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“But you didn’t. That’s what matters.”
Nora covers her face with her small hands and groans. “Noah, you don’t understand. I doubted you even if I had no reason to. I almost ran like a coward.”
“Okay. Is there something else you want to say?”
She presses her hands against her cheeks and hunches her back. “This has always been my issue, you know. I’m so non-confrontational that I’m likely to believe whoever. I just…I’m scared of opening my mouth when my emotions are all over the place. I don’t want to say the wrong thing or hurt the other person, so I just keep…everything bottled inside.”
Ever since Nora, I’ve realized two things.
One, my biggest mission in the world is to make her happy.
Two, I hate seeing her like this—hurting and sad.
This conversation is important to her and to us. Because we’re gonna be in each other’s lives until we’re old and gray and the last thing we need is getting hurt because of miscommunication.
Tipping her chin, I plant a soft kiss on her mouth. “Nora, it’s not gonna be easy, but I need you to always do what you did with the Allison issue. You’re angry, frustrated, upset at me? Tell me. Someone said something about me, tell me directly. You hate the sounds I make when I chew food? Tell me. Don’t be scared of telling me to my face because when you keep things inside you, it will pile up. And those small issues will get bigger and bigger until they eventually come between us.”
She bites her bottom lip and nods.
“I’m just thankful you came to me. That’s it. Stop wondering what might have happened if you believed Allison and left me without a word. Because you didn’t. That’s the thing. You trusted me, and I swear on my life, I’d never waste that trust. I will deserve that trust and prove it to you every single day.”
This time, she lifts her head and gives me a smile that stops my heart. “I know. Thank you, Noah. I didn’t know this kind of happiness existed. And I?—”
We both freeze at the sound of a car rumbling outside.
“One of your customers?” she asks.
I snap my eyes shut because I know that sound. I’ve worked on that car for years. It screeches to a stop, then a door slams closed.
Hurried footsteps are on the wooden staircase, growing louder until it stops abruptly.
Nora stands and pulls my t-shirt to cover herself. Her eyes dart to the door, and her body jolts when we hear a rapid and insistent knocking.
“Yo, dipshit. Open up!”
The color drains from her face, and her hands fly to her mouth. I reach for her shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll talk to him.”
With a slow intake of shaky breath, she rubs her hands on her arms and nods. I don’t want her to see what happens, to be honest. There’s no way to tell how Keith will react. Sure, he’s not exactly a loose canon, but when it comes to his sister, I’m not so sure.
I turn the doorknob slowly, and Keith pushes on the other side to open the door wide. The smile freezes on his face when he spots Nora behind me, wearing my shirt and not much else.
His entire demeanor changes as he drags his eyes from her to me and back to her. Keith’s smile morphs into a scowl and twists into a mask of anger.
His face darkens, eyes narrowing, as he steps closer to me.
I realize what he’s about to do a split second before he rears his arm back and lands a punch on my jaw, making my head swing to the side.
Nora gasps. “Keith!”
He’s about to hit me again, but Nora moves her body in front of me, trying to shield me from his blows. I touch her shoulder lightly. “It’s okay, Nora. I got this.”
But she’s stubborn just like him—something he should have known. “Stop it, Keith!”
“What did he do to you, Nora?” Keith snarls, looking more and more menacing with each passing second.
“He didn’t do anything to me, okay? He helped me and…and things happened.”
“Did he force himself on you?”
