Noah pulls back and asks me for the third time. “Who did this to you?” he questions, looking into my eyes with nothing but concern and a sick desperate need for answers.
Realizing his patience is running thin, I can’t drag this out any longer. I take his hand in mine and thread our fingers together, loving the way his hand in mine makes my heart race in all the good ways.
I drop my eyes, unable to look at him, though I don’t know why. Maybe it’s shame for allowing this to happen or maybe it’s fear in being the one who has to tell him the ugliness of today. I let out a shaky breath and prepare myself for the worst. “It was Monica,” I whisper. “Her and Candice jumped me this afternoon with a bunch of the other cheerleaders.”
He takes a step back, watching me with uncertainty. “What?” he demands. “I know she can be a bitch, but she wouldn’t go this far, especially not now. Not with the baby.”
“Noah,” I sigh, tugging on his hand to pull him back in, absolutely hating myself. “That’s why she did it. There is no baby.”
I’ve never seen someone so still. “What are you talking about?”
I try tugging him to me again, but he pulls his hand from mine, absolutely gutting me, making me realize I have to suck it up and tell him the whole story. We’re never going to get past this if I can’t get it out. I need to be strong, not only for myself but for him too.
I swallow back my fears and give it to him straight. “After the nurse stitched me up this morning, I overheard Monica and Candice talking. Monica was asking advice on how to keep faking the pregnancy and Candice told her that in a few weeks when you realized there was no bump growing, she needed to fake a miscarriage so you’d feel obliged to stay with her.”
Noah shakes his head, unable to believe what I’m saying, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Not yet.
“I recorded the conversation and made the mistake of telling her that I was going to tell you. I should have just kept quiet,” I tell him as my eyes fill with unshed tears. “I should have gone to you straight away, but I was just so angry with you, with everything. I had to open my big fucking mouth.”
Finally, he steps back into me and wipes the tears as they fall. “What happened?” he demands, still as stiff as a board.
“There was a knock on my door. I thought it might have been you or Tully, but when I opened it, they barged through. Monica pushed me down and started beating on me with Candice while someone held me down and the rest of them searched my house and trashed it. They got my phone, deleted the recording, and then Monica smashed it.”
I let out a sigh. “Jackson and Kaylah cleaned me up and brought me here. I hope that’s ok. I just… I needed to see you after everything.”
“Jackson?” he questions with a strange jealously pulsing through his eyes as his fingers tighten around mine and has me desperate to set the story straight.
“He was helping me, that’s all. We talked through some shit and now I can really move on.” He seems to accept that answer and slowly nods his head.
Noah lets out a deep sigh and places both hands down on the bench beside my thighs before leaning into me and resting his head on my shoulder. I listen as he tries to calm himself, using me to help keep himself grounded as he takes slow deep breaths. My hand winds up his arm and hooks around his neck, holding him to me. “Are you sure?” he questions. “There’s no baby?”
I squeeze his neck, giving him all of me. “There’s no baby.”
“So…me and Monica?”
“Are through.”
He raises his head and watches me before slowly pulling back, watching me as he retreats. “I’m going to make this right,” he promises before going to step away.
“No,” I cry in pure desperation, making him stop in the entryway of the kitchen, terrified of him leaving without knowing where we stand. “Please. Don’t go. It’s the middle of the night. Stay with me. I just… I need you to stay.”
Noah turns and those green eyes come to mine. As if sensing that need within me, he rushes forward and kisses me with an intense need and desire. His arms pull me in, crushing our bodies together while being careful not to hurt me.
I moan into him, winding my arms around him, holding him tight to me, and finally coming to terms with the reality of just how much I like him. In fact, I think it’s a little more than that. I think I’m falling for him. How could I not?