Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
NOAH
Ihadn’t texted Cole from my phone, instead opting to use the burner, since I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to know I was here ahead of time.
A sigh comes from behind Cole, an exasperated sound.
“Seriously?” Lana mutters.
I know this isn’t what she meant when she told me to tell Cole, but at least everything is out in the open now.
Well, kind of.
Maybe he doesn’t need to know about mine and Gracie’s masked antics.
That’s not something any brother needs to know about his little sister.
“What, the fuck, is going on here?”
I stay completely still, my expression and posture completely relaxed, and I see a flicker of irritation in Cole’s eyes when I don’t react to his words.
“Cole,” Gracie says patiently. “It’s not what it—”
“Looks like?” I interrupt and turn to her. “You don’t need to lie, love. It’s exactly what it looks like.” I hate the fact that she was about to deny what we have. I. Fucking. Hate. It.
“Love?” I hear Cole ask, but my gaze doesn’t stray from Gracie.
Her eyes stay locked on mine, a myriad of emotions passing between us. Flashes of our time together while wearing the mask, our dates, the time we spent watching movies or me working on assignments while she drew. The times we laughed and ate and just spent time with each other.
Every single second of our time together has led to this moment, and I find myself regretting sending the message, because I’m not sure if I really want to know the truth.
Because if it’s not the answer I’m looking for? Well, that might very well kill me.
I know in my bones that she was made for me.
She’s the other half of me.
The other piece of my soul.
She’s the reason my heart beats and the reason for every breath I take.
But does she feel the same way?
A hand fisting the material of my hoodie quite literally yanks me from my thoughts and I turn to face Cole as he pulls me to stand in front of him.
His eyes are cold and there’s a darkness swirling behind them.
It’s a look I’ve seen from him only few times in all the years I’ve known him, and I know he’s past his breaking point. Nothing and no one will be able to pull him back to reality right now.
His anger is controlling him, and I’m distinctly aware of Gracie’s cry as Cole’s fist flies towards my face but I welcome the pain.
It’s a nice distraction from the emotional pain and upheaval I’ve been dealing with in the last few days since I first found the note pinned to my car and everything else that followed.
I don’t fight back, I just stand and take what Cole needs to give me. Every hit he rains down on me is more freeing than the last, the physical aches and pains feeling like nothing but a gentle glide across my skin and I revel in the momentary break from my thoughts.
Every fist flying towards me is another moment of peace.
Every growl tore from my best friend’s throat is another breath of fresh air.
I grin at Cole, silently daring him to keep going. I’ve never been one to like pain, but I guess anything is better than feeling the heartache of Gracie’s maybe-betrayal.
But then Gracie’s sobs reach my ears, and that’s what has me wanting this to end.
I fucking hate it when she’s sad.
“Enough,” I murmur to Cole and grab his wrists, pinning them to his chest. He struggles, but I manage to keep a hold on him, and I look to Lana for help.
If anyone can get through to him right now, it’s her.
But Gracie shocks the shit out of me by scrambling from the bed, her movements a momentary distraction that Cole uses to his gain, freeing his hands from my hold.
Just as he goes to shove me backwards, Gracie steps between us.
The force from Cole that was meant to hit me is taken by her instead, and she stumbles into to me.
My arms wrap around her, my heart pounding for the first time tonight as I heave her into my arms and turn away from Cole.
Placing her into the armchair I was previously occupying, I crouch down in front of her.
I ignore Cole and what he’s saying, leaving Lana to deal with him while I check to make sure Gracie is okay.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” I ask, panic filling my voice at the thought of Gracie getting injured because of me but she shakes her head, tears still streaming down her face.
She looks over my shoulder and glares at Cole before reaching out and tentatively swipes her thumb across my cheek. The action stings, since that’s one of the places that Cole got a good hit in, but I don’t flinch away from her touch.
No, I welcome it.
I will always welcome her touch.
And anything else she has to give me.
“You hurt him,” she says and at first, I think she’s talking to me, but then she stands and storms over to Cole.
Fisting her hips, she glares up at him, and it’s honestly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
She’s going head-to-head with her brother, for me.
It’s completely unnecessary, since this would have happened whether he found out like he did, of if I had sat him down and calmly told him.
But the fact that she’s doing it at all tells me exactly what I needed to know.
Fists were always going to be in the equation, and I don’t blame him.
