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Chapter Six
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Seven
Harken stayed in his room for the rest of the night, not even answering when Noel tried to tell him dinner was ready, and when her dad tried again after. In the end, he gave up on trying to coax him out and went to the office, most likely for the night. Noel took his serving and wrapped them up, placing them in the fridge in case he ever decided to come out later.Putting on a comfortable pair of jogging pants and a fluffy sweater, she grabs a bag of Doritos and a box of Ritz crackers, seating herself in the middle of the couch and getting herself comfortable to binge watch the series Shameless, assuming she has the living room and most of the house to herself for the night with no other homework for tomorrow.A few episodes in and Noel is immersed in the show, not even paying attention to whether she is grabbing chips or crackers, she doesn't hear the creak of Harken coming down the stairs. Before she can react, he jumps on the couch and snatches the bag of Doritos away from her, hog
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Eight
After the argument between Harken and Noel that night, it seemed he listened and obeyed to what she said about staying away from her. It has been a few weeks now and neither of them have said a word to each other, never having the need to unless they want to. Harken hasn't offered to give her a ride to or from school since the last time, leaving before she gets up in the morning and gone before she gets to the parking lot after class.She avoided returning to Mr. Baldwin's class and ended up backing out from taking pictures for the homecoming dance, not bothering to go, and staying home to emerge herself in her painting like she did every other year. He was devastated, but there was nothing else he could do. Noel skipped the party at Karl's place, though Harken himself didn't attend either and locked himself in his room for the night instead, she didn't have it in her to go, regardless of if it meant giving up an opportunity to get closer to Nolan. Math is the only class they have tog
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Nine
Another week has gone by after the day at the mall and Harken is back to acting like Noel doesn't exist, this time her anger lasting a lot longer than it did before.Priscilla praised her a lot after that day for being so bold with Nolan, but Noel knows she only got the confidence that she did because she was provoked by Harken, and probably won't have it again. Therefore, despite Priscilla's nagging, she hasn't tried to approach Nolan since. The party he invited them is tonight, but Noel is once again thinking of backing out.Coming to her locker at the end of the school day, she contemplates what excuse to use to get out of the party, knowing Priscilla will insist on coming over tonight to help her pick an outfit and get ready, and is suddenly approached by Nolan."I never got the chance to thank you again for inviting me to hang with you guys' last weekend, it turned a weird day into a pretty good one," he says.Noel is surprised when she doesn't become flustered like usual by his
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Ten
Priscilla is the first person Noel texts when she gets home, the excitement and nerves finally hitting her by the time she makes it home after the party. Thankfully Harken doesn't seem to return home for the night, no doubt spending it with Amy at her place."You owe me a lot for passing your number off to Nolan, just sucks he took so long finally asking you out. Why did you leave the party so early last night?" Priscilla asks the next morning, lounging across her bed as Noel rummages through her closet for something decent to wear."It's just a movie, don't get too ahead of yourself." Noel says this but she too is silently getting ahead of herself, and she knows it, taking so long just to pick an outfit being her first clue.They're attention is brought to her slightly open door as they hear someone stumbling around downstairs. Noel and Priscilla share a strange look before wandering over to the door in time too see Harken staggering up the stairs."Was he out the entire night?" Pris
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Eleven
Noel doesn't know how she managed to make it back home, but after falling asleep on top of the water tower, she woke up the next morning in her bed, still wearing the same clothes from last night. She tried asking Harken what happened, but as usual, he was gone before she woke up in the morning.Her only hope is to ask him at school, but on her way with Priscilla, she was asked how her night went, which reminded her of the shameful events that took place between Harken and her.She had her first kiss taken by Harken Lewis.Noel's face gave away her thoughts the second she thought of them, causing Priscilla to hound her for information the entire car ride, not even resting when they arrived at Noel's locker."Just tell me! What happened after I left last night? Did Nolan end up texting you back?" Priscilla asks. At the mention of his name, Noel remembers that she never responded to his text last night and instead just fell into despair the moment she read it. Maybe today she can have t
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twelve
Harken is completely stunned, barely feeling the phone hit his chest, his eyes focusing on how pissed off Noel is, racking his brain for what he could have possibly done now. His heart leaps out of his chest when tears start to well in her eyes, and he sees she is clutching her phone like a lifeline.Looking down he picks up his own, tapping on the screen to reveal the text message she meant for Nolan."Oh shit," he whispers unintentionally. This is all Noel needs to hear before she turns on her heel and runs off.Fuck, no!"Go, we can do this another day," Abel says and throws Harken his bike keys. He is already walking back inside when Harken jumps on his bike, forgetting his helmet still on the ground and takes off. Noel isn't anywhere to be seen on the downtown strip, making him wonder if she is going to run all the way back to school.Knowing how upset and embarrassed she must be feeling right now, there's no chance she wants to show her face at school. He rips the bac around and
