I sit in the stillness of my room after finishing the call with Aunt Ava. A tired sigh escapes my lips as I lean back against the headboard as the weight of her request settles heavily on my chest. What on earth did I just get myself into?

I meant it when I said I’d do anything for Aunt Ava and I know I agreed to her request, but this feels different. This feels like I am about to open a can of worms.

Noah and I have a history. Not the kind people smile about when they’re older and wiser. No, ours is made of jagged edges and silent wounds. For reasons only known to him, he’s always hated me. From the very first moment we met, it was like something inside him decided I was the enemy.

I tried everything to make him like me; God, how I tried. I’d chase after his approval, desperate for a sliver of kindness, only to be met with cruelty that left me shattered and in tears. No matter what I did, how hard I tried to be liked or noticed, nothing ever worked.

He would always say something hurtful and demeaning and I would always end up crying and feeling sorry for myself. I never got it, honestly. Sure, I came on a little bit too strongly, but I doubt that is reason enough to hate someone.

I was only eight. He was nine. But even at that age, the hostility in his eyes was unmistakable. He always treated me like the damn antichrist. It always puzzled me how such a small boy could carry so much hate at that age. It would have been different if he hated others too, but it wasn’t. He had no trouble showing the best parts of himself to others... But never to me.

Being around each other never ended well, especially for me, so eventually, I learned to stay clear of him. It hurt less that way.

I haven’t seen or talked to him in years, so why did I agree to be the one to search for him? The last time I saw him was at his wedding. I watched him getting married and told myself that was it. That was the last time I’d allow myself to feel anything for Noah. I made a promise that day: I would not break my heart again for someone who never saw it in the first place.

It was a decision I made for my own peace of mind and I have never looked back. Not until now.

So here I am. Heart racing. Gut twisted in knots. About to go looking for the one person I’ve spent years trying to forget.

Feeling a familiar heaviness in my heart, I push those painful memories away. I’ve come a long way from the girl I was. The girl who had her heart trampled over and over again by the boy she loved. There was no way I was going to allow old griefs to resurface.

Instead of focusing on the past, I pick my phone back up and call Lilly. The phone rings twice before going straight to voicemail. I try again; nothing. A frustrated grunt leaves my mouth as I try once again, only to be disappointed.

“Fuck!” I hurl the phone onto the pillow beside me, startling Blackie, who gives me the filthiest look a cat can manage.

“Sorry, my sweet girl,” I say, guilt creeping in. “I wasn’t cursing you.”

She hisses softly before leaping off the bed.

With a sigh, I push myself up and head to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I stare at my reflection in the mirror and tired eyes stare back at me. My heart feels heavier than it should.

I grip the edges of the sink, bracing myself against the rising tide of dread. This isn’t just a favor. This is a return to a past that nearly broke me.

Am I really ready for this? Am I really ready to face Noah again?

It’s been six whole years. Six years of peace. Six years of tranquility. Six years of healing. Am I really ready to throw it all away? Because that’s what will happen if I go ahead with this. The man has hated me since I was eight. I doubt he would have had a change of heart in the six years I avoided him like the damn plague.

My hand tightens around the bathroom sink as my dilemma eats at me from the inside out. I already promised Aunt Ava. She has never asked anything of me that she wouldn’t do herself if she could, so how could I back out now?

With a shaky breath, I straighten my back and shoulders. I stomp back into my room and head straight for my closet. I throw on the first clothes I see—a baggy T-shirt and soft sweatpants.

The quicker I got this over with, the better.

Blackie meows at me from across the room.

“I won’t be long,” I promise, scooping her up and hugging her close, hoping I could absorb some of her strength and courage.

She purrs softly, grounding me in her quiet way. I set her down gently, making sure she has food and water before grabbing my keys and heading out.

Once I am outside, I quickly get in my car before immediately locking the doors. I live in a safe neighborhood, but you can never be too careful.

It’s only after I start the ignition that I realize I haven’t thought this through. I just sit there. The engine hums beneath my hands, but I don’t move. I have no plan. No leads.

Noah could be anywhere. This was foolish. What was I thinking?

Aunt Ava thought I was her best shot, but maybe I am not. Sure, I was obsessed with him when we were younger, something I’m still embarrassed of, by the way. I knew him better back then, but like I said, it’s been six years. I probably don’t know him as well as I used to.

I try to think of the one place he would go to but I end up coming up blank. I eliminate the obvious. Not the cemetery— That would have been the first place they checked.

