Noah's Lifeline

Vegas Memoirs Pt. 2

Author's spiel : Hey ya'll, no I didn't d*e. I know I said I was going to update on Thursday and then Friday but the truth is I'm such a perfectionist and I didn't want to publish scraps.

FORGIVE ME PLS ):

P.S.S I love seeing your comments and checking out your various reading lists! My trip to Vegas feels like it was ages ago but I'm going to give these two the experience I had and then some . This may be my last update for a minute

Unedited

Zahra's POV

I should've known Madden and Lauren were up to no good when I got that text early in the morning just as I got home from class. I had been sitting at my desk and finishing my report about stem cell self-renewal when a new message notification came across my screen.

Hey boo, you up for a stem cells and sociology session at 2 ? Madden promised snacks in the fridge and there's more being delivered (:

I bit my lip as I read again and considered Lauren's invite. On one hand, it felt wrong to go the Noah's home when I hadn't responded to his earlier text or multiple calls. On the other, I desperately wanted to see a friend that wasn't giving me the cold shoulder like Legacy had been doing lately. She was literally in the bedroom opposite of mine and had ignored all my attempts to clear the air between us.

For example - I'd approached her in the kitchen and she passed me up for the washroom. Or I'd ask if she wanted to pop by her family's restaurant and she'd roll her eyes and continue going crazy at her keyboard. I felt smaller and smaller with each attempt and I hated it.

I hadn't lived with someone with such disdain for me since I'd left my parent's house and I didn't miss the feeling at all. The mix of stress that came with my assignments and irritation at being forced to relive my familial trauma had allowed two zits to rise to the surface of my forehead.

In the same place they always were when they made their grand entrance

I tapped my forehead in frustration but stopped once Cartier began nipping at my toes. He whimpered and moved to bump his cold wet nose against my heel once I looked down to acknowledge him. I hadn't moved from this seat in awhile so he definitely needed me to take him out soon.

Sighing, I rose from my bean bag and went to fish for his leash in my closet. I found it under the box of my favorite memoirs and froze. Not at the leash but at the picture peeking from the bottom of the stack.

Windblown blond waves covering sharp blue eyes that stared deeply into mine. The camera had caught him in the midst of an adoring smile that seemed to only be reserved for me and it tugged at the strings of my heart, even now.

Torturing yourself and for what ?

I quickly stashed the photo back from where it came and moved to leash my pup. He tilted his head at me curiously but quickly moved on when I opened the door. The walk was nothing special but I could hardly focus on the path as my thoughts went back to Noah, school, and Lauren's invite.

My head felt like it was spinning between my responsibilities, friend, and beau. I was usually good at decisions but I had a lot more to make lately than I'd ever had in my life. I audibly groaned before deciding to just table it for now.

The walk went pretty fast after that and Cartier and I were back at my place before I knew it. Legacy's car was gone now so no awkward run ins were in the cards now. After refilling his food and water I left Cartier to take another shower.

Once the warm droplets cascaded down my torso I allowed my muscles to relax. The water was where I felt the lightest and if my hair wasn't so thick and curly I could literally stay in there forever. Instead of forever I settled for a half hour as I deep conditioned my scalp and parted my hair into clean sections. I would have to come back and wash it out soon enough but this was always the easier method.