I pin her gently to the wall just to stop her from running again. The rain patters loud against the roof. Everything else is quiet.
“Don’t,” she says, voice trembling. Her eyes flash, cutting into me. “Don’t look at me like that, damn you. I’m not Elena.” “I know that,” I breathe, my voice wrecked. “I fucking know that.” Her lips part. Confused. “You’re shorter than Elena. Your face… it’s softer. It’s delicate and cute.” “What?” she whispers, eyes darting over my face. God help me. I want her so bad it hurts. And this time, I’m done pretending I don’t. “I told myself it was because of Elena,” I say, trembling with the weight of what I’ve held back for years. “Tried to believe it. But it’s not. Damn it, it’s not because of Elena.” She’s staring at me now, her eyes wide and stunned, breath catching, mouth parted. “It’s because of you. Because of the way youI look down at our fingers and something frantic twists in my chest. This feels too real. Too close to the life I used to dream about, the one I had no right to.“I can read you, Ray,” he says softly, gaze warming like liquid gold. “So I know something’s bothering you.”“I–” I fumble. “I noticed you don’t mistake me for Elena anymore.”I shift the subject, thinking I’m veering toward safety. But when I look at him, I realize I’m just stepping off a different ledge.He doesn’t flinch. “I’m sorry about that,” he says, looking away . “I don’t know why I did. You two are so different.”“Different?” I echo.He looks back at me then, and moves in. Closer. His face inches from mine.I go still, unsure of what he’s about to do, and then he kisses me. So soft, so gentle it makes my chest ache. I gasp against his mouth, a small involuntary sound.He groans. “That sound,” he murmurs as he pulls back, “that’s not Elena. Tha
The next few weeks felt different. So starkly different. I met with Peter and ended things. He asked a lot of questions, wanted to know why I’d suddenly changed my mind about us, and I couldn’t give him a real answer. I couldn’t tell him about Noah. Because, one, we weren’t really together. And two, I couldn’t let anyone know what we were doing. Still, I knew it was best to end it.I felt awful about Peter. And even if Noah and I never became… whatever it is we’re becoming, I still would’ve ended it.Then our routine changed. Drastically. Or maybe… not so drastically.I still made breakfast. Noah still slept in his room, and I still slept in mine. William still raced down the stairs for food and his packed lunch. Some mornings, Noah would sit at the table to eat. Other times, he’d grab a sandwich and run.But now, when he’s rushing out the door and I’m reminding him not to forget his files or keys or phone, he pauses. He slides an arm around my waist. Pull me in. Kiss me at the door.
“I’m sorry” seems like the obvious place to start, but my throat is so tight I don’t think I can speak at all. “What’s wrong?” he asks. And I want to laugh. I do, just a little, as the tears threaten again. I shake my head at him. He walks over, footsteps steady, closing the distance between us. He stands in front of me, but I turn my face away. I know what I look like. A wreck. A traitor. Full of guilt and sins I can’t forgive myself for. “Hey,” he says, reaching out, trying to turn me toward him. Trying to meet my eyes. But I won’t let him. I let my hair fall forward and hide me. “I’m sorry,” I mutter at last, voice hoarse. It burns on the way out, but I force it through. “For what?” he asks, his hands landing on my shoulder. Here I am, choking on guilt, hating myself so much I can’t breathe, and still, I feel happy just to have his hands on
If shame was something that could be worn, I was wearing it. I wake, limbs tangled with Noah’s on my bed. My desperate wish that last night was all a dream, a broken, fever dream of a very desperate, desperate girl, dies the moment I see Noah still asleep, in my room, on my bed, arms thrown over my waist, holding me close. I swallow, stay perfectly still while my breath tries to escape my lungs permanently. What did we do. What did we do. I’m panicking. Oh my God. Noah and I, how could I… I feel like crying, feel like running away, but I lick my lips, blink my eyes, and start to pull out of reach, out of his arms. It’s unforgivable that even as I pulled away, even as I felt shame and regret like heat on my face, I still ached for his warmth. Still wanted it around me. I’m crazy. Absolutely crazy. What am I thinking at this moment? I need to be out of this bed before Noah wak
I pin her gently to the wall just to stop her from running again. The rain patters loud against the roof. Everything else is quiet. “Don’t,” she says, voice trembling. Her eyes flash, cutting into me. “Don’t look at me like that, damn you. I’m not Elena.” “I know that,” I breathe, my voice wrecked. “I fucking know that.” Her lips part. Confused. “You’re shorter than Elena. Your face… it’s softer. It’s delicate and cute.” “What?” she whispers, eyes darting over my face. God help me. I want her so bad it hurts. And this time, I’m done pretending I don’t. “I told myself it was because of Elena,” I say, trembling with the weight of what I’ve held back for years. “Tried to believe it. But it’s not. Damn it, it’s not because of Elena.” She’s staring at me now, her eyes wide and stunned, breath catching, mouth parted. “It’s because of you. Because of the way you
I feel like a madman. Like the sane version of me’s been locked away somewhere, gagged, cuffed, out cold, and now this obsessive, stubborn, rude bastard has taken over. I don’t care. Not tonight.My tires skid a little as I hit the brakes in front of the Paxwell place. Big-ass duplex with a gate that screams private property. Ray’s not outside.I climb out, slam the door harder than I mean to, and stab the doorbell. My patience is hanging on by threads, barely holding. I don't even know what I’ll do if no one answers, but knowing how I feel, it’s probably something reckless.The door opens. Peter. He steps out like he wasn’t expecting me in a thousand years. “Noah? What the hell are you doing here?”“I came to get Ray,” I say, tilting my chin toward the house. “Get her for me.”He blinks. “Man, come on. Get her? She’s not a kid, she can leave when she’s ready.”“Peter.” I lock eyes with him. “Get her.”My voice isn’t lou