Bad Memories // a.u.

chapter 19: i can't do this

keaton's pov

I knew something was bothering Noelle, more than just the petty fight with Skylar. I wanted to be here for her and take all of her pain away, but I felt like this was bigger than me.

I woke up in the middle of the night and she was laying far away from me, almost falling off the edge of the bed. Her hair a mess around her on the pillow with her legs pulled up close to her chest. I stared at her beauty for a moment in the dim light of my room before pulling her body to mine. She stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up and I was glad for that. I place a light kiss on her forehead and whispered "how did I get so lucky?"

"Hmm?" she asked, fluttering her eyes open.

"Nothing, Elle. Go back to sleep."

She nodded against me, wrapping her arm tight around my waist. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying my hardest to fall asleep but my mind was spinning. I couldn't help but come up with ridiculous ideas of what was going on in that mind of hers even though I tried to convince myself to just wait until she told me what was going on. Finally, sleep overtook me an hour later.

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I woke up to find my bed empty beside me. I sighed, hoping that she didn't leave without telling me. I didn't hear the shower running, so I knew she wasn't in the bathroom. I pulled on a pair of sweats and ventured downstairs to find her sitting at the kitchen table with my mother in the kitchen, cooking. I stopped in my tracks because they hadn't met before. I've mentioned Noelle to her, but they had yet to meet.

"Hey, Keats. Are you hungry? I was just making Noelle here some pancakes."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I walked over to the table and took a seat by Noelle. She shrugged to me when my mom wasn't looking.

"I can't believe I haven't met this young lady before Keaton," my mom chastised. "She's so lovely."

I noticed Noelle smile at her and I placed my hand on her knee. "I'm sorry. I guess I was just trying to avoid embarrassment."

"I'm not that embarrassing, am I?"

"You are a little," I told her as she put plates of pancakes in front of us.

"Well, maybe I shouldn't cook for you anymore then," she pretended to take away my plate.

"You know I love your cooking, mom and I'm sorry about not introducing you before."

"Well, I'm glad I met her now." She placed her hand on Noelle's shoulder. "You're welcome here anytime, ok?"

She nodded. "Thank you. That means so much."

My mom announced she needed to run some errands, saying she would be home later.

"Sorry about that," I told her, my mouth full of syrupy pancakes.

"Why are you sorry? Your mom is lovely and I'm the one who came downstairs. I probably scared her because she didn't even know I was here. If anyone should be sorry, it's me."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I really should have thought about you meeting my mom earlier, considering we've been together awhile."

"I guess I never really thought about it since you can't meet mine," she shrugged.

"Noelle," I started, not really sure what else to say.

She shook her head to stop me from saying anything else. "It's fine. It's nothing either of us can control, but I honestly loved meeting your mom even if it's not the conventional way of meeting the parents or whatever. She was great and so accepting of me." I smiled and I couldn't help falling even more for her. "What?" she asked, with a small laugh.

"Nothing. You're just so beautiful and I don't know how I ever got so lucky."

"I look horrible right now," she gestured to her knit shorts and tank top. Her hair was in a knot on the top of her head, her face free of makeup.

I shook my head, pulling her face to mine. "Absolutely beautiful." I placed a gentle kiss upon her lips.

"I think you're just trying to flatter me, so you'll get something out of it later."

"I would never," I stroked her cheek before going back to my pancakes. She laughed and I decided to change the subject. "So," I started hesitantly. "Are you ready to talk about what's going on?"

She chewed on her bottom lip and picked at the remaining pancake on her plate. "Um, sure. You just have to promise not to freak out, ok?"

"Is it that serious?"

"It could be. I'm not exactly sure yet."

"Well, if it's that serious I can't promise anything."

She let out a loud sigh, dropping her fork with a loud clang. "I'm not sure I can tell you then. I need to know that I can trust you and keep this a secret."

I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands, showing my frustration. What couldn't she trust me with? What could be so serious that she's keeping from me? "Please, Elle. I can tell this is really bothering you and I want you to feel that I'll always be here. I want you to trust me, but if you're in danger or not safe I'm going to be worried and I'm going to want to do something."

"I'm sorry. I can't do this right now." She pushed herself away from the table causing a painful screeching noise as her chair scraped against the floor. She rushed to the door and left me sitting dumbfounded at the table.

hi, I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Sorry this is short. I'm up at my grandmas for Easter, but I wanted to update. Please vote/comment xx zoe