Chapter 29

twenty-nine

Noah – Two Weeks Later

“I mean, fuck, that show was awesome, Noah. You guys having a break was a brilliant idea,” Joel says excitedly, the dude basically bouncing on his toes from the reaction we got tonight. The charity concert was a major hit, with tens of thousands donated for the underprivileged.

You wouldn’t have thought that there were three other bands here, and I have to tell ya, seeing Rose standing stage side with Diego clapping away with ear protectors on was the best fucking feeling in the world.

They are the reason I love what I do and the reason I can even create music, though I do despise the after parties.

I’m just glad the label agreed to limit today’s party to just close friends and family.

I chuckle, taking a swig of my water. My eyes go to where Rose is standing, holding our son in her arms, talking to my mom and, shockingly, my sister, who seems more interested in getting Diego’s attention.

I wasn’t keen on inviting her. All the fucking trouble she’s caused over the years, trouble that stemmed from Piper, is hard to forgive. But after she broke down and told us the real reason why she left school, not being kicked out as she told us, I knew I had to try.

Just like my girl is trying with me, with her dad, brother, Cam, and Barnett.

Some guy had cornered her in a quiet hallway and tried to fucking assault her. Gina called Piper, who was, conveniently, in the area instead of where she should have been; helping the stage crew clear up an hour from where my sister was.

Rose and I both realized at the same time that Piper may have had something to do with it, hoping Gina would rely on her more, and would want to please her in any way possible, including trying to get me with the bitch.

I hired a PI to open an investigation, and we found that CCTV cameras had caught Piper and the guy talking twenty minutes before the incident. Audio was, thankfully, available, giving us the proof Piper paid the fucker, at the café where they met, to attack my sister.

I look to where Piper is standing, her eyes narrowed on my son.

Gina pretended to have begged her to be allowed here today, despite being reassigned to another band on the label, just so my girl and my sister get the pleasure of watching her being dragged out in cuffs.

The cops should be here soon, and then she’ll finally be out of my fucking life.

“We’ve still got a few months left of our break, remember, Joel?” I remind him, making him hum as Piper looks my way, smirking.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her twirl her finger in her newly dyed bright pink hair, before she makes her way toward me.

“The bitch is coming,” Joel murmurs, and I chuckle under my breath. He counts, “Three, two, one,” and Piper is in my space.

“Hey Noah, I’ve missed you, baby,” she coos, trying to be sexy, and a disgusted shudder runs through me.

I take a step away from her and raise a brow, reminding her, “You are aware my girl is here with my son, right, Piper?”

She curls her lip. “And how exactly do you know he’s your son, Noah? You are aware that she was sleeping with Professor Hail, right?”

I hear gagging from behind me, and I chuckle and lift my arm, but instead of burrowing into my side, Rose steps in front of me, crossing his arms over her chest, and I can’t help my eyes as they linger on her chest that, unfortunately for me, is covered by my black button-down prom shirt.

I really need to hide that thing so she can wear some of my other clothes; she’s already taken the hoodie that I bought last year, so why can’t she wear something newer?

I shake my head to get rid of my stupid thoughts. I know Rose’s using that shirt as a “security blanket,” keeping hold of the love we shared that night, and hiding behind the man she thinks I no longer am.

Soon…she’ll trust me again soon.

“Oh, look, it’s the whore,” Piper sneers, and I growl.

Joel grips my shoulder and whispers, “Let Rose deal with this, Noah; she needs it, and who knows? It may give her the push she needs to trust you again.”

I scoff. As if….

Rose tilts her head as she grips the chain around her neck, the one that I bought her years ago, gently putting her pointer finger into the engagement ring. Realizing what she’s about to do, both Joel and I snort, coughing to cover it up.

My girl wants to hit her, but it needs to be self-defense.

“Funny, if I’m such a whore, then why do I have not one but two engagement rings from the same man?” Piper takes a menacing step forward, her eyes on the ring, and Joel's grip tightens on my shoulder.

I look around the room and see everyone tense, quietly watching the scene unfold, letting Rose do this. Al stands with his arms crossed over his chest, looking proud, while my sister stands by him, holding Diego. Concern for my girl etching her features makes me soften a little toward her.

Unlike with my sister with me, Rose hasn’t spoken much to her brother. We’ve not gone back to Fremont. Rose is still on holiday leave, and he’s been at my house as much as possible, not just to get to know his nephew, but also to get his sister's forgiveness.

He has spoken to me a lot about how much he regrets letting her run out of that café two years ago.

He and Van are still together, and she’s here today, which doesn’t help my girl. They’re both currently participating in counseling, but it’s still not looking good.

Apparently, Van admitted to cheating on him while he was deployed. She claimed to have regretted it instantly, but had found out she was pregnant. She aborted the baby a week before he got home, and then she found out about Rose and me, and apparently, her emotions were all over the place, my pain becoming her focus.

