The Sun, The Moon and The Ocean

chapter six

● above is a picture of Addison at Palm Cove that Sophia brilliantly captured ●

MY HEART POUNDED in my chest as I glanced to my left and right, Noah's strong arms on either side, trapping me against the wall. His muscular body was flexed with anger that I still couldn't understand and he appeared taller than I remembered him being. He towered over my 5'4 self like an animal backing his cowering, puzzled prey into a corner.

Noah was scaring me. I didn't understand why he was peering into my eyes with such rage that I never detected. He was obviously not a fan of me, that I knew from the first time I talked to him. Although, I didn't know what I did to deserve his rude, back-handed comments. 

And I especially didn't know what I did to deserve to be pushed against a wall.

I tried my best to remain as calm as possible. "Noah, what are you doing?" I peeped, my voice unusually soft and high pitched.  "No, Sophia. What are you doing?" He growled through his teeth, lunging his head towards mine. 

"I- I don't understand, I haven't done anyth-"

"You haven't done anything yet. I'm trying to stop you before you do."

I was confused out of my mind. What was he referring to? Was he upset about Cooper touching my face? That shouldn't have bothered him, it was just Cooper's idea. I didn't want to be rude. And I'm glad I had obliged with Cooper, it was nice being that close to him. I felt tranquil.

"Noah," I choked out,  I repositioned my body against the wall, attempting to stand up straighter. "I have no idea what you're talking about, I'm not trying to threaten you. I don't even know what I'd threaten you with." I was honest. 

"You're not threatening me, Sophia!" Noah gritted, actually taking a step back and dropping his arms, which made me feel safer but his words made my brain jumbled all over again. "You're threatening Cooper."

I furrowed my eyebrows together. "How am I-"

"I saw how he touched your face; he has never looked like that when getting familiar with someone!"

As much as that statement played with my emotions, wondering what he meant by that, I tried to defend myself. "Why is that my fault? Cooper was the one touching me but he's not in the wrong either."

Suddenly, the door of apartment E7 peaked open and Addison's face creeped over the side of it. Noah and I stood close, but Noah still had his fists clenched and the veins on his arms popped through his skin. He cocked his head to face his sister and as soon as he saw Addie look him up and down with low eyes and crossed arms, he released the tension in his body. His face signified that he already knew he was in trouble.

Addison shook her head then glanced over to me. Her face softened and reached for my wrist and wrapped her fingers around it gently. She turned back to her brother, who still looked like a sad puppy. "Noah," she hissed disappointingly, "You need to get over this and realize this is not your job. He can handle himself."

Noah averted his eyes to the left, not looking at either of us. His hands sat at his hips, open and defeated. His jaw clenched tight though, I knew he felt bad. But I didn't know exactly what I would forgive him for. And I also didn't understand what Addison told him. Her hand was still around my wrist and she pulled me down the hallway. 

She peeked over her shoulder as she dragged me down the stairs to the parking lot. "Let's go to the beach."

☼

With barely any words, Addison told me to get in my car and drive to the beach which was just two blocks down the road. Instead of asking a whole bunch of questions, I tried to make sense of what just happened.

Noah was pissed off at me because Cooper touched my face, or at least that's what I thought. But I knew it had to be more complicated than that. The guy pinned me against a wall, after all. It had to be serious. He's never looked like that when getting familiar with someone, I remember  Noah saying. 

Did that mean that Cooper enjoyed touching my face more than anyone else's?

That made my cheeks blush and my mouth smile. But if that was true, did Noah get angry because he was jealous of me?

Feeling myself park the car took me out of my thoughts and Addison's voice speaking, "Pop the trunk, we'll just sit in the back." I did and hopped out my Jeep. We met back behind the car and sat with our feet dangling, facing the ocean. I impatiently looked at Addison, waiting for her to say something. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the breeze blew through her blonde hair. Seeing the light streaks shine in the light made me miss my own blonde strands. I had dyed it before I left for Carins, hoping that maybe it would give me a change. But I didn't feel any different. I wasn't a different person, I was still the same, discouraged girl to my parents.

Finally, Addie spoke, "Like I told you earlier today- Cooper's been blind since birth. So there's no cure for it. And since he's like twenty-four, he's had girlfriends before." I nodded along with her. "And at first," she adjusted herself, her elbows leaning on her knees. "At first the girls are intrigued that he's blind. They think its cute, for some reason."

"That's a strange way to think of blindness," I stated. She agreed. 

Addie continued, "And after a couple months of dating, and after Cooper gets comfortable with her, she leaves him." My face scrunched. "She leaves him for the exact reason she thought he was cute, because he can't fucking see." I could hear the frustration in her voice. "Their ignorance makes me almost as mad as it makes Noah." She signed then looked at me.

"That's why he was like that earlier." I breathed deeply and nodded in understanding. "He's always been like that with Cooper, ever since high school," Addie went on, "Noah thinks every girl is out to break Cooper's heart. But with you, I think it's different. I don't see you as someone who hits it and quits it." 

I choked on my words a little bit, wondering if she thought me and Cooper were going or were becoming a thing. "Well, thanks Addie." I stated, rubbing my left arm. I wasn't sure what to think of everything, I automatically forgave Noah in my head because even though its kind of a silly excuse for scaring me half to death, he had a legitimate reason. He just wants to protect Cooper from getting hurt.

But I wasn't sure if I even planned on putting myself in a situation where I could hurt Cooper. Back on the couch with him, his hands caressing my face and seeing that small quirk on the edge of his lips made my breath deeper. Listening to his dark, low voice speak to me that closely was memorizing to me. He also perked me up, as he did to everyone. He was a complete charmer, but Cooper was genuine. At least, I thought he was. 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

i updated not only this chapter but others as well, adding pictures like at the beginning of this one, I hope it's a nice touch :) 

i apologize for the short chapter, studying for my AP tests is just clouding up my schedule. and for this reason, i am sad to say that I won't update next week but the next update will be May 16th, 2017. after that, all my important tests will be over with and i can once again put my attention to this story. 

ALSO: WE'RE SO CLOSE TO 200 READS THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE I CANNOT THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH YOU ARE AMAZING. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET HERE. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

- nicole robinson