Noah Read Online Free Page B

stopped our connection. She knew all of my secrets and I knew hers. She was that one person that nobody else came before. Seeing her in pain broke my heart.
    She fell into my chest and wasn’t able to answer as her sobs completely overwhelmed her. I held her tight and thought back to the first time she’d called me crying. Even though they’d been a couple for a long time, since their senior year in high school, her boyfriend wasn’t as serious as my cousin wanted him to be.
    I held her tight in my arms, content with the fact that I’d do just about anything to take away her pain, including beating the shit out of his scrawny ass. He’d cheated and lied so many times, but she never learned. “Bells, you know you can’t keep doin’ this to yourself.”
    “I know,” she snapped. It was the confirmation that I needed. Her boyfriend was the culprit.
    “You also shouldn’t be drivin’ this late all messed up.”
    “I couldn’t go home to my parents. Besides, they’ll all be here in the morning. Do you really think I could ride in a car with them or my grandparents for all that time? Look at me. They’d know and drill me until I told them. I just knew I couldn’t do it. There’s no way I could deal with Jake or Jax.  Mom would know immediately, and she’d tell Dad.” She pushed herself out of my arms and walked over to the sink to wash her face. I grabbed some paper towels and handed them to her as she turned off the faucet.
    The whole family was coming to the ranch for a surprise anniversary party for my parents. Since the actual date was still months away, they had no idea they were being ambushed with a celebration, instead of a plain old visit.
    My cousin continued. “Home is the first place he’ll look. Besides, you and I both know that if my dad finds out what he’s done, he’ll kill him. He just about promised it the last time he caught us fightin’.”
    I wanted to snicker at the comment. Isabella was my first cousin. We’d grown up being the best of friends. I’d protect her with my life, especially from scumbag boyfriends that didn’t have any business getting into her pants. Although she acted like she didn’t need it to her parents, I was always the shoulder she could cry on.
    “What’d he do this time?”
    She sniffled. “I found a ton of messages on his phone from that same girl. Apparently his friend Jeb never even existed. Instead he’s been spendin’ his nights in bed with Jen. All those nights I felt bad that he was workin’ so hard. This whole time he’s been bangin’ some whore. Let me get my hands on her and I’ll shove my foot so far up her snatch that she’ll never be able to have sex again.”
    She took a deep breath while I clenched my jaw to prevent from laughing at her explanation of what she’d like to do to the girl. “I think the blame should be on him, Bells. He’s the one who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”
    She shook her head. “They grew up together. She was his first.”
    Right away I saw her changing her attitude so that she would be able to forgive him again. It pissed me off so much, because I knew things would never change. As long as she was letting him get away with it, he’d keep doing it. In my experience, she was giving him the best of both worlds. Sure, she’d be mad for a time, but then he’d come crying back at the right moment and somehow earn a spot back in her good graces. This wasn’t anything recent either. Through college they’d been on again off again, never able to call it quits or settling down. “I just can’t believe he did this shit right before the big party. Everyone’s goin’ to wonder why he’s not here. What am I supposed to tell them?”
    “The truth. You say he was a loser and you dumped his stupid ass.”
    She covered her face. “Maybe I’m just a shitty girlfriend. Maybe I smother him.”
    “Maybe he’s just a douche. Look, Bells, you’ve been a good girlfriend. I think it’s time you realized