Chapter 3
SKYE
Imissed my soulmate.
My platonic soulmate. I loved Noah more than I ever knew I could love a person, but I did not want to get inside her pants.
It’d been ten days since the attack on Noah and Ace, and our bedroom had never felt more lonely than when she texted me to say she wasn’t sure if she was coming back to the house.
I mean, I could understand her reasoning, but that didn’t make my mood any less sour throughout the bullshit Olympus Live segment I was scheduled to participate in.
Worse still, Ace was pissed off at me for refusing to break Noah’s trust and answer his questions, so the dynamic between us was frosty at best. Thank fuck for August and Z carrying the conversation while the two of us scowled and barely participated.
“Skye, can we talk?” Ace snapped as we wrapped up the Live and our Olympus staff packed away the camera equipment.
I gritted my teeth, not wanting to make the dynamic with our leader any worse than it currently was, but at the same time… “If it’s about Noah, then the answer is still no.”
“We need to discuss it,” he growled. “We can’t just—-”
“We don’t need to discuss anything,” I interrupted with a hiss, glancing past him to where the Olympus staff lingered. “If you want dirt, ask Noah yourself.”
Ace grabbed my arm, pulling me farther down the corridor, away from the staff and our team members. “I’m not asking for dirt, Skye. But we can’t just ignore the fact that Noah—-” He broke off with a tight--lipped inhale, glancing past me and releasing his grip on my arm. “What’s up, Augie?”
“Nothing,” August replied in a suspicious tone. “Just seeing if Skye’s ready to go.”
Ace scowled. “Go where?” He swung his gaze back to me and folded his arms over his chest. The fucker had a solid five inches on me, and it wasn’t fair that he could make me feel like a little kid being scolded by his dad.
I took a step backward so I wasn’t literally looking up at him. “To the hospital because my friend is getting discharged today, and I want to be there for them.”
“Noah’s getting discharged?” he asked in surprise, his eyes widening. “I thought they’d want to do more tests or something.”
“He got clearance from the neurologist this morning,” Augie explained, clearly confused about Ace’s mood. “I’m driving Skye over and picking Tor up.” Because Torin had been hanging out at the hospital all morning while I showed up for the Olympus Live, and we’d agreed to swap this afternoon.
Neither one of us wanted to leave Noah alone right now, not with how volatile some of the fan comments had been on all our profiles since the attack.
Most commenters were hugely supportive and sympathetic, but there were more than a few who blamed Noah for Ace nearly drowning.
The live stream might have had the audio removed, but it’d taken the ClikByte moderators far too long to cut the video feed.
“Can’t Noah’s manager handle his discharge?” Ace asked with a caustic edge, almost like it burned his tongue to keep Noah’s secret. “Isn’t that what he’s paid to do?”
August wrinkled his nose at Ace in disgust, but I just rolled my eyes. “Leave it,” I said to August, putting my hand on his arm to indicate we should go. “Ace hit his head harder than we realized because he’s apparently lost his understanding of what friendship entails.”
August and I started to leave, but Ace called out behind us.
“I want to speak with Noah when you get back,” he said in a clipped, angry voice. His default setting these last ten days was straight--up dickhead, like he’d switched brains with Xavier.
I paused and scoffed, shaking my head. “Don’t hold your breath, Ace. Noah isn’t coming back here, and with the way you’re acting, I don’t blame him.”
“Excuse me?” Ace barked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
Part of me could understand why he wanted to talk with Noah or at least see her, considering the last time they’d been together they’d both nearly died.
She’d saved him at her own risk. But the way he’d been behaving, I wouldn’t be shocked if he just wanted to kick her off Team Olympus in person.
“You heard me,” I replied, spreading my hands wide. “I don’t know what else to tell you, Ace. Noah isn’t coming back.”
Okay, maybe I was being a little dramatic because she hadn’t exactly said that.
She just said she needed some time alone to recover and felt more comfortable in her own apartment.
The implication was that she’d come back in a week or so, but maybe Ace needed a dose of worst--case scenario to pull his head out of his ass.
I nudged August again, and we quickly headed out to his car before Ace could argue any further. Augie shot me a curious, worried glance as we drove out of the front gates.
“You and Ace have been at each other’s throats all week,” he murmured thoughtfully. “Anything I can help talk through for you?”
