Are you mine?

Chapter 36

I fell asleep in Noah's arms, surrounded by the warmth radiating from his chest and the scent of his cologne that smells like home. As opposed to every other night, when my bed is missing him and I toss and turn for hours, in the comfort of his embrace sleep came to me in a matter of seconds.

I wake up abruptly, suddenly aware of the amount of sunlight that's coming in from the window above me. It seems like the clouds have cleared and my eyes are hating me right now for having forgotten to close the drapes last night. I sit upright flipping my hair out of my face as I hear the faint sound of chattering coming from upstairs. Looking around I realise that it's the second time Noah has slipped away from me while I slept. His shoes are gone, my phone is plugged into the charger he was using, and his keys and wallet are nowhere in sight. I sigh, not being able to help but feel a little disappointed. I bet he's a treat for the eyes when he wakes up, with messy hair and thick lashes lining his forest green eyes as he opens them up, but it seems like I'm not getting that treat just yet.

I grab my phone to check the time, ten a.m., and a message notification appears on my screen.

Syd:

Hey. I miss you, and I feel horrible for the things I said. Apology shopping spree?

A few seconds later, after receiving no reply from me, she texts again,

Please?

She did make me feel horrible about what was already a shitty situation, but I get where she was coming from, and I don't blame her for directing her anger towards me. Besides, she apologised and I'm not one to hold a grudge.

Maddison:

I'll meet you at the mall in an hour.

I walk up the stairs, groggily rubbing my puffy eyes, and I make a pit stop at the bathroom to wash my face and check my reflection in the mirror. Beelining straight for the coffee machine in the kitchen, with a dry mouth, I put a mug that's halfway filled with milk in the microwave while I wait for my coffee to brew, its delightful aroma floating around in the air. I dig through the pantry for something to eat, but I only find a sad, empty box of lucky charms.

As I'm leaning scour through the cupboards under the sink, my search is interrupted by the sound of the microwave beeping, and I go take my mug out. I walk to the counter to pour the fresh coffee in and as I reach for the pot I look outside the window in front of me. In the small garden table on the deck sit my dad, my mom, and a very chatty Noah. I can't help but smile at the sight.

Noah is buttering up a piece of toast, looking deep in conversation with my mom as she pours him a glass of orange juice. His perfect teeth make an appearance when his mouth stretches into a smile and my heart does a backflip. It tends to do that a lot when Noah is around, and right now it's going crazy, calling out to the boy I now know I'm in love with.

"I knew you wouldn't have left without saying goodbye," I say, sliding the glass open and folding my arms on the windowsill.

His head instantly snaps in my direction, following my voice, and his smile grows wider, "I couldn't miss family breakfast, now could I?"

"Good morning honey," my mom cuts in, "come join us, Noah and I made waffles!" She says, smiling like a little girl. Of course he's already won her over, but it would be stupid of me to expect otherwise.

The thought of him waking up early to help my mom make breakfast has my heart doing all kinds of pirouettes. I know his relationship with his family isn't ideal, but he's a part of mine now, and I couldn't be happier to see him looking right at home. Every fiber in my body is begging me to run to him and shower him with kisses, but I'm guessing I probably shouldn't test the boundaries when my dad is sitting right beside him. I wouldn't want to do anything that might ruin this picture perfect moment. So instead I calmly walk outside with my coffee in hand and I sit across from Noah.