"𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝙸𝚍𝚎𝚊 𝚘𝚏 𝙵𝚞𝚗?"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥
𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
"NOAH!" Emily calls up the stairs.
"What?" Noah shouts back from her bedroom.
"C'mere, please!"
Noah gets out of her bed where she had been curled up with Sergio while reading a book. She mumbles to herself as she walks downstairs, annoyed that she had to move from the comfort she had found herself in.
"What's up?" Noah asks as she finds Emily in the kitchen.
"You want one?" Emily asks as she holds out a mug. Noah walks over to the woman and peers down into the mug; hot chocolate.
"Oh, yes please." Noah chimes and takes the mug, "Thanks, Emily."
"You're welcome," Emily replies with a smile, "I was thinking tomorrow we could do our shopping and something fun."
"Depends on your idea of fun." The teen says as she walks over to the couch.
"We could do something like getting our nails done or we could get our hair done or—"
"Have you met me?" Noah asks with a giggle, "Getting me to go to the mall is already pushing your luck."
"Oh, c'mon, it could be fun!" Emily tries to make the teen change her mind.
"We have very different definitions of fun." Noah tuts.
"You don't wanna get your hair done?"
"No," Noah shrugs, "But I was thinking about how bangs are coming back in style. I think you'd look good with them."
"You think?" Emily asks.
"Yeah," Noah replies, "Your hair has grown a lot since we met."
"So has yours," Emily notes as she admires the teen's long hair. The raven locks flow down to Noah's mid-back. It makes Emily miss her long hair from when she was younger.
"I've never cut my hair." Noah states.
"Actually?"
"I mean, I'm sure I had it cut when I was younger, but I don't remember." Noah shrugs as she takes a big gulp from her mug.
"So you don't even know if it's fun or not!" Emily giggles.
"I don't know..."
"Or we could get our nails done...?" Emily suggests.
"Now that is my worst nightmare."
"Why?" Emily pouts.
"Picking out the color is a lot of work for me. And I have to sit there for that long? And a random person touching my hands? Bleh!" Noah cringes just thinking about it.
"So what's your idea of fun?" Emily opens up for ideas from the teen.
"I don't know..." Noah trails off to think, "We could come back and have a movie night? But I know you think we do that all the time, but I like just being at home with you."
"Noah—"
"Emily, I can't help that I'm a homebody!" Noah defends herself.
"If you would let me finish—" Emily chuckles as she squishes Noah's face with her free hand, "I was gonna say that I think that's very sweet."
"So, your turn to pick a movie?" Noah asks as she grins.
"Okay," Emily agrees and leans back onto the couch. Noah takes the last sip of her hot chocolate and sees Sergio come down the steps.
"Serg!" Noah sings as he comes to sit on the couch, "I know! Emily ruined our reading time." She talks to the cat as Emily shakes her head.
"He doesn't like to be disturbed," Noah whines as she looks over at Emily.
"I didn't know you were gonna love him this much." Emily giggles.
"How can anyone not love this face?" Noah coos as she pets Sergio's head.
"Hey," Emily says as she sits her mug down on the coffee table, "I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay," Noah replies as she keeps her attention on Sergio.
"Look at me, please." Emily softly says and sees Noah's eyes shift to hers.
"Oh, it's a serious talk," Noah adds with a smile.
"I need you to listen to me," Emily states, making Noah's face fall out of fear, "I went to the court when you were at school yesterday. And I was granted full custody of you."
"That's great!" Noah chimes as her eyes light up.
"Yeah," Emily beams with a smile, "But I need you to be sure that this is what you want."
"I've never been more sure about anything." Noah sheepishly replies.
"I just want to remind you that I'm very happy that you're in my life." Emily coos as she strokes Noah's hair.
Noah looks deep into the eyes of her mother. She has never felt such affection through a single glance. Noah knows all the words that are unspoken; the three words that her mouth did not dare to speak for years.
"Me too," Noah says and moves closer to Emily. She sinks beside the woman as she feels an arm wrap around her.
Noah soon falls into a peaceful slumber in Emily's hold. The woman softly laughs as she notices Noah still loosely holding the empty mug in her hand. She takes the mug and sits it on the coffee table, careful not to wake the teen.
