Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
“I’m taking her home, Noah,” I say, glancing back toward the field where Coach Martin is looking this way, and judging by the look on his face, Noah certainly didn’t receive approval to come over here. “Go back to your team before you get in trouble.”
His gaze flicks to Hazel, scanning over her face, not giving a single care for the team back on the field. “What happened?”
“What happened is that you gave Hazel a jersey with your name on it and painted a big red target on her back the same way you did me,” I say, taking the scrunched-up jersey from my hand and throwing it into his chest, unsure why I feel so angry with him when all he did was invite an adoring fan to his first game of the season. “It’s one thing for your harem of cheerleading skanks to attack me and call me trash just for knowing you, but for that same bullshit to be aimed at Hazel? That’s not okay.”
Understanding dawns, and horror flashes in his eyes as he quickly closes the distance between us, grabbing Hazel and pulling her against his chest, his arm circling around her body. She tries to hold herself together, but it’s clear that Shannan’s words are still hitting hard.
Noah drops a kiss to her temple as though she’s the most precious little girl in the world. “I’ll fix it,” he says, ignoring Coach Martin’s demand that he get his ass back to the field.
“Fix it?” I scoff, anger lacing my veins and filling me with ugliness. “How the hell are you going to do that? She’s already been exposed to it. No amount of fixing can change that.”
Noah curses under his breath before letting out a pained sigh and holding my gaze. “Zoey, I . . . Fuck. I know I’ve done nothing but let you down, but I’m asking you to have faith in me. I’m going to fix this.”
I hold his stare for a moment when Coach Martin’s bellowing cuts through the silence, and we all glance back to find him a shitload closer than he was before, his face red with anger. “Noah Ryan, you get your goddamn ass back on my field right this fucking minute, otherwise, you’ll be warming the bench for the whole damn season.”
“Shit,” Noah mutters, releasing his hold on Hazel and glancing back over his shoulder to see his coach, and as I glance back in the same direction, I can’t help but notice two sets of eyes locked on us—Tarni looking as though she wants to murder me, and Shannan looking as though her whole world just came crumbling down.
Noah still hovers, and I step closer, giving him a little shove, hating the zap of electricity that burns between us as my fingers skim across his skin. “Go, Noah,” I tell him. “Hazel will be fine. We’ll stop for chocolate sundaes on the way home.”
He meets my stare, and the reluctance in his eyes tells me there’s still so much he wants to say, things that he’s left unsaid for years. But now isn’t the time.
“Go,” I urge.
Pain flashes in his eyes, and he quickly glances away, looking down at Hazel and ruffling his hand over her hair, the same way he used to do to Linc. Hazel laughs and swats him away, then before he can convince himself to say something he’s probably not ready to say, he shoves the jersey back into Hazel’s hands and takes off at a jog back to the field.
Slinging my arm over Hazel’s shoulder, we make our way back to my Range Rover, then just as I go to reach for the door, I stop, pulling Hazel to a halt at my side. “Remember how Noah and Linc would have gone to the ends of the earth to protect us?”
Hazel nods, her brows furrowed as she looks up at me.
“Wanna bet Noah still will?”
With that, we turn back to the field just in time to see Noah stride straight past his bellowing coach and the other exhausted football players, and the rigid way he holds his shoulders tells me shit is about to go down.
Shannan sees him coming a mile away, and I listen to Hazel’s sharp gasp as she realizes what’s happening. Then in front of the entire school, Principal Daniels, and the opposing team, Noah strides right into Shannan and backs her up against the boards of the grandstand until she’s trapped there.
The terror in her eyes is visible from here, and I watch as he leans into her and says something in her ear, not laying a single finger on her as the color drains from her face. And with that, he’s done with her. He pushes away and walks back toward his teammates while Shannan drops to the ground, shaking against the boards, her arms locking around her knees as tears stream down her face.