Amara Woods liked to have fun. She was an occasional party goer. She was a part of the leadership class and ran for class office every year.
Noah Ross was the same. He was ASB President and liked by everyone, even Amara...
...obviously, since they...
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"Alright, so you'll be staying in the guest room," Anna told me as we went upstairs. "I would give you the talk about not going and sleeping in Noah's room, but considering what's done is done, there's really no point."
I felt my blood rush to my cheeks as Noah cleared his throat from behind me. "Mom..." he warned.
"I've also learned that my speech doesn't really work anyway. Right Ace, sweetie?" Anna's voice turned syrupy sweet.
I heard laughter from upstairs. "She had a nightmare, mom!" Ace's deep voice returned with.
"Yeah, maybe the first time," Mel giggled, coming into view.
"Alright, this is getting slightly uncomfortable," Noah pleaded, the last one to make it upstairs.
Anna smiled at me and led me to the room I would be staying in for the night. "I know Noah already told you this, but you are welcome as long as you need it."
"Thank you Anna. I really appreciate it."
Ace wrapped his arms around his wife and rested his hand on her stomach. "You're family now, Amara."
The word family made my insides feel warm and yet a sliver of cold snaked down my spine, making me shudder. Was this how it was going to be? Lose my family and gain another? All because of one night?
Instead of responding, I turned to Noah, who seemed to know exactly what I needed, and he cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Did you eat already Amara?"
I shook my head.
Anna clapped her hands together, causing me to jump at the noise. "There's plenty of food still downstairs if you're hungry."
"I could eat," I answered.
"Same. I'm still hungry," Mel responded from behind me.
I heard Ace chuckle. "Of course you are."
We made our way downstairs and into the kitchen. There was tri-tip on a cutting board on the island table. There was mashed potatoes by the stove and an assortment of veggies on the counter. I helped myself to as much food that could fit onto my plate.
Anna and Austin busied themselves outside, cleaning up after the party that had left behind a lot of pink confetti. Noah sat next to me at the table and watched me as I practically vacuumed my food down. This would have normally been the time to get embarrassed of my eating habits, but I found that I was more comfortable with Noah than I thought I would be.
"This is so good," I grumbled, after swallowing one of my huge bites.
Noah laughed. "My mom's a really good cook and my dad is pretty great on the grill."
"You're lucky. My mom can't cook for shit. My dad basically had to learn to cook when they got married and all they ate was ramen noodles," I told him.