Not a bar or a club—Noah isn’t the kind to unravel in public. He wouldn’t want anyone to see his grief. He’s too proud for that.

And besides, Knowing Aunt Ava, she probably called every club and bar owned by Uncle Rowan and his twin, Uncle Gabe.

So, where the hell would he go?

I rake a hand through my hair, frustration bubbling under my skin. Would it be terrible if I lied? I could just tell Aunt Ava that I couldn’t find him, but then she would know I lied. The thought of disappointing her, of hearing that hurt in her voice, stops me cold.

I was about to give up when something clicked. A memory.

Noah misses her, so he’d probably go someplace that was special to them. Some place that would make him feel close to him.

A smile breaks free from my lips.

She once told me about a hidden spot. A place that held meaning for both of them. No one was supposed to know about it except the two of them, but for some odd reason she told me.

Without hesitation, I pull out of the driveway and begin the drive north. The further I go, the darker the road becomes. My knuckles are white around the steering wheel, panic clawing at the edges of my composure.

My mind is screaming at me to turn back, giving me every reason why I should go back home; I ignored it. I am doing this for Aunt Ava.

Yet even with my reasoning, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I was making a big mistake.

When I finally arrive, I park a little way off and begin walking.

And then I see it. A car.

The moment I saw the car, relief and dread crashed into me. Going head-to-head in a battle for dominance. The wind here was chilly, maybe because it was on top of a hill. It should have cooled me, but it had nothing on the raging emotions that were fighting inside me and wreaking havoc

A thousand memories come flooding back, each one tugging at old scars. I take a shaky breath and move.

‘Are you sure about this?’ the voice inside my head asks.

My feet freeze and everything inside me stills at the question.

My brows furrow, and I clench my teeth against the need to turn back and ran as far away from Noah as possible. But I don’t. Instead, I pull my shoulders back and take one step forward, then another, until I’m steadily walking towards the cliff.

It isn’t that long until I spot a lone figure sitting almost at the edge.

Emotions swirl inside me

‘It’s not too late to turn back,’ it whispers again, but this time with more urgency.

I nod my head, determination settling inside and I resume walking. I am not a quitter. Neither do I break promises…but maybe I should have. I should have broken this one promise and ran like my life depended on it.

Maybe if I had known what was to come, I would have made a different choice, but I didn’t. I should have known. I should have seen it coming, but hindsight is a bitch like that.

I walk slowly towards Noah. No one needs to tell me it’s him. Even after six years, I can still tell him apart from millions of people.

I literally feel like my heart is lodged in my throat. Like someone is squeezing my lungs. Stealing the very air, I am trying to push into them. I clench my hands in an effort to stop them from shaking, but it is no use.

His black hair is as I remember. What is different, though, is his build. His shoulders are broader; he has a more solid frame. He also seems bigger, more imposing. Then again, the last time I saw him, he was twenty. He is now a twenty-six-year-old man. Of course I couldn’t expect him to stay the same.

I continue slowly, feeling as if my feet are made of lead. The wind brushes against me, as if whispering secrets I can't understand. The chill vanishes just as quickly, leaving behind a heat that makes me feel uncomfortable in my own skin

Finally, after what feels like a millennium, I reach where he is seated.

I stand behind him. Inhaling slowly. Trying to calm myself. Trying to think of what I should say. I’d been so focused on finding him that I hadn’t thought about what would come next. Now here I am, frozen and mute, standing behind him like some sort of serial killer creep.

I was just about to call his name when his deep voice broke the silence.

“What are you doing here, Sierra?”

I stand rooted, with my mouth slightly open. How did he know it was me? I shake my head at the stupid question. He hates me, so of course he would know it was me. Know thy enemy, type of thing, right?

“I could ask you the same thing,” I say, stepping from behind him.

That’s when I see them—bottles scattered at his feet. But it isn’t the bottles that have me worried. It’s the rolled-up papers.

He doesn’t look at me. Just keeps staring out at the city below. No wonder they loved this place. The view is breathtaking.

“I came here to remember,” he murmurs. “I’ve been forgetting lately. Her smell, her voice, her laugh, her smile. I just wanted to remember her.”

“Noah”

I can’t help the tremble in my voice, just like I can’t ignore the raw pain in his voice. He is hurting and missing her with every fiber of his being.

I drop to my knees beside him and rest a hand on his shoulder, offering what little comfort I can. His body trembles, as if the pain and grief inside him are fighting for release. Fighting to be let out, while he does everything he can to keep them buried.

