Page 26 of Noah
I couldn’t even find an answer for any of that. What the fuck was she talking about?Myreputation? I mean yeah, I’d thought about my reputation in that split-second decision, but I’d also been thinking about hers.
“Hey, I was protecting us both!” I hissed. “And keep your voice down! There are people out there!”
She shoved me again, too irate to listen. “So what? So what if they saw us? I’m the one who should be worried! My fucking magazine gave me strict rules not to mess with anyone in the band and yet here I am, messing with you! I could lose my job! But why do you care? Oh wait, is it because it might ruin your chances with some other girl? Go to hell, Noah.”
She yanked the door open and fled into the bright white light, and I could hear from the shocked silence out there that whoever was in the hall had seen her. They must have thought she was insane. Some girl emerging from a closet when they’d thought the floor was deserted, her hair no doubt messed up and her lips swollen from kissing me.
And what the actual fuck? What was her problem? One minute we were all over each other, and the next she was acting like I’d been trying to hurt her or something. I was just trying to protect her and her reputation! Okay, and mine, but that was beside the point.
I’d chased after her and dragged her out into the parking lot thinking we could work things out, but I was right back where I started. I didn’t understand what her problem was–nothing new there–and now she was angry at me again, when I’d just been trying to help her.
This was what I got for trying.
Then I remembered why I’dbeentrying. I hadn’t gone out to that parking lot expecting to kiss her or realize that I wanted to do a whole lot more than that. I went out there because I couldn’t stand to have her distancing herself from me anymore. I’d wanted to find a way to win her back.
Because that was Molly, and I didn’t know how to do life without her.
And here I was messing it all up again. Kissing her probably hadn’t been the best idea, to be honest. If we got involved in that way, I had an even better chance of screwing up our friendship.We’d been together most of our lives, but it would only take five minutes for a relationship to kill all that. I had the biggest meeting of my life tomorrow and instead of asking her to help me prepare, which was what I’d actually wanted to do, I’d let my dick talk me into making a move on her.
“Stupid,” I hissed to myself.
I couldn’t afford to fuck up that meeting. And I didn’t want to ruin my friendship with Molly.
God, what was I doing?
I had to get out of here and get to my room at the hotel. And start praying that when I saw her tomorrow, she would have forgotten about all of this.
16
NOAH
She was still so fucking tiny. Too small for her age, but too much hair, her eyes overly large and her mouth even bigger.
The girl just couldn’t stop herself from saying exactly what she thought, and that was part of the problem. Too confident with her opinions. Too small to back them up. Only this time, it wasn’t her mouth that got her in trouble. Twelve and starting to grow up, Molly had started wearing a bra the week earlier. And though it shouldn’t have been a big deal—all the girls went through it at some point—Molly was a special case. Tiny and cute as a button, she’d also alienated most of the boys in the orphanage. And now they had something new to pick on her about.
Trevor had her backed up against the wall of the what they called the stables, though there had never been horses there. She was staring up at him, her arms covering her chest and hour mouth moving a million miles an hour, but it didn’t matter. He was bigger than her and already poking her, and she couldn’t stop him.
It was going to get worse.
Except that Noah had seen it start and was already on his way to save her.
The boy was running as hard as he could for the fight, his eyes glued to Trevor’s back and his blood pounding through his head. That kid had been trouble since the day he moved in, and though Noah didn’t know his background—didn’t know how he’d lost his parents or ended up in the orphanage—he didn’t care. The kid had come in with an axe to grind and had already harmed several of the smaller kids.
The administrators should have done something about it, but of course they hadn’t. They were too busy, too stressed for cash, to worry about why one of their charges was hurting the little kids.
So Noah would solve the problem for them. He wouldn’t normally have gotten involved, but going after Molly was the last straw.
Trevor reached out and snapped at the strap of Molly’s new bra, then pushed her back further and took another step closer, pressing himself against the girl. Her voice went up several notches, still hurling insults at him. Telling him exactly what was going to happen to him when her friends got a hold of him.
Noah’s heart started to beat double time at that, not only because Trevor was so close to the girl but also because she was right. He was going to kill the kid. And then he was going to make sure Molly had some sort of weapon to use against anyone who tried to threaten her in the future.
He was nearly there now, and focused all his thoughts on sending her the assurance that he was on his way. Maybe twenty steps. Ten. Five.
He launched himself at Trevor’s back and hit him hard, taking them both to the ground. They rolled over and over, Noah’s hands clenched around Trevor’s neck and already squeezing. Trevor was a lot older than him, and bigger, so heneeded to get this done quickly. When they stopped rolling and Trevor tried to flip, Noah sat up, straddled the bigger boy, and started swinging. Blow after blow rained down on Trevor’s head and neck, each leaving a mark, and soon Trevor was covering his head with his hands and screeching for someone to come save him.
That just made Noah hit him harder.
“It’s not nice, is it?” he asked between blows. “Not nice when someone gets the jump on you. What the fuck did you think you were doing, picking on her? It’s time you learn your place!”
