NOAH

Ch. 19

Chapter 19

My fingers wrap around one another as I walk into the sanitized perfume of UMC. My eyes don't have to search for him. He's glowing amongst the dull crowd, head turned to the side as he sits alone in his usual area.

As if he could hear my converse squeak against the floor, his head swivels in my direction. My hands lock on each other as I wait for him to roll his eyes and turn around, forgetting I was his friend, forgetting that he's the hope that holds me together. But his eyes, stay locked on me as his lips lift into a nerve melting grin.

A grin so heart stopping that I nearly overlook the plum discoloration staining his cheekbone.

As I slide into the seat, his lone bruise is joined by a busted lip and a sore, blush red, nose. "Noah, what happened? Are you OK?"

His smile seemed to grow at the question as if I just asked him what he wanted for Christmas. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Yesterday, my brother and I were playing football. As you can see, he's not the best at throwing."

"Why did you keep playing?" I say, inspecting his face. "That's insane."

"Raine, I'm not used to you being this worried about me."

"Noah, I'm serious."

"So am I. I'm not going to tell him to stop playing because it hurts. I don't want him to be afraid to play with me because of fear that he'll hurt me. He worries a lot as it is."

"Well at least wear some kind of face protection."

"Let me know when face condoms hit the shelves."

I shake my head, my lips lifting as he chuckles. "I'll be sure to let you know."

"So, are you free tonight around six?"

My lips lift into a small smile. "I am."

His fingers flick my cheeks, releasing crimson tingles throughout my flesh."Good, I missed you more than ever yesterday. It was so boring. I mean other than when my brother was heaving footballs into my face, but you get the point."

"Sort of."

Noah missed me. Three words I never thought I would ever say in my entire life. Not just him, but anyone other than Dag missing me is a rare thing that only my dreams provide. But, not anymore.

"Lets start where we left off. We wanted to search your mom's name, so let go to the library and do that. We know her real name now."

"OK, but why the library?"

"It's where we first began searching for her. I don't know, it just makes it feel right."

My heart warms as Noah's dedication strikes a match in my core. He wants to do this right, not just for me, for himself as well. Maybe finding my mother will give him the push he needs to find out what happened to his. Because, if we can do this together, we can do anything together.

"Raine?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I like the library, too."

"Are you sure? I know it's where we hit our first dead end as well, bu-"

"Noah, I like the library. It does feel right."

"Good, when we meet her, tell her that it was my idea to start in the lucky library that found her."

"The lucky library? You literally just said that's where we hit our first dead end."

"The sometimes lucky library."