Watching his face, his eyes, his lips; I wanted to kiss him, thank him for what he did. Hegan didn't have to stand up for me, but he did.
Sitting back down, Stella was glaring, eyes gaping open at her son. “Hegan, was all that necessary?” The scolding tone of a mother flew from behind her lips, hushed behind embarrassment. She didn't approve of what he'd just done, and the fact it was in front of everyone here.
Coiling her fingers around her wrists, she looked around the room. The quiet voices started to raise as they all whispered among each other, glancing in our direction.
“You know what? I think we're done here.” Shoving back from the table, he threw his napkin down. “Come on.” Standing briskly, he whipped around and stormed off.
Smiling through thin lips, I said, “It was nice to meet you both.” A sorrowful feeling began to work its way over my mind, I started to feel bad for Hegan.
His father gave him no slack, you could see in his dad's eyes, Hegan had failed him. Or at least he hadn't held up to his expectations. To sit through that short lunch with his parents, to see the small glimpse into the life he's had, a wave of mournful emotion pressed on me.
He had just put himself between me and some freak trying to get me to fuck him. And to his parents, that was only another embarrassment on their list.
Hegan had probably lived his entire existence being compared to others, or looked down on if he didn't succeed just like his father wanted.
What did his dad mean? 'You know what's coming.' What was Brandon holding over his head, dangling it like a toy for his cat? He wanted something from Hegan, something he expected.
Was he the reason Hegan needed a baby? Was that possible?
I had a moment of comparison, a flash of our lives mirroring each other.
Hegan had said he needed a baby or he would lose everything.
My family wasn't directly holding anything over my head, but I had to help them. It was only right I did whatever it took to get my mother the treatment she needed. It didn't matter what or how.
Our lives had intersected in such a way that we both seemed to be in the same boat, riding the same storm.
Two people, and two worlds that have collided into one fucked up story.
Chapter Eleven
Hegan
That man made me sick. My father couldn't help himself, he felt the need to break me down any chance he got. That was my everyday, see how many different ways my father could jab his disappointments at my failures.
I was happy she stuck with what she felt, not letting him shadow her thoughts or warp her point of view. She didn't care if he disagreed with her or thought the complete opposite. She stood by what she believed. And it was fucking hot.
Noella...
Noella, that was her name. It was pretty, suiting her even.
I wanted to say her name out loud. Repeating it over and over in my head, the letters twisted like the fiery curls of her hair; twining fiercely and burning into my brain.
Tilting my head, my eyes veered over my shoulder. She was sitting so quiet, so still. Her hands were clasped tightly, softly resting on her lap. A thin strand of hair waved gently across her face, being pushed around from the heat expelled by the vents.
I couldn't stop staring at her. There was something about her; the way she sat, the way she held herself.
It hooked me.
Turning up the driveway, I slid the shifter into park. My chest was pounding, sending the blood coursing through every vein. Sitting here next to her wasn't good enough, I needed her. Now.
“What are you doing?” A slender finger shoved the loose hair back, brows raising up high. “Why did you stop here?”
“Noella, so that's your name. I like it.” Running my hand over my hair, I asked, “How come you told them your real name?”
“Did I say it was my real name?” She arched her lip, the pink glaze shimmering from the sun.
“You answered my dad pretty fast, so I assumed it was.” Shrugging my shoulders, I leaned in on the center console. The one barrier between us created more distance than I wanted.
“It is. I told you I didn't want to be called Copper. That's just for work.” Her eyes shifted to the dashboard, hand fiddling with the vent.
“This wasn't work?” Cracking a grin, I eyed her tits as they were forced up with each breath she took.
Bringing her face back to mine, her lips parted. “That was your life. Not mine. It would've been wrong for me to try and be someone else there.”
I couldn't stop myself, all I wanted to do since leaving that restaurant was fuck her. Fuck her and call her name, her real name. Let the words fill me to the brim and explode off my tongue.
On impulse I cupped her cheek, running my thumb over the delicate trim of her chin. Noella's lashes fluttered, spanning her eyes like small canopies. “Hegan, I can't do this. It's wrong, we can't bring a child into the world for our own gains.” She turned her head away, pulling out from my hand.