AllFreeNovel
Share Us
10
After that weird-as-fuck moment with Noah when the power went out, I tried, and mostly succeeded, to avoid him over the next few days. Something about him rubbed me up the wrong way. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he affected me in a way I hadn’t experienced with anyone else before. It wasn’t ideal when we were housemates, but the house was big, and all of us were busy now that the semester had started.
Measuring out my pasta with my AirPods in, I was zoned out and lost in my own world when Preston’s voice sounded loudly next to me, making me jump. “Noah! Have you eaten yet?” He turned to me with a grin, speaking at a normal volume. “Didn’t see me there, huh?”
I rolled my eyes at him just as Noah’s reply came faintly from the lounge.
“I’ll grab something later.”
A frown appeared on Preston’s face, and I paused my music, my brows pulling together. “What’s wrong? What’s that look for?”
He glanced at the doorway before lowering his voice as he spooned noodles between two bowls. “Didn’t you hear about Noah’s student loan being delayed? I offered to help him out, but he turned me down. I’m betting he’s too proud to ask for help, but you only have to look at the state of his food cupboard to see he’s struggling.”
Fuck.
Guilt hit me like a sledgehammer.
Preston disappeared out of the door, bowl in hand, and I returned to prepping my food. I stared at the saucepan in front of me for a long moment, my jaw clenched tight enough to give me the beginnings of a headache, before I tipped up the bag and added double my usual amount of pasta.
When the pasta was done, I stirred in pesto from a jar, which was about as far as my cooking skills stretched. Then I headed into the lounge.
Preston didn’t glance up from where he was shovelling noodles into his mouth while watching the TV with Kian, who was staying over for the weekend. Someone else noticed me, though. Noah raised his head, his eyes flicking to mine for the barest second before his jaw tightened and he returned his gaze to the TV.
“Uh, Noah?” Folding my arms in front of me, I leaned back against the door frame.
“What?” He didn’t bother looking at me again.
“You got a minute?”
There was a second where I wasn’t sure if he was going to ignore me, but then he climbed to his feet with a sigh. He followed me into the kitchen, where he stopped in the doorway, refusing to meet my gaze. “What is it?”
“Can you sit down?”
“What is it?” he repeated. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Yeah, because you looked so busy watching the TV back there,” I muttered, causing him to glare at me. “Look, just sit down for a sec, okay?”
“Fine.” He huffed loudly just to show how much of an annoyance it was, so I made sure he caught my eye-roll as he sat down.
“Wait there.” Before he could say anything else, I headed over to the hob, splitting the pasta between two bowls, and then grabbed a couple of forks. Carrying the bowls over to the table, I placed one in front of him.
“Eat.”
His eyes flew to mine, wide with shock. “What?”
“Eat,” I repeated.
“I’m not a charity case.” The tiny hitch in his voice was the only thing that stopped me from snapping at him as he pushed the bowl away from him, setting his jaw.
“Fuck, you’re stubborn.” I shoved the bowl back in his direction. “Ease my conscience, then.”
“Why should I do you any favours?”
“Please.”
His shoulders slumped, and he picked up his fork.
We dug into the food in silence, and it was way too awkward, so I scrolled through my phone, hitting one of my Spotify playlists at random and linking it to the kitchen speaker.
