Curved Edges ✔

(60) Noah's Nightmare

♡ NOAH

My alarm goes off and I almost throw it against the wall in frustration. I do not want to get up at all. I don't want to leave my bed for the next few weeks. Seeing her last night. Seeing her kiss girls. It was hot, but it also hurt. And the way she ignored me has left me heartbroken. I've never felt this bad about a break-up and it wasn't even a real one. It was all over before it even started.

I sit up and hear my phone vibrate in the drawer of my nightstand. I open the drawer and pull it out. My heart hopes it's Ama, my brain knows it isn't. It's my sister. There's drama with Nicky's baseball team. Their coach is sick and can't make it to the game. So Nicky told everyone I would do it. Great. Now I have to go and spend time with a bunch of wild 5-year-olds.

I run my hands through my hair and try to wake up properly. Oh well, I guess I'm coaching the Goldfish today. At least it's something to keep my mind off Ama. And knowing Nicky told everyone I could do it, makes me proud. I get up for a quick shower, before going through my closet to see if I own anything orange.

I see something in the back of my closet and pull it out. It's a shirt I got when I went on holiday to The Netherlands with a bunch of guys. I wonder if it still fits. It's a soccer shirt from their national team. It stretches so it should be fine. I pull it over my head and look at myself in the mirror. Oh, I guess I gained some muscle since I last wore it. Chuckling at myself and decide to go with it.

I match it with black sweatpants and some old sneakers, walk downstairs, grab my keys from the hook next to the door, and make my way over to my old Volkswagen beetle. I get behind the wheel and think of Ama. 

She loved the car. 

I scold myself and start the engine. The sooner I'm on the field with the kids the better.

I park my car and Nicky comes running with my sister following close behind. I get out of the car and catch Nicky when he jumps into my arms. "Uncle Noah! You came!"

"Of course I did. I wasn't going to let you down. Especially now that you have to impress your girlfriend." I look over his shoulder and see Feli and Fae in the distance. I put Nicky down and wave at Feli. She waves back and lets go of Fae's hand, who starts running towards Nicky. They hug each other and Nicky has a wide grin on his face.

Noelle chuckles, "Thanks, brother. Nicky is convinced you're the best for this job."

We walk up to Nicky, Fae, and Feli. Feli hugs Noelle and looks at me a bit weary. 

I softly say: "It's okay. I know you're loyal to Ama." 

Noelle's head whips up and her eyes pierce into mine. I shake my head because I don't feel like discussing any of it right now. Feli whispers something in Noelle's ear and she gasps.

I wonder what is going on but before I know it, Nicky is grabbing my hand and starts pulling me towards the field. I look at Feli and it's like she is trying to block my vision. When I look behind her I realize that is exactly what she was trying to do.

It's like she's moving in slow motion. 

Her soft, curvy body swaying in her long orange dress that clings to her body. She's wearing a black cap and her hair's in a ponytail. She's holding a little blonde boy's hand and he's looking up at her the same way I'm probably looking at her right now. Mona is holding the other hand of the boy and they keep coming closer.

I let Nicky pull me with him because I feel like I'm having a heart attack. What the hell is she doing here? And why does the universe want us to cross paths so badly? How the fuck am I going to coach these kids? Is she going to be watching?

Nicky introduces me to the other kids and thank fuck they are all really different. That makes remembering their names a lot easier. Nicky says only Benny is missing and then points at the edge of the field. "Look, Benny's here!" 

I follow his finger with my gaze and find Ama crouched down to hug Benny. Benny kisses her cheek and comes running up to the boys.

Ama looks up and her eyes connect with mine. Fuck, she's not happy to see me. Clearly. She gets up quickly and walks away. I hear Nicky tell the boys that his girlfriend is here and he waves at Fae. 

Benny says: "My girlfriend is here too." He searches the stands and when he sees the goddess in the orange dress he yells: "Ama!" 

She gives him a loving smile and waves at him. He runs around in a circle, overly excited at the attention she gave him. 

Fuck, I'd do the same if she waved at me. I wonder where she knows Benny from.

My eyes scan the stands and I see Mona, Feli, and Fae. I watch my sister make her way over to them and she introduces herself to Mona and Ama, sitting down next to Ama. Oh fuck. This can only mean disaster. She's going to find shit out cause that's what she does.

I snap out of it and decide to start a little warm-up with the boys before the game starts. I run around with them playing tag and start to relax. They are all so excited that it's rubbing off on me. We make our way to the dug-out when the referee shows up. I look at all the boys and notice one of them is looking very nervous.

He is plucking at his shirt and wiggles his feet. I crouch down in front of him and dig inside my brain for his name. I think it's Jay. "Jay?" He looks up at me and I can see tears shining in his eyes. "What's wrong, boy?"

He stutters and I already feel for him. "I-I'm n-not g-good a-at it. E-verybody h-hates m-me." 

That tugs at my heartstrings. I call Nicky over to me and ask him: "Nick? Do you hate Jay?"

He gasps and shakes his head before hugging Jay. Nicky says: "No, Jay is part of the team. Like everybody else. And you can't get better if you don't get the chance to try."

Okay. Proud uncle moment right then and there. And their coach has obviously been doing something right with these boys. I ruffle Nicky's hair and look at Jay again. "See? Not everybody hates you. I don't either. And I used to stutter too. I still do sometimes."

He stares at me all wide-eyed and whispers: "But you look strong."

"I am strong, boy. You're batting first today. Show them what you've got. You're strong too. All stutterers are. We have to be."

He smiles wide, gets up, and gives me a tight hug before mumbling a thank you. 

I smile down at him and hug him back. 

♡♡♡

A chapter from Noah's POV. 
To remember that he's not all bad and that he's part of this book too. 

This might seem like an uneventful filler chapter, but it's important as a set-up for the next one. 

Conan will be there. Cause life is better with Conan in it. ;) 

Working on the next one already. Might be up later.

♡