Page 47 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)

Chapter Thirty-Six

NOAH

M y thumb hovers over the ten digits, beads of sweat forming against my temples.

Talking to people has never been a fear of mine.

I was always social, never scared of being myself, of putting myself out there, making friends, chatting people’s ears off.

But right now, I can’t bring myself to call him.

Despite how cold it is outside, I'm sweating bullets as I think about every possible way Sinnett Baxter might answer me. If he does in fact answer me. He could ignore me. I feel as though I'm cheating here, going behind Mia’s back to talk to her brother, but I'm becoming desperate at this point. I haven’t slept for three days. My body clock is all over the place. Jade is grumpier than normal, and I’m starting to think that she’s missing Mia just as much as I am.

Every time I close my eyes, I see her monochromatic eyes. The bows in her hair. The pale pink of her lips made me dizzy every time I touched them. I want to feel her again, have my fingertips on her skin once more. All I do is ache for her.

Bringing me out of my consuming thoughts, I press the call button and hold the phone to my ear. Jade sleeps quietly on the couch beside me. At least she’s getting some rest . I’m still running off pure adrenaline and pain .

Mum has tried calling me multiple times since Sunday, until I blocked her number.

Her voicemails were enough to remind me that my parents only care about fame and the money I make.

Not my health, or happiness, and certainly not my daughter.

I was so furious that I started throwing things until June ended up at my door and calmed me down.

Even though she misses Mia, she told me to give her time.

Time is not what I want. I greedily want her back, to hold her and never let her go, because I have never felt this way about any girl before.

The ringing sounds in my ear, repeating over and over, and when I’m about to give up, it ends and is replaced with puffing. “Hello?” Sinnett’s voice sends a spark of realisation through me.

As much as I want to throw away my phone right now, I don’t. “Sinnett. It’s Noah?—”

“How’d you get my number?” His voice is curt and short, and I completely understand why. I'm going behind his sister’s back right now.

My fingers rub my forehead. “My friend Tatum gave it to me.”

His heavy breathing ceases, and I can't help but frown at the sudden silence. Sinnett mutters a breathy, "Of course she did," before a heavy sigh sounds. "What do you want?"

I let out a small exhale, careful not to wake my sleeping daughter beside me. “I need to talk to Mia,” I all but plead.

“No,” he growls, and I feel like he might hang up on me in the next second if I don’t explain the situation.

“Wait.” My tone rises, desperation deep inside of me. I never beg for anything, apart from Jade when she refuses to listen to me, but that’s different. “Please, just let me explain.”

“I don’t need your explanation, Noah. You hurt my sister. Enough said. ”

“No, I didn’t . I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.” The words rush out quickly as fear prickles through me.

Sinnett snorts a humourless laugh but doesn’t end the call. He must be a little interested in what I have to say, at least.

I waste no time diving in and explaining what happened.

I can’t tell if Sinnett’s convinced that it was all my parents’ doing, but he doesn’t interrupt me.

I’m sure some of it he already knows from Mia, so I kept it brief and to the point.

I need Mia back, and I’ll do whatever I can to hold her again.

He’s silent for a bit, no longer puffing loudly. I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping that Sinnett will know where I'm coming from.

“I can’t speak for my sister,” he starts, but pauses like he’s collecting his thoughts.

I’m scrambling to keep mine in order, too.

“But I understand what that’s like, having your parents breathing down your neck.

Like your career is the only important thing you have to offer, and nothing else seems important enough. ”

Air escapes my lungs as I nod, grateful that he knows where I am coming from. “Then you know how it feels when they want to destroy something else that’s good in your life.”

Sinnett sniffs a laugh, and I hear something bang in the background. “Yeah, I do, actually.” He shuffles something around before the banging sound echoes again. “I’m going through a similar thing.”

“Tatum?” I question.

He’s silent before letting out a small, "Yes."

“She’s one of my best friends,” I murmur.

“Yeah, I know. She told me about you and your daughter. And some Nathan guy.”

That makes me chuckle. My heart warms knowing that Tatum misses us as much as we miss her .

“She’s one of the best.”

“So is my sister,” Sinnett grunts, the airiness of his tone diminishing.

My muscles stiffen again in response, a smile dropping from my mouth. “I never meant to hurt her. I don’t even know how my mum found out about all of this. I haven’t spoken with her since Jade was born.”

