Reading Online Novel

Noah’s Journey(47)



“We all know that kiss was one-sided,” Amber said, and I closed my eyes tightly, taking a moment to fight back the tears.

“Yeah, I know.” I knew Noah didn’t intentionally go to Stacey so she could kiss him. However, he did push me aside to rush to her aid. That’s what had upset me. There was bar full of people, bouncers included, yet he had to be her hero.

I was just about to explain why I was upset when a cab pulled up in front of the bar. Movement in the bar’s doorway caught my attention. I watched as Noah led Stacey outside and carefully placed her inside the backseat of the cab. After he shut the door, Noah walked around to the driver and pulled out his wallet, offering the man money. I watched this entire thing with a knot lodged in my throat.

“No matter what, I think he’ll always take care of her. They have a bond that I think he feels obligated to,” I whispered.

I looked behind me at the sound of tires crunched against the gravel of the parking lot and saw Trinity driving up in my car.

“Alena, don’t leave without talking to him first.” I could hear the panic in Bailey’s voice.

“I think I need to clear my head. Being drunk and trying to have a serious conversation don’t mix.” I opened the passenger-side door just as my name was yelled out across the parking lot. I didn’t have to turn to know it was Noah. I crawled inside the car and shut the door.

“Are you okay?” Trinity asked in concern.

“No, but can you just drive?” I said without taking my eyes off my hands in my lap. A loud slap on the window made me jump, but I remained looking downward. “Please, just take me home.”

She pulled away slowly, and I ignored him as he yelled after us.

“You do know he’s not gonna stay away.” Trinity’s whisper filled the darkened car.

“I know,” I replied.

And she was right. The phone calls started almost immediately, followed by text messages and voice mails.

Within minutes after I arrived home, he was beating on my door. I sat at the top of the steps holding my phone tightly. I didn’t want to have this conversation with him when we had both been drinking. People say things they can’t take back when alcohol is involved, and I didn’t want this to be a yelling match.



Me: Just please give me tonight. We can talk tomorrow.



I sent the text, hoping it would make a difference. The knocking silenced only for a few seconds before it began once again.

“Open the door, Alena,” he demanded, and I buried my head in my hands. “I’m not leaving until I see your face.”

What the hell did that mean, anyway? Why did he insist on seeing me?

His knocking grew more impatient, and I became more anxious. I carefully slid down the stairs until I was on the last step, close enough to see his shadow through the curtain-covered window.

“Open the door, sweetheart.” The sad way he said it hit me dead center in my stomach, making me feel sick. My chest tightened and my throat burned. “Please, baby,” he begged, and I caved.

I stood and twisted the lock. Before I could turn the knob, he was pushing open the door and rushing to me. Taking me in his arms, he squeezed me almost too tight. I could feel the desperation in his grip.

“I’m sorry, fuck, Alena,” he breathed into my neck. “It wasn’t because I felt the need to protect her. I know that’s how it looked. I felt like I was protecting Austin by stopping it. I didn’t want to have to hear my son ask why his mother was in jail. I acted out of impulse.”

I stood frozen as Noah held me tightly, explaining something I hadn’t even asked him to.

“Never once did I feel protective of her, or however the fuck it appeared. I should have just walked away and let her get her ass handed to her. I wish I had now, because I never expected her to pull a stunt like she did.” He still hadn’t let me go. “Just say something, because your silence is killing me.” He leaned back and looked at me.

“I don’t know what to say,” I confessed. I’d had all these reasons why I should be mad, a list of reasons why the way he rushed to her was wrong, but now I had nothing. The moment he confessed why he went to her, all my anger left me.

Yes, I was hurt. I mean, watching another woman kiss the man you love was something no woman ever wanted to see. Especially when that woman was his ex-fiancée. But being mad at Noah felt sort of childish now. I had sobered up a little too, and now I was thinking more clearly.

“Yell at me. Whatever it takes for us to move past this together, do it,” Noah said in a strained whisper.

“I don’t want to yell at you.” I shrugged as my lower lip trembled. “I’m not mad.”