance to make her squirm. "Yeah, but just think how much warmer I'd be with you close by. I'd even be a thoughtful boyfriend and let you share my sleeping bags."
She shook her head and turned back to the fridge. "Only you would dare suggest a thing like that."
"Well, at least you know that if you were to ever get stranded with me in the middle of a blizzard, I've got you covered."
13
Lexi
Easton, Noah, and I had all been sitting at the kitchen table for a couple of hours after dinner when my brother stretched and yawned. Easton said, "Well, I think I'm gonna head to bed."
Noah checked the clock on the wall behind him. "It's only eight-thirty. You're really going to bed this early?"
Easton shrugged and slapped his book shut. "I'm going to try to turn into an early bird. Mercedes was just talking to me about this book that she was reading about how much more productive you are when you wake up early. I figured I'd give it a shot."
"Like one of those self-help type of books?" Noah asked, disbelief written all over his face.
"Aren't those, like, old people books?" I asked.
Easton scooted his seat away from the table. "They're for people who care about their future. And I care about mine."
"You sure it’s not to just impress your almost-girlfriend?" I asked skeptically. Easton was always doing things like that to impress the girl he liked.
Which I hated to admit seemed to be a family trait. I was fake-dating Noah after all just to get a guy's attention.
Man, I was an even bigger loser than I thought.
"I'm not doing it for Mercedes. I'm doing it for myself."
Noah laughed and stood. "Sure you can say that, but we all know what's true. And it's plain to see that you're whipped."
Easton scowled. "I'm not whipped."
"Whatever."
"Well, I'm gonna go to bed." He made ready to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, Noah."
Once he had gone downstairs, I turned to Noah who was packing his things into his backpack.
"Are you leaving then?" I asked.
"Doesn't make much sense for me to stick around now. I've already been here all afternoon."
"But it's cold outside. Don't you want to stay indoors a little longer?"
He put a finger to his lips and quickly glanced around like he was worried someone might overhear us. But my dad was in the other room, probably watching some sporting event on TV. "I can finish reading this chapter in my car. It’ll be okay."
But he'd already said he was running low on cash. And car gas wasn't cheap these days.
"I was gonna go read by the woodstove for a little while before I head to bed. Just come down and get warm before you leave."
He seemed to weigh the pros and cons of leaving now or staying like I suggested. And for some reason, my heart was pounding in my chest, not wanting him to reject me in this little thing.
He grabbed his copy of Pride and Prejudice off the table. "Okay, fine. I'll stay a little longer."
An hour later, when I looked up from my book, Noah was lying down on the reclined sectional with a blanket over his long body—he had fallen asleep.
His head was tilted to the side, his book falling out of his hand, about to drop onto the floor.
I knew my dad would be coming to the top of the stairs soon, to tell Noah it was time to go home like he did every night. But I didn't have the heart to wake him and tell him he had to leave. He didn't have anywhere safe and warm to go to. Just his car, which, yeah, at least it had a heater, but when I thought about how distraught he'd been last night at the game, talking about how cold it was going to get, my stomach felt hollow. He tried to make it seem like it was no big deal spending all night freezing outside, but it bothered him much more than he wanted me to know.
I studied his face. He looked so peaceful. Like all the worries he'd had etched on his face had disappeared. Would it be such a bad thing to leave him here, and hope my dad didn't notice? I could just go upstairs, turn off the lights, and tell my dad that I'd already taken care of the fire so he wouldn't have a reason to come down and find Noah.
But I knew Noah would be mad at me if I did that. He'd be worried that Easton and my dad would discover his secret.
So I slid out of my seat and knelt on the floor beside him, putting my hand on his arm to give him a gentle shake.
"Noah," I whispered.
He didn't budge.
My chest hurt. This was probably the warmest he'd slept all week.
My dad's footsteps sounded above me.
"Noah," I tried again. This time his eyes fluttered open. He looked disoriented for a moment before his eyes settled on mine.
The corner of his mouth lifted. "Hi."
"Hi." I couldn't keep a huge grin from returning his lazy smile. He was really cute when he was groggy, and his hair... I let my gaze flicker to the messy auburn tendrils falling over his forehead. I wanted to run my fingers through it and brush it to the side.
"Is Noah still here?" Dad's voice carried down the stairs.
That seemed to wake Noah the rest of the way up because he startled and immediately reached for the button to get the recliner back up to sitting position.
He cleared his throat. "Yeah, Mr. Stevens, I-I was just leaving."
He tossed the blanket he'd been using to the side and made ready to stand.
"Wait." I gripped his arm.
He looked at me with question in his eyes. "What is it?" He glanced around like he thought he must have forgotten something.
I drew in a deep breath, hoping it would make me braver. "What are you going to do tonight? Where are you planning to sleep?"
He grabbed his shoes and put them on. "I'll probably go to my usual spot in the forest. Can't risk having anyone else find me sleeping in my car."