“Why not?”

My forehead creases lightly. “They haven’t been good parents since I decided to keep her.”

“Do they not get along with your daughter?” Sinnett asks, genuinely sounding intrigued.

I shake my head. “They don’t even know her. They met her for the first time on Sunday, and neither of them gave so much as a glance in her direction. In their eyes, my daughter ruined my life, and supposedly, Mia has as well.”

Sinnett curses, his tone gruff. I stroke Jade’s soft cheek, and she rolls onto her side, cuddling her little lion toy.

I wouldn’t give her up in a heartbeat. She’s everything to me, and Mia knows that, which is why I have grown so attached to her.

Mia did everything for my daughter, unlike the other girls who just want me for my name and money.

I like that she’s quiet and reserved, giving me genuine smiles and laughter.

That she never expected anything from me, just saw me for the dad that I am, and not a national athlete.

It’s one of the many reasons why I fell for her.

“I called my mum for the first time in over a year a few weeks ago. She texted me out of the blue asking me to call her, and it was hanging on my consciousness. So, I did. When she told me her plans for me to move to their town, to focus solely on racing, and for her to watch Jade, I didn’t want to see her again.

And when I came home to them in my house uninvited, you don’t understand how furious I was.

To know that she drove Mia away was like a knife in my back.

I told Mia that I had nothing to do with it, but I think she was too hurt to really believe me, but I swear that I didn’t. ”

“Yeah, that’s rough,” Sinnett lets out gruffly, but I can hear the sympathy in this low timbre.

“Look, I know Mia has feelings for you, it’s obvious because she never talks about men like she does about you.

” Heat flushes up my neck to the tips of my ears.

“But she’s also hurting right now. The best thing for you to do is to give her time to think about all of this and what she wants. ”

I sniff and nod, even though it’s the opposite of what I want to hear right now. “Do you think she’ll trust me again?”

“Man, I don’t know. All I know is that she wants to finally open up to our mum after three years of staying silent.

My parents have been in the dark this whole time, not knowing what’s going on with her, so I think she needs to do that before she thinks about coming back to you.

And as much as I want my sister to have a successful career, I fear that the only reason she’s gone for this interview is to make our parents happy, and not because she wants the job. ”

My fingers fist as my jaw tightens, the coldness settling around me uncomfortably. Silence buzzes through my ear. “She’s still going through with it?”

Sinnett is quiet for a beat before answering, “She went in this morning. The company said she’ll know by next week if she has it.”

My head falls into my shaking hand, heart thrumming, toes scrunching tightly. “Did she seem excited about it?”

“Honestly, not as much as I thought for someone getting their chance at their dream job. She was miserable last night when I saw her, and I doubt that’s changed. ”

That sparks a bit of hope in the pit of my chest, but it’s not enough for me to relax. “I’m not sure why you called me. Do you not have Mia’s number?”

“I do, but my calls and texts aren’t getting through. I think she blocked me.”

“Ahh…” I hear him walking into a tunnel before he continues, “You should wait for her to call you when she’s ready.”

My heart cracks at that because I’d drive to her right now and bring her home if I could. “What if she’s never ready?”

I know I sound pathetic, but this girl is something else. She’s sweet, gentle, gorgeous, and perfect with my daughter and me. There’s nobody else I want in my life.

Thankfully, Sinnett doesn’t laugh at me. Instead, he murmurs, “She needs to figure things out first, and the last thing you want to do is pressure her. She’ll just push you away for good.”

Chin dipping, I groan into my hand, not liking his answer. “I know, and I never want to pressure her. I’ve always been patient with her.”

“Good,” is all Sinnett says before I hear people shouting in the background and whistles blowing. “Look, man, I have to go, but I know she’ll come around soon. Just be patient with her.”

“Thanks.”

Hanging up, I toss my phone on the couch and glance at Jade sleeping, curled up, eyes shut and nostrils flaring slowly.

My heart continues to thump, blood rushing to my ears as I sit in quietness.

I feel like I have some clarity after that call, like a sprig of hope is growing, but it’s not enough to calm down my thoughts.

I want her back, right here with me. I miss the way I held her, and her face when I kissed her.

I’m not going to stop until Mia is back in my arms for good.