Page 6 of All of Him
“June,” Teel answered, “so you have almost a year to find a roommate.”
“Got it,” I responded, some stress off my shoulders. Not that I had any idea who this roommate would be. “And please tell me I can make your wedding hashtag#TeelandDeel.”
“Duh,” Delia responded, as if it were the most obvious mash-up of words to describe their nuptials. She then paused, looking at the stove. “Is that sauce burning?”
Teel gasped and rushed to the pot, only sighing in relief once she stirred. Teel Bette did notburnfood.
I leaned back against the counter and watched as Delia wrapped her arms around Teel from behind, kissing the side of her head. For a second, I was jealous, never having had that type of connection with anyone. It wasn’t that I didn’t want one; it was just that it was so much easier to not get immersed in the complications of love. Not that I was being fair to myself in knowing what that was like. The closest I’d ever come to having a boyfriend was having sex with the same guy three times. Relationships just didn’t appeal to me, nor did being close to anyone at all.
Until today.
As Teel and Delia spoke quietly with one another at the stove, my thoughts flashed back to Noah. I wondered what pained him, what had put that kind of hurt in his eyes. I’d been lucky enough to escape massive heartache. Other than my mother passing away when I had been a toddler, I hadn’t lost anyone. I’d lived life relatively unscathed.
The only thing that I could be sure about when it came to Noah’s obvious darkness was that it was embedded deeply within him. What I had seen did not represent a bad breakup or a scar from a car accident. That solemnness his green eyes had given off was one of repeated strikes or perhaps a dark branding iron to his past. He ached every. Damn. Day.
The most intriguing aspect of the way Noah had looked though wasn’t about his past or present pain. It was the fact that I’d felt the urge to willingly delve into his life, to remove whatever was plaguing him, even if it meant I went down with him. I, a girl who’d never so much as been dumped, had the desire to wrestle with someone else’s demons.
And that scared me more than I cared to admit.
Over dinner, the newly engaged couple explained all of their plans to me. With the amount of details they had figured out, I knew they’d discussed them all before actually getting engaged. Not that I was surprised. They’d been together almost ten years. Both of them would wear dresses, though Delia’s would be more feminine, and our old neighbor would be the non-denominational minister. This was a good move, considering the closest Teel and I had ever been to religion was the time we stole unblessed communion wafers from the flea market—our only act of thievery.
My father, the experienced contractor, would be building them a maple altar, one lined with pink and peach roses to contrast the earthiness of the other decor. Every bridesmaid and bridesmanhad already been chosen, though not asked, and my dad’s golden retriever would be the ring bearer. With that aspect, I assumed treats would play a large role to get his fat ass down the aisle.
With so many details already set, I had no idea what I would even be doing. Still, I was itching so badly to get started. I wanted to go dress shopping right away, partially to get Noah off my mind, not that it was possible. I’d probably just wonder about his preferences with every dress I tried on. Perhaps he was a simple guy, one who would admire a nice A-line.
“How was work, Manda?” Teel asked, jarring me from my daydream. “We are totally ignoring you.”
“Guys”—I laughed, trying not to falter— “you’re entitled to ignore me for the next week. You’re only supposed to talk about your wedding and marriage and anything else involving that. Feel free to leave me alone.”
Delia rolled her eyes and tossed a noodle at me.
“You’re diverting, which means something happened at work today,” Teel teased. “Let me guess. Cute new guy?”
I immediately swallowed some sauce incorrectly and coughed. The two of them chuckled and shook their heads. I was a terrible liar, and they took advantage of that constantly.
“Name?” Delia pushed.
I would have pretended not to know, but her look told me that she wasn’t playing. And you didn’t argue with Delia. One way or another, words would be pulled out of you.
“Noah Murphy,” I answered quietly, giving in.
Teel raised an eyebrow and looked at Delia, who returned the expression. “What?” I asked.
“Noah Murphy, as in Derrick and Janet’s son? The Murphys who own that huge run-down property outside the city on Palestine Road?”
“I have no idea.”
Delia raised her eyebrows and shoved more pasta than I thought she was capable of chewing into her mouth.
Teel sighed, knowingshewas going to have to explain it to me.
“The firm that Delia works for just bought a few acres of their property from their son last week for a pretty penny. It turns out, Janet was cooking meth, and Derrick overdosed a month ago. The house had been in the family for decades. Their son moved back from Ireland to pay off the overdue taxes.” Teel paused, looking at Delia, then me again. “His name is Noah.”
“Fuck.”
Poetic, I know. But it was all I could think of to say.
I’d seen the look in his eyes, but I had no idea as to why it was there. The lost guy I’d seen that day had been through so much, and I’d just stared at him and treated him like any other new person.
