Page 55 of Return To You

His jaw flexes, and anger pulses off him as his fingers twitch and, instantly, I know he wants a smoke.

Does he still smoke? In some of the pictures I found he had a cigarette in his hand, but I haven’t smelt it on him.

I move out of his space, trying to clear my head, and walk to the dining area, my eyes taking everything in.

The place is beautiful, magical even, everything I’ve always wanted, but he left me. He found comfort in other women….

I don’t think I can ever get over something like that, even if he owns my heart.

eighteen

Noah

“What the fuckdo you mean she’s catching a train this afternoon?” I snap at Cameron, ignoring his clean-shaven face.

I have a feeling who convinced him to shave the fucking thing off his face, and honestly, it just makes me love her more.

“She was supposed to catch one this morning, but when we took her back to her dad's yesterday, we managed to convince her to let you spend the morning with Diego, so she changed her ticket to a flexi one,” he says with a wince. I glare his way, and he lifts his hands in surrender and says, “To give you a chance to convince her to stay, the plan is for her father to watch Diego.”

I scoff and lean my arm against the fireplace, my eyes going to the picture of us in the music room at Kings Prep. I’m sitting on the table while she’s leaning between my legs, my arms wrapped around her, my chin on her shoulder, both of us smiling.

“She wouldn’t even stick around yesterday, Cam. She was here for half an hour, that’s it. After admitting what Van did,she toured the rest of the house, and left without a word….” Pain laces my voice.

I wanted to explain myself, explain where my head was back then, and where it’s been over the past two years.

I mean, fuck, it's my birthday tomorrow,andour last show before we have a little break to record, and yet all I can think about is the ride we talked about.

The plan was to buy the bike I wanted, the one she bought me, and go for a long ride, me and her, to celebrate my turning twenty-one. It’s why I never wanted a fucking party; I tried to drown myself in my sorrows of what I was missing out on because I’d allowed myself to believe the picture was true—the innocent fucking picture.

Barn stayed yesterday and explained all about the photo and its innocence while Cam took Rose back to her father's, where she, thankfully,didstay the night instead of at the motel.

Not sure how Cameron convinced her to stay longer, but it could be a fucking lost cause. At this rate, I think I’m going to have to move to fucking Fremont to get her to talk to me again.

“She was in shock, Noah. She just needed time. Now, you need to go and open up to her,” he says, and I go to reply to him but sigh instead when someone knocks on my front door.

Shaking my head, I walk past Cam. The security must know who it is, otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten past the gate.

I open the door, and instantly, anger overrides me, and I fist my hand before punching the fucker in the face.

Al falls with a grunt while Van gasps in shock but I point at her, snapping, “Be fucking grateful you’re a girl.”

Her eyes water and I scoff as Al stands, rubs his jaw, and confirms, “She told you.”

I sneer at him. “Yeah, she fucking did. You stood back and sided with your then-girlfriend over your sweet and kind-hearted sister, allowing her to be hit while fucking pregnant. Youdidn’t even ask your dad why he kicked her out. You came up with conclusions and turned against her when she lost fucking everything, and then you thought you had the right to ensure she didn’t attend Callum’s fucking funeral.”

He winces and rasps, “I made a mistake, Noah, and believe me, I’m paying for it, fuck, dad’s banned Van from all business property, and he’s banned me from the house when Rose is in town. I lost not only my sister but also a chance to know my nephew, so believe me, I’m paying for my mistakes. I need a chance to explain….”

I shake my head, nothing but anger consuming me, and the urge to punch him again hits me. But before I can, Cameron walks over, stating, “Rafael just called. Rose left the house so you could pick Diego up. She’s gone to Callum’s grave. Apparently, other than checking on the guy in the photo, that’s where she’s been each time you've gone to see Diego. He mentioned that she catches the bus each time.”

Al flinches at his words, and I shake my head at the idiot. Vanessa silently cries beside him, but I ignore her, grab my keys, and barge past them both.

“Noah, I just want to talk to her…” he tries again, following me, and I open the driver's side door and look his way.

He looks like a wreck, but just like me, he made his bed, and now he has to lie in it.

“You were her everything, Al.” His eyes tear up. “You were her protector, and you turned against her. You allowed someone to hit her; you told her she died when your mom did.” He flinches, his tears falling, and I shake my head. “I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive you, just like I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me for leaving and cutting her out.”

With that said, I climb into my Mustang and start her up, before squealing out of my drive and heading toward the cemetery.

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