Chapter Five -Noah

I step away from Raven’s door, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I shouldn’t have gone up there. I shouldn’t have stood in her doorway staring at her like I forgot how to function. I shouldn’t have felt… whatever that was. But I did. And now everything inside me is twisted. I walk down the hall toward my room, trying to shake it off, but my phone keeps buzzing again and again. Lily. I told her earlier I wouldn’t be free tonight because our new foster sister was arriving and my family needed me. That should’ve been enough. For anyone else, it would’ve been. But Lily doesn’t do boundaries. She doesn’t do no. My phone lights up again.

Lily:

Are you ignoring me?

Another.

Lily:

You said you’d call me after practice. Why didn’t you?

Another.

Lily:

Who is she?

I clench my jaw and push open my bedroom door. I toss the phone onto my bed, but it buzzes instantly. I stare at it, teeth grinding. I wanted to end things face‑to‑face. To be decent. To be the better man. But tonight is already a disaster. Raven is terrified of me, or maybe just overwhelmed, and every time she looks at me, something inside me pulls tight. And Lily… Lily is making everything worse. The phone buzzes again.

Lily:

Noah answer me. I know you’re on your phone.

Something in me snaps. I grab the phone, thumbs moving before I can talk myself out of it.

Me:

Lily, we’re done. I should’ve said it sooner. I’m sorry.

The message sends. My stomach drops. It feels like a punch to the gut, breaking up over text. I hate myself for it. But I also feel… relieved. Like I’ve been holding my breath for months and finally let it out.

I turn off my phone before she can reply and toss it onto my desk. Then I scrub a hand over my face and head downstairs. Dad is in the mudroom, pulling on his boots. He looks up when he hears me. “Walk?” he asks. I nod. We step into the cool night air. The woods behind the house are dark and familiar, the kind of quiet that settles into your bones. We walk halfway down the path before Dad speaks.

“You look like you swallowed a hornet.”

I huff a humorless laugh. “I broke up with Lily.”

He nods. “Good.”

“In a text.” He stops walking and turns to look at me. I wince. “Yeah. I know. I should’ve handled it better.”

Dad’s mouth twitches into an almost‑smile. “You think?”

“I just...” I drag a hand through my hair. “She wouldn’t stop texting, and Raven… she’s putting up walls. I don’t know what I did wrong, and everything feels overwhelming. I got caught up in the moment and just… ripped the Band‑Aid off.”

Dad chuckles, shaking his head. “Son, you absolutely should’ve handled it better.”

“I know.”

“But,” he adds, clapping a hand on my shoulder, “sometimes life doesn’t give you the perfect moment. Sometimes you just have to do the thing that needs doing.” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. We start walking again. “Be prepared for drama tomorrow,” he says lightly. “Lily doesn’t strike me as the quiet type.”

I groan. “She’s going to make a scene.”

“Probably.”

“Great.”

Dad gives me a sideways look. “But you did what needed to be done. And now you can focus on what matters.”

Raven. He doesn’t say it, but he doesn’t have to. The bond is already pulling at me, tightening with every step. I glance back toward the house, toward the window glowing softly upstairs. Dad follows my gaze and nods once, understanding. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s head back. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”

He has no idea. By the time we circle back to the house, the night air has cooled my head a little. Not enough, but enough to keep me from pacing a hole in my floor. I kick off my boots in the mudroom and head upstairs. The house is quiet except for the soft hum of the heater.

I’m halfway down the hall when a door opens. Raven steps out of the bathroom, hair damp around her shoulders, wearing an oversized T‑shirt and leggings. She freezes when she sees me, like she wasn’t expecting anyone to be here. The bond hits me like a punch to the chest. I swallow and force myself to speak before I overthink it.

“Hey,” I say quietly. “Can we talk for a second?” She hesitates, then nods, staying in the doorway, keeping distance. I don’t blame her. I’ve been a mess all night. “I wanted to apologize,” I say. “For dinner. For… everything, really.”

Her brows pull together. “You don’t have to...”

“I do.” I rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t mean to make you feel unwelcome. I wasn’t ignoring you. I just… had something going on that I should’ve handled before you got here.”

Her eyes flick to my pocket, where my phone would be if I hadn’t abandoned it on my desk. She doesn’t ask, but she knows.

“I wasn’t upset,” she says softly.

“You ran upstairs like the house was on fire.”

She blushes, looking down. “I just… needed space.”

I nod. “Fair enough.”

Silence settles between us, not awkward, just charged. Like the air is waiting for something.

I clear my throat. “About school tomorrow… I usually take Emily in the mornings, but with football season, I’ve got early practice. So I won’t be able to drive you guys.”

“Oh.” She nods. “That’s fine.”

“But Emily usually waits for me after practice so we can all go home together,” I add. “If you want to wait with her.”

A tiny smile touches her lips. “I don’t think Emily’s going to let me walk home alone anyway.”

I huff a quiet laugh. “Yeah, probably not.”

She shifts, fingers brushing the pendant at her throat. “Goodnight, Noah.”

“Goodnight, Raven.”

She turns and walks toward her room, the hallway light catching in her hair. I watch her go, the bond tugging at me with every step. When her door clicks shut, I finally let out the breath I’ve been holding. Tomorrow is going to be complicated. And I have no idea how to keep my distance when every part of me is already pulling toward her.