Page 93 of The Golden Goalie

Me-okay

And just like that, I have hope.

Chapter 37

Amber

My eyes blur, and I figure it’s probably time to head to bed. I’m not getting much studying done at this point anyway. Everybody left nearly two hours ago. Noah was the last to leave. He listened while I poured my long, sordid story out to him. He stared at me with that intense gaze of his, thankfully not pitying me. He didn’t scold me either, like he used to when we were younger. He just listened. When I finished, he stood up, said goodnight and disappeared. And that was that. That’s how it is with Noah. He’s like a phantom, a ghost. He shows up once in a while and then disappears again, but I’m grateful he came. I know he loves me; this is how he shows it—flying in from some unknown country for just a few hours to check on us before he has to fly out again.

I stand up and stretch and start picking up. There’s a soft tap at the front door, causing me to frown. I head that way and open it cautiously. Seeing Noah, I pull it back all the way. “Did you even check first?” he asks in a scowl.

“Well, if you had a cell phone like a normal person, you could have called me and I would have known it was you,” I return.

“I don’t use cell phones.”

“Yes, I know.” We give him a hard time about it, but he has his reasons. He told me once that cell phones get you dead...whatever that means. He follows me into the living room, and I turn to face him, wondering what he wants this time of night.

“It’s over,” he says in a low tone.

“Uh, what’s over?” I ask in complete confusion.

“The other guy. He’ll never bother you guys again. You're free to be with the guy you love.”

I blink and then blink again. There was so much to unpack there. “The guy I love?” I guess I’ll start there, not with the disturbing part about Adam never bothering me again.

“The hockey player,” he says.

“They both play hockey,” I say dumbly.

He scowls. “Stop being difficult. The other guy—Adam—will never bother you again. That video will never surface.”

“Is he dead?” I can’t help it; that’s where my mind’s gone.

He gives me a look. “No, he’s not dead.”

“Okay, phew. I mean I know what you do for a living and all, but I really can’t have you killing my baby’s daddy. I mean that’s all sorts of family drama to unpack when she gets older and wants to meet her dad but she can’t because...you know her uncle offed him.”

“Offed him?” He gives me a look that’s so typical Noah, I can’t help but laugh.

“I don’t know what you call it.”

He shakes his head. “He’s still alive, unfortunately, but he’ll never bother you again. The video is gone.”

I stare at him, trying to read him; but that’s next to impossible. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with and now you can be with the hockey player that you actually love.”

I scoff. “I don’t love Rico.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t. We haven’t even been together long enough for that. I don’t...” my voice trails off.

“I make my living off of reading people, and I’m never wrong. You love him.”

I stare at him, open-mouthed. “But that’s not...possible. We’ve barely been together.”

He shrugs. “When the heart knows, it knows.”

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