Page 31 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)

Chapter Twenty-Three

MIA

T he ringing noise brings me back to consciousness. Groaning, I roll onto my other side, buried deep in Noah’s covers as the screen of my phone lights up. I didn’t mean to fall asleep this early, but Jade wore me out with running around all afternoon. She’s got some serious energy.

Reaching for it, his racing number appears, and a giddiness bubbles inside of me. “Noah?” My voice is thick with sleep.

All I can hear is his heavy breathing, and it forces me to sit up, my heart jolting restlessly. “Mia,” he pushes out, and I know something is wrong.

“Noah. What happened? Are you okay?”

He’s silent for a few beats, and bile rises in my throat as I think about the endless possibilities as to why he’s calling me.

“I’m sorry for bothering you. I just—” I flick on the lamp, squinting at the sharp light illuminating his bedroom. “I just needed to call you.”

Chest sinking at his admission, my tongue swipes across my dry lips as I think about what to say.

I know Noah is struggling with something.

I’ve seen it in his eyes when he thinks I’m not watching, but I am.

The shadows that linger in his mind are like my own.

I want to help him because I know how damaging they can be.

“You can always call me,” I admit softly .

I imagine him smiling, revealing his deep dimples that I crave seeing, but they’re not here. He’s not here as much as I’d like him to be right now.

“Thank you,” he breathes out. I hear rustling in the background. “Is Jade awake still?”

Frowning, I slide out of his warm covers and pad down the small hallway to her room.

The door is still slightly ajar, and I push it open.

Jade is wrapped up in blankets, hands lying beside her face as she sleeps on her back.

Eyes shut, chest slowly moving. I walk closer and stop. She’s so beautiful.

“She’s sleeping,” I whisper, trying not to wake her.

Noah sniffs, and it makes my heart sting. “I need to see her.”

“Okay,” I murmur, and turn on my phone camera.

Noah’s face appears in the corner, bringing tears to my eyes. His normally brilliant green eyes are tinged pink. His hair looks as though it’s been pulled at as he sits on the edge of the bed, shirtless.

Swallowing, I peer back down at Jade’s sleeping body. Somehow, I feel like I am violating his privacy with him looking so raw and wounded.

Running a hand down his face, Noah sniffs again. “I hate being this far away from her.”

“She missed you today. She always does when you’re gone.”

Nodding, pain flashes across his light features. He dips his head, looking defeated.

“Is there anything I can do?” I ask warily, not wanting to push him, but I also don’t wish to see him struggling this much on his own.

Looking back at his phone, Noah shakes his stubbled face. “I needed to see Jade before sleeping,” he mumbles, lying on his back, staring up at the camera still showing his daughter.

“I can wake her up if you want me to?” I suggest lightly .

“No,” he pushes out before I can move. “No. If you do, then she’ll keep you awake all night, and you need to rest.”

Nodding, even though he can’t see me, I keep my phone steady as I watch him nibble at his lip.

“You need rest as well.” I remind him gently.

Apple irises stare at the screen. Noah nods slowly before saying, “Turn the camera around, Grey.”

Freezing for a moment, I turn it around to face me, and the corner of his mouth kicks up.

I quietly walk out of Jade’s room, careful not to make a sound, until I’m back in Noah’s bed.

Scent surrounding me, my jittering heart continues to flutter away.

“Noah, maybe racing is becoming too much for you?”

His throat works as I lie on my side, staring at him through my phone screen. Creases form in his forehead, and shadows cast over his features, but he still looks utterly beautiful to me.

“I think it is, too.” He groans and yanks at his hair again, jaw clenched tightly. “I don’t like being this far away.”

My mouth tightens as his eyes shut, closing off the world.

“I’m sorry, Noah,” is all I can whisper out, but it’s true. It pains me to see how much it hurts him being away from Jade. I wish there was something I could do, but I can’t get her to Adelaide in time to see him, and I wouldn’t even know where to go.

Letting out a heavy sigh, eyes flashing open, a small smile tugs on his mouth. “It’s okay, Grey. I’m sorry for waking you. I just needed to see Jade and you.”

My heart burns at his admission, flooding my veins with flames as I nod against his pillow. “Sorry that she wasn’t awake.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t really expecting her to be.

” He exhales before rolling onto his back again.

Covers showing off half of his bare abdomen and chest, I have to keep my eyes from moving down the screen.

As much as I want to look, it doesn’t feel right when he’s being this open. “You should go back to sleep.”

“You need to as well.”

Noah’s mouth ticks, and I get the feeling that he won’t be for a while still. “I can stay on the line with you if you want?”

Gaze stilling on mine, he smiles, and it’s real and honest. “I’d like that.”

“Okay.” I place my phone against the pillow and switch off the lamp. My screen goes dark as his camera disappears, but I can hear him breathing. I somehow feel so close, yet so far away from him. And I hate it.

“I think you were exactly what I needed when I met you, Grey,” he murmurs into the darkness. “Someone that I have longed for a while.”

I feel my skin heat as my eyes flutter, biting down harshly on my lip. “I think you are too, thirty-four,” I whisper back.

Noah remains silent, apart from his muffled breathing, until I fall back to sleep.