Chapter Five: Storm Warning

The next morning came with fog on the windows and silence in the house. But inside Noah’s chest? A storm.

She sat at the breakfast bar, slowly chewing through toast she couldn’t taste. Across from her, Nick strolled in like he hadn’t kissed her like the world was ending just hours before. He looked calm. Maybe too calm.

“Morning,” he said, pouring coffee like it was just another Tuesday.

Noah didn’t answer. She stared at her plate, praying her heartbeat would stop trying to punch through her ribs.

Nick slid onto the stool beside her, close—too close—and leaned in, voice low. “We should talk.”

She glared at him. “Oh, now you want to talk?”

He sighed, setting down his mug. “Last night… wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Noah scoffed. “That’s funny. You sure didn’t act like it wasn’t supposed to happen.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “You kissed me back.”

“That’s not the point!”

Their eyes met—hers blazing, his unreadable—and for a moment, it felt like the world had shrunk to just them again.

Then footsteps. Again.

Rafaela entered the room, all elegance and fake smiles. “Morning, you two! Nick, I hope you didn’t keep Noah up too late with that garage music of yours.”

Noah forced a laugh. “Nope. Slept like a baby.”

Nick raised his mug. “She’s tougher than she looks.”

It was a game now. And they were both playing it with knives behind their backs.

Later that day, at school, things got worse.

Nick was popular—obnoxiously so. Everyone knew his name. Everyone watched him. Which meant now… they were watching her, too. And that attention came with whispers.

“She’s his stepsister, right?”

“Dude, I heard she was in his car the other day.”

“No way. He’s not that twisted… is he?”

It clawed at Noah’s spine like poison. She didn’t want to care what people thought, but it was different now. The truth wasn’t something she could laugh off. The truth was dangerous.

And it wasn’t just classmates noticing. Jenna, one of Nick’s ex-flings—pretty, sharp, jealous—cornered her at her locker that afternoon.

“You think because you live in his house, you get to take what you want?” Jenna sneered.

Noah rolled her eyes. “I didn’t take anything. Maybe you just didn’t have a hold on it.”

Wrong answer.

Jenna shoved her hard, slamming her back into the locker. “Watch your mouth, trash girl.”

Noah didn’t hesitate. She shoved back. “Call me that again, and I’ll show you trash.”

They were pulled apart by a teacher seconds later, but the damage was done. The whispers turned into rumors. And the rumors? They had claws.

When she got home, Rafaela was waiting.

“What happened at school?” her mom asked, arms crossed.

“Nothing,” Noah muttered.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Noah’s fists clenched. “It was stupid. Some girl had a problem with me being Nick’s—step-sister.”

Rafaela’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of problem?”

The silence hung heavy. Noah didn’t answer.

That night, Nick found her on the patio. She was staring up at the stars, arms crossed tightly.

“This is getting messy,” she said without looking at him.

“I know,” he replied.

“We can’t keep doing this.”

He didn’t argue. He stepped beside her, looked at the stars too.

“I don’t want to stop,” he said finally.

Noah turned to him. “Neither do I.”

And that was the problem.

Because the storm wasn’t coming anymore.

It was already here.

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