I glanced over at Noah. His hands had balled into fists when the cabbie called me 'sweetheart'. He was still shivering.
"Guess who's not getting a tip," I said, glaring at the back of his head.
Surprisingly, Noah defended him. "It's not his fault the heat is broken." His body was racked with another shiver.
"It's not that. He was rude to me. Slammed the divider in my face!"
"All right, but it's you that's making the enemy of a cabbie, not me, sweetheart," Noah said. His lips were turning blue.
"Out of all the fucking taxis in New York, we got the one with the broken heater." I unbuckled my seat belt and scooted over to the middle seat, closer to him.
I pressed my side against his, hoping that my body heat would help him keep warm. Automatically, his arm went around me and pulled me closer to him. He turned his head so that his lips were pressed against my head.
"You're not doing a very good job of showing people that we're not together, love."
"Oh, shut up. You and I both know that I'm just doing this to keep you from actually freezing to death."
His breath tickled my ear as he laughed quietly. "Yeah, but you're enjoying it, just a little."
The truth was, I was enjoying the close proximity to him, even though it made my heart pound. The weight of me lying to him was pressing on me more than ever. I'd never really given it much thought before that moment, pressed against him in that freezing taxi cab.
"Are you okay? You're abnormally quiet." Noah's breath tickled my neck, making goose bumps appear on my skin.
I sighed. "I'm okay."
If he knew me well enough to call my bluff, he didn't show it but stayed silent. Finally, he said, "If you want to talk about - "
"I don't."
We were both silent all the way to his apartment after that.
Upon arriving at his building, I paid the cabbie the bare minimum without a tip and left before he could notice. "You didn't tip him, did you." It was a statement, not a question.
"I told you I wouldn't. I'm a woman of my word," I said.
Noah shook his head in disbelief. "What am I going to do with you?"
I grinned at him as we hurried into the lobby of the building out of the snow. When we got into the elevator, Noah had warmed up a lot. We rode to the top floor in a comfortable silence.
"Just wait out here, I'll pack a bag and change, too," Noah told me before heading back into his bedroom.
I grabbed a Coke from the fridge and plopped down onto the couch. After a few minutes, Noah's phone went off, signaling a text. I grabbed it from its place on the end table. The sender's name was Emma.
It read: Why the hell did I find out that you were in the hospital from the news? I thought I meant more to you than that.
Against my will, jealousy reared its ugly, green head. I shoved it down forcefully. "Did I just get a text?" Noah asked, coming out of his bedroom and taking his phone from me.
"Yeah. From some girl called Emma. She your girlfriend?" I asked, half-joking.
He didn't answer me as he read. "No. She's my sister." He left the room with his phone, dialing a number. I sat on the couch, confused about his reaction.
A few minutes later, I heard Noah yelling into the phone. "Damn it, Emma! You live across the Goddamn Atlantic Ocean. You're not going to come visit me while I'm in the hospital!"
There was a pause, where I assumed Emma was talking.
"For the love of God! I'm an FBI agent! Shit happens! I know - I know the damn risks!"
Another pause.
"Mum - " He sighed. "Okay! I made a mistake! Yes, I made a fucking mistake because I'm not fucking perfect...! Sorry, sorry. I know - yes, I know. I've got the accent - Yes mum, that's what happens when you've lived - for six years. Yeah, yeah, I love you too. I'll come down for Christmas, sure. Yes, I'm sure I'm fine. Just in a little pain. Okay, okay, 'Bye."
The bedroom was silent for a while. The shower started. Noah was in there for a long time. I started to get worried, so I got up and ran into the bathroom. The water shut off. I knocked on the door of the bathroom. "Are you okay in there?" Noah wrenched the door open.
He was wearing nothing but a towel tied low around his hips. My eyes traveled down his torso. His chest and stomach were scarred. The ones from Lily were still stitched up and fresh. "I'm okay. Thanks." His voice was strained and curt.
He turned around. When he turned, I saw that he had scars that looked like they'd been intentionally placed. Almost like he'd been beaten by something. I grabbed his bare shoulder. "What are these?"
He pulled out of my grip. "Battle scars. From the job."
"No. I know what those look like. These aren't your everyday scars. They look like they were made with - "
"Made with what?" His eyes were filled with anger, daring me to finish the sentence.
I worked my jaw. "Noah, it looks like you were beaten," I whispered.
He slammed the door in my face.
Happy New Year! I'm so glad that this year from hell is over. I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, though. I wanted to go deeper into Noah's character because I never really had a back story for him, but I read recently that I should develop every character as much as the main protag. Free advice from Seal.
Questions, Questions (Sorry there weren't any last update)
1) Thoughts on the *totally platonic* snuggling in the cab?
2) Do you think that Anita will ever make up with Gabriel? I don't know about you, but I miss him.
3) What do you think happened to Noah?
4) Are you making any New Year's Resolutions? I am. One of the items on it is to make/stick to a New Year's resolution lol.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Make sure you vote, comment, follow me, and add this to your reading list so you don't miss an update.
xCelia
P.S. I've officially renamed this! Do you like it?
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The Anatomy of Killer
Ficción General"You know how they say that the shot heard around the world was the one that started the Revolutionary War? Yeah, well they were wrong. It was the shot fired directly at my chest by a man that I thought was my friend" I was given a second chance at...