"Do you really have to sleep in your car?"
He shrugged. "For the next few days, yeah. Unless I feel like going to my dad's house with my tail between my legs. But he's usually pretty annoyed with me anyway, so I can't imagine him welcoming me if I show up at ten o'clock on a weeknight."
My heart pounded in my chest. "H-how about you just stay here then?"
He paused and studied me with uncertainty in his eyes. "I don't think your dad would like that very much. He's a nice guy, but I know how he is about you and boys."
"We could tell Easton and have him ask."
Noah looked down the hall as if worried Easton would overhear us from his room. He lowered his voice. "I love the guy, but I just want as few people to know about this as I can have."
"My dad will understand."
Dad's voice came from upstairs. "It's late, Noah. Your mom is probably worried about you."
"Just putting my shoes on, Mr. Stevens," Noah called. Then he turned to me and shrugged. "I'm not his problem."
Why was Noah so worried about being someone's problem?
"But I can't send you outside to sleep in your car. I checked the weather and it's going to be just as cold tonight as it was yesterday."
"And I survived last night just fine." He stood and wiggled his feet the rest of the way into his shoes. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lexi." And without another word, he grabbed his book and disappeared up the stairs.
I
watched Noah trudge down the sidewalk from the darkness of my bedroom. The lights on his car flashed when he unlocked it. Then he opened the driver's side door and just stood there for a while, looking at my house. I couldn't see the expression on his face, but I imagined a look of longing for warmth and family.
It wasn't fair. He shouldn't be sleeping in his car. He shouldn't be worrying about where he was going to be staying the night, or how he was going to stay warm, or where he'd be getting his next meal.
How could his mom do that to him? How could neither of his parents know where he was staying?
But I knew from my own experience with my mother that not all parents were created equal. And just because you were related by blood didn't mean you necessarily loved your family.
Noah climbed into his car. I looked around my room, faintly lit by the moonlight streaming through the window. It was spacious enough. Maddie and Grant had both fit in here for years with the full-sized bed that was now mine, and the crib which later turned into a toddler bed for Grant.
My gaze traveled to my closet. It was pretty big. And I had that air mattress in there that Juliette used when she had slept over this summer.
My mind made up, I did what was possibly the stupidest thing that I've ever done in my life: I texted Noah.
Me: Just come sleep in my room so I'm not worried about you all night.
My heart banged against my rib cage as I waited for him to respond. The read receipt changed from sent to read, then the conversation dots appeared on the screen.
I ran to the window to see if his car was still there. It was, and I could see a small blue light coming from his phone in the front seat. But when a message didn't immediately come through, I started to doubt myself.
He had to know that I was just being a good friend and not offering something more, right?
I read over the message I sent him again and realized that it could be taken either way. So I hurried and sent another text.
Me: On the air mattress in my closet. Not my bed.
His message came an instant later.
Noah: Ok
I sighed, relieved that he was at least letting me help him a little.
Me: Just park your car down the street so my dad doesn't know. Text me when you're back and I'll open my window.
I tried not to panic too much when I heard the swoosh telling me that my message had gone through.
I was just about to make my dad's worst nightmare come true and have a boy spend the night in my room.
I paced my room for the next couple of minutes as I waited for Noah to text me back. If anyone knew what we were about to do, I'd be so dead. So, so dead.
But I just couldn't think about that too much right now. I really didn't need anything else to stress me out.
My phone vibrated in my hand, and I almost jumped out of my skin.
Noah: I'm here.
My heart pounded in my ears as I unlocked my window and pushed against it to open it up.
The glass was so cold. But when I tried to slide it open, it didn't budge.
I tried again. It still wouldn’t move.
This wasn’t good. I couldn't help Noah stay warm tonight if I couldn't even get him into my room.
I pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking as I typed my message out.
Me: I can't open my window. I think it's frozen shut.
Through the frosty glass, I saw him hovering outside. He checked his phone.
Noah: What if I helped slide it?
It was worth a shot, so I stepped closer to the window and nodded.
His hands moved to the glass. I positioned mine with one hand on the frame and the other on the glass, and then pushed.
But it still didn't budge. Why did my dad have to be so cheap that he couldn't update the windows in our home?
My phone vibrated again.
Noah: What do you want me to do? Should I just go back to my car?
I looked at him again. He was just looking back at me through the window. I couldn't read the expression on his face since it was so dark outside, but his silhouette showed a sagging posture that told me how badly he wanted me to figure out something else.
Me: Let me see if my dad is in his room. Maybe I can figure something else out.
I pushed my phone into my back pocket and creaked my door open slowly. The hall was dark.
This was looking promising.
I peeked my head through the crack and swiveled my head to get a view of my dad's room.
His door was shut, but light was coming from the gap underneath. Did I dare sneak out of my room? My dad was a really light sleeper, but I thought he used a sound machine at night to add white noise, so he could sleep better.
