Chapter 16
Sixteen
Caroline
The last hour at St. Catherine’s was always the hardest. The kids knew Saturday was ending, and you could feel them start to cling to every moment.
It was Ben, the model-airplane kid, who broke first. He was racing down the playground hill when he tripped and landed hard on both knees. The wail echoed all the way back to the cafeteria.
Noah was there in a flash. He scooped Ben up, checked the scrapes, and carried him inside like a sack of flour. He washed Ben’s knee, bandaged it with gentle hands, and whispered something in the boy’s ear that made him laugh through the tears.
“You’ll come back next Saturday, right?” Ben asked, voice trembly.
Noah smiled, forehead to forehead. “I’ll be here, buddy. Always keep my promises.”
Ben clung to him like he was the last safe thing in the world.
Watching, I felt something crack open inside me. Not pain, not sadness. Just… relief. Like for once, someone was willing to do the thing they said they’d do, no matter what.
I thought about all the times Richard had promised things: dinner, a family trip, one night a week just for us. Most of them never happened.
Noah wasn’t like that. He never made a promise he didn’t plan to keep.
After Ben calmed down, Noah set him back in the rec room and came over to where I stood, half-hiding behind a bulletin board.
“You survived,” he teased, and I laughed.
“Barely. Those kids are intense.”
He looked at me, a little too close, like he was searching for something. “You’re good with them.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
He shrugged. “None of us do.”
We walked out to the SUV as the sky turned gold. Noah opened my door, then lingered by the curb, scanning the empty street.
I caught him looking over his shoulder, like he expected someone to be there.
But the only other person in sight was a guy parked across the street, hunched behind the wheel of a sedan. I barely noticed him, but Noah did.
He put a hand on the small of my back, just long enough to make my heart skip.
“Ready?” he said, voice low.
We drove home in easy silence. I watched the city lights flicker past, thinking about how safe I felt, even though it made no sense.
Noah walked me to my building, but didn’t come up. He just waited until I was inside, then nodded goodbye.
Upstairs, I watched from the window as he got back in the SUV. The sedan pulled out after him, headlights off.
Weird, but maybe I was just tired.
I made tea, curled up on the couch, and let my mind wander.
I’d spent a long time telling myself I’d never trust anyone again. But the truth was, I already trusted Noah—maybe more than I wanted to admit.
I wondered what that said about me.
Or maybe, what that said about him.
As I drifted off, I thought about Ben, and the way he’d clung to Noah’s neck.
I knew exactly how he felt.