Chapter Ten

ISABELLA

Of course, he doesn't care.

Why'd he care when I call him out for being literally the biggest jerk there is? I turn my back to him again, partly because I don't want him to keep ogling my boobs but he doesn't know that.

I run a hand through my hair and sigh, before glancing around. I still have to go back to that hellhole of an apartment and get some of my stuff. These here, are the ones Hardin got for me.

My boyfriend is a real sweetheart. To think that I'd been worried all day, thinking of ways to stay mad at him when I finally see him.

He'd texted me an hour ago to get to Noah's apartment. And guess what? He really killed the surprise. The room I'd be staying in looks absolutely perfect and to my liking. Hardin got me clothes and some essentials. To be honest, I least expected the gesture.

It's cute. But I don't find it all that charming. I hate it when he spends so much money on me. I struggle to understand how some girls love the lavish spending and languishing of their partners' money. It's his money. Not ours.

Hardin wouldn't even listen to whatever I was saying. He shut me up with a kiss, telling me it was make-up for not being there the whole day.

Great.

The apartment looks great. The living room is big, there's a huge television and grey sofas, the air smells clean, and so far, the only signs that the devil actually lives here are the moans coming from upstairs that are messing with my brain.

Fucking Hell.

It didn't take long for the blonde Noah had been fucking to come running out the front door, and it equally didn't take long for the devil himself to walk down shirtless, in joggers alone, showcasing his weird tattooed body and sporting an erection.

I'm tempted to ask. Didn't he just fuck? Why does he have a bulge?

"Hot, hot, hot, hot," Chloe cooes.

Christ! As if his ego isn't already big enough! I glance at Chloe and I turn to face Noah.

"Nice of you to finally show up, after your..." I make a face. I can't begin to imagine what was going on upstairs, but it's nauseating because I know that I won't be seeing the blonde tomorrow. It'll be another girl. "activities." I finish, jutting my chin out. "We heard, you know. It's my first night here and you are fucking around. What will you do when it's a month, uh?" I cross my arms.

He's staring at me, without a word. When his eyes dip, I try to control the heat that flares in my cheek. "Noah,"

He raises his eyes to meet mine. "What?"

"Stop staring at my breasts," I say through gritted teeth. I'm glad that he's taken aback, surprised that I've called him out yet again.

"I wasn't..." He tries to deny, but I don't let him.

"It's rude, and I have a boyfriend."

"Do I look like I care, Minnie?" He frowns. "You're too ahead of yourself. If you wanted me to stare so bad, all you had to do was ask."

I'm not doing this with him. I turn around, biting down on my lip to stop the words in my head from tumbling out. Apart from everything that's happened so far today, Noah being a jerk is the only constant. Granted, I did act like a jerk too. I shouldn't have said all of those things I said. But I couldn't help it. And right now, he's trying to get under my skin but I won't let him.

"Aren't you gonna call me out for calling you your favourite nickname...?" He continues, dragging out the last word.

"It's not my favourite nickname, Noah." I shake my head, not bothering to give him a reaction, even though I know that's what he wants. "And I don't care what you call me. Just stop staring at me."

"I'll stop staring when you stop wearing shirts that don't cover your wares, Minnie,"

My wares?... God, he's a pig.

"It's a top, Noah. Not a bra. It's meant to be worn," I reply, slamming the lid down on the box in front of me. I turn to face him. "You know, for someone who supposedly doesn't care about me, you spend an awful lot of time analysing my clothing choices."

"What can I say? It's become a habit. One day, you're naked and cuddling, the other day you're here wearing..." He points. "That. Which, by the way, your tits do."

Chloe giggles. I ignore her, focusing my attention on the dark-haired asshole in front of me.

"Can you just leave me alone? Pretend that I don't exist?"

"That won't be fun." He's already half-distracted, checking his phone repeatedly. When he raises his gaze, he smiles and starts walking toward the door. I don't bother saying anything. I let him have the last word.

Good riddance.

"He's an awful person," I tell Chloe who keeps nodding. "What? I mean it."

She shrugs. "It's just... Leo and I made a bet. He's saying that you won't last a week here."

I raise a brow. "You guys are making bets on Noah and me? Whose idea was it?"

Chloe grins. "It was Leo."

I nod. "Right. And he's supposed to be the mature one." I glance around the living room. "What did he say about me skipping work today?"

"He understands that you have to move in today. And he knows you'll need time to adjust. How was your first day?"

"It was not exactly what I'd call a first day. Noah left me in the middle of the school. I didn't even know where to go." I grab hold of a bag and shove some clothes into it. "I saw some people holding blue folders and I just went along with that group, like I knew where I was going." I sigh and drop the bag on the floor. "Chloe, thanks for coming, okay?"

Chloe nods. "It's nothing, really. I'm glad you're moving out of that neighbourhood and that dipshit house."

Chloe is the only person who knows about all that I go through with my parents. I've not even told Leo about it. Hardin doesn't even know. What can I say? It's not something anybody would be excited about. I can't start telling people that my biological parents treat me like a maid and their own personal money-making machine, can I?

Sometimes I do feel a helluva guilty that Hardin doesn't know. But I console myself with the fact that once I move out, which I'm doing today, it will be a thing of the past.

"Have you heard from them?" Chloe asks. "Your parents, I mean?"

I shake my head. "Nope. It's unlike my mum not to call. I wonder if she's okay." The moment I pick up my phone from the table, it starts ringing loudly. I almost drop it out of shock.

"Who's it?"

My eyes linger on the caller ID.

"It's my mum," I whisper.