Blowing out a long sigh, I ran my hand through my messy hair. I trusted August, but this conflict with Ace was about Noah, and her secrets weren’t mine to tell. “Nah, I’ve got it handled. Ace is just…” I trailed off with a shrug. “Being a dick.”
“I think he’s struggling with everything that happened,” August said quietly, keeping his eyes on the road ahead while he drove.
“Noah refusing to allow anyone other than you and Tor to visit is…confusing. I think Ace is feeling a bit hurt, maybe? The two of them were close, and they went through a significant trauma together.”
I bit my tongue, looking out the window.
I couldn’t tell Augie that Ace was mostly bent out of shape because he wanted to know everything that I knew about Noah—-and the fact she was a girl—-and I wasn’t giving him shit.
Like I’d told Ace: she trusted me, and I had no intention of breaking that trust just because his feelings were hurt.
“Have you spoken to Minnie?” August asked, and I sighed.
“Is that a joke? He’s been sleeping in Noah’s bed and giving me sulky, sad eyes every time I mention going to visit Noah.”
August flicked a double--take my way. “Seriously? That’s kinda creepy, not going to lie.”
I chuckled. “Okay, it happened once. He came in to watch anime with me and fell asleep but sure seemed comfy all tangled up in Noah’s blankets come the morning. Pretty sure he stole a pillow, too.”
“Okay, that’s less creepy. You’re so dramatic, Skye.” August drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as we slowed for a red light. “Do you think there’s something going on between them? Minnie and Noah, I mean. They seem like more than friends.”
I bit my lip, because yeah, I was pretty confident there had been something going on, but maybe that’d ended? Noah had denied access to everyone else on the team, Minho included, so maybe she’d changed her mind. Shit, I hoped not. They were really good together.
Then again, I’d have to be blind not to see how enamored Torin was right now. And given that Minnie still didn’t know about Noah’s gender, it was hard to know how all that would play out.
“I think that what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors,” I said carefully, eyeing August curiously. “So long as it doesn’t disrupt the team, right?”
He flicked another quick glance my way, then nodded. “Right. Not my business.”
For the rest of the drive we somehow managed to steer the conversation toward team business and theorize about what was going on with the Clik Games, which seemed to be paused indefinitely.
When we reached the hospital, I was unsurprised to find Minho in the patient lounge area with Jared’s wife, Kelly.
She was working on her laptop and talking on a Bluetooth headset while Minnie fed baby Isla a bottle of milk, just like he’d done a dozen times over the past few days.
Noah may not be allowing visitors—-for valid reasons, like the fact that her chart and monitors clearly stated Miss Fearly and Female in far too many places—-but that hadn’t stopped him showing up and helping where he could.
“Hey,” he greeted us with a relaxed nod as he shifted the content baby in his arms. “Noah’s doctor is in with him now, running some final checks or something. Tor just went to the bathroom.”
August picked up a cloth from Kelly’s diaper bag, tossed it over his shoulder, then held out his hands for the baby. Minho handed her over, and Augie cooed to the little girl as he positioned her to burp, patting her back rhythmically.
“Thank you,” Kelly said with a warm smile as she ended her call. “You guys are my favorites, did you know? If you ever need a second job, I’ve been looking for a good nanny.”
August chuckled, still patting the baby like he was an experienced baby--handler. “We don’t charge for our services, Kel. You bring baby Isla by the house anytime you want.”
“I’ll remember that the next time she shits so hard it shoots up the back of her neck,” Kelly replied with a grin, and Minho shuddered.
“That’s a mental image I didn’t need,” he murmured, sweeping a hand through his hair before refocusing his attention on me. “Kelly’s been looking over Noah’s contract.”
My brows rose as I glanced at Kelly’s open laptop and notebook. “I thought you already did that?” Kelly was on maternity leave at the moment, but she and Jared had met through her work as a contract attorney, and she’d been spending the week poring over Noah’s contract to find an easy exit for her.
“I did,” Kelly confirmed, nodding. “And my initial conclusion still stands.” She pursed her lips, careful not to give away any sensitive information about the contract that Noah signed, except that it wasn’t a viable option to break it without Olympus management agreement.
“Feels like there’s a but coming,” I prompted, and she shrugged.
“But I think I’ve found a loophole that would allow Noah to claim for damages and leverage them into relinquishing the clause around sponsorships and endorsements.” She closed her laptop and slid it back into her leather briefcase before standing up to stretch her lower back.
