AllFreeNovel
Share Us
1
Grayson
My eyes shift from my watch to the familiar city landmarks that pass us by. I tap my foot impatiently. We’re getting closer, the surroundings getting more and more familiar, but it still feels like we aren’t moving fast enough.
Damn flight delay. I spent all month ensuring that I’d have a full week off and that I’d get here in time. It shouldn’t have taken me more than six hours to get from California to Miami, but it ended up taking almost all day.
My patience is wearing thin by the time we pull up in front of Noah’s house. Noah is a lot like me. Neither one of us has a lot of friends. Hell, we’re probably each other’s only friend. I hate the thought of him expecting me, and me keeping him waiting — on his birthday, no less.
I place my suitcase by the front door and press the doorbell, reaching into my pocket to retrieve the two season tickets I bought him. I’m not really into football, but Noah is obsessed. A few years ago, tickets like these were nothing but a dream, but now? Now there isn’t much that’s out of reach for me.
Noah opens the door, a wide grin on his face. He looks thrilled, and to this day, it still surprises me that someone could be so genuinely happy to see me.
“Happy birthday, buddy,” I say, holding up my gift for him. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
Noah’s eyes widen and he snatches the tickets out of my hand. He looked happy to see me, but he looks even happier to see these tickets. I shake my head and smile.
“No way,” he says, holding up his gift. “Are they real?”
“Of course they are.” I chuckle. “You can keep both so you can take someone with you. Your schedule is insane, so I figured season tickets were my best bet. You’re busier than I am, man.”
He smiles at his tickets and nods at me as he puts them away. “I can’t wait to drag you to the next game,” he says, leading me into the house. “You’ll learn to enjoy it at some point.”
I look around, unable to wipe the smile off my face. Stepping foot in this place still feels like coming home, even though I’ve never lived here.
This house is filled with warmth. It always has been. It isn’t just a house, it’s a home in every sense of the word. Noah and his little sister made sure of it.
It’s nothing like my penthouse apartment. No matter how much money I spend on it or how I decorate it, it’ll never feel like this place does.
I frown when I realize that it’s uncharacteristically quiet. “Where is Aria?” I ask involuntarily.
I place my suitcase at the bottom of the stairs, my eyes falling to the family photos on the wall. Just like me, Noah and his sister grew up parentless. You’d never be able to tell by looking at them, though. They’re never engulfed in sadness and sorrow. They work hard — not just at their education and jobs, but at being happy and building lives they can be proud of.
I’ve always wondered if it’s because they got to spend a few years with their parents before they were brutally taken from them. The way they are… was that instilled in them by their parents?
I’m not sure what’s worse, never knowing your parents at all and never knowing why they left you, or having them taken from you the way Aria and Noah did.
“She moved out,” Noah says, grimacing. “She’s living with her boyfriend now. He seems like a nice guy, and I’m happy that she’s finally building a life of her own, but I miss her, you know?” Noah is rambling, so he’s lying about something. I bet it’s about liking Aria’s boyfriend.
He runs a hand through his hair and smiles, his expression sorrowful. “Ever since our parents were murdered,” he says, grimacing. He inhales shakily, his eyes falling closed. “I can barely say it even now. It’s been fifteen years, and it still kills me. Ever since they were… taken from us… I’ve been scared to let Aria out of my sight. This is good for her. Brad is good for her.”
Brad, huh? In all the years I’ve known her, she’s never dated anyone. I wonder who this guy is. Somehow, I doubt he’s good enough for Aria.
Throughout everything they’ve been through, Aria has remained the light in Noah’s life. He’s never told me the full story, but from the bits and pieces I’ve been able to put together over the years, they’ve been through hell. I don’t understand how they both smile the way they do. To this day, I count myself lucky that Aria has always gone out of her way to ensure that I feel like I belong with them too, like I’m part of their family.
“How long has she been dating him? I saw you guys just a year ago, and I don’t think she was dating anyone then. Isn’t it too soon for her to move in with some guy?”
Noah smiles, but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “I can’t be an overbearing brother anymore, and you can’t act like one either. Aria is twenty-six, and I have to let her live her own life. I can’t keep her trapped in the past. I can’t protect her from life itself.”
I smile wryly. “Those sound like Aria’s words, not yours.”
I can just imagine her expression as she tells Noah exactly what he just told me. Her dark chocolate eyes flashing with fury, her cheeks flushed.
Noah smirks and shakes his head. “You know us too well, man. Fucking hell, she lost it when I forbade her from moving out.”
I cringe. No one tells Aria to doanything. Forbidding her something is straight-up dumb, and even attempting to would have pushed her straight into her boyfriend’s arms.
“They’ll be here soon,” Noah says, walking into the kitchen. “I think you’ll like Brad. Go easy on the guy, or Aria will have your fucking head too.”
