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No, I’ve hardly been there.
It feels like it could have been five minutes or five hours when the car comes to a stop outside our building. I hang back as Sutton and Noah exit the car and walk toward the doors, an obvious tension following behind them.
“Thanks for the ride, Rupert. Wish me luck.” I throw him a wink and a cheeky smile, before reaching for the door handle.
Rupert gives me a warm smile before I step out onto the sidewalk.
I think I’m going to need more than luck to be honest.
SEVENTEEN
Noah
Both Savannah and Sutton are having an issue with me at the moment, if the slamming of doors on either end of the apartment are anything to go by.
The start of a headache throbs at the base of my skull. Tonight has been the least entertaining night out I’ve had in my thirty-one years of life. It went downhill the moment Sutton came home with a cloud hanging over her. And it got progressively worse when I saw Savannah looking like she’d just had sex on the dance floor.
Jack would have been disappointed too, I’m sure of it.
At least that’s how I’ve rationalized away the clawing feeling that settled in my gut at the sight of her. I hope, for his sake, I never meet Jamison Monroe again. What sort of name is that anyway?
Fuck.
A heavy sigh leaves me as I walk down the hallway to the bedroom I share with Sutton. When I enter the room, the ensuite door is open and I can hear the sound of water running. She must be getting ready for bed. She’s barely said a word to me all night.
Except to tell me what an ass I was for carrying Savannah out of the club. I don’t know what came over me but I wasn’t leaving Savannah alone with that guy.
The tension between Sutton and I has been building for the last few months. I can’t put it all on tonight, but I know that I need to do something about it. It’s not fair on either of us for this disconnect to continue.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I remove my shoes and pull my t-shirt over my head. My body feels tired, a level of exhaustion I haven’t experienced since college settling on my chest. With my head hanging, I barely notice when Sutton walks into the bedroom, switching off the bathroom light, shrouding the room in darkness.
With an effort, I drag myself to stand next to the bed. Walking to the laundry basket, I throw in my t-shirt and socks. When I face the bed, I can just make out the shape of Sutton, her back to me.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
She doesn’t respond for the longest time and I wonder if she’s heard me. I take a step toward the bathroom but Sutton turns to face me.
Resignation coats her words as she says, “It doesn’t make it better, Noah. I can’t even begin to imagine how Savannah must have felt.”
There she goes, thinking about the feelings of other people over herself. It’s one of the qualities I loved about her.
Loved?
Ignoring my own question, I reply, “I know. It was wrong of me, but more importantly it was disrespectful to you. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You weren’t, that’s the problem. Get ready for bed, Noah. We can talk more in the morning.”
Sutton rolls onto her side, dismissing me. I stare at her back, my eyes having adjusted to the darkness before I walk into the bathroom.
When I climb under the covers moments later, I relax back staring up at the ceiling. Many thoughts race through my mind, keeping me awake. It’s as I lie in the quiet of the night, the soft sounds of Sutton sleeping beside me, that I come to a decision. One that’s been in the making for months.
Tomorrow, I’ll find the time and do what I should have done a long time ago. Instead of burying myself in work, I should have stepped up and done what needed to be done.
There’s been an almost natural separation from both of us and at this point we’re just existing in the same space. Deep down I’ve known, just as I’m sure Sutton has, that this is over.
EIGHTEEN
Noah
