Page 56 of Altered

I'd come straight to South Peak Road after leaving Denver.

I had no particular reason for being here, only that I didn’t want to be alone.

I didn’t trust myself right now.

I was too fucking riled up.

I didn’t have any family to welcome me home.

Screwed up or not, Noah was all I had in the world.

"You were right," I stated calmly, flicking ash off my cigarette. "Should've listened to you, man."

Noah sank down on the step beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "What happened?"

"Exactly what you said would happen," I replied. "She went back to him."

Without a word, Noah reached over and grabbed the pack of cigarettes on the ground between us.

"Wish I'd been wrong," he finally said before taking a drag of his smoke. Noah exhaled heavily before saying, "Some days, I still think I could be."

I wasn’t getting my hopes up again.

Not when I'd tried fucking everything to make her come with me.

And she stayed withhim.

It made me mad.

It made me fucking furious.

I was here, offering her everything she wanted from him, and it wasn’t fucking good enough.

I knew I wasn’t perfect, far fucking from it, but I would do right by her.

I would try.

Could he say the same?

"Nah." I shook my head and took another drag.

She couldn’t keep doing this do me. Giving an inch then taking another goddamn strip off my heart. I was letting her, of course, giving over more and more power to a woman who would never be fully mine.

"It was done before it started." I laughed humorlessly. "And the fucked-up thing about it is that I saw this coming." Exhaling a cloud of smoke, I muttered, "All of it."

Noah didn’t respond and I was glad.

He knew it, same as I did.

It was done.

"Gotta call from G earlier," I told him.

Noah released what sounded like a pained growl. "And?"

"I've got some business to take care of in Tally."

"Tally?" Noah arched a brow. "God fucking dammit, Luck."

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