Page 18 of Shattered Oaths

“I’m going to tell you something, and I need you to keep it to yourself.”

She shifts closer, literally on the edge of her seat, as she nods. “Of course.”

“Eight years ago, on my brother’s birthday, I did something really stupid. Likereallyfucking stupid. And then on new year’s, Justin and I went to a party at one of his friends’ houses and I got roped into a game of never have I ever and told him.”

“Okay…” Liv drags out the word, her British accent becoming even more prominent. “What did you do?”

“I, uh-” I shift in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable. “I had sex with Noah.”

“Youwhat?!”She practically yells, and I wince when Rueben begins to fuss in my arms.

Liv jumps up immediately, taking her son from me and soothing him back to sleep before placing him in the bassinet they have situated in the corner. Once he’s settled again, she rushes back over and retakes her seat.

“Elaborate.”

“Have you got any wine?” I look desperately toward the kitchen. “I’m going to need wine for this conversation.”

“Yes, but you can talk while I pour,” she says, moving for the kitchen.

I sigh. “On Killian’s eighteenth birthday, Noah threw him a birthday party up at the big house because his parents were gone for the weekend. It was a fancy-dressparty because it was Halloween as well and a couple of girls from my high school were being mean, accusing me of things, calling me names, you know, the usual high school shit.”

Liv nods, carrying a very full glass of white wine and a bottle of tequila back to the living room. I raise a brow, causing her to shrug. “Thought you might need both.”

“Thanks,” I say, accepting them both but taking a long gulp from the glass. I place both drinks on the table, continuing. “So anyway, I took myself upstairs and hid in the bedroom farthest away from the party, which happened to be Noah’s. I didn’t know it at the time, but he had watched the whole ordeal unfold and decided to follow me. Anyway, he shared his bottle of whiskey with me and the next thing I knew we were kissing. One thing led to another and…”

I let the sentence hang in the air between us, not needing to explain what happened next.

“How have you two managed to keep this a secret all these years?” She asks the very question I was hoping she wouldn’t.

I take another healthy gulp of wine. “Well, that’s the thing. The next morning, I woke up in bed next to Noah, him naked and me in one of his shirts. When I tried talking to him about it, he was completely clueless.”

“What?” Liv gasps and I nod, heat creeping into my cheeks as I relive the embarrassment I had felt that very morning.

“He didn’t seem to remember any of it happening. I have never been more embarrassed than I was in that moment. So, I didn’t mention it again and I’ve continued as if it never happened.”

“What does this have to do with Justin, though?”

“Well, during the game of never have I ever with his douchebag friends, one of the questions were ‘Never have I ever has sex with someone I shouldn’t have’. I, of course, drank, which led to Justin questioning me later that night into the early hours until I gave in and told him everything.”

“So, Justin has a problem with Noah.” Liv summarises and I nod.

“Yeah. He told me that he wasn’t comfortable with me being around him so often. It’s also why when I do come around, he’s never with me. I’m terrified he’ll say something to Noah about it.”

I purposely leave out the part about how Justin questions me every time I come around them, how he sends me abusive messages and calls me until I answer.

A disbelieving laugh escapes Liv as she shakes her head. “Jesus fucking Christ, Bella. I don’t know if I’m mad you kept it from me or impressed.”

I scoff, picking my glass up and bring it to my lips. “There is nothing impressive about losing your virginity to a man that doesn’t even remember taking it.”

“You lost yourvirginityto him?!” This time she does yell, and I slump back against the sofa with a groan.

“So now that I know the real reason you’ve been awol, let’s come up with a plan on how we catch Justin out.”

CHAPTER 7

NOAH

Nights out with all the boys have always been my favourite. They were a regular occurrence for years. In fact, they were more of a daily occurrence. If there was an excuse to drag our asses to The Dusty Boot and drink our weight in liquor, we were there. Until all three of these fuckheads in front of me went and got themselves a wife.