Twenty-Two
Alex
“Open the door, Noah!”I screamed, banging on the heavy wood.
I banged again but didn’t wait for Noah to open.
Through some miracle, the code came back to me, and I keyed it in and waited for the click.
Wanted to fucking scream when instead of opening, the door beeped and the light flashed red.
I hadn’t been back here for months.
Even though Noah complained about my couch, said my bed was too small, and that my place was a wreck, he still said he liked being there.
At the time, I’d thought it was sweet, but now I didn’t know what to think.
The Alex who had run from Noah hadn’t known him like I did, but now I wondered if that was a good thing.
One thing I did know with complete certitude was that if Noah didn’t open the door soon, I was going to kick the fucking thing down.
“Alex! What’s wrong?” Noah said as he yanked the door open and pulled me inside, his face covered with worry.
He was standing there in sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt.
Barefoot, and so devastatingly handsome that I wanted to throw myself into his arms.
But then I remembered why I was here.
I walked deeper into the house, and Noah closed the door, still looking concerned.
“What did you do?” I asked, as I spun to face him, my voice low, lethal.
“What is this about?” he asked, though the cool, smoothness of his voice told me he had an idea.
“What did you do, Noah?” I repeated.
If I were feeling charitable, I would give him credit for dropping the pretense. But the very last thing I felt in this moment was charitable. “I take it you spoke to your father,” Noah said.
“I did. And what is this about twenty-one thousand dollars?” I asked.
I tossed the words like an accusation, but Noah didn’t even flinch.
“That’s the money I gave him, plus a little back rent as a show of good faith,” he said.
“The money you gave him for what?” I asked, shifting my weight from one foot to the other as I glared at him.
He was completely unbothered. “Well, fifteen of it was to stay away from you forever. I threw in the extra six because I knew the fucking deadbeat wouldn’t pay you back. I was hoping he’d give it to you before the deadline, but you jumped the gun. I suppose you didn’t trust him as much as I thought you did. Which makes sense because you’re smart,” he said.
He shrugged nonchalantly, and I felt like I was in a nightmare.
“What?” I said, gaping at him.
“You heard what I said, Alex,” he said, the calmness in his voice only making me that much more enraged.
“You paid my father to stay away from me?” I asked, blinking rapidly, as though that would change the truth.
He nodded, and if I wasn’t mistaken, looked proud of himself.
“I sure did. And it was a great investment,” he said.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I whispered.
I thought my heart would explode with how fast it was racing, but I wasn’t yelling.
Maybe I couldn’t yell because that energy was devoted to trying to keep myself sane.
“Yeah. I paid him, and it was a great investment. Worth every penny to keep him out of your fucking life. He doesn’t deserve to be involved in your life, and I’m not going to stand aside and watch him hurt you and shit all over you like you’re nothing and then walk away,” Noah said.
I’d seen him angry, but I had never seen him like this. Even in his anger, there had always been a flexibility, a softness.
Now, I saw only conviction.
There was no reasoning with him, no anything.
“Do you have any idea how big a boundary you just crossed?” I asked.
“A boundary?” He scoffed. “A boundary like abandoning you and coming in and out of your life whenever the fuck he wants to. A boundary like lying to you?” he said.
“Now, when you say lying to me, are you talking about my father, or are you talking about yourself?” I asked.
His face hardened. “I’ve never lied to you. And I’m not lying to you now.”
“You don’t think what you did was a lie?” I asked.
“You tell me. But first, are you sure your father told you the whole truth?” Noah asked.
I froze for a moment, not sure how to respond, and then I said, “What does that mean?”
“It means he told you I gave him twenty-one thousand dollars. Did he tell you how that happened?” Noah asked.
“No,” I whispered. “He didn’t.
He shrugged. “I’m not surprised. So let me tell you. I asked him how much he’d take to stay the fuck away from you,” Noah said.
“And?” I croaked, my voice weak.
He shrugged and went on. “To his credit, he looked like he struggled some. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it, but in the end, he named a price, and that price was fifteen thousand dollars.”
Noah huffed, the sound dark, disgusted.
“Fifteen fucking thousand dollars,” he repeated.
“And what did you do?” I asked. My voice was timid, and Noah didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, he walked to stand in front of me and met my eyes.
“I counted it out right there, but not before I showed him the hundred fifty thousand I’d brought with me and told him I’d planned on that as my starting point.”
Noah lifted one corner of his mouth in a grim smile. “He was so disappointed, and even tried to haggle for more, but I reminded him that a deal was a deal, and that I could walk out, give him nothing, and destroy whatever he had in his pathetic life without a second thought.”
“So, you threatened him?”
“No. I only reminded him that he was an idiot who should quit while he was ahead.”
“Quit while he was ahead, huh?” I said.
He nodded, narrowing his eyes as he studied my face. “Yes. Why do you look so upset?”
“You paid my father to stay away from me,” I said.
“Yes. And he took the money. He only asked for a fraction of what I would have given him.” His eyes sparked with anger now, the hints of amber brightening the dark brown, and I couldn’t tell if that was directed at me or my father. “And can I tell you something else?”
“What’s that, Noah?” I asked, my voice an even quieter whisper.
“I would have given him so much more. In fact, I can’t think of an amount that I wouldn’t have given for you. And he was willing to toss you away for fifteen thousand fucking dollars.”
I turned away, trying to hide my tears because the shock of pain made it impossible for me to stop them
Noah didn’t stand for it. He grabbed my shoulders and then turned me to face him.
His expression was a twisted scowl. “You’re about to cry? Because of him?”
“Not because of him.” My voice was timid, heartbroken, but I didn’t look at Noah to see his reaction.
I rushed to the door, and Noah grabbed my arm.
I wrenched away from his hold and whirled to face him.
“Don’t touch me,” I said, the tone of my voice clearly taking him aback. “I don’t ever want to see you again.”
I rushed out the door before he could respond.
As I moved down the street, I grabbed my phone, wildly dialing my father’s number.
The call went directly to voicemail.
I called again and got the same result.
Got voicemail again on the third call.
Logged into my internet phone account and called from the burner number that I used when I wanted to shield my main phone number.
Dialed my father’s phone.
He answered on the first ring.
I hung up without saying anything.
And went to the only place I could imagine being now, trying to ignore the fact that my life was in shambles.
I didn’t have my building.
I didn’t have my father.
I didn’t have Noah.
“Alex, what’s wrong?” Birdie asked when she pulled open her penthouse door.
Before I could speak, I burst into tears.