Page 85 of The Girl I Once Loved

Hadn’t that been the reason why I was keen on believing Noah had chosen Stacy over me?

Because she could offer him money when all I could give him was my heart?

“That part was true,” she explains, slumping her shoulders back to her seat. “Derrick and I did dip into our trust fund to help Noah out and clear your family’s debt. My father wasn’t too happy about it, but both Derrick and I felt it was the right thing to do. Of course, Noah never did like handouts, so he only accepted our money under the strict condition that it was an interest free loan. Over the last seven years, he’s worked hard to pay us back every last dime, which he has. Every bit of it. I donated my share to Falmouth Hospital and their hospice ward where Annabelle lived her last days. And while I’m not sure what my brother did with his share, I’m pretty certain he used it to buy Noah his monohull—the Royal Shank—so he could also live out his own dream.”

Gobsmacked, I just sit there in the dark, taking in every word of her confession, unable to move or say anything.

It was all a lie.

My life was completely altered and irreparably scarred because of one lie.

“You’re quiet. It’s very unnerving,” Stacy says after a few minutes have passed in total silence.

“Believe me, my silence is your friend right now. You don’t want to hear all the shit that's running through my mind at the moment.”

“What are you going to do?” she asks worriedly.

What am I going to do?

Guess there’s only one thing I can do.

“First, I’m going to drive you back to your place since you’re too drunk to drive, and then you’re going to let me borrow your car so I can go home.”

It’s time Noah Fontaine and I had a very serious conversation.

Chapter Twenty

Noah

Ismile at my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I rake my fingers through the short ends of my hair. It’s going to take me a minute to get used to this new cut since the last time I had it this short I was still a lovestruck teenager—though if I really think about it, not much has changed since then.

Deep down, I knew if I ever cut it off again, it would need to be by her hand and no one else’s.

As I watched my hair fall to the floor of my loft earlier this afternoon, it felt like Sky was finally giving me permission to let go of our past. With each precise cut of the scissor, she began to heal the cracks of my soul, making sure to bind it to hers.

It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

To let go of all that pain, all that agony I had been carrying with me for these last few years, feels optimistically like a new start. Like there is still hope for us. Hope for a new beginning.

I turn off the bathroom light and hurriedly tread into my room, picking up my phone off my bedside table just to see if there are any texts from my girl. I can’t help but feel a pang of disappointment when there’s nothing there.

It’s close to two in the morning and still no sign of Sky.

I tell myself that she’s probably having too much fun over at Daisy’s bachelorette party and must have lost track of time. That I shouldn’t take it personally, and that I should be happy she’s enjoying herself. If by chance she doesn’t make her way into my bed tonight, I shouldn’t read too much into it.

I’ve spent many nights alone in my bed, after all.

One more won’t kill me.

But as I slip under the sheets, I can’t help but hate how cold my bed feels without her in it. How empty and hollow it is without her warm body pressed up against mine. Her cherry blossom perfume clings to the pillowcase beside me, making me inhale her sweet scent, hoping it’s enough to ease the melancholy her absence always seems to provide.

Yeah.

I’m not going to be able to sleep a wink tonight.

Not without her anyway.

This last month or so that we’ve been sharing the same bed has spoiled me, and now I’m addicted to falling asleep with the sound of her soft breathing in my ear. The day could have been shit for all I care. I’d still be wearing a fucking smile on my lips knowing that I’d end the day with her in my arms. Just knowing that I had Sky to come home to made all the difference. I don’t think I’ve been in a foul mood since she started creeping into my bed at night, leaving only when the sun was high in the sky.

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