Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Me: Please answer me. We need to talk about this. I know I should have come straight to you, but I panicked. Please call me back.
I wait. Nothing. Not even three little dots. He’s completely cutting me off. I clutch my stomach, but it’s the ache in my heart that’s truly unbearable. How could I have been so dumb? I should’ve gone straight to Jackson. But I didn’t, and now I’m in a heap of shit I can’t get out of. My phone dings and I almost drop it as I scramble to pull up the message.
Noah: Georgie, Georgie, Georgie. Why you fuck me up, Georgie?
Bile rises in my throat. Did Vince tell him? Does he know I didn’t get the ledger? I choke on a breath, forcing myself to reply.
Me: What are you talking about?
Noah:
I zoom in on a row of shots.
Me: Noah, where are you? Why aren’t you at work?
I’m going to be sick. He knows. I’ve ruined everything.
Noah: Fuck work. And fuck my dad. I’m done with him.
Me: Come home. We can talk about it.
I watch the three little dots appear and then disappear. No reply. Fuck. “Fuck!” I toss my phone. It hits the table and falls, landing on the floor with a sickening crack. “Great. Just what I need,” I mutter.
What do I do now? I reach for my phone, trying to text Jackson again through the shattered screen. “Come on.” I squint, attempting to make out the letters, when the front door chimes. I rush downstairs as Noah stumbles inside.
“Noah.”
He throws his keys toward the table but misses, knocking a crystal vase to the floor. It shatters into a million pieces. “Shit,” he mumbles, rubbing his forehead.
“Are you drunk?”
“I’d say so,” he says, and a gust of laughter seeps from his chest. “Though, not as drunk as I’d like to be since I can still think.”
His words are a stab to my heart. “Oh, Noah. I’m so sorry.” I don’t even know where to begin. Sorry doesn’t remotely express what I am. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Noah sways up to me and cups my cheek, the stench of tequila assaulting me. “Georgie, it’s not your fault you don’t love me anymore.”
“Huh?”
“I hate it. Every fucking time I think about it, I hate what I’ve done. To you. To us. I had something good, and I fucked it up.”
“Noah—”
“Shhh…” He presses a finger to my lips. “Let me finish, okay?” I nod, holding back tears. How is he being so understanding? “We were good together once, right? It wasn’t always bad, right?”
“When it was good, it was good.”
“And when it was bad, it was bad.” Torment settles in his gaze. “I wish things were different. That I wasn’t so fucked up. That I hadn’t screwed this up.”
“Noah—”
“You gotta understand, I have a ton of issues. Shit from my past… it fucks with me. God, this makes me sound like a pussy, but I’m pretty sure I have mommy issues, and it’s all my dad’s fault.”
My skin prickles, every nerve suddenly alert at the mention of his dad. “Why is it your dad’s fault?”
He releases my cheek and steps back, brushing his hands down his face. “What’s not that asshole’s fault? Let’s see. He was never around when I was a kid. He loved his work more than his family and drove my mom away. She was supposed to teach me how to be soft, gentle, understanding… shit, she was supposed to teach me how to be a fucking gentleman. But no. She got sick of my dad’s bullshit, left, and never bothered looking back.”
“She just left you? I mean, I know she hasn’t been in your life. I assumed she died.”
“Would’ve been easier, knowing she never cared to see me because she was dead. Not even a goodbye. And my dad made sure she didn’t contact me. Drove her away and made sure she stayed there once she was gone.”
“Why would Jack—your dad do that?”
“Probably because he couldn’t stand the idea of someone walking away from him.” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “If you haven’t noticed, my dad’s a control freak. No wife of Jackson Blake’s gets to walk away—not without consequences.” He shakes his head. “She wouldn’t have left me. She couldn’t. So the only thing that makes sense is that he gave her an ultimatum—leave and lose everything, even me. And she still walked.”
“Oh, Noah. I’m sure she loved you very much. She was stuck in a hard position—”
“She had a choice. She could have taken me with her. She could have found a way to see me. Write. Made sure I was okay. Just fuckin’ left.”
This time, it’s me who reaches out and cups his cheek. “You are who you are whether your mom was around or not. We can’t go through life blaming others. No one is going to fix our broken hearts. But you find people who can help fill that empty space.”