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirteen
The day comes and goes, and before she knows it, Noel is staring down her closet at 5 in the morning, barely able to see two inches in front of her through bleary eyes, as she attempts to pick out clothes for her week away.She doesn't understand how someone like Karl could ask everyone to wake up so damn early on a Saturday for a plane ride. She always assumed he was the kind of person to sleep in until all hours of the day, much like herself.Yet here she is, barely able to process she is awake.A loud knock on the door startles her awake, Harken walking it without waiting. She praises herself for putting on pajama shorts as soon as she got up, finding them laying on the ground next to her bed from last night."I could've been naked, you know?" she mumbles, slowly falling back to her sleep induced state.Harken shrugs. "So? What is taking you so long, I've been packed for 20 minutes now. Isn't Priscilla meeting us here at 5:30? You haven't packed anything or taken a shower yet."Noe
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Fourteen
Noel doesn't stop running until she reaches the cottage, breaking through the door and marching straight back to her room. As soon as the door is closed, she stands in the middle of the room and takes a massive breath, as if trying to suck back all the tears gathering in her eyes.She tries to reason with the two opposing sides quarrelling inside her. One side wants to rationalize how Harken treated her and what he said to her, trying to find justification for his hurtful and overbearing actions since this morning, but the other side of her is arguing that there is none.He went overboard went he called her easy. She could ignore the way he was acting before because she could justify it by thinking he is just looking out for her.But all her and Priscilla were doing was standing there, splashing water at each other. If anything, she was worried guys might think they're childish. It wasn't like they were trying to act all cute and sexy while splashing each other like a Bay Watch movie,
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Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Seven
He was a boy; she was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious? Noel reaches over and rips her phone off the charging cord to press her finger on the screen to snooze her alarm, before lazily tossing it aside on her bed. Today is the day she takes her school exams ahead of everyone else. It wasn’t hard to convince her principal and other teachers to let her after she showed them both the letter of acceptance and her swift pass on the final interview for her top-picked college, they almost insisted at that point. She only really has two exams to take for Math and English, with Social Studies being mainly a slightly bigger test than your average class test. Her teachers assured her that it wouldn’t take her more than the morning to complete, and Noel can even have her exams graded on the spot by the respective subject teachers, and her final grade given by the end of the day. There was only one question that held her back from jumping fo
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Six
It has been three days now and Noel hasn’t heard anything from her last interview with CCA, but Priscilla keeps trying to put her in high hopes by talking to her father every day. To make matters worst, she returned to the abandoned water tower the night after they got back from San Francisco and the copy of the acceptance letter she left there was gone, but she had no way of telling if it was Harken, someone else, or even the wind one night that took it away. Now, she is just left wondering if it was Harken, what he has done with it and what he is thinking now. Priscilla convinced her to block his number but that isn’t stopping him from showing up at the house or school, though there hasn’t been a sign of him. Which tells her it really is over between them. He is aware she has been accepted into the California College of Arts and will be leaving soon, completely unaware of how soon that might be. No one else ever goes to tha
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Five
Deep breaths don’t let yourself panic. You got this.Noel continues the mantra over in her head, but it doesn’t seem to help as she patiently waits outside the office doors of the college board officials who will be administering his final interview. It’s described as a formality and a way for the school to meet a candidate in person before they enter.But anyone with knowledge of this school would know this interview could still make or break their acceptance altogether.“Miss Ashford? We’re ready for you,” a slender woman with sleek blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail calls out to her. She is wearing a light blue pantsuit with a white dress shirt and a gentle smile.Noel wipes her hands down her pants to remove the sweat before walking forward to shake her hand, hoping her smile is as bright and gentle as hers despite how much the corners of her mouth are twitching.“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Ms. Miles, and I will be one of the three board members interviewing you
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Four