"Alright, c'mon, honey," Emily whispers as she lifts the teen into her arms.
"Em?" Noah mutters with a yawn.
"It's okay. Go back to sleep." Emily speaks in a gentle voice.
She carries the teen to her bedroom and lays her down on the bed. Noah gets comfortable as Emily pulls the duvet over her.
"Goodnight, Noah."
—
𝕤𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕠𝕠𝕟
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭
"That is way too much color," Noah says as she looks at the sweater Emily is holding up.
"Noah, it's pastel blue." Emily huffs as she places it back on the rack.
"It's bright is what it is." Noah sighs as she goes through a different rack of clothing.
"Honey, you need something other than black shirts and flannels." Emily groans as she watches Noah pull out another black sweater to try on.
"Well, I have to wear a uniform five days a week, so there's really no point in going crazy."
"We should look at the dresses—"
"Why?" Noah asks as she furrows her brow.
"So you have a nice outfit." Emily shrugs.
"Says you, Ms. Pantsuit." Noah giggles.
"Okay, then let's look for a pantsuit." Emily beams and wanders over to a different section.
While Emily walks away, Noah grabs two more black shirts and throws them over her arm.
—
ɴᴏᴀʜ
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴' 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
My thoughts have been swirling. On one side of my mind is how content I am. Emily is everything I ever wanted from Gia and our bond has grown more than I could have ever imagined. I finally found the motivation to do well in school. I've made real friends; and lots of them. I'm making memories that I can look back at and smile. For once, life isn't just one big let-down.
But on the other side, I still have a shit load of problems. First, there is the dilemma of Jess; I have no idea what kind of response she wanted to her outburst from the party. Parker definitely asked me on a date and I may have drunkenly said yes? Also the never-ending cycle of my anger, which hasn't gotten any better. Not to mention, I still have yet to completely process what happened with Gia and Nick.
I will admit; some of these problems are more urgent. But the one that has been on my mind is Jess. Sure, I was drunk and my thoughts weren't in order. I don't even remember half the conversations I had that night. But I could never forget what she said.
"You're the big deal!"
How do I interpret this? One part of me thinks it's because she was uncomfortable. But a small part of me thinks it's to do with something else. Maybe I gave her the wrong idea?
I don't see Jess as anything more than a friend. Why was a small kiss as a dare such a big ordeal?
"Noah?"
I hear Emily's voice on the other side of my bedroom door as she knocks.
"Yeah?"
"Dinner's ready," She tells me and I nod with a smile.
I follow Emily downstairs and sit at the table. Emily has been cooking at home more and while I appreciate the effort, there's still some work to do. No matter how many times I try to ask Rossi to give her cooking advice, he keeps saying that it's a profession and it takes time. I guess we can't all be David Rossi.
—
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
"Are you tired yet?" Emily asks as she puts the book down.
Noah could not sleep, so she asked Emily to read to her. Per the teen's request, she wanted to read in Emily's room. Noah likes to be in Emily's bed and curl up with Sergio; it feels like they are a little family. Plus, Noah was never allowed in Gia's room, so she never had moments like these.
"No, keep reading," Noah replies.
"I've read three chapters," Emily complains, "And you have school tomorrow."
"I'll go to sleep if you let me stay." Noah offers a compromise.
"Promise you won't steal the blanket?" Emily asks.
"I don't steal the blanket!" Noah exclaims, "I just roll over a lot and it gets wrapped up."
"Mhm," Emily hums with a smile. She places the book on her nightstand and gets comfortable in bed.
"And it's not my fault that you like the apartment to feel like an icebox," Noah mutters and sees Emily shoot her a look.
"It's not that cold!"
"I'm sorry that I like to be warm." Noah giggles and looks over at Emily, both their heads laying on their pillows.
"I'm gonna make you sleep in your own room," Emily teases.
"No, no, I'll be quiet!" Noah pleads as she laughs.
"Goodnight," Emily coos as she lifts her head to kiss Noah's forehead.
"Goodnight," Noah beams before turning over to turn off the lamp on her side of the bed. She pats the spot in front of her and watches Sergio curl himself into a ball.
Emily turns her lamp off as well and lays on her side. She reaches her hand out and gently scratches Noah's back. The teen soon falls asleep, which allows Emily to stop and fall asleep as well.