Page 53 of Prove Me Wrong (The Sunburnt Hearts #5)

Chapter Forty-One

NOAH

T his is the seventh time I have glanced at my phone today, and there’s still nothing from Mia.

My heart sinks further into my ribs as I shove it back into my pocket, getting back to working on the Mazda that was brought in earlier this morning.

I have to finish off a basic maintenance check of oil levels, brake pads, and engine function, but I can’t focus.

My brain is so foggy that it hurts to think.

The heavy fumes in the air are bringing on my headache quicker as I lean over the bonnet.

“You okay, Noah?” Damon thankfully doesn't scare me out of my skin today. It must be because he knows how troubled I've been this past week.

Eyes moving to his, I groan, leaning back to stretch out. “Yeah.”

His eyebrows flick up, not believing me. Honestly, I don’t believe myself, either. “That’s the saddest yeah I’ve heard in my life.”

“Fine, Damon. I’m not okay,” I grunt out, bending back over the engine.

Damon’s hand grabs the back of my shirt, forcing me to look at him again.

This man has been like a father to me since Jade was born, and I hate being rude to him, but the last thing I want today is more of his games.

“All right,” he lets out kindly, dropping his hand so that I can rearrange my top. “Did you speak with them?”

“I blocked them. I don’t want my parents to get a hold of me again.”

His mouth tightens along with my jaw. “Is it your babysitter? She’s still not back?”

“I don’t know if she is.” My words come out as a growl because they feel bitter on my tongue. I sound pathetic being this hung up on someone, but I can’t lie to myself. I want Mia, and I don’t know how much longer I can go on without talking to her. It’s driving me mental.

“I’m sure she will come home, Noah.”

“How do you know?” I snap without meaning to, but my skin is prickling all over with flushed irritation. “How, Damon?”

His shoulders loosen. I toss the rag in my hand on the engine and walk outside.

I need some oxygen. The air feels thick like freezing soup, making it harder to breathe.

The wintry breeze dances along my skin that’s burning with anger.

Sweet smells of dew hit my nose as I suck in a deep breath, attempting to control my heavy breathing.

It’s hard. Too hard. I inhale deeper, air getting clogged in my throat as my chest moves faster. Then, the hyperventilating begins.

Damon’s in front of me, hands holding my shoulders tightly.

I hadn’t realised I was bent over, clamping my eyes shut when the crushing feeling pressed down on me.

“Breathe, Noah. Just breathe.”

Choking on oxygen, my hand grabs my chest, lungs hardly moving as they sting. Is this what a heart attack feels like? No, it’s another wretched panic attack .

Head between my shoulders, my body shakes all over as the stabbing pains continue. In for five. Hold for five. Out for five.

“Noah, it’s going to be fine. You’re going to be fine. ”

“I can’t—lose her. I can’t—lose another—person,” I rasp out, my vision blurring. Damon holds me in the middle of the footpath as I feel myself cracking after months of staying strong. “I can’t?—”

“I know, and you won’t, Noah,” he reassures me, his scent of oil and grease reminding me that we’re meant to be working right now. Hands trembling, I gain control of myself again, hating the feeling of panicking. I haven’t felt this in over a year. “Maybe you should go home.”

My head shakes because the last thing I want is to be home alone, being swallowed up by my thoughts and surrounded by silence.

In the place that reminds me that she’s no longer around.

It’s Monday, so she wouldn’t be over today, but I still envision her in every room.

It’s like her ghost is there, lingering. “I don’t want to.”

“What do you want then?”

My gaze meets his, the warmth of his cobalt irises deepening. I sniff loudly. “I just want her back.”

His hands rest on my shoulders, jaw locked. Eyes thinning, Damon murmurs, “Then go get her back.”

“But—I don’t know where she is.”

Damon pushes me towards my car out on the street, not listening to my excuse. “You’ll find a way to get the address. Now go. I’m giving you the week off.”

“But—”

“Go, Noah. I can’t have a lovesick boy in my shop. These cars can’t be fixed by tears.” His mouth quirks upwards.

My chest heaves as Damon fishes out my keys from my jeans pocket and slams them into my palm. Determination sets in his darker features, mixed with a tinge of sympathy.

“I wasn’t crying,” I grumble .

Damon snorts a laugh. “You would be if I weren’t here. Now go get her before I fire you.”

Fingers curling around the cold metal in my grip, I nod once before dashing to my Ute. Yanking the door open, I slide into the seat, jam the key into the ignition, and pick up my phone.

It rings six times before Tatum picks up. “Noah.” Her tone is a little worried and breathy. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Mia staying? I need to know. I have to come get her,” I say too quickly that I sound like a cassette tape being sped up.

My heart is beating a million miles an hour as I drive towards my house, possibly speeding because I am not at all focused on the gauge.

The roar of the engine is nothing compared to the nerves buzzing through my ears, hands gripping the wheel so tightly that my knuckles are bloodless.

I hear a deep snort of laughter in the background, making me frown. My hands start to get clammy with sweat. “What?” I grit out, confused about who is with her right now.

“She left three hours ago, man,” Sinnett’s voice comes through the phone.

My foot slams on the brakes in the middle of the road, the car sliding to a stop as my jaw drops open. “What? Who?”

“Sin,” Tatum whines.

Sinnett’s voice softens. “I’m telling him, strawberry.”

“You—what—where is she?” I push out, realising that these two must be together again. I'm praying that I'm talking with them while they’re both decent and clothed. “She’s on her way home, wanker. Now let us go, we have?—”

I end the call, knowing it’ll probably irritate Sinnett that I've hung up on him, but I don’t care.

