Crossing lines (Noah and Aiden) novel Chapter 246

Chapter 246

Noah

I couldn’t stop pacing back and forth in front of the bathroom sink, my fingers running repeatedly through my hair, as if that could somehow steady the chaos inside me. I had checked my phone so many times that the screen might have worn thin by now. Should I call him again? Send another text? Or pretend I wasn’t unraveling completely?

I didn’t want to come across as desperate.

But honestly, I was well beyond that point.

Finally, I grabbed my phone, pressed it to my ear, and hit the record button.

“Aiden—please, I really need to talk. Are you awake? If I don’t hear from you soon, I’m coming over. I mean it. Call me back.”

Back in the room, the party raged on, the bass from Keon’s music pounding through the walls. The crowd clustered around the coffee table had dissolved into the usual chaos—loud jokes, reckless dares, and the small, familiar rituals of boys trying to forget about school, deadlines, and the weight of growing up. I tried to focus on the noise, tried to lose myself in it, but my eyes kept darting back to the phone every few seconds.

Keon leaned in, his voice teasing. “Dude, is the Queen finally texting you back?”

I forced a laugh, the sound hollow. “Not exactly,” I muttered.

Miguel elbowed Keon, grinning. “Maybe HIS queen, Lexie of Texas, is hitting him up, huh?”

They laughed like we were all sharing some inside joke, like everything was light and uncomplicated. I played along because it was easier than trying to explain the knot twisting in my stomach.

“Man, you okay?” Miguel’s voice softened a little, his eyes searching mine. He’d known me long enough to catch the tremor behind my forced smile.

“Yeah,” I lied quickly. “I think I’m just drunk.” But the truth was, I wasn’t drunk at all. I needed to leave.

I didn’t make a scene or say goodbye. I knew excuses would come easy tomorrow—alcohol, exhaustion, the post-game crash. Quietly, I slipped out while the room erupted with laughter and someone was loudly arguing their way through a three-truths drinking game.

The stairs seemed to stretch endlessly beneath my feet. I kept telling myself to just crawl into bed, do the sensible thing, sleep it off. That was probably what Aiden had done. But the louder, harsher truth drowned out reason—I needed him. I needed him to hold me, to tell me everything would be okay. That I would be okay.

By the time I reached the dorm hallway, I had convinced myself I was only going inside to change—maybe to think more clearly, maybe to make a reasonable decision. The hallway was darker than usual, the building holding its breath in the stillness of the night. I swiped my key card once, missed, swiped again, muttering curses under my breath. That’s when I saw it—a shape standing a few meters from my door. A silhouette I hadn’t expected.

“You think you can just show up and demand things? You don’t scare me—”

I started, my fist clenching tightly, anger already boiling beneath my skin.

He cut me off with a laugh that wasn’t really a laugh. “Oh, but you are scared, boy. I raised you. I know what fear looks like on you. You’ve always been the same pathetic little coward who couldn’t protect a damn thing. Not yourself. Not your mother. Not your sister.”

He tilted his head, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “Never got anything right… until now, I guess.”

A burning rage surged up my spine, wild and foolish. “Leave my mom and sister out of your mouth. They’re getting away from you. Soon.”

He smiled as if I’d just told a joke. “Are they now? And who’s doing that for them? You?”

My jaw tightened. I stayed silent.

He took my silence as an invitation. “Tell you what. You give me what I want, and maybe I walk away. Maybe I let all of you keep breathing easy for a while.”