Page 48 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

As we pulled into the driveway, I finally asked, “Noah, why are you so upset?”

“Why does it matter to you who Devon got pregnant?” He wouldn’t look at me.

I gawked at him. “Did you see her? She is almost ready to pop. That means he was fucking with her during our relationship. I’m not supposed to be mad?”

He banged his hand against the steering wheel. “You’re supposed to be mad, not furious, threatening to ruin him. I asked you if you loved that guy, and you shouldn’t have lied, Creed.” He opened the car door and got out, slamming it.

I got out right behind him. “You’re nuts. I didn’t love him like I love you. I cared, but there was no love.”

“Whatever, Creed. You... you wouldn’t have reacted that way if you didn’t love him.” He said without turning around. He left the front door to my three-story ranch-style home open, and I was standing outside. Did I love Devon? I didn’t think I did. Noah had me feeling confused. I didn’t think I loved him. There weren’t any warm and tingly feelings when I thought about him like there were when I thought about Noah.

I made my way into the house. I could hear Noah upstairs, grumbling to himself. He was in the closet, pulling his clothes from the hangers when I made it to the master bedroom.

I scoffed. “So you’re leaving now?” My heart was racing at the thought. It was supposed to be me and him against the world. No matter how much I tried to deny it, I wanted Noah with me. I wanted to raise our child together.

He turned to glare at me. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? No, I’m not leaving. I’m moving downstairs to the basement, with all my guns. Devon or that doctor better not show up here, or I’ll use them.” His face was red, and he was sweating as he went back to throwing clothes out of the closet.

I stood there, staring at him until he plopped down on the chair in his closet. I had forgotten who I was dealing with. Noah had told me he had been diagnosed with anxiety and Reactive Attachment Disorder. I left the room, went into the bathroom, and opened the bathroom sink drawer, pulling out his medication before returning to the room to retrieve my phone. I went back downstairs, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then dialed a number I had recently saved.

“Hello, Dr. Carlisle,” I spoke when she answered. “This is Creed, Noah Washington’s wife. Noah is a little stressed out, and I think he could benefit from a session.” I pressed the speaker button on the phone and handed it to him, the water and his meds. Then I leaned down, forcefully spread his legs, and sat down between them to start folding the clothes that were in reach. His therapist was speaking when he gripped a handful of my wild hair, pulled my head back, and pressed a kiss to my lips. I mouthed, "I love you," and got my goofy smile in return.

I made a mental note: Don’t trigger the crazy man. I would call my daddy and tell him about Devon when Noah wasn’t around. Maybe his lawyer could use what I’d just found out against him, but otherwise, fuck him. I did not want Noah to think Devonmeant something when he had been a non-factor from nearly the beginning.

Creed-

A week had passed since finding out that Devon had gotten his friend Maria pregnant while we were still together. He'd sent me more voicemails than Scarlett had, trying to explain Maria away. He claimed it was a one-time thing because he could feel that I wasn't committed to our relationship. This motherfucker tried to gaslight me, blame me for his weak pullout game. I deleted all his messages after that and blocked him everywhere.

But honestly, I wasn't even mad anymore. I never truly loved Devon, so his betrayal didn't hurt as much as it should have. I told my daddy what I knew about him, that he was now unemployed, and then I washed my hands of it all.

I shook the thought of Devon from my head and turned right, following Noah. Either Noah's craziness was rubbing off on me, or I was my father's child through and through because following a significant other was his thing. So much so, I think he invented it. I couldn't count on two hands and both feet how many times I'd been with Daddy when he followed Scarlett. I think in the back of his mind, he always thought she would try to get some type of revenge for Tiffany. Honestly, I think she did. There were too many rumors for at least one of them not to hold some type of weight. I actually think she had an affair with the African giant for a while. They made music that seemed a little too intimate together, but Mama was sneaky, and Daddy would never find out if she did.

Noah had been acting strange since that day he threatened to move out. He would leave the house every day at the same time and come back a couple of hours later, smelling like Florida water or nag champa incense. There were a lot of Erykah Badu-type women in Atlanta, looking for a man, and they were willing to share. I wasn't.

I followed Noah to a house in a quiet neighborhood outside of metro Atlanta. I stopped driving and pulled over when he slowed. I watched him pull into the driveway of a pretty craftsman-style house. It was all white, even had a picket fence. He knocked, and the door swung open to reveal a woman with wild hair like mine, but it was dyed silver. I didn't get a good look at her face though. She welcomed him with open arms and a warm smile, burying her head in his chest.

I swear I saw him smell her hair and kiss the top of her head.

My mouth fell open.

I knew damn well, after the hell he'd put me through, he wasn't cheating.

I opened the door of the car and got out. I thought about walking right up to the door and knocking, but I wanted proof. I made sure I grabbed my phone. I ran towards the house. It was mid-daylight, so I couldn't exactly hide. I pretended to bend down and inspect the flowerbed in the front yard. Then I thought about what I was doing. There was no way anybody would think I was doing the gardening in my expensive cardigan dress. I gave up pretending and ran to the side of the house, out of view of the neighbors. The windows were too tall on the side, so I made my way around to the back. Her yard was nicely manicured, but there were large pallet crates. I wondered what in the hell she had them for.

I didn't dwell on it. I dragged one back to the side, then went back and got two more, stacking them. Then I stepped up on them. There were curtains blocking my way, but I could hear low music playing in the background.

"Hold me right here, baby. That's it," I heard a female voice say, real low-like, sounding breathless.

Immediately, tears welled up in my eyes. I wiped them away in frustration.

I felt like a fool. I'd only had two relationships, and both men had cheated on me. The thought of losing Noah was unbearable, but there was no way I would stay with him.

I went to step off the crates.

I lost my balance. My hand hit the window hard as hell, but I didn't fall. I stepped down off the crates and went fast-walking towards the front yard. The woman and Noah came from the house just as I got to the front.

I stopped in my tracks, my fists balled at my side as I glared at Noah.

He said something to the woman only they could hear. The woman stepped behind Noah, and before I got a good look at her face, she was covering her mouth. She was laughing at me.

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