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
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,
Noel awakes the next morning with a headache like no other, experiencing her first hang over ever and not liking it in the least.Why the hell do people drink if this is what they feel like after? Is it because I'm a light weight?Thinking back to the events of last night, everything after arriving at the bonfire is a complete haze. She remembers seeing Harken and the blonde, getting upset and wandering to sit down at the fire then...she met someone."What was it? Kyle?" she tries to remember, only briefly grasping his name but not much of their conversation. Looking around at herself and the bed, it doesn't seem anything bad happened, but she notices it looks like the covers were tossed off next to her.Putting her hand on the sheets, she is confused to feel that they're still warm, as if there was someone next to her the entire night and they left just recently.Someone slept here, but I'm still completely clothed? She stops and sniffs her hair a little."Oh god, what is that smell
Harken is already at the party by the time Noel and Priscilla make their way over, having to follow Nolan and Karl as they walk back and forth to guide people through the dense forest covering the entire private area. He seems to have found a group of slightly older-looking guys and is deep in conversation with them about something Noel can’t quite hear. Deciding not to bother him, she wanders towards the food table and starts loading up a plate, not having much since breakfast this morning and the few pastries earlier. She looks around to see if she can spot Kyle, but he doesn’t seem to be here yet or attending at all. She does notice one guy eyeing her from the corner of her eye but doesn’t get the greatest feeling and decides to ignore him, grabbing a bun to finish off her plate and turning away to find Priscilla. She is sitting with Karl and Nolan on the deck, a few other strange girls sitting around them. Sitting down next to Priscilla, Nolan notices and looks over at her with
**WARNING** This book is rated mature for language, use/mentions of alcohol and drugs, and casual sex scenes. There is a casual smut scene in this chapter, not suitable for the young ones. I am an amateur, this is a YA romance and I have tried my best, you have been warned, I apologize if it's cheesy/cliche xD ~*~ After the air is cleared between Noel and Harken, everything finally out in the open and so many questions from before finally answered, Noel feels like a huge weight has been lifted off her chest and is replaced with fuzzy warmth being in Harken’s arms. “I’m going to have to leave soon. No doubt the cops are going to figure out I was involved pretty quickly,” Harken mutters, resting his cheek against the top of her head. Noel quickly shakes her head. “No worries, Priscilla’s handling it.” “That doesn’t make me feel any better,” he frowns. Noel giggles. “You forget who her dad is, she is a pro at scheming her way
“What about something like this?” Priscilla calls out among the racks of clothes. She pulls out a skirt and holds it over the aisles for Noel to see a few rows down.“Have you ever seen me wear a skirt?” she asks, wrinkling her nose.Priscilla groans and shoves it back on the rack. They’ve spent the better parts of the morning looking for a birthday outfit for Noel to wear, despite not even knowing if she plans to do anything for it today.Her dad has been an active presence at home ever since she got back from her trip, making it impossible for her and Harken to get a moment alone. She has stayed up until all hours of the morning the past couple days just so she can see Harken, climbing up to the roof from her bedroom window and spending hours cuddles up together for warmth, talking about whatever comes to mind, or mostly making up for lost time.Being intimate in general in the house is off limits, with Noel never allowed to lock her door at night and her father having the eyes and
**Warning**This book is rated 18+ for minor violence, language and casual sex scenes. There is an upcoming scene not suitable for young viewers in this chapter, read at your own caution! (also, because I suck at writing these scenes D:)~*~Once the sun has risen higher in the sky, Noel starts to feel the exhaustion getting to her again, taking a look around at the leftover mess of their night.“How are you going to clean this up now?” she asks.Harken doesn’t answer her, his eyes glued to his phone screen.“Harken?” she calls but he doesn’t seem to hear her. “Hey, you okay?” she tries again, nudging him slightly.“Huh, what?” He shakes his head and blinks a few times. “Sorry, must have zoned out. What did you say, Little Red?” He quickly tucks his phone away in his pocket.Noel frowns, wondering if she should bother asking.“I just asked if you were okay. Was it a bad message?”He shakes his head. “I thought it was someone I used to know, but it was a wrong number, nothing bad. We s
“Where do you want me to start?” Harken asks, getting an odd sense of deja-vu.“What was he talking about, you guys were arrested together?”Harken nods. “Yeah, there were quite a few times we were caught together in the past, but the last time I was arrested it was thanks to him. Nate had snuck into the bar down the street, Carnegie Hall, or something like that, and had a few drinks before the manager saw him and asked for ID. When he couldn’t give any, he was kicked out and he turned sour about it, so he plotted to go back and wreck the place afterwards. He told me we were just going to smash a few bottles of alcohol and maybe take one or two.”He pauses and takes a sip of his drink, switching the harsh scotch for the smoother taste of beer. “Well, we weren’t the only ones there when we broke into the place. Turns out the owner of the bar had some troubles of his own, and there were a bunch of thugs waiting for us. We had our buddy Ashton with us to keep look-out, he was the one who
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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. “
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
**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