Chapter Fifteen Lines that Blur
1094 Words
Noah’s POV
I stood by the kitchen counter nursing my third glass of whiskey while rain battered the windows overlooking Manhattan. The city below still pulsed with life, headlights streaking through wey streets people moving through storms but inside the penthouse, everything felt suspended.
Abby laid curled beneath the gray throw blanket at the edge of the couch, one week pressed against the cushion, my hoodie swallowed her whole, sleeves hanging over her hands.
I knew I should have taken her back to campus, the part of me that watched my mother die should have left her stranded in that damn rain
But then I remembered how it felt hearing her voice shake through the phone
I can’t drive
And despite every reason I had to hate her, I found myself running to her
I looked away from her sleeping form, my jaw tightening
This was exactly how it started, one phone call here another ride home there
My phone buzzed against the counter
Anna
“What?”
“You disappeared.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “Busy.”
“You’re always busy after midnight?”
“I don’t know, depends on who’s askin.”
Anna hated being ignored, mostly because no one ever ignored her
“You coming over or not?” She asked
My eyes drifted back towards Abby.
Still asleep and still in my clothes. I needed a reminder and Anna would be just that, a reminder that Abby Carter meant absolutely nothing.
“Come over.” I replied flatly
******************************
By the time Anna arrived, the rain had eased into a low steady drizzle. I opened the penthouse door just as she stepped out of the elevator wearing a cream-colored coat and heels. Her eyes scanned my face immediately.
“You look awful.”
“You came all this way to insult me?”
She smirked faintly before stepping inside then she noticed the heels near the couch.
Anna’s brows lifted slowly. “You have company?”
I shut the door behind her. “Temporary.”
She followed my gaze to the living room and there Abby was, wide awake now
Sitting at the edge of the couch with her knees pulled to her chest and a mug between both hands.
Anna looked between us while Abby just stood awkwardly the second she saw her. “I should probably go…”
“No, you’re staying.”I interrupted
As soon as I noticed what I had done. I turned cruel
Anna tilted her head. “So you gonna introduce me?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Anna this is Abby”
“Wes dumb little sister” I said for no reason at all but it landed exactly how I wanted it to
Abby’s fingers tightened around the mug while her eyes dropped to the floor before lifting back to me, contrary to the anger I expected, she looked…embarrassed
Anna laughed lightly, oblivious to the extreme shift in the room. “Oh my God, that Abby?”
I lit a cigarette just to have something to do with my hands. “Unfortunately.”
Abby swallowed hard. “I’ll call an uber.”
“It’s still raining.” I said
“I don’t care.”
The hurt in her voice was small but it was there and I hated myself for hearing it
Anna slipped off her coat, still watching us both. She wasn’t stupid, people assumed beautiful women were but Anna? She never was.
“You can stay.” She told Abby. “I don’t mind.”
Abby gave her a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “That is very generous, thank you.”
I exhaled smoke. “Okay, as you already know, guest room’s down the hall.”
Abby nodded once without taking another look at me then she disappeared down the hallway
Anna turned toward me fully. “Now what the hell was that?”
I frowned. “What was what?”
“The attitude.”
I walked toward the kitchen island. “Oh now, you came here to interrogate me?”
“No.” She crossed her arms. “I came her because you called me sounding half insane and apparently there’s a college girl in your clothes sitting in your living room.”
“She needed somewhere to stay,”
“And you brought her here? In the middle of the night,Noah? What if someone else found her here? What about her reputation?”
I laughed under my breath. “You suddenly care care about strangers?”
“No.” Anna’s eyes narrowed. “But you do.”
I looked away first…Big mistake
“You know she likes you.” She said
I took another drag from the cigarette. “That’s her problem.”
“And you?” She pressed carefully
“There is no me
Then Anna walked slowly until her fingers slid along my jaw, usually this part worked, distraction came easy with her. But over Anna’s shoulder, I caught movement by the hallway, it was Abby
Standing over there for half a second before freezing, her eyes met mine and then dropped
God, she heard enough
I watched her disappear back into the guest room in a rush, my jaw tightened while Anna followed my line of sight and finally understood. “Oh.” She said in a soft tone
I stepped away from her without a second thought. “Dont.” I warned
Anna’s hardened on the spot. “You brought me here on purpose.
I said nothing because yes, that was exactly what I did
The only reason I brought her here was that Abby made me feel everything I didn’t want, like the warmth of hearing her laugh and because every second around her blurred all the lines i had spent years of my life drawing.
So I did what I always did when something mattered too much, I poisoned it.
Anna stared at me for another very long moment before letting out a long tired breath. “You are trying to prove a stupid point.”
“Oh, I know exactly what she is.”
“Um,a girl?”
“A Carter.”
Anna stared at me for another really long moment before saying any other thing but even as I said that to her, all I could picture was Abby’s face and the hurt in it after I called her dumb but that look was what followed me long after Anna dragged me toward the bedroom and I let her.
- Writer
