Chapter Sixteen The Warning
1136 Words
Noah’s POV
Anna laid beside me underneath black sheets, breathing unevenly from what we had just done. I stared at the ceiling, detached already.
That was just how this working; bodies-noise-release-then emptiness
Simple
But tonight my mind kept drifting toward the other side of the penthouse, toward the guest room
Anna traced her fingers lazily across my chest. “You disappeared halfway through.”
“I’m still here.” I lit a cigarette from the bedside table
The flame briefly illuminated the tattoos on my wrist. “She’s pretty.”
I exhaled smoke. “Who?”
“Abby.”
I kept my expression blank. “Don’t start.”
Anna smirked faintly. “Relax, I’m just surprised.”
“About.”
“She doesn’t seem your type.”
“That’s because she isn’t.”
Anna hummed softly like she didn’t believe me, nobody ever believed me when it came to Abby.
“She looks at you strangely.” Anna continued
I rubbed my thumb against the cigarette filter. “You’re imagining things.”
“No.” She smiled. “I know when a girls wants someone.”
My jaw hardened. I knew Abby always looked at me differently, it felt like she saw something in me worth saving, it just made me angry in ways I can’t explain.
“She’s innocent.” Anna casually added
I scoffed
Innocent
Anna stretched beside me. “Honestly though, she seems a little too pathetic, you just feel so sorry for her Ehen you see her. Ew.”
I turned my gaze to her. “What?”
“Yeah, I mean she does.” Anna shrugged. “Sad rich girl energy, the bruised face, nervous voice…” she tilted her head mockingly. “Like she is waiting for someone to rescue her.”
“Careful,”
She either ignored the warning or didnt hear it.
“You know girls like that always fall hardest.”she continued. “Especially for men like you.”
I took another long drag from the cigarette, my jaw tightenijg with every word she said
“Anna.”
“She probably thinks she’s different.” A soft laugh escaped her. “Poor thing.”
The room went completely still afterwards, now the thing is, there were very few things in this world that snapped my temper instantly; people talking about my mother, people touching what belonged to me but this…
I stubbed the cigarette out and looked at Anna fully for the fist time since she got into my bed. “Dont talk about her again.”
The amusement faded to nothing from her face. “Oh.”
“I’m serious.
Anna blinked very slowly and then scoffed. “I wasn’t insulting her.”
“You were and you know that.”
“For f***s sake, Noah! She’s a grown woman!”
“And you’re testing my patience.”
I loved the few minutes of silence that followed
Anna sat up slowly, sheet clutched loosely against her chest. “Wow.”
I said nothing because even I knew exactly how I sounded
Too f*****g invested, that’s it!
Anna stared at me obviously piecing things together im real time. “You like her.”
I laughed once under my breath. “No”
“Didnt sound that way to me though, you defended her pretty quickly for someone you supposedly hate.”
“I do hate her.”
“Then why are you angry?”
Because Abby looked at me with hurt in her eyes tonight, f**k
Or because Abby sitting in my hoodie patiently waiting for me to come home had affected me more than this entire night in bed with Anna ever could.
But I couldn’t say any of that so instead I stood from the bed abruptly and pulled on my sweatpants.
Anna just sat there watching me with narrowed eyes. “You know what your problem is?”
I grabbed another cigarette from the pack. “Enlighten me.”
“You’re obsessed with punishing yourself. “
I scoffed
“You bring women home to prove you feel nothing.” Her gaze sharpened . “But you looked miserable the second you walked through that door tonight.”
I clicked the lighter once and then a second time
Flame
“You do not know…shit about me!”
“I know enough.”
I inhaled feeling forcing calm to my system.
Meanwhile, outside, thunder rolled faintly. Anna slipped out of bed and walked toward me. “What exactly did the Carters do to you that turned you this way?”
My jaw flexed instantly, she noticed. “Urgh, forget I asked.”
“Smart idea for a change.”
But the damage was already done because the worst memories of my life came whether I wanted them or not. My mother coughing blood into white sheets, hospital bills stacked on our kitchen counters, me standing in the Carter mansion begging people who had more money than they could ever spend.
God. I pressed a hand briefly against my mouth
Anna’s expression softened only a little. “You really hate them.”
“Yes I do, end it.”
“But not her”
Anna held my gaze this time. “You can barely even say anything to cruel to Abby without looking angry at yourself afterward.”
“You’re reading too much into things. L
“No.” She stepped closer. “I think you want her and I think that scares the hell out of you.”
Abby represented every line i swore i would never cross but she was nothing but a stupid kid
Every weakness i buried under anger and years of pretending I didnt care about anything came to life when she was near
It was impossible to want her but she represented every piece of my that I didn’t even believe still existed
I moved away from Anna first, distance was way better than whatever I would be pushed to say. “You should go home.”
Her brows lifted. “What? Now you’re kicking me out?”
“Yes”
“Because I upset your little Carter princess?”
I stepped toward her enough to end her season of amusement. “Listen carefully,” I said to her . “You do not speak about Abby again, not to me, not online, not to anyone at all.”
Anna’s throat moved slightly
“You understand?”
And then finally. “Yeah,” she murmured
I walked towards the bedroom door and before leaving, I paused.
“And Anna?” I called out to her. “From today, let’s stick to only the business that brings you here. You are not allowed anywhere near my personal affairs. I hope I’m clear.”
I walked out without sparing her another glance.
- Writer