I look at him—really look at him for the first time in six years. He isn’t anywhere near the man he was on his wedding day. His eyes are hollow. Empty. It’s like the Noah I knew died the day she died.

Today is Chloe’s death anniversary.

She passed away two years ago from stage four brain cancer. No one knew she was sick. Not even Chloe herself. By the time she was diagnosed, it was already too late. There was nothing they could have done to save her.

They had given her a maximum of one year to live, but Chloe died four months after the cancer was diagnosed.

"I miss her so much," he whispers, voice hoarse. "Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to die? How are the twins supposed to survive without her? How am I supposed to live without her?"

The questions tumble from him, one after another. I can’t answer them. I have no answers. Just silence and sympathy.

I questioned what I was about to do, but it was killing me witnessing his pain. It was killing me seeing him hurting this way. I hesitate for a second—then move closer and wrap an arm around his shoulders, pulling him to me.

To my surprise, he doesn’t resist. He doesn’t fight me. He doesn’t insult me or push me away. He simply clings to me, holding on to me like I am a lifeline, like his life depends on it. His grip hurt a little, but I let him. I let him, even though I knew I probably shouldn’t.

"Make it stop, Sierra. Please make the pain go away."

"I wish I could, Noah."

His shoulders shake silently. He doesn’t make a sound, but I know he is crying—for Chloe. For the love he lost. For everything that would never be.

"I want her to come back," his voice breaks. "I want all this to be nothing but a terrible dream. I miss her so much and It's getting harder to live each day that I am here without her."

His words scare me because they sound like the words of someone who has given up all hope. Maybe I should have a talk with Aunt Ava and see whether she can get him to see a therapist.

Since there is nothing else I could do for now, I hold him tighter, wishing I could absorb even a fraction of his pain. No matter what happened between us in the past. No matter how terrible he was to me, no one deserved this kind of grief. No one should go through the pain of losing a loved one.

It’s even worse for him because no one saw it coming. No one predicted it. One minute she was okay and the next she was gone. He never had time to prepare. To process her illness or her death. I doubt he ever accepted death.

“You haven’t told me why you are here,” he says as he pushes away from me, seeming to back to his normal self.

I don’t know how long it had been, but I also didn’t care. He now seemed more composed. I could still see the pain in his gray eyes, but he was better. Almost like releasing some of the pain he had been holding had helped a little.

My legs were numb from kneeling, so I shoved aside the scattered bottles and sat next to him.

"Your mom was worried about you," I say quietly.

He lets out a short, mocking laugh. "So, she sent you?"

"Yup."

"Of all people." He sounds genuinely surprised. It’s like he just couldn’t believe that his mom would send me.

"I know, right?" I laugh. "I asked the same thing."

We fall silent. I’m not surprised, though; Noah and I rarely interacted so it not a surprise that we didn’t have anything to talk about.

Then, unexpectedly, he pulled a stash from his pocket. Lit it and then took a slow drag.

"That’s not good for you," I mutter, eyeing him worriedly. "I thought you quit."

Things were hard for him after Chloe’s death. He spiraled. He fell into depression, became an alcoholic and even started doing drugs. His parents had to take him for rehabilitation after he wrecked his car one day driving home while high.

"I did," he says. "But today... I need something to ground me. Something to take the edge off. Something to help me cope with the pain. Alcohol wasn’t doing shit.”

To my surprise, he offers me one. I’ve never smoked before. But against my better judgment, I take it, bring it to my lips and inhale.

I cough violently as my body tries to fight the foreign substance. Tears stinging my eyes as the smoke invades my lungs. It burns like hell.

Noah barely glances at me before turning back to the city view below.

"The twins turned five a few weeks ago," he begins. "She had everything planned for their big five. Down to the last detail. Today just hit hard. She won’t be there to watch them grow up. To see all their milestones. It wasn't supposed to be like this. We were supposed to grow old together, Sierra. But I lost her. And she’s not coming back."

I want to say something, but what can I say? Nothing I do or say will make things easier or better for him. Instead, I take another drag, this time it’s much easier.

"Does it make me selfish that I wish it had been me who died?" he asks softly “That way I wouldn’t be the one going through this constant pain.”

"It doesn’t make you selfish, Noah," I reply. "It makes you human."

If you had asked me whether I could imagine sitting with Noah, smoking and talking like normal people, I would have said hell no. But here we were. It’s foreign. It’s different… And almost peaceful.

