25. His World, My Rules

Casey's POV

Sherly just stood there, even after Noah's words were so harsh.

"You're so selfish, Noah! You're putting all of us in danger. If your dad finds out about this, it'll mess with Black Hell. James and I have been living a quiet life for a long time. Don't ruin it, Noah!"

A quiet life? Seriously? This didn't look like a quiet life at all. What was their definition of quiet?

"As long as you don't open your mouth, my dad won't find out."

"Don't be ridiculous, Noah. We passed by City Hall. How could your dad not know? You did something completely reckless, Noah..."

Sherly's words were cut off by a phone ringing. I checked mine, but no one was calling me. Meanwhile, Noah pulled something out of his pants pocket.

"Answer it," Noah said, holding out his phone to me.

"Why me?"

"There's no way I can answer it. I can't focus. Tell my dad I'm with you."

Sherly immediately snatched the phone. "I'll answer it."

"Sherly, no! You can't do that!" Noah was panicking.

I didn't know what kind of relationship Sherly and Noah had, but it seemed really complicated. Sherly gave me a sharp look, then tossed the phone to me. I caught it quickly so it wouldn't fall.

"Answer my dad's call," Noah instructed.

I hesitated, but the phone kept ringing. So, I was forced to answer Noah's dad's call.

"Why didn't you answer my call right away, Noah!" Mr. Adam's voice was crystal clear.

I was at a loss for words. I had nothing to say, but Noah was watching me.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Adam. Noah can't answer the phone. He's resting," I said, my voice shaky. "It's me, Casey."

"Casey? Noah's with you?"

"Yes, Sir. He's with me."

"Did he go to campus today?"

"Yes, Sir. We were even at the library before we went home."

"There was a bit of a problem in front of my office. My aides said they saw Noah riding on a motorcycle with a girl this morning. Was that you, Casey?"

I couldn't answer. I didn't even know what he was talking about.

"Yeah, that was me. We went to college together and had a little trouble, so we had to pass by City Hall."

I heard Mr. Adam sigh, as if he was relieved about something. Noah. He was so random. I had no idea what he was up to, and he was asking me to cover for all of it.

"Okay, thank you, Casey. I'm relieved to know Noah is with you. Tell Noah to call me later."

"Alright, Mr. Adam."

Mr. Adam hung up. I handed the phone back to Noah.

"You passed by City Hall?"

"It was the only safe street to avoid Becky," Noah replied.

"You got into an accident there? Your dad knows about it."

"You already gave him a good reason. No need to worry."

I couldn't shake my guilt. After all, all of this happened because of me, but I also didn't want to be treated horribly by Becky.

"What should I do, Noah? You're hurt because of me."

"Don't listen to Sherly."

"It's the truth. You're hurt because of me. I have to make up for my mistake!"

Noah just smiled. He was underestimating my determination. I wasn't messing around. I didn't want to be seen as ungrateful for causing Noah to be in this state. As harsh as she was, Sherly was telling the truth.

"How about you take care of me?" Noah suggested. "I'm having a hard time standing for a few days. So, you gotta be my nurse while I recover."

"We're living together? How am I gonna explain that to my mom?"

"Coincidentally, there's a week-long college outing. You can tell your mom about that. She won't protest. Show her the college website. The proof is there."

"So I'm not going on the outing?"

"You can do it next semester. It's not a big deal. If I recover sooner, you can still go. Besides, you need to take responsibility. You're the one who wanted to."

Well, it was a good excuse, even if I thought it was a bit far-fetched.

"Fine," I said. "I'll try to do it."

***

I went home and packed my clothes and some books and my laptop to temporarily move to Noah's place.

"Are you sure you can handle the outing, Casey? You've never been into outdoor activities before."

"It'll affect my grades, Mom. I don't want to be the worst student."

"Alright. I'm glad you care about your studies. Has Noah been bothering you lately?"

"No, Mom," I replied, looking at her. "Please don't talk about him. You don't need to worry because Noah and I don't have anything going on."

My mom watched me. I hoped she bought my excuse.

"Well, okay. I trust you. I just heard from Anthony that Noah was trying to get between you and him..."

"Anthony and I broke up. He cheated, and I'm not giving him a second chance, Mom. Please, I want him gone."

"I was just giving you advice, Casey. Why are you so touchy?”

I quickly left the house, carrying my suitcase. My mom followed me. I walked to the bus stop. James's guy was already waiting for me. I had asked him to stay far from the house so my mom wouldn't see him.

I went back to where Noah was. James and Sherly happened to be walking out.

"I hope after Noah gets better, you won't have to be involved with him anymore, Casey," James said wisely. "Being close to Noah can be dangerous and it'll affect your life. So, please, I just want everything to be okay."

Sherly smiled with satisfaction because of what James said. And for some reason, I felt a little offended by that. I never wanted to be involved, but circumstances always forced me. And Noah never wanted to get out of my life.

"I got it," I replied.

I went inside the house. Noah was already sitting comfortably on the couch. I had only been gone for an hour.

"Why aren't you resting?" I asked, putting my suitcase down.

"I'm bored."

"I thought you couldn't stand?"

"James helped me. You think I'm just gonna sit in bed? I'm hurt, but I'm not paralyzed. I wanna do whatever I want."

I didn't want to argue. I sat next to Noah. My mom had brought me some food because I didn't get to eat dinner. I took it out and offered it to Noah.

"Eat," I said.

"Don't act all nice, Casey."

"You're not being all nice. I'm just trying to make up for my mistake!"