Page 119 of The Addict

“Nah, it’s fine. I have some homework to do anyhow.”

“Then I will see you at home very soon.”

I pondered the reason for Damian’s upbeat mood at this hour. He was always a night owl, this much was certain, but he almost sounded too happy.

“Okay.”

I ended the call, taking a moment to scroll through my current notifications. I rolled my eyes when I saw two missed calls from Chelsea but stopped short when I saw the name Delane staring back at me. I immediately pushed the little green button.

Ring.

I bit my lip. Maybe I should hang up.

Ring.

I was going to hang up.

Ring– “Hello?”

My breath caught and I was immediately at a loss for words. Her voice alone caused my heart to skip a beat; the very thought of her smiling face made my lips twitch upwards in response.

“Hello?” She asked again, this time a little more annoyed. I wet my lips, praying my voice didn’t betray me.

“H-Hey, Delane, it’s Noah.” I held my breath.

“Noah?” She sounded astonished. “Is something wrong?”

I sat up in bed. “No, it’s just you– I mean, I wanted to– Uh, you called me?”

She was quiet for a moment. “Oh yeah, I did call. But that was hours ago. I–” She stopped. “Woah, it’s late. You just checked your phone now?”

I only understood one thing and that was the word “late”.

“Shit, did I wake you?”

“Well…”

“Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, I swear.”

At the same time, we both stammered: “Why did you call?”

She giggled. I relaxed into the mattress beneath me, shaking my hair from my eyes.

“You first,” she suggested with another laugh.

“Well, I called to see why you called.”

I was even more shocked to see your name on my phone. Did you want to talk to me?

“Okay. Um, I wanted to see how you were doing. You know about your eye… How is your eye, by the way? Oh, but you d-don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. All I’m trying to ask is– Are you feeling better? Not that you looked sick or anything…”

I listened with a smile as she continued on, stuttering terribly.

“I’ve been better,” I answered, and she went quiet. “But I’m okay now, Delane. No need to worry.”

She gasped. “I was not worried!”