10 HOURS AWAY | A Novel

chapter 07 - far from home

10 Hours Away

"So.." Mia said as she drummed with her fingers on the edge of the table

I rested with my back against the door. "That was awkward."

"Hell yes." she breathed out. "I didn't think he'd still be here after he picked you up."

"I don't even remember him coming to get me from Tom's Pub." I said as I made my way to the kitchen, dragging my feet to the other side of the apartment.

"Yeah, you were very drunk." Mia told me. "How are you feeling?"

"There's no hangover to my surprise." I let her know once I joined her in the kitchen and rinsed both mugs. I wanted to clean up the kitchen hastily – as if I didn't want to have any traces left of Noah.

"Lucky you. Isaac, Carter, and I are feeling miserable – again." she sighed. "Are you going to tell me why he showed up at the pub?" Mia wondered.

"I drunk texted him."

"Oh damn." Mia mumbled.

I rolled my eyes at her and removed the bowls we had used for the chicken soup.

"He didn't want to leave when once we made it." I said, and rolled up the sleeves of my sweater I had put on. The warm water was coming down from the faucet, so I quickly cleaned the dishes. "But nothing happened between us." I let her know before she could ask.

"Are you going to see him again?" Mia wondered.

"I don't know yet." I admitted. "I enjoyed having him over, but it was because I drank too much – not because I asked him to have lunch together."

"The fact he showed up is kinda mind-blowing." Mia said. "If a guy texted me to check up on him, even if I barely knew him, I probably would stay home."

"Me too." I sighed. "It's weird he did."

"Also, I didn't expect him to look so good." she said. "You've got an amazing taste, girl."

Once we were done talking about Noah, we changed the subject rather quickly. Mia told me more about Isaac and his shenanigans last night. I was glad she wasn't mad at me for leaving early and spending time with Noah at my apartment. I didn't expect her to be annoyed at me, but I just didn't want her to think I did all of this on purpose.

We talked about our plans for tomorrow and decided to meet at the library in the morning. Almost all of us needed to start over and delete our previous stories. We were ready for a new week with a fresh start. In the back of my mind, I knew my mentor had high expectations for this week because my first story was an absolute disaster.

After we agreed on our plans for tomorrow, Mia left. She went back to her apartment to get some sleep. I didn't know why I didn't have a hangover, but I wasn't bothered by it. I preferred to feel well-rested the next morning instead of lying in bed all day.

While thinking about last night and how Noah and I ended up here, I found myself searching for my phone. However, once I unlocked the device and searched for a certain name, I was incapable of calling her. As much as I looked at the number below her name, there was no way I could call her right now.

There was a lump in my throat as I was reminded of my life before America. I questioned myself why I deserved to be in a situation like this. I wanted to share my experiences with her, ask her how she was doing, but it would only make me look stupid. How could I once share everything with her, but now I was consistently holding myself back from making a mistake.

My heart began to race when my phone began to vibrate. It wasn't her who was calling me, but Noah's name showed up. I blinked a few times and noticed a tear rolling down my cheek. But I wiped it away as quick as I could.