Page 29 of Shattered Oaths

I’ve never been in this room before but for some reason I’m comfortable here.

The walls are a deep shade of grey, making the room appear dark despite the light spilling in. There’s a white dresser against the wall beside the only closed door in the room that matches the nightstand beside the bed. The sheets are silk and softer than anything I’ve felt before.

On the other side of the nightstand there’s an armchair tucked into the corner, and I have to blink several times to clear the bleariness from my sleep-ridden eyes as they land on the large form curled into it.

Surely not.

“Noah?” His name comes out a hoarse whisper, and I clear my throat before opening my mouth to try again, snapping it closed again when he begins to shift.

“Hmm?” A low grumble comes from beneath the… fluffy blanket? Could be a rug, I’m not quite sure.

“Did you sleep there all night?” I ask, moving into a sitting position and tucking my tangled hair behind my ears.

One bare arm appears from beneath the blanket-rug before a mop of dark blonde waves and a sleepy grin follows. “Of course I did, Bells.”

“Why?” I’m hit with guilt as I take in the way his huge body is curled up on the tiny chair. There’s no way that was comfortable. In fact, I have absolutely no idea how he even managed to get himself into that position.

As if he heard my internal thought, Noah unfolds his long legs from the chair, stretching them out in front of him as he leans back and lets out a yawn.

“You said you didn’t want to be alone,” he says like it’s the simplest thing in the world.

My cheeks heat as the events of the night before begin to play out in my head.

Oh God.

I was an emotional wreck.

I practically collapsed in his arms and cried the moment I walked in the door.

He carried me to his bathroom and drew me a bath.

He sat on the floor outside the door.

I must seem like a total headcase.

“How’re you feeling?” Noah’s voice breaks through the cloud of self-loathing I was quickly suffocating under.

I sigh. “A little embarrassed, but better. Thank you for letting me stay here. And thank you for staying with me, you didn’t need to do that.”

Noah’s forehead creases. “First of all, you havenothingto be embarrassed about, do you understand me? Secondly, you do not need to thank me. You are always,have alwaysbeenwelcome here. And third, I’m well aware that I didn’tneedto do that, but Iwantedto. I wouldn’t have been anywhere else, Bells.”

My cheeks heat even farther, and I look down at my chipped nail polish as shame begins to eat away at me.

I don’t deserve his kindness.

I’ve done everything in my power to avoid him for months because it was easier to stay away than have to answer to Justin. I spent so much time being mad at him for having an opinion on my relationship when he was right all along.

From the very beginning all Noah has done is look out for me and what did I give him in return? The cold shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Noah,” I say, my bottom lip beginning to tremble as I look up at him.

This man is somebody that has been a permanent fixture in my life since I was a child. He’s the only person second to my brother who has ever protected me. The person that has known me in all stages of life and seen the dark side of my childhood.

I should have trusted his judgement, but instead I cast him aside.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he says, coming to sit on the end of the bed and I cross my legs to give him more room.

“I do. I should have listened to you from the beginning.”