Page 173 of Echoes of Us

“Atty?”

“I’m fine.” My stomach felt unsettled.

“You don’t look fine.”

“Gee, thanks.”

A soft laugh escaped him. “You know you always look fine to me. I meant you look like you’re going to be sick. Do you need me to help you to the bathroom?”

I was mortified as I sat up on the bed. I barely made it tothe toilet before I was throwing up, with Noah’s hand rubbing my back comfortingly.

“I’m going to get you water, okay?”

I nodded before another wave of nausea hit. Thankfully, he did not witness it.

The bathroom kept spinning as I sat back on the floor, resting my head against the wall and closing my eyes. Noah came back and sat on the floor next to me. The cold bottle touched my cheek, and I winced, taking it from his hand. I uncorked it and took a big gulp. Noah was smiling, looking up at me, his knees bent and his arms crossed over them.

“I feel like you’re enjoying this.”

The corners of Noah’s lips quirked upwards. “I’m not enjoying watching you be sick. I’m just happy you’re here, even if you are sick.”

I closed my eyes again. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Atty, you have nothing to be embarrassed about, especially not with me. I earned the trophy of pulling embarrassing shit with you a long time ago.”

“No, you didn’t,” I argued. I took another gulp of water. I still felt sick and woozy.

“Yeah, I did. I threw myself at you shirtless in an elevator, showed up at your house uninvited at Christmas, sang to you in public, made out with you against any available surface in public.” He started going through the list, and I tried not to smile.

“Most of that was nice,” I remembered fondly.

His voice lowered. “Fought with you in front of people too.”

“That wasn’t so nice.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. The only note I would give you is, people normally booty call their exes past nine o’clock at night. It’s less confusing that way,” he joked.

I let out an amused sound, then groaned. “Definitely embarrassing.” Noah hadn’t put his shirt back on, and hisshoulders looked amazing, flexing like that. “And it wasn’t a booty call,” I added.

He snorted. “Could have fooled me.”

“I’m serious, that’s not why I came here.”

He met my eyes and tilted his head. “Why did you?”

“I didn’t plan on it. But when Holly told me what happened today, I couldn’t stop thinking that, while I was here hating you for leaving me, you were in a hospital bed. I blocked your phone, and you couldn’t call to tell me. If something had happened to you, it would have taken me weeks to find out, and…” The pain in my chest intensified again. It wasn’t the same pain he caused, it was sharp and deep. Permanent. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Noah reached for my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. “I’m okay, Atty. All things considered, this is the healthiest I’ve been in a long time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged his perfect shoulder. “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to manipulate you. I figured I had screwed up enough. I didn’t need to add this to the mix and make things more complicated.”

“I should have been there.”

Noah scooted closer, resting his head on my shoulder. I leaned into his hair, feeling his scent invade my senses. “I got through it because of you. I kept thinking, if I die now, he’s really not going to forgive me.”

I chuckled.

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