Careful What You Wish For...

F I V E

Noah's POV

I have so many questions. None of which I expect to be answered right now. This whole situation makes no sense. When I saw Viv in the bowling alley, she looked like something bad was about to happen. She had marks around her neck that weren't there from the night before.

Did she go on a date with me while she had a boyfriend?

I was treating her as if she was fragile. As if she could break if I even looked at her wrong. My nose was in absolute pain, and so we're my knuckles. I just convinced her to come stay with me and Nick, because I have no idea if that man would come back. And I don't want her to be there if he does.

"I live with my brother, by the way." I look over at her, as she's clutching her bag to her chest in my passenger seat. "You probably wont see him tonight, but I don't want you to freak out if you do." She just nods her head. The rest of the ride is silent.

Vivian's POV

We pull up to Noah's house, but I'm entangled in thought. I know how this must look to him. Why is he helping me? I mean, that's what I wanted. Someone to help me. But what happens after this? Surely, Matt will come back. I would've just gone to Amy's apartment if I knew she was awake. I just want someone to hold me, but not just anyone. Amy and I have been through so many things. It's not odd if we cuddle each other. I was there when her grandma died. I held her why she cried all night.

I feel so small as I hold my bag, and walk into the house behind Noah. "The shower is right here if you'd like to get one." He shows me a small bathroom. Nothing fancy to it, just a normal sized tub, as well as everything else a bathroom holds. "You can go first. I'm not as dirty as you." I say quietly. "I'm not worried about me right now, and you shouldn't be either. If you prefer not to shower, thats okay." I glance down to the floor. I agree to a shower, setting my things down on the bathroom counter. He shows me how the shower turns on, and walks out. Shutting the door behind himself. As the light sound of the water hitting the tub floor fills the bathroom, I look at myself in the mirror. My eyes are still swollen. My cheeks are red. I rub my eyes, then begin removing my clothes. When I pull my pants off, I notice a few cuts on my hip bones, from where Matt aggressively tried to pull my pants off.

A tear threatens my eye, but I push it away. I step in the shower, immediately feeling a sting emerging from the cuts. I wince slightly. I reach for the bottle of body wash that sits on the built in shelf in shower, using as little as possible. It's just basic Irish Spring, but it smells wonderful. I use my hand to scrub over my lips, trying to remove anything I can of Matt's rough kisses.

I finish up my shower, opening the shower curtain to find that theres no towel on the rack. I open the couple of cabinets that lay beneath the sink, nothing. I unlock the door, making sure to keep every part of my naked body behind it.

"Noah?" I call out into the house, peeking my head out of the door. He appears from around the corner, holding a sandwich in his hand. "I need a towel." He swallows what's in his mouth quickly. "Shit, I'm sorry, hold on." He disappears throughout the house. I shut the door in the meantime, taking another look at myself. All I can look at are my hips. Tears well in my eyes again, unable to stop them. I hear a knock on the other side of the door, and I prepare the position that I was previously in.

I open the door carefully, to reveal Noah holding a light grey towel. He quickly notices my face. I can tell he wants to comfort me, but the nakedness I display gets in the way. I take the towel, closing the door to dry off.

I walk out of the bathroom once I'm dressed, making my way back towards the area I came in from. I'm greeted by Noah, who still has sandwich items on the counter of the kitchen. "I was going to make you one, but I don't know what all you like. I know its not much. But it's something."

Im honestly starving. "I'll eat pretty much anything." I chuckle slightly, looking down to the floor. "Just make it how you made yours."

He hands me the sandwich, taking a seat next to me as I begin to eat. "I'll tell you what happened. But I just want to rest for right now." I wipe my mouth from the crumbs, looking over to Noah. He gives me a small "okay", then shows me where his bedroom is. It's pretty basic, a few pictures on the wall, black duvet on the bed. A small computer that sits up on the desk on the other side of the room. He pulls back the covers for me to get under and steps away. I crawl onto the moderately soft, queen size bed. Noah pushes the covers up a little towards me. "If you need anything, I'll be on the couch."

He turns to leave the room, but I stop him.

"Noah?" I call out. "Yeah?" He turns around to meet my stare. "Will you lay with me?"

He's taken back, at my request. I had no second thoughts about it. Its purely platonic, I just want comfort. "Are you sure?" He raises his eyebrows at me. I nod my head yes. He slowly makes his way to the bed, pulling his shoes off. He climbs in, still wearing his jeans and t-shirt. He lays with a distance between the two of us, facing me. We stare at each other in silence.

"I know this sounds stupid, and feel free to say no. But.." I trail off. "Can you hold me?" Noah holds his arms open, inviting me in. I scoot closer, and he wraps his arms around me lightly. I put my free arm around him, closing the space even more. I start to cry softly, the events in the past 2 days replaying in my head all over again. His arms tighten around me a little more.

I feel Noah's hand rubbing circles on my back, in attempt to calm me. And it did. I have barely known him, but he comforts me just as easily as Amy can.

It's not too long after, I pass out in his arms.

A/N:

I just have a quick question; do you guys prefer the longer chapters, or the shorter ones? The longer chapters will be even more detailed, as to where the shorter ones will progress the story a little bit quicker. But not too much quicker. Let me know in the comments!