The Beginning Of The End | Cosmic Love Series

six - agree to disagree

The jeep came to a stop. Not in the middle of the road, obviously. Noah managed to pull over. Somehow that was still enraging to other drivers because while my brain was still processing what had literally just happened, a red sports car that was coming up behind Noah's jeep honked and drove right beside him, but not without yelling out some curse words.

"Well?" Noah asked, impatience starting to show.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I wanted to talk back to him, tell him that he had some nerve offering me a ride when for days he wouldn't even bother to say good morning when we were literally sharing the same space. But I didn't.

"I'm going home first. Not the hospital." I clarified before tucking a lost strand of hair from my ponytail behind my ear. "My appointment is not until five."

Noah looked unbothered at my revelation. With a shrug of his shoulders, he asked me the same question again. "Well? Do you still want a ride home?"

I should have said no.

I should have just told him to take a hike and not look back.

But that was rude, and I was raised better than that. I was better than to just drop at his level of rudeness. At least the level of rudeness he's shown me.

"Um..." Up until the very last second, I was unsure, so unsure. "Sure." I ended up saying. I shrugged back and made my way towards the passenger seat, opening the door.

Supporting all my weight on my left leg, I jumped a little to make it to the passenger seat. It was a jeep after all.

The music was way too loud, to the point where I actually thought this could qualify as sound pollution, but I said nothing, not wanting to sound ungrateful.

When the car didn't move an inch and Noah stood still, looking at me while his fingers tapped the steering wheel to the sound of the beat, I thought this had been a prank and I had totally fallen for it. And I immediately regretted accepting his ride.

Never take a ride from strangers. I remembered what my dads had always told me. And so vividly, it made my insides turn right now.

But then he spoke up. "Could you give me the directions?"

Of course. It made sense now. He didn't know where I lived. I mentally slapped myself.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

I fidgeted with the loose strands of my bracelets while I told him where to go and where to turn.

It was a short card ride. Five minutes, probably, since I had already walked a bit.

"Didn't you just sit down at the table with your friends? Like fifteen minutes ago?"

I asked abruptly when he stopped his jeep on the side of the road right outside my house. He chose not to enter the driveway and I chose not to think too much of it.

"Oh yeah, but Ben and I were headed to swim practice and I realized I forgot my shorts, so... I had to drive home real quick."

Swim practice. Yep, all of Harper and Kyle's suspicions check out.

"I'm part of the swim team as well." I blurted out.

"I knew." Noah said, his voice dropping a tone lower, while looking me in the eye.

I can't explain how he did it but his look was so captivating, I stared at him for a solid ten seconds without speaking. Damn it, that was ten whole seconds without even breathing, which felt like ten minutes because by the time a notification sound went off on my phone, I felt like breathing for the first time in a while.