Page 34 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

"I want to start by saying I apologize for my reaction to the last incident with Maine. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you. Just the thought of something happening to our child made me angry, you know?"

I nodded.

"With that being said, I'll never sign over my rights, so you can drop that idea."

Curious about his stance on the situation, I asked, "What do you think we should do?" Even though I had already settled on us being co-parents.

He ran his hand through his hair before meeting my gaze again. "I think we should get married and figure out whether we're staying in Florida or Georgia before the baby arrives." He kept tapping the remote against his thigh, drawing my attention to it.

"I’m not marrying you, Noah, and my home is in Georgia. That’s where my child and I will live."

He chuckled darkly. "See, I don’t like that you keep referring to our child as only yours, or that you turned down my marriage proposal. You love me, Creed. I love you. You're pregnant. Marriage is the next logical step." He said it as if that was all there was to it.

Did I love Noah? Yes, probably since I was a little girl. But I wouldn't admit it. Our family was already complicated.

"No, it’s not logical, Noah." I stood up. "I think we should discuss this later, closer to the baby's due date. We've just been through a lot. I don’t think you’re thinking clearly." I stood to leave.

He got up from the sofa and crowded me. "I'm thinking very clearly, clearer than ever. You know, I used to always fantasize about life with you, but I made excuses as to why I wouldn't and couldn't have you. The issues between our parents, and how close I was to yours — Troy and Scarlett really treated me well, considering the circumstances. I never wanted to do anything to hurt them or make them look at me differently. So, I put on this mask. I played the peacemaker, kept Tiffany away, and hid my true nature. But then that incident in the van happened, and you kept picking and pulling at the mask I wore until I just said 'fuck it' and indulged.”

He threw his head back and closed his eyes. “Oh, how I loved indulging," he groaned, as if reminiscing about all the times we had indulged. My back hit the wall. I hadn't realized we'd been moving.

His warm body pressed into mine. "I even convinced myself to leave you alone while you grieved for Lil Compton. I knew you would come around. When you told me you wanted to give me a baby, I knew you had. But you don't know how to make anything simple. You could have revealed my secret like you did all the others, but you didn't. And by doing that, you let me know you wanted me as much as I wanted you. I told you, if you didn't come to your senses, I would do something drastic. Now here we are, you forced my hand. Just remember I warned you," he said, taking a step back.

My heart raced in my chest. What was he about to do?

He raised his hand, pointing the remote towards the steps. I jumped when the door slammed shut. Noah dropped the remote to the ground, then raised his foot and stomped down on it, scattering the pieces everywhere.

"Now we have a month to figure everything out without interruption."

My brain caught up to what he was saying a few seconds too late. I jogged up the stairs to try the door. It wouldn't budge. Panic set in, and sweat beaded on my forehead. I turned back, hoping Noah was joking, just in time to watch him stomp on my cell phone.

"Now, everyone will think you're back in Atlanta, just not answering calls, like usual. Don't worry, we aren't trapped here. I have someone coming out to let us out in a month. It's not that long of a time, so we better start talking and figuring out some things."

I didn't know how to respond. I thought Noah being a little off was endearing, but now I could see that this man was fully unhinged, and I had unleashed him on myself.

Creed-

Noah’s soft hum filled the room as he cooked dinner. It sounded like "Take Me to Church," one of my favorite songs. The initial shock of him locking me in my father's old room had worn off, replaced by a growing anxiety. I was so anxious I could barely think. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. My priority was to get out of this situation, and that meant understanding Noah so I could talk him into letting me go. There was no way I was about to talk about co-parenting.

"You're shaking; you’re scared," Noah said, breaking the silence. I hadn’t realized he had stopped cooking to stare at me.

I met his blue gaze. "No, I’m not scared. I’m frigging perplexed as to why the fuck you would lock us down here."

He chuckled. "I didn't want it to be this way. I wanted you to be reasonable, to work with me like an adult, but you couldn’t, so here we are."

"We don't lock up people because they aren’t behaving the way we want them to, Noah," I replied, trying to reason with him.

He sighed, his fingers raking through his hair. "We shouldn’t do a lot of things, Creed. Should I list all the things you’ve done to me that you shouldn’t have? Let's start with the incident in the van and work our way to 'you’re going to give me a baby.'"

I sneered at him. "That’s not the same."

"It’s exactly the same. Sometimes, you have to push boundaries to get what you want."

"I was horny, Noah. I used you because you were there."

He shook his head, wagging the spatula he was holding at me. “See, lying won’t get us anywhere,” he said before he turned back to the stove.

My chest tightened. I wanted to scream. It was clear Noah had created a narrative in his mind, one that justified his actions. Nothing I said would get through to him. I’d just have to play along until he let me out. I was almost certain he really intended to keep us locked away for a month. What if an emergency happened?

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