Mia is coming home .

Speeding through the street, my chest pounds like I have boulders rattling around my ribcage. The car slows out the front of our houses. June’s driveway is Jeepless. Pulse thrumming in my throat, making it dry and burn, I park my car awkwardly on the street before jumping out.

She’s not here . She’s not here . She’s not here .

Hands holding the back of my head, I let out a heavy breath, my lungs stinging.

Thoughts shoot through my mind, ones I've stamped down and pushed aside at the thought of something happening to her. Bile tickles as I try collecting my breathing, controlling myself before I start panicking again. I’ve already lost Em to a car accident; I can’t lose Mia to one, too.

Mind spiralling, my hands fall to my sides when I hear the soft rumble of her car. Head snapping up, I see the grey Jeep pull into June’s driveway.

I’m already racing over to her, and before Mia has turned off the car, I yank open the driver’s door to her glassy silver eyes. Mia’s perfectly carved face looks at mine, and I think I’m falling in love with her all over again. I don’t fight the smile forming on my lips.

“Grey.” The word comes out like a secret.

She lets out a sob as her hands slide around my waist, scrunching in the fabric of my dirty overalls before pulling me into a kiss.

Lips touching hers, the fire in me ignites once more, flickering to life.

The softness of her mouth meshing with mine feels like two puzzle pieces fitting together again.

Two magnets join after spending too much time apart.

Hands holding the chair on either side of her, Mia’s fingers fist in the fabric of my top, not letting go of me.

I breathe her in—the jasmine of her perfume, the cherry blossom of her hair making my senses tingle as I try getting as close to her as I can. I never want this to end, but I also want her to pinch me so that I know this is real.

Pulling away from me, I almost whimper. We both pant like we just ran a marathon. “Noah,” she hushes out, and I can’t look away from her shuttering eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t,” I grunt, and pull her back into me, not wanting to waste another second on apologies. I just want her. All of her.

She moans against me. My lips vibrate as I feel my blood draining south.

My fingers find the button, switching off her car before I slide my hands underneath her, lifting Mia out of her car.

Mouth leaving hers, I carry her to my house as she clings to me.

I can tell she’s lighter, a gauntness settling in her flushed cheeks.

I hate to think she’s been feeling just as horrible as I have this past week, but I don’t doubt that she has.

Possibly even worse after the lies my mum fed her.

Pushing the front door open, I slam it shut with my foot before bringing her straight into the kitchen. Sitting her on the cold stone bench, Mia gives a small hiss as I move backwards and rip off my overalls, not wanting to get the grease and fumes on her. I catch Mia’s eyes widening on me.

“Grey?”

Fingers stopping, I watch as she slides off the bench. My pulse slows, afraid of what she’s about to say.

Eyes looking between mine, she comes to stand in front of me, hands resting on the loops of my pants as her throat works. “I hate what you did.”

My throat burns as I watch her eyes watering again, and my head shakes, words filling my mouth. “I didn’t. It wasn’t me. I wouldn’t?—”

Her fingertip presses my lips together, and I don’t move.

Silence fills the air, tension pulling us together.

Grey eyes heavy, framed in her beautiful, dark lashes, I wait patiently for her to keep going as my heated skin starts to pebble.

“I thought you had hurt me, after you told me you wouldn’t.

After—” She pauses to lick her bottom lip. “After you told me you loved me.”

I shake my head against her finger, my eyes widening, and hers drop to my chest.

“Honestly, I thought there was a possibility you’d leave. That what your mum said was true.”

“No,” I breathe out, and her silver eyes lift to mine. I want to hold her and tell her that I’m not going anywhere, but I don’t move a finger.

“I believed the lies, because that’s what Ryan told me.

Everything your mum said, Ryan said, and I started to think it was the truth.

” Mia sucks in a breath, trying her hardest not to crumble again.

I silently wait, not wanting to rush her.

“I thought that running was the best option. That if I left, then I would forget. That it would make all of this easier, but it didn’t.

” She sniffs louder. “I wanted to call you, to talk with you. But I was afraid that maybe you realised that your mum was right. That you could find someone better than me. That I’d never be enough. But then I saw all of your messages.”

Blinking down at her, she pulls her phone out of her jacket pocket to show me the dozens of texts I'd sent that weren’t delivered.

I sent them for days until the weekend, when Nathan told me to stop.

Some were short one-line messages. A few were paragraphs.

I sent her everything I could think of. Updates about me.

Updates about Jade. Random things that reminded me of her.

I even sent her a text rating my favourite books and which ones she needs to read next, and how I rearranged them back to how she had them, because it was the right way.

I watch a tear fall down her cheek, and my hand raises to wipe it clean, even though I know it’s not a tear of dismay or loneliness. It’s a tear of love, and now I’ll have it to keep forever .

“I’m so sorry I ran?—”

“No, I’m sorry. I hate what she did, and my mum knows that now.

I never want to see her again, because all she does is ruin everything in my life.

They have since I was younger, pushing me to be someone I’m not.

I like who I am now. I love having Jade.

” I pause to gulp down the saliva in my throat, my gaze not leaving hers. “I love you, Mia.”

I watch her face soften, brows easing, cheeks pinking. She whispers the four words I have been waiting for her to say. “I love you, Noah.”

A grin spreading across my cheeks, I pull her into me, her thin arms snaking around me. I bring her lips to mine, stealing the air between us. My flesh sears again, heart blooming as I hold her against me, never wanting this feeling to end.