NOAH

Ch. 1

Chapter 1

I could number every crack in this road, my feet having traveled here many times. My curls tickle my cheeks as the wind blows them across my face, the strands nearly mushing into the moistness of my eye. My curls calm as I step inside the small corner store.

"Morning, Freddy."

"Morning, Nicole. She's out already, huh?"

I scoff, my eyes trained on sour gummy bears. "Of course she is."

I mean come on, she's good at two things. One produced cancer and the other produced her cancerous offspring. Those fucking demons, the youngest the only one worth anything.

"I'll get them rung up for you."

I slide the pouch of bears on the counter, Freddy's cologne masking the stale scent of this dingy store. Despite the stale atmosphere of this place, it housed only good memories. Freddy's a nice old man and he gives me discounts on candy from time to time.

The register beeps as he rings up my bears. "I know you hate coming here."

"I don't have a choice and besides, you're not so bad," I say, grabbing my bag, heading for the door.

Gravel crunches under my feet as I trudge through my hometown, Blue Valley. I check the time on my phone, cursing when it reads a time later than expected. I don't need her shit today, I'm already late and she'll only add to it.

I pick up my pace, sliding my chilled fingers into my pockets. I never should've waited until morning. I should've walked last night, but the city is far from our town and who knows what lurks on the streets of Seattle. I shake my head, my thoughts alongside me as I stalk in the direction of the house.

My curls fly around my face, the wind tangling them beyond repair. As I walk to the house, I scan the perfect little families that pass me. Tiny babies drooling on binkies, little children scraping their knees as they roughhouse on the sidewalk, nearly trampling me as I walk by.

The two story prison, that I call home, comes into view. I can taste the smoke before it infuses my nostrils, the odor nearly toppling me as I walk through the door. A series of rumbles and thumps spread throughout the house as Brayden comes barreling through, Braylen on his tail.

"Come back here!"

"Fuck you!"

I groan, brushing my self off. The five year old demons never know when to quit. "Danielle!"

"What?!"

I toss the cigarettes on the table. "Your cancer is here."

"You could've at least tried to get here faster."

I sigh. "Look, I have to get ready."

"Yeah, for your fake job. Volunteer work is so stupid when you could be making real cash and getting the fuck out of here. I need the space more than you."

I scoff as she places her hand on her protruding belly. Father number four. Child number five. What a role model I have.

"I understand that and I'm looking for jobs. It's not gonna just appear out of nowhere, Danielle. Give me a break."

"I don't care. I need space for my daughter. I'm a good mother." She snatches the cigarettes from the table, lighting one immediately. Her cancer clouds my lungs as she speaks. "I know you don't understand what that is."

My fists tighten into a ball as the words leave her overdrawn lips. I spin around, speeding upstairs as her laughter fills the air, my nails biting into the palm of my hand. I hear her voice booming as my door slams, my fingers twitching as she screeches at me, but I will not let her affect my day. I will not.

I jerk up as my door rattles against it's frame. "Make it quick, Nicole."

***

"Nicole!" Camry yells, waving me over.

I take my time getting to her, the burn of too many cleaning products, singeing the hair in my nose. My shoulders rub against many people as I make my way towards her, her smile bright as if her morning was actually good.

"Hey, Cam."

"Today is the day! Aren't you excited?!" She grabs my wrist, pulling me into the chair beside her.

"I guess so."

"You don't seem excited."

"Whoever I get, I'm sure they're great."

"Well, I'm going with Dr. Keaton. He's dreamy." She chuckles, hand clutched around mine. "You should hurry up and choose, he's very popular."

Then I've already decided no. Too many people. I'm sure Henna and Mackenzie would be joining Camry anyway and I don't want to be a fourth wheel. I never thought that was possible until I started hanging with them. Trying to talk to Camry while they're around is like trying to talk to Beyonce.

"Maybe."

"I'd feel bad if you ended up with Dr. Marsh. Literally, nobody wants to work with him. He's an asshole."

"Is that so?"

She nods, squealing as her eyes snap to the hallway where the surgeons now stand. "Here we go!"

Doctors of many different flavors step forward, gathering volunteers and leaving. There are only two left now and I know exactly who they are. But, there's still loads of people here and Camry said no one would choose Dr. Marsh. I hope she's right.

The better looking of the two, raises his hand. "I'm doctor Keaton. All who want to work with me, follow me down the hall."

Everyone springs from their seats, following him as if they don't see the other doctor standing there. I release a breath of air as Camry takes off behind him with Mackenzie and Henna, not sparing me a second glance. My lips lift into a smile as I sit, the only one left, with Dr. Marsh.

He looks me up and down and sighs. "I guess it's just us then."

I aim my smile in his direction. "I guess so."

"Sorry, I'm late!" A deep voice yells from behind me, startling the smile from my face.

I spin around, my eyes landing on a tall, bright figure. The thin blue fabric of his scrubs was stretched by the width of his arms, the shirt maybe too small for his broad upper body. My eyes train on his full lips as he speaks, a groan rising through me as he shakes hands with Dr. Marsh.

"Welcome to the team, Noah."

"Welcome to the what? What's going on?"

"This is Noah Roberts. He just passed his training and he'll be joining us so you won't be so lonely."

I groan as he smiles at me, mumbling under my breath. "I wasn't lonely."

Noah settles down beside me, his smile still in place despite the frown that covers mine. "I'll keep you company... What's your name?"

"I don't give out my name to strangers."

"Then, lets get to know each other."

A/N:

Oh boy! I'm back!

I was hoping to have this story up earlier but I've been sick and stressed out so I took a break from some stuff, but here we are!

This is the first chapter of my new story NOAH and I really hope you enjoy it. I put a lot of work into it and I really love it and all the characters!

I'll be uploading half of this book today and the other half tomorrow and possibly the next day. So spread the word that another story has joined the family!

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter and the rest! If so maybe leave me some comments telling me what you enjoyed or what you didn't! Also, vote if you can! I truly appreciate all the reads.

Happy reading!