in between ; noah flynn [completed]

eleven

FLASHBACK — Junior Year

~*~

imessage with noah 😤💘

talia ❤️
noah i can't stop crying
please come pick me up
i don't want to be alone at home
please

noah 😤💘
i'm on my way, okay? sit tight

~*~

About five minutes after sending her text message to him, Noah arrived at her home. As soon as she heard his engine shut off, she ran out of the front door and threw her arms around him.

As soon as he heard her sobs, he could feel his own heart breaking.

He held her close and placed his hand at the back of her head and whispered, "What happened?"

Between her sniffles, she answered, "Ryan broke up with me."

Noah sighed. Ryan was her first real boyfriend and she was absolutely in love with him. They were coming up on one year together and Talia was so excited to give him his gift.

But now, it was all over and she was an absolute wreck.

"Okay, come on. Let's go somewhere else."

He helped her into his car, which he chose over his motorcycle for comfort reasons. It was also December and Talia hated the cold.

"I hate myself," Talia cried, wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

Laying a comforting hand over hers, Noah shook his head.

"Don't do that to yourself."

"What is wrong with me?" she asked, a dry laugh coming out of her.

"Nothing is wrong with you, okay? You're perfect," he told her.

He pulled into the parking lot of a park just a few minutes away from her home. It was already dark and there was no one there, making it a perfect place for a late night talk.

As soon as he pulled the handbrake, she began a new wave of hysterical tears. Her face was buried in her hands as she sobbed and whimpered the night away.

Noah uncomfortably reached over and wrapped his arms around the girl, allowing her to lean into his chest for support. She turned to him and started to get tears on his shirt but he didn't mind.

"Why was I not enough? What did I do wrong?" she demanded to know.

Noah gently stroked her hair to get her to calm down. She kept on spouting self-hating words despite the amount of encouraging ones from him.

"Talia, stop. Stop," he demanded, forcing her to look up at him.

When he finally got a good look at her, he could feel his heart drop. The tears in her eyes glinted under the light of the overhead lamp. Her nose and eyes were red and she looked way too tired.

He couldn't help but wonder how long she had been crying until she texted him.

He ran his thumb over her cheek and said, "Ryan doesn't deserve you. Letting you go will be the dumbest thing he'll do in his entire life because you, Talia, are the most perfect person I know."

"You're just saying that," she sniffled, blinking her tears away.

Noah shook his head.

"Nope. I'm telling the truth. You're the entire package and more: beautiful, smart, and kind. Any guy that doesn't want to keep you around is a guy you don't need in your life."