Page 34 of Noah

Frowning at herself for being weak, she blurted out. “Stop it!” His head snapped up, surprise on his face. Biting her lip, she took a deep breath, then continued. “You can’t bully me into staying quiet with growling and snarling.” He growled at her, and she poked his finger in his direction. “That! That right there is what I’m talking about.”

Noah rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “No?”

She couldn’t concentrate on him when her brain screamed, he was dangerous. Yummy but dangerous.

“No. What do you mean by no?” Impossible male. “No, you won’t stop growling at me, or no, you won’t get a doctor?” His answering growl frustrated her. “When I’m around you, I never know what to think. I can’t help but hold my tongue because God knows I don’t need you grabbing me by the throat.” He looked unimpressed by her rather crude, sarcastic gesture of strangling someone.

“But I am not made that way.” She pinched her nose. “I’m brash, impulsive, insensitive sometimes, and damn good at painting, but don’t tell anyone it’s a secret hobby,” she said.

Sharing too much!

“My point is that I don’t know what you’re going to do and whether or not I should allow you to do it which irritates me. I need some control over what’s going on around me. I need to go home and do ordinary things. Well, not normal, but you know!” No of course he didn’t. He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m insensitive. I don’t think before speaking. I just meant governments outside of Moon do things differently. It’s different here.”

He tilted his head to the side, his ankle flexing throwing his foot swiftly back and forth. “Different?”

“You don’t have to pay bills. According to what I’ve heard, Numbers pay is the same, so you can’t go wrong. You are paid fairly and equally.” She made a noise of frustration, slamming her hand down on the bed. “I’ve been looking for jobs that provide next to nothing because I need evening hours and flexibility. The reason why doesn’t even matter now.” She laughed harshly.

University, taking time to figure things out, she nearly snorted. Even though she had two weeks left, she knew she had lost it. There was no way to cover the rent now.

“I’ll lose my apartment anyway.” She blew out a breath and after saying it out loud, it felt like a weight had been lifted.

Adrienne often used to beat herself up because of her unrealistic expectations. Accepting the loss was better than believing she could fix it. She could start over.

Adrienne could handle it. She had done it before, and nothing was stopping her from doing it again. She was the only one who could stand in her way, and she refused to do that.

She wouldn’t have to worry about her furniture, thankfully. Adrienne had her things put in her father’s storage unit.

Adrienne had never looked inside since they didn’t speak. Looking inside could bring up memories that hurt her.

It would be like acknowledging his passing, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

It wasn’t like he had done anything terrible to her. Justin was a free spirit who needed to fly. He left to live his life. That’s what he told her mother when he walked out with a grin and a backpack thrown over his shoulder. He also took the last forty they had.

“What are you thinking? Heavy eyes,” he explained, pointing at them.

For some reason, she told him about the family she had lied to her employers about.

“… and my half-sister Mhane could be anywhere in the world. She might have tried contacting us, but I’m not sure. My mum wouldn’t talk to anyone in her previous life. After cutting all ties with her family and moving across town, she started over without any support. It doesn’t bother me at all. I’m used to it,” she said with a shrug.

“Stay in Moon?” Noah asked her.

She spluttered and choked. “What? No. I can’t do that. Are you joking? Jeez, don’t say things like that. It’s just that I have to find a way to start over.”

He growled, and she pursed her lips in response. An unabashed grin spread across his face.

“Find sister?”

Adrienne grimaced. “Absolutely not. She might not remember us, and if she does, she might not want anything to do with me. It’s not like she couldn’t have looked me up years ago. After my mother passed away, I had to register everything in my name.”

A pinch of hurt rose in her heart. For a split second, she owned it, then pushed it aside. Having accepted the triple loss, she didn’t want to open the wound. Not ever.

After a deep breath, as if tasting the words before uttering them, Noah said, “I will help you.”

“Noah,” she sighed, suddenly exhausted. When she spoke about her family, there was always heaviness, something broken that couldn’t be fixed. They had lost too much. “You’ve already played the hero role. Honestly, breaking down a door for me is pretty impressive, so just let it go. I’m happy to get things back to normal.”

“Happy,” he scoffed.

She winced. Fine, but she wouldn’t tell him she was miserable. It probably would have been more accurate to describe her as ambivalent rather than happy.

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