We start talking about Chloe. Our memories of her. They were all mixed. There were happy ones and sad ones. We talk for what seemed like forever. By the time we stop, I feel lightheaded and I am probably high.

The air between us is comfortable, something that has never happened.

Through the haze and foggy mind, I realized that I hadn’t called or texted Aunt Ava to let her know that I had found Noah.

I’d done what I promised. It was time to go home.

I’ve never been this relaxed before. I felt so happy. Sure, everything felt slow and distorted, but who cares when I feel so good?

I stand up and immediately stumble. The world around me is spinning… And why the hell did the distance between me and my car seem longer? Also, what was up with the burst of colors? Why did they seem brighter than they should be?

"Where are you going?" Noah’s voice sounds so far away.

"Home," I reply. "I’ll text Aunt Ava to let her know that I found you."

I don’t look back, just turn to leave, a strange, happy excitement bubbling inside me. I just wanted to get home and cuddle with Blackie.

With that in mind, I take a step forward but then—I am stopped.

Frowning, I turn and find Noah holding my hand.

"Don’t go," he begs, voice rough and vulnerable.

"Noah—"

"Please don’t go, don’t leave me," he pleads. "Just for one night... help me forget. I want to feel alive again. I want to forget the constant ache."

My frown fades when I meet his storm-grey eyes. He looks so lost. So desperate.

I want to help him. But who is going to help me when he decides I no longer have any use?

I pull my arm from his hand and take a step back.

“I promised Aunt Ava I’d find you, and I did,” I say, my words coming out sluggishly. “Now I’m going home.”

I don’t give him a chance to reply. I turn away, my steps slow and wobbly, but I keep moving.

I can feel the danger in the air around us. The danger in his words. The kind that warns you when something is about to shift. Something that you might not be able to come back from.

I stumbled towards my car. The need to leave pushing me forward. I know I’m high, but I can’t risk staying. I’ll drive really slowly if that’s what it takes to make sure I arrive home in one piece.

Relief hits me when I finally reach my car. My hands tremble as I struggle to dig the keys from my pocket when I feel him behind me. His body heat scorching me and heating the air between us.

I stiffen, my back becoming ramrod. Before I can react, he spins me around and pins me to my car.

“Please,” he begs, his stormy gray eyes rooting me to the spot.

They hypnotize me. Drawing me into the depths and pulling me under like a tide. For a heartbeat, I forget all the reasons why I shouldn’t be here. Why staying is a bad idea.

He steps closer, invading every inch of my personal space. We are flush against each other. So close that I can feel every hard ridge of his body pressed against me.

I shake my head trying to clear the fog, trying to remember how to say no, but it doesn’t do shit.

I feel him in a way I’ve never felt him. I’m close to him in a way I’ve never been. It messes with my head, making it hard for me to think straight.

I place my hands on his chest, intending to push him away, but nothing happens. I should push him away. I want to, but for some weird reason, I can’t.

Then, without warning, his hands are on me. First on my hips, then my waist. Sparks burst forth on every spot he touches me.

“Noah,” I whisper, my voice a plea. Pleading with him to let me go. To put an end to whatever was happening, but he does the opposite; he ignites the fire into a burning inferno.

I don’t have time process anything before he crashes his lips onto mine… And just like that, the sparks turn into a wildfire.

There is no tenderness in the kiss, just need. It’s bruising. It’s scorching. It’s nothing like I’ve ever felt.

We are breathing hard when he pulls away, both of us staring at each other in shock, and something else… Hunger. Pure, undiluted hunger

This is my chance to walk away. To forget that that kiss ever happened. I should just leave, but I don’t.

His kiss brought forth feelings I had long forgotten. Feelings I had long buried. Years of burying them under the rubble and a single kiss undoes all the effort I had put in. It’s like, the fact that he has hated me doesn’t even matter.

Our eyes remain on each other, well, that is until something snaps in both of us. I don’t know who moves first; all I know is that we clash in a flurry of limbs and lips.

He devours me, his hand caressing every inch of my body. My mind is screaming warnings, but I can’t hear them over the pleasure coursing through me. It’s messy and reckless. Wrong in every possible way, but it feels like heaven.

In that moment, riding high on the feel of his body, I don’t feel a shroud of regret.

***

Morning light filters through the thin curtains, dragging me from sleep. My head throbs, and everything feels off.

I blink up at a ceiling I don’t recognize. This isn’t my room. I’m a little bit confused as I try to piece together where I am and how I ended up here.

The heavy arm around my waist is a sure sign that I am in somebody’s bed.

