My Perfect Fiance by Annabelle Costa

Author:Annabelle Costa [Costa, Annabelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rose Bud Press
Published: 2019-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26: Noah

“And-the-little-bear-went-through-the-forest-as-fast-as-his-little-feet-could-take-him,” Lily recites at rapid-fire speed. “He-wanted-the-honey-more-than-any-thing.”

When we first started reading, Lily was going slow as molasses. I’ve got a lot of patience, but she was trying even mine. I use the eraser end of a pencil as a pointer for when she loses her place, but she was losing her place every five seconds. And when I redirected her with the pencil, she would just stare at the word blankly, like she’d never seen it before. Even if the word was “she.”

Then I got the idea.

I told Lily if she could finish the chapter before her mom got home, she’d get two chips for reading tonight instead of the usual one. And then she took off like a rocket. She really wants that ant farm.

Lily finishes off the chapter in record time, and we high-five. “That was amazing, Lil!” I say. “You did a great job.”

“That’ll be two chips, please,” Lily says, holding out her palm.

Bailey expressed concern that Lily might be stealing chips during the night, and that we should put them up on top of the bookcase. I don’t think Lily would do that though. And on a selfish note, I can’t reach them on top of the bookcase when I’m in my chair. So we compromised and put them in our bedroom.

While I’m going to grab the chips from the drawer in our night table, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I fish it out and see an unfamiliar number on the screen. I hope it’s not one of those spam callers. I want to put on a call blocker, but after the things I see in the ER, I’d never block all unfamiliar numbers. You never know when tragedy is calling.

“Hello?” I say.

There’s a long pause on the other line. So long that I’m about hang up when I hear a male voice say, “Noah?”

“Uh, yeah.” I frown. “Who’s this?”

“Noah…” The man on the other line clears his throat loudly. “Noah, it’s your dad. Michael.”

For a moment, I’m too stunned to speak. I haven’t heard my father’s voice since I was ten years old. The asshole never even called on my birthdays.

“How did you get this number?” I say in a low, even voice.

“Gwen gave it to me,” he says. “I don’t know if she told you, but I had a—”

“Don’t ever call me again,” I interrupt him.

“Noah…”

“I mean it,” I growl into the phone. “I’m blocking your number. Don’t try to contact me. I don’t want to see you.”

With those words, I hang up the phone. My hands are shaking as I make good on my promise and block his number from my phone.

I can’t believe my mother gave that asshole my number. The worst part is how oddly familiar his voice was. It sounded different than I remember, but something about it… maybe it was the thick New York accent. Talking to him felt like being stabbed in the chest.

He looks like me. Or I look like him. Or at least, the way I look now is how he looked when he was my age in the photos I’ve seen.

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