It doesn’t excuse her behavior, though, and it never will. Whether Al will forgive her…well, that remains to be seen.

Once a cheat, always a cheat. Isn’t that what people say?

Who’s to say she hasn’t slept with the guy again since then, or even someone else before he came home?

What’s to say she didn’t just admit that, hoping to divert his attention from a full-blown affair that even my aunt, her own mother, believed she’s had? And who’s to fucking say she’s not trying to prolong their marriage through counseling to gain access to spousal support.

“That’s a fake!” Piper snaps, getting my attention again, and I grin wide.

“I can assure you, Piper, that both rings are real, and both belong to my woman,” I gloat.

Piper’s eyes darken with anger as Rose decides to add salt to the wound. “So how can I be a whore, Piper? Last I checked, Noah and I, we’re each other’s only, we have a child together, and even after two years apart because of your manipulations, we still came back together, and I even moved him into my apartment.”

And that does it—Piper screeches and pounces, fists up, ready to hit Rose. Joel pulls me back a little as I go to grab the bitch, not willing for her to hurt my girl. I growl, about to snap at him, but before I can open my mouth, Rose steps forward and swings her fist, hitting Piper’s nose.

Piper screams and falls to the floor, but no one steps in to help.

I smile as Rose snaps, “Stay away from my family, and stay away from my man!”

Oh yeah, we’re so going to be okay….

I grab Rose’s hips and pull her to me, pressing her back to my front, and wrapping my arms around her, grabbing the still-fisted hand, and rubbing it as the cops walk over.

Piper sees them and cries, “She-she hit me, I-I want to-to press charges!”

Officer Pal, whom I’ve had a lot of contact with these past two weeks, smirks, looks at his partner, and asks, “Funny, I swear I saw her attack Ms. Lopez, and she simply defended herself. What did you see, Andy?”

The black-haired officer, Andy, grins and agrees, “That’s exactly what I saw….”

Officer Pal grabs his cuffs and places Piper under arrest, reading her her rights. “Piper Andrews, you are under arrest for the facilitating the attempted rape of Gina Turner, and for the attempted assault of Rose Lopez. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….”

Piper’s eyes widen, and I grin as the officer forces her to her feet.

“No, wait, I-I, no, it wasn’t my idea. It was Ryan, not me, please…” she pleads, sobbing, but everyone ignores her as the officer drags her out.

Andy grins as her cries are heard down the hallway. He asks, “Can I have your autograph, Noah?”

Everyone laughs, and I smile. I take his notebook and pen, signing it, then passing it back before thanking him. Then I wrap my arms around my girl, holding her to me as her arms wrap around my waist.

Now that Piper is out of the way, I’m hoping the pain of our past fades, and we can finally become one again.

A few hours later, after saying bye to our families, I’m walking down the stairs after putting Noah to bed. I notice Rose instantly, my body gravitating toward where she’s standing in nothing but the tank that I wore in tonight’s show, looking at the pictures.

Her here, in the home I bought for us, holding onto the future I desperately wanted for us, everything just fits.

It’s how it’s meant to be. Now, though, I just need her to trust me again, to wear my ring, so we can finally put our past to bed and, hopefully, make some more babies….

Slowly, I walk toward her. She doesn’t turn around, keeping her eyes on the photos above the fireplace. There’s a new one; it’s of her and Diego after she gave birth, which is her main focus.

I wrap my arms around her, placing my chin on her shoulder, and she leans into me.

“You were never going to let me go back to Fremont, were you?” she asks on a whisper, and I sigh, putting my face into the crook of her neck.

“I don’t want you to, no, but I know you have to. You have your jobs, your friends, and your apartment to deal with. Commitments. All I’m trying to do, Rose, is show you that this can work, you being here with me. This is your home, Petal, yours and Diego’s.” I turn her in my arms and hold her close, her hands going to my biceps, our eyes connecting.

“I love you, Rose,” I tell her, “but I know you need to take the path you're taking. I know you need to trust me in your own time. I’m just showing you this house; it’s not mine, Petal, it’s ours. It’ll be ready whenever you are, just like I will be.”

Her eyes tear up, and she leans up on her tiptoes, placing her lips against mine and rasping, "Thank you for giving me time. I know I haven’t said it enough, but I do love you, Noah, with everything that I am….”

I smile against her lips and kiss her hard, our tongues instantly tangling as I bend a little and grip her thighs, lifting her. She wraps her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, and slowly, I guide us upstairs to our room, where I proceed to make love to her until the early hours of the morning, happy that she’s here with me, while praying she’ll quit her jobs and come to rely on me more.

I can’t imagine a life where she isn’t my universe.