Wonderwall

Chapter 15

I wake with a start, shooting up in my spot on the couch. I fell asleep on Mom.

I look around the living room, and when I don't see Noah, I feel my heart shatter all over again.

Oh god, I miss him so much. I miss him. I miss his laugh and his smile and the way he looks at me. I miss how he teases me, and how protective he is. I miss the way he walks, and the way he holds my hand. I miss his mouth, and the way he tastes.

"Relax." Mom rubs my back. "It was just the doorbell."

"The doorbell?" I repeat, more awake now, remembering I fell asleep after I came downstairs from finding Noah's jacket.

"Yes." She says, confused. "I'll get it, sweetheart."

Noah.

My gut says it's Noah.

"No!" I say, panicked, practically yanking her back onto the couch.

She looks at me like I'm insane.

"Brecklyn, it's okay." She says.

I stand up, walking into the foyer.

I open the wood door, and the glass door, and I kid you not, there he stands.

He's hugging himself, because it's snowing and windy and he's in a t-shirt and shorts. He looks like he's going to freeze his ass off, and he keeps looking at the street, thinking about running for it.

I stare at him for a second, letting it register in my brain that he's standing before me.

That dream was inaccurate. If Noah was there, I would freak out, not run from him.

He has a scar on his forehead that he didn't have before.

"Noah." I say, my voice hushed.

His lips are blue.

I take a deep breath.

"What are you doing? You're going to get hypothermia!" I gasp, pulling him into the house.

I shut the glass door, and the front door, rubbing my hands up and down his arms.

"I'm s-sorry." He mumbles, his teeth chattering.

"It's okay." I smile, peering into his eyes, as if I'm never going to see him.

I might cry.

I don't think I've ever cried in front of him before.

There's a wall blocking the front door from the living room, so nobody can see him.

I bite my lip, still rubbing my hands up and down his arms.

And then the dam breaks. I stop rubbing his arms, and I stand there, looking at him.

His eyebrows furrow in sadness when he sees the look on my face.

He opens his mouth to say something. I open my mouth to say something, and I don't know what it was, but just as I try, a tear rolls down my cheek, and another, and then I lose it, burying my face in my hands, which are now cold, my body shaking with silent sobs.

I feel his strong arms wrap around me, and I start crying harder, because he's here, and he's hugging me.

And he's here.

I cling to him, fisting his t-shirt in my hands. He holds onto me.

I pull away after my episode. He looks concerned.