Minnie sighed heavily, leaning his elbows on his knees. “So at least he can get paid, even if he can’t quit.”
“Remind me again why Noah can’t quit the team?” August asked, rhythmically rocking side to side with baby Isla in his arms. “Not that I’ve ever looked into it, but I don’t recall seeing any major backlash for breaking contracts with Olympus.”
I exchanged a quick look with Kelly, pursing my lips together.
All our secrets had come out real quick when Noah was initially brought in on the brink of death.
Jared had been somewhat less than pleased to discover I knew she was a girl—-and that I knew about Peaches—-but in the height of panic, he’d incorrectly assumed I knew her former online identity of Norah Sparkle, too.
Still amused the hell out of me, trying to reconcile the Noah I knew with the bubblegum girl she used to be as Norah Sparkle. No wonder she didn’t want to tell me. And I fully intended to give her grief about it when she was feeling better.
“We didn’t all sign the same contract, Augie,” Minho drawled, answering his question. “Anyway, Jared is running interference with Noah’s mom right now. Did you guys know his sister was in rehab?”
Kelly’s head snapped around with a frown.
“Physical rehab,” she clarified, then winced slightly before adding, “now. But Noah made it really clear that h--his mom wasn’t to visit here, so Jared is passing along all the medical updates.
” She still stumbled sometimes over Noah’s masculine pronouns, and it was understandable.
From what I knew, Noah was not just a client for Kelly and Jared; she was family.
At least that part came easily for me because it was how I’d first met my roomie.
None of this was news to me—-I’d been visiting just as much as Torin—-but August wasn’t as Noah--obsessed as the rest of us, so he took the information in with interest and curiosity.
Before he could ask more questions—-which Kelly definitely wouldn’t answer for the sake of Noah’s family’s privacy—-I spotted Noah’s doctor heading toward us with Jared at his side.
“Good afternoon, all,” the doctor, a silver--haired man named Pierce Cedarwood, greeted us with a warm smile.
“You’re just in time. Noah is ready to check out.
Jared has all the information, but you should be aware the media has been lurking around the front of the hospital.
You may want to take advantage of the rear exit when leaving the facility.
” He gave us all a nod before continuing along the corridor and ducking into a room a few doors down.
Jared took his daughter from August with a murmured thanks, then dropped a kiss on his wife’s lips as she approached. “Sorry, that took longer than expected. Anastasia was ready to get on a flight. Again.”
“She’s worried about her child,” Kelly replied with a frown, “and understandably so, considering everything with Miles.”
Jared grunted, giving her a small headshake for using Noah’s brother’s real name. Not that Minnie or August would have clocked it. If anything, they’d have assumed it was just short for Millie. “I know, and I don’t disagree. But Noah was adamant that his mother not visit.”
Speaking of the devil herself, a pale and tired--looking Noah approached from along the corridor with Torin by her side, and I abandoned the conversation to go hug my roomie.
“Oof,” she grunted as I picked her up in my tight embrace. “Not so tight, my ribs—-”
“Shit, sorry.” I winced, letting her down. “I forgot.” As a result of the prolonged CPR on the night of her attack, she’d sustained two broken ribs and the side of her chest was still a mess of purple and green bruising, which she’d shown me yesterday.
It meant that she couldn’t wear her chest binder, but the oversized NoFear--branded hoodie she wore more than disguised her shape for now.
“Idiot,” Torin muttered, giving me a playful shoulder punch before his gaze slid past me and his brow furrowed.
August cleared his throat, approaching with awkwardness etched all over his expression. “Hey, Noah, it’s good to see you alive.”
She mustered up a smile for him, tilting her head back to shake some hair from her eyes. “Thanks, Augie. Kind of glad to be alive.”
“Valid. Come on, Tor. I parked in a loading zone and really don’t want to pay a fine today.” August started toward the exit, and I held out my hand to take Noah’s bag from Torin.
He seemed conflicted, like he wanted to stay, but after a brief pause, he huffed a sigh. “Fine. Text me when you’re home safely, Short Stack.”
I waited for Torin and August to leave, then gave Noah a pointed look. “You good?” I tipped my head slightly, silently asking if she was okay talking to Minnie.
She nodded firmly, though, giving me a small smile. “Yes. Give us a minute?”
“Can do. If you need help, use your safe word.” I slung her bag over my shoulder and winked before returning to the waiting area with Kelly, Jared, and baby Isla. Such a cutie.