She’s his little sister and he just wants to protect her.
But he doesn’t need to protect her from me.
I’d give my life for her.
“Are you seriously taking the side of that asshole?” Cole grinds out, and I see Lana squeeze him with the hold she has on his arm.
He turns to glare at his girlfriend before focusing back on Gracie.
“He’s meant to be my best friend, yet he’s fucking around with my little sister behind my back.
What else has he done, huh? He fucking betrayed me and defiled my innocent bab—”
“He didn’t defile anything,” Gracie says, her entire body tense as she comes to my defense.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now, G? This asshole has—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Lana steps in, cutting him off with sharp words. “She’s not your innocent baby sister, Cole. She’s a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions.”
I see Gracie shoot Lana an appreciative smile and the former grins at my girl.
“You know Noah better than anyone else” —debatable— “and you know that there’s not a single soul out there that will treat Gracie better than he will.
Just because you don’t like the idea of Gracie growing up doesn’t mean you get to dictate her life, pretty boy.
How would you feel if she tried to get in the way of you and me being together, huh?
Only, Gracie would never do that, because she knows it’s not her place.
Just like you know this isn’t your place,” Lana adds.
“She’s right, man. You know that I would never hurt your sister.
You know me, and you know that I’ve always protected her.
I might have gone about things the wrong way,” I admit, shooting him an apologetic look before continuing, “but you need to understand that you can’t control her or her actions.
And you sure as fuck can’t control me. Whether you like it or not, this is happening,” I say, though I hold my breath as soon as the words leave my lips, waiting for Gracie to contradict me.
Only, she doesn’t.
She stays exactly where she is, her glare still fixed on her brother in silent agreement with me and the last of the anxiety I had about us leaves me.
She’s not asking Cole for help or trying to get away from me.
She’s standing by me, just like I’ve always stood by her.
Cole raises an eyebrow, quickly glancing towards me before focusing back on Lana. “He sent me a fucking picture of my sister tied to a bed from an unknown number.”
“Which he’s an asshole for,” Gracie mutters under her breath and turns to give me a scathing look.
Is she seriously flirting with me right now?
“Not the time, babe,” I chide, though I can’t help the quirk of my lips, even knowing she’s going to have my balls for this, and so, so much more once we’re finally alone.
Lana sighs but in a kind of… gleeful way?
Like yes, she thinks it shouldn’t have happened, but that it’s also hilarious and she’s just not allowed to voice it.
“Yes well, everyone has their kinks, don’t they?
Though maybe they don’t need to be shared with family.
” It’s Lana’s turn to glare at me now, and I have to bite my lip to keep from saying something I shouldn’t.
How did she go from not wanting anything to do with a single person in school to acting like a parent?
Lana steps away from Cole and crosses her arms across her chest, as if daring him to argue with her. All he does is stare at her for a beat before dejectedly asking, “You already knew about the two of them, didn’t you?”
His tone is hurt, and I can understand why. I’m honestly shocked Lana didn’t tell him as soon as she figured it out, but she’s always been a little… different.
“Yeah, I did. I didn’t know for sure until recently, but I couldn’t be the one to tell you,” she says, her expression apologetic. “I told Noah to tell you, though. Seriously,” she turns on me and looks at me in irritation, “did you have to tell him like this?”
I shrug one shoulder and step into Gracie’s space, my arms wrapping around her shoulders as though if I can keep her close to me, then she won’t suddenly change her mind and run from me.
She leans back into me, the touch a welcome reprieve from how hot and cold we’ve been with each other these last couple of days and it settles something within me.
I need to get her alone.
I need to talk to her, explain my side of things and make sure she’s really okay.
Since the moment I carried her into this house, my mind has been a haze, and it’s only now that I feel like I’m coming back to myself.
I’m pissed at Cole for pushing her, but I’m pissed at myself more for letting it go so far.
“We’ll be talking about this later,” Cole grinds out and Lana rolls her eyes before grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the door.
“Yeah, yeah, you can punish me later, but right now I think we need to give these two a little space and you need to process everything, then you and Noah can talk things out, calmly.”
She pulls him out of the door, and I hear his protests as they head down the stairs, but I tune them out while burying my face in Gracie’s hair and inhaling.
The front door slams shut, and Gracie turns in my arms to look up at me.
“I think we should talk,” she murmurs, and I sigh, taking a step back from her.
Yeah, I guess we should.