Only after the last cigarette had burned out did he finally step out of the car and head upstairs.
+15 BONUS
The doorbell rang
I opened it.
The moment I saw Noah standing there, I smiled and waved a spatula at him playfully.
“Dinner’s almost ready! Go wash your hands.”
Noah froze for a moment, caught off guard.
He looked exhausted, but still, he smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
During dinner, Noah seemed distracted, his mood weighed down by something.
Wanting to cheer him up, I started telling him a few jokes I saw online recently, exaggerating every detail for effect.
I laughed so hard at my own stories that my stomach ached, and tears streamed down my face.
Noah watched me quietly for a few seconds before reaching up to wipe away my tears.
“You’re a grown woman, yet you’re laughing so hard you’re crying over a joke,” he said, shaking his head before going back to
his meal.
I nudged him. “Why are you so quiet?”
He took another bite, then replied, “Because your cooking is too good. I need to savor every bite.”
After dinner, I stood at the sink washing dishes.
Noah came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Chloe, I want to be with you forever.”
He held me so tightly, as if he wanted to fuse me into his very bones.
I froze for a moment before slowly pulling my hands out of the rubber gloves..
Lifting a finger, I wiped away the moisture gathering beneath my lashes, then turned to him with a gentle smile.
“We’ll always be together.”
“Even if I can’t always be by your side, I will always love you, Noah,” I thought.
—
For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes–a spark of surprise and something deeper
I rested my face against Noah’s shoulder, holding him tightly.
“Noah, I suddenly really want to go back to Hilltown for a visit. Will you come with me?”
Hilltown was where we grew up together.
Life there had been tough, but it held all my most precious memories.
The moment I said those words, Noah’s arms around me stiffened.
Even his breathing grew tense, sharp and uneven, as if afraid I would slip away.
He suddenly pressed his palm firmly against the back of my head, holding me against his chest with a desperate grip.
