𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝

Chapter Sixteen

B E L L A M Y

Friday evening, I had put on a blue dress with thin straps and did my hair up, hopefully not looking like I tried my best with my appearance.

Reed was just a friend, but that didn't mean I couldn't dress up for dinner.

Quickly grabbing a pair of white sneakers, I made my way out of my room and down the stairs.

Noah was watching another documentary—no surprise there—but I walked to the couch anyway.

What would he think of my outfit?

"Whoa," I exclaimed, scolding myself for wanting him to like it in the first place.

Noah looked up at me with a frown, and his gaze went to the television before he snapped his head back in my direction.

He took me in from head to toe, and I swore I saw him swallow hard, but I ignored it.

Dropping my shoes next to the dinner table, I plopped on the couch next to him, though trying to sit as far away as possible.

Now I just had to wait until Reed came to pick me up.

The true-crime documentary Noah was watching turned out to be quite interesting, and I found myself glued to the screen at one point.

Until something black caught my eye.

"Ahh!" I screamed, jumping up on the couch but keeping my eyes on the huge-ass spider that just crawled from under the sofa.

"What the fuck, Bellamy?" Noah exclaimed, looking up to me with a scowl.

I lost my balance and grabbed his shoulder for support, making shrieking noises as I pointed to the animal the caused my fear.

"Holy fuck," Noah said, jumping on the couch next to me.

"Get it!"

He looked at me with a brow raised. "Me? You get it."

"What?" My eyes flickered from the spider to him, but neither one of us moved. Luckily, the spider stayed put too.

"Why should I get it? Get it yourself."

I looked at him with wide eyes, having nothing more to say.

We stared at each other for a minute, before we both looked at the spider, hoping it would just disappear into thin air or something.

"Ah!" The both of us screamed when it moved, and I lost my balance again, almost falling back.

Noah grabbed me just in time, one arm around my waist and the other on the back of the couch to support himself.

"Shit," I mumbled, his fingers burning into my flesh through the fabric of my dress, reminding me how dangerous it was to be so close to him.

We straightened up on the couch and looked away from each other, an uncomfortable silence settling between us.

But, fortunately for us, Isaac came to save the day.