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Chapter 25: The things we don’t plan
publish date:
2026-08-14 05:24:12
Latest chapter
Before We Were US Chapter 27: The date
Isla’s POVBy the time it was three o’clock , my eyes were practically cross-eyed from analyzing quarterly projections. I was just about to close my laptop and start packing up my desk when my phone buzzed against my desk.Noah 🏈: Go straight back to the hotel. Take a shower and get ready. There’s a dress laying on the bed, wear it. You always look beautiful to me, Izzy, but tonight I want you to look your absolute best.My eyebrows pulled together as I stared at the screen, a sudden flutter starting in the pit of my stomach.I tapped his name and dialed him. It rang three times before going straight to voicemail.“Noah Callahan, what are you doing?” I muttered under my breath, scoffing with a nervous laugh as I carried my bag over my shoulder and hurried out of the office.Part of me thought he was joking or over-dramatizing things, but when I unlocked the suite door twenty minutes later, my breath caught in my throat.Laid out neatly across the white hotel duvet was a stunning red
Before We Were US Chapter 26: The week we stole back
Isla’s POVStanding on the chilly sidewalk outside my office, I still couldn’t fully process that Noah was holding my hand.“We should get moving before you freeze,” Noah said, wrapping his fingers tighter around mine and signaling for a cab.“Back to my dorm?,” I asked, pulling my trench coat tighter against the cold.“No.”I frowned, looking up at him as a taxi pulled up to the curb. “No?”“You flew all the way here and you’re not staying in my dorm?”“I wasn’t planning on it.”“Then where are we going?”He opened the cab door for me, a slow grin spreading across his face. “You’ll see.”Ten minutes later, the cab dropped us off in front of a stunning, understated boutique hotel overlooking the Chicago River. The floor-to-ceiling windows and private balcony gave it a cozy feel.“Noah…” I breathed, taking in the view of the glowing city skyline. “This is incredible. How did you…”“I wanted us to actually have space,” he said softly, setting his duffel bag down. He walked up behind me
Before We Were US Chapter 25: The things we don’t plan
Noah’s POVThe turf beneath my cleats felt different. I stood on the indoor training field with a football in my right hand, staring at the padded yellow target twenty yards away. Beside me, Karen stood with her clipboard tucked against her chest, watching me with the exact same expression she’d worn since the first day I walked into her clinic ,completely unimpressed.“Twenty yards, Noah,” she said. “No winding up. No forcing the shoulder. Keep it clean.”Three months ago, twenty yards would have sounded impossible. Now, it was the next step.I planted my feet into the turf and took a slow breath. Ten yards had come first, then fifteen, every throw followed by another examination, another exercise, and another reminder that recovery wasn’t a race. I brought the ball up as my elbow settled into the new position Karen had spent weeks correcting.Then I threw. The football cut through the air in a tight spiral…thwack!..dead center.I stared at the target, and for a second, I forgot to b
Before We Were US Chapter 24: The distance between us
Noah’s pov The first week in Atlanta was the hardest, healing was a relentless cycle; lift your arm, hold it , drop it … a continuous cycle, again and again .At first, I hated every single second of it.I’d spent my entire youth lifting heavy, running sprints until my lungs burned, and throwing forty-yard spirals on the money. Now? My physical therapist, a sharp woman named Karen who didn't take an ounce of my attitude, had me sitting on a foam bench trying to lift a two-pound rubber ball using only my right shoulder.My arm wouldn't even budge. It just trembled, locked in place like the signal had been completely cut off from my brain. It was embarrassing. It made my chest burn with a frustration that made me want to kick the equipment across the room."You're fighting it, Noah," Karen said one Tuesday morning, setting her clipboard down after watching me strain until my face turned red."It's two pounds, Karen," I grunted, my teeth clenched so tight my jaw hurt. "I used to bench
Before We Were US Chapter 23: New beginnings
Noah’s pov I’d never been to Atlanta before.Dad kept both hands on the steering wheel as traffic crawled toward downtown, while I sat staring out the passenger window, trying not to think about why we were here.There were cars everywhere.Six lanes.Honking.Buildings so tall they blocked half the sky.It didn’t feel anything like Pine Ridge.It was the first time since the night at Sunset Bay that the reality actually settled heavily in my gut. I was out of Pine Ridge.For the first time since graduation, it hit me that home was hours behind us.I kept rubbing my thumb against the edge of my brace,I’d spent enough of my life in training rooms, locker lines, and ice baths to know what sterile walls looked like. I was just terrified of the answers waiting inside them.With football, I always had a plan. Learn the playbook; it meant that if you executed the assignment and read the coverage, you knew exactly where you were going to land on the field, trust your teammates and read the d
Before We Were US Chapter 22: Home
The streets were almost empty by the time we left Sunset Bay.The heater hummed softly inside Shane’s car as the tires rolled over the quiet roads back towards the house. Dani had somehow managed to curl herself against the window in the back seat, her eyes half-closed despite insisting twenty minutes ago that she wasn’t tired.“Liar,” Shane muttered with a smile, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.“I heard that,” Dani mumbled without opening her eyes.“No, you didn't.”“I did.”“You were asleep.”“I was resting.”A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.The sound filled the car, light and effortless, and Noah turned his head toward me almost immediately.“What?” I asked.He shook his head.“Nothing.”His lips tugged into the smallest smile.“I just love hearing you laugh.”Heat rushed to my cheeks,I looked out the window before he could notice, but my fingers subconsciously tightened around the edges of his suit jacket. It was still draped over my shoulders, smelling fai
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