Noel is now weeks away from graduation and has yet to hear a single word from Harken or see him anywhere. She has gone to the pub a couple of times with Priscilla to visit Abel, but she has never caught sight of Harken and Abel, despite noticing her looking around, never saying anything about him. It’s as if he has simply disappeared, and she is the only one who remembers he ever existed. She wishes it were that simple for her. Even though the room he once occupied has been reverted back into a guest room, void of any sign Harken ever stayed there, she can still picture the time and memories spent in that tiny space. They are clear as day in her mind, like every other piece of him that remains around the house. Her dad is also acting as he they never had anyone else living with them for the last 9 months, making being at home almost unbearable. Sitting in her room, she stares at the copy of her acceptance letter into CCA, the one she planned to give to Harken and has attempted to
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Three
Noel has locked herself in her room for the last three days, having her dad call in sick for her at school and getting Priscilla to drop off her homework after class. Every time he tried to enter her room, she has thrown a pillow or piece of clothing at yelled at him to get out.Refusing to see anyone or barely touching a plate of food, Scott feels he has no choice but to force his way through using a shield. Phoning in the buffer, Priscilla shows up soon after with a determined look on her face.“Is she still in her room?” she asks.Scott nods. “Hold on, take this with you.” He hands her an envelope.The letter from California College of Arts.“When did this come in?”“A few days ago, but the incident at the school field happened not long after, and now this.”Priscilla nods firmly and marches upstairs, already knowing what she needs to do. Throwing open Noel’s bedroom door, she ducks as soon as a pillow is launched at her face and holds out her hands to fend off the balled-up shirt
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Two
“All right, when we get there don’t say anything until I tell you or they ask you directly. I know you’re nervous and when I get nervous I tend to say more than needed or I don’t make sense.” Noel’s dad continues to lecture her as they approach the front entrance of the police station. “Dad, relax, who are you accusing of being too nervous right now? I’m fine,” she says and brushes him off to walk ahead of him. There is a rush of ringing phones and loud chatter once they enter, people dressed in both police gear and light business attire run back and forth between two rows of perfectly aligned desks. Noel’s dad clutches her to his side to keep her from getting sidewinded as one whiz past her at a close distance. “I didn’t expect it to be so crazy here. What happened?” he mutters. “Why don’t we ask him,” Noel says and points out the only guy sitting alone at a desk, looking quite bored. “Hello, folks. What can I do for you?” the man asks when they approach the desk. Noel sits down
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-One
You’ve got to be kidding me… Harken stares on in silence as the shed is rapidly engulfed in flames, the foul odour of burning rubber and plastic from the gym and field equipment trapped inside fills the air, no doubt alerting someone close by soon enough. He barely hears his phone go off in his pocket, grabbing it at the last second to see Scott’s name. “Where the hell are you? Did you actually break into the school, Harken?” Scott starts screaming. Never thought I’d say this but – thank god he’s here! “Noel, I need you to run and meet your dad at the entrance of the school.” She gapes at him, still looking pale and ghastly. “What the hell are you going to do?” “I’m going to stay and call for help, I don’t want you getting messed up in this. I’ll just tell them I was smoking up and accidentally caught fire to the shed.” Noel grips his arms as if to glue him in place. “
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty
It’s been a few days now since the accident and Noel is finally able to return to school with not as much damage done as she expected to her studies and grades. The police report came back that the brakes were at fault and needed to be replaced before the accident, which caused them to seize when pushed down at full force.Noel remembers specifically, however, that Priscilla’s brakes stopped working before she tried pressing down on the pedal, a clear indication the brakes weren’t working well before she even tried using them at all.But even Harken and Abel confirmed that a thorough check was done of the car before it was impounded, Priscilla’s parents refusing to let her drive it anymore.Harken has also been spending a lot more time at the pub with Abel, spending most nights at his apartment down the street so they can work easier, still tracking down the man who broke into the bar and dealing with Mayor Wright trying to buy out the entire block of businesses.Noel has been trying
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Nine
**WARNING Sexual Content Included in Chapter**~*~ After agreeing to listen to Abel’s story, they climb out of the car and walk over to the nearby children’s park, barren at the time with everyone else in school or at work at this hour. They pick a picnic table near the sandlot and sit down. He takes a deep breath and contemplates where to start, still unsure of where the sudden feeling of wanting to share with her has come from. Since coming to Bisbee, Harken has been the only person outside his family with whom he has confided his secrets and stories with. “I’ll start by sharing that the father I have with me here is not my biological father, to give context to the story. He helped my mother and I get away from the abusive man I once called my father, the man we escaped Cairo because of. He is a military man with a high ranking and even here it’s no secret how corrupt the government-run military is in Egypt. My mother had met my father online as j
