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“Noah?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Did you mean everything you said to me… before I woke up?”
Shit. She remembered. I couldn’t lie to her, but I couldn’t go against my promise to God, either. I refused to break her heart. I had done enough of that.
“Every word,” I finally admitted. “I meant every word.”
Releasing my hand, she wrapped her arm around my waist and hugged me tighter.
“Aria, this doesn’t change our situation. You know we can’t—”
“I know. But I have hope.”
“How so?”
She flashed a sweet smile and said, “Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”
“Why not now?”
“Because I’d rather tell you when I’m not stuck in a hospital bed, poked with needles from left to right.”
“Fair enough.”
Humming a sigh, she snuggled up closer. “Thank you for being here with me tonight.”
“I’ve been here with you every night.” I kissed her head and shut my eyes as she placed her hand on my chest. It was hard to shut my brain off when all I could feel was that undeniable attraction between me and her.
“Noah?”
“Yeah?” I replied with my eyes closed.
“Can you tell me a story?”
“You know I suck at storytelling, Aria.”
“But your voice is so soothing when you’re not pissed off.”
I had to laugh.
She looked at me like a sad little puppy and said, “Please?”
Back to being the caring father.
“Okay, okay,” I yielded. “A story, hmm… did I ever tell you about how the sun fell in love with the moon?”
She shook her head.
“Four and a half billion years ago, while the moon was orbiting the Earth in the solar system, there was this incredible nebula in the galaxy… and within that nebula, the sun was born…”
The minutes passed as I rambled on about the science of astronomy, which seemed to have bored her to sleep. While life was changing around me, one fact remained the same: I was in love with Aria, and I knew it was wrong. When the last song ended, I turned off her iPod and rested my head against hers, till I eventually faded.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Evil is not Born
It was Christmas Eve of 1988 in Hampden County. The city was covered in snow, which made the most rundown parts of the neighborhood look prettier. Lida Matein was a twenty-year-old single mother living in a studio apartment with her three-year-old son, Matthias. Despite her demanding work schedule, she was happy to have finally had the night off without worrying about drunken patrons grabbing her body while she would strip for them. A little piece of her soul died every time she exposed herself to a man she did not love.
