Page 13
“I’m here, Noah,” a soft voice murmurs, half asleep. “You good?”
Shivers rack my body, and I look over at Bailey. Everything is dark. The shadows meld together, forming the shape of a boy.
“Jamie?” I whimper.
“Hey, no—Jamie’s not here. Christ, you’re still half asleep.”
A hand touches my arm, and I flinch away. “Don’t!”
“Yeah, I know you don’t like being touched after a nightmare, but you need to wake up properly.”
The shadows melt away, and my eyes adjust to Bailey’s worried face hovering over me. I rub my cheeks until they’re hot and sore.
“It’s okay—”
“It’s not okay,” I growl.
“You know what you need to do, Noah, but you refuse to go,” Bailey bites back.
I instantly shut down. He doesn’t often bring up therapy, but when he does, it always makes my stomach churn. I rip the duvet off my sweaty body and leave the room to go shower.
The sound of running water fades into the background as I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror. My shadowed eyes and puffy cheeks transform into youthful skin. Black curls grow longer, grey eyes larger.
The reflection of a five-year-old boy stares back at me. He grins, showing off his two missing front teeth, then sticks his tongue through the gap.
“If I get help, you’ll leave me, won’t you?” I ask him.
Condensation fogs the mirror, and when I wipe it clear, Jamie’s gone.
“Alright, are we all calm today? Has everyone got their testosterone under control and their knickers out of a twist?” Isla looks around the barn at everyone in turn, daring us to say anything to the contrary. “Good. Theo’s moved out of the farmhouse and is now staying at Robbie’s. I don’t know what the hell came over him.”
Bailey keeps quiet, cheeks pinking. He stabs the hay with a pitchfork and shifts it onto the back of a tractor trailer.
“Did he tell you why he did it?” I ask Isla.
“He said something about being overwhelmed,” she answers, walking over to inspect the wooden beam I’m sanding down.
“Funny. I get overwhelmed quite often, yet I somehow manage not to punch Bailey in the face.”
“Noah,” Bailey warns.
“They’re grown men. If they can’t sort it out, then they can stay apart.” Isla glowers at me.
“Noah, stop pissing her off!” Richard shouts from across the barn. “Isla, come tell Jake where you want the head table to go.”
“Your fiancé is calling you.” I grin at her, and she huffs, walking away.
“You enjoy winding her up too much,” Bailey mutters.
“Her voice goes all squeaky and the vein in her temple throbs. Of course I like winding her up.”
Bailey rolls his eyes and continues to shovel the hay.
“Tea?” I ask him.
“Sure.”
“Tea?” I yell across the barn to Isla, Richard, and Jake. When all three answer yes, I make my way up to the farmhouse.