But did he turn that on before or after he got in his bed for the night?
I didn't know.
I shut the door to my room again and texted Noah.
Me: How good are you at slipping through dark houses unnoticed?
Noah: I only got caught 1 of the 4 times I robbed a house. So pretty good.
I laughed and it came out all shaky with my nerves. This was about the wrongest time to be joking.
Me: Meet me at the back door.
I checked outside my room again, slowly opening my door and bracing myself in case it decided to creak. It squeaked when I got it five-sixths of the way open. I froze and listened for movement in my dad's room. When I didn't hear a sound, I tiptoed down the hall.
By the time I made it to the back door I was sweating. I slowly undid the deadbolt. The chain on the door would be a little trickier. My dad had placed it clear at the top when we were little since Easton had been an escape artist back in the day. I stood on my very tippy toes, pretending like I hadn't quit ballet after only a few weeks when I was five, and eventually got the chain to slip out. I gripped the handle with my clammy hand and opened the door as quietly as I could.
Noah filled the threshold two seconds later, startling me with his huge form.
I threw my hand to my chest and gasped. "Just jump right out at me, why don't ya?" I whispered, stepping back to let him in.
"Just trying to be fast." He removed his shoes from his feet before stepping the rest of the way inside.
I wouldn't have even thought to remove my shoes, which had me wondering if maybe he hadn't been joking earlier about robbing houses. He had said something to Ashlyn about no one pressing charges a couple of months ago. Was that because he'd actually stolen things?
I shook those thoughts away. No. This was Noah. He didn't do things like that. He may have a chip on his shoulder, but he wasn't a criminal.
At least I was ninety-five percent sure he wasn't in trouble with the law.
I shut the door after him and did up the deadbolt. I was standing on my toes to lock the chain when Noah stepped right behind me, his torso brushing against my back as his fingers took the chain from mine and easily slipped it into the lock.
I almost had a heart attack at his unexpected closeness and had to work hard to hold in my shriek.
Once the door was secured, we slipped down the hall and past my dad's room. I wanted to cheer when I saw no light coming from under his door.
His sound machine was on.
I'm not doing anything bad. I'm not doing anything bad. I told myself as I shut my bedroom door behind us. I'm just helping Noah out.
I ran my thumb along my promise ring. It was still there. And there was no way it was going anywhere. I had nothing to worry about.
And if Noah even tried to lay a hand on me while we were in here, I would kick him.
I made quick work of showing Noah to my closet.
"Just grab as many blankets as you think you'll need to be comfortable." I pointed to the stack of quilts my grandma had made me through the years. They were on the top shelf, so I'd usually have to use one of my step-stools to get to them, but Noah easily pulled three of them down.
He turned to look at me expectantly. "You said something about an air mattress."
&n
bsp; Right. Air mattress.
I looked around my large walk-in closet. I frowned when I didn't see it in the corner. Had my dad or Easton taken it out of here?
I rummaged through the pile of dirty laundry on the floor, wishing I'd cleaned my room instead of pacing anxiously after texting Noah, but the air mattress was nowhere to be found.
I whipped myself up and turned to face Noah, the blood rushing out of my face because I'd stood too quickly. I stumbled backward, feeling lightheaded.
Noah quickly gripped my arm to steady me, and my skin burned where he touched me.
"You okay?" he asked, concern etched in his eyes.
I nodded, unable to speak. This was not the right time for my body to have a reaction like that to him. Me helping Noah out as a friend was one thing. But me having romantic notions for the boy staying in my room was another.
I brushed the hair out of my eyes. "I'm fine. But no air mattress."
He nodded, seeming to take in my closet. It was probably barely just long enough for him to sleep in.
"You sure there's not enough room on that full-sized bed of yours?" He raised an eyebrow.
I shook my head. "Oh no. Definitely not."
He nodded. "Okay, I'll take what I can get."
He spread out a few blankets on the floor to give himself some padding.
I just stood there dumbly as he did it. I didn't realize I'd been standing so closely until he stood again. I tripped on his backpack and lost my balance—I was turning into that freaking Bella Swan girl!
I tried to right my balance, hoping he wouldn't notice how clumsy I was becoming around him, but he grabbed my arm again.
"Sorry my backpack was in the way," he said.
Noah stepped closer but didn't let go of his hold on me. He ducked his head down until he was looking directly into my eyes. I swallowed. Wow, his eyes were kind of mesmerizing.
"Thank you for letting me stay here tonight." He spoke in a low voice that was way too intimate for this confined space.
I nodded and tried to find my tongue. "I-I'm glad I could help. I didn't want you to freeze."
His hand went from holding me upright to gently rubbing my arm. I wondered if he knew he was even doing it. Electricity raced all over my skin, like his touch was lightning and my body wanted to absorb the full charge. Did he have any idea what his soft touch and alluring eyes were doing to me?