I turn slowly, dread seeping inside my bones. It’s been almost two years since I had a one-night stand, so what the hell happened, and how did I end up here?

When his face registers, everything crashes into me like a fucking avalanche, threatening to bury me alive. The cliff. The kiss. The motel. His hands. My moans. His name on my lips.

Panic grips me, and fear cripples me.

Of all people, why did it have to be him?

Memory after memory assaults me as I scramble out of bed. He fucked me on the hood of my car. I’d thought that was it, but then he told me that he wasn’t done with me yet. We ended up here, where we spent hours tangled in each other.

I scramble to get my clothes. My mind is a huge mess, and my heart won’t stop racing. I can barely breathe as I dress quickly, hoping to leave before he wakes up.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. None of it was supposed to happen, so how did I let it happen? Being high isn’t a damn excuse.

My eyes trail to Noah’s sleeping form. He is on his back, one arm over his eyes and the sheets down to his waist.

A barrage of more scenes comes flooding back into my mind. Scenes I have a feeling would be burned in my memory for the rest of my life

I stand rooted in horror just watching him. Tears spring to my eyes as the weight of what happened between us weighs me down.

My breathing quickens as shame floods my chest.

I slept with Noah Woods.

I slept with Chloe’s husband.

The words continue ringing over and over again in my head like a broken record.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I mutter as guilt and self-disgust press down on me.

A sob claws its way up my throat, but I swallow it down. I need to get out of here. I need to get away before he wakes up and—

Too late.

“What the fuck is going on?” His voice is hoarse and sharp, cutting through the silence like a blade.

I freeze.

A moment passes, and then his booming voice says, “What the fuck are you doing here, Sierra?”

I turn slowly to face him, and the look in his eyes nearly knocks the wind out of me. Disgust. Pure, unfiltered disgust.

I don’t say a single word. I’m too shocked, too horrified, too emotional to say a single word.

He sits up, scrubbing a hand down his face. Then he laughs bitterly.

“Let me guess,” he sneers. “My mom sent you to check on me, and you saw your golden opportunity to finally get in my pants; is that it?”

“W-what?” I stammer, barely able to register his harsh words.

“You knew I was high. You figured since you’ve been drooling over my dick for years, you’d take advantage of the moment.”

“That’s not—”

He cuts me off before I could finish my sentence.

“Right,” he cuts me off coldly. “You knew I wouldn’t fuck you sober, so you went for it when my defenses were down. Do you feel better, Sierra? Was it everything that you’d imagined? I hope I didn’t disappoint.”

His words are cruel, cutting me to the very core of my existence. Noah knew how to crash me. He knew how to destroy me until there was nothing left and I was barely breathing.

I couldn’t stop the tears, but they didn’t seem to affect him. He just stared at me in disgust, with a sneer on his face.

He gets up from the bed, gets his pants, and slips them on.

I begin to shake when he starts walking towards me, only stopping a few feet away.

“I didn’t want you then, and I sure as hell don’t want you now,” he says, each word like poison. “You’re nothing but a desperate whore.”

I don’t think. All I know is that I had heard enough.

My hand flies before I can stop it. The sound of the slap echoes in the small motel room. His face jerks to the side. The red imprint on his cheek eases something in me and gives me a flicker of satisfaction.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that, asshole.” I snap, my voice trembling with fury, “You are the one who came onto me! You are the one that begged me to stay! You don’t get to sit on your high horse and treat me like dirt after you got what you wanted.”

He clenches his jaw, his fists at his side. He is pissed, but I don’t give a fuck.

“I didn’t fuck myself,” I hiss. “So don’t act like I forced you into anything.”

I grab my shoes, slipping them on as tears streak down my face.

“Fuck you, Noah.” I spit, flipping him the middle finger. It was that or hit him again. “And if you ever call me a whore again, I swear I’ll grind your balls into a pulp before shoving them down your fucking throat!”

His eyes blaze with fury, but I don’t care. I won’t let him tear me down. Not again.

I stalk toward the door.

“Oh, and by the way,” I say over my shoulder, “you were a lousy fuck.”

With that, I walk out—shoulders back, chin high. My comeback may be childish, but he isn’t the only one who is allowed to tear someone down. I can give as good as I get.

I rush out of the motel, my heart pounding, my soul cracked wide open, and completely pissed. I should’ve listened to that inner voice. I should’ve known better, but I didn’t, and what’s done is done

Now all I can do is pray I never have to see Noah Woods again.