Embry’s POV
“Wake up baby, we are here” a soft voice whispered in my ear as the sensation of a hand on my back came to the forefront of my awareness. Pushing my face further into the soft fabric I tried to block out the disturbance, too consumed by my utter sense of peace. Groaning in protest, I tried to shoo away the cold hand that now stroked my cheek. “Embry baby, we have to get up now” the deep voice became stern as my eyes tiredly opened and closed.
“I know, I know, I’m terrible, but I’m really excited to show you the new house, our new home” he murmured against my temple, gently pressing his lips against my skin. Taking a couple moments to regain consciousness, I sat with a prominent pout on my face, my body feeling heavy with sleep. “What a pouty little baby I have” Noah teased, lifting me from his lap as he jumped up to grab the bags that we kept in the seats across from us.
My heart thudded in my chest as he abruptly stopped what he was doing and a massive smile lifted on his face, his gaze directed at me. “I love you so f*cking much babygirl, don’t ever forget that”, heat lifted in my cheeks as I shied away from his stare. “I love you too” I whispered, now more awake than I previously had been.
I quietly followed him out to the awaiting car, excitement blooming in the pit of my stomach at the prospect of a new place, a fresh start.
The heavy breeze seemed unfamiliar to me, having spent so much time without it as I tiredly shuffled towards the black car that sat awaiting us. “Ladies first” with a goofy grin Noah held the car door open for me. Slipping into the car after I made sure to roll my eyes in his direct line of vision, I felt myself sinking into the seat.
“It’s a thirty minute drive, little bug, please try and stay awake so you can see the town when we drive through it, I bet you’re going to love it” Noah’s hand found my one as he started the car. The dreaded lump in my throat formed, it was the first time he wanted me awake during a car ride to a place I was to call ours. I was trying so hard lately to shut my brain off, to shut these feelings off. Because life was so much easier without them, but every once in a while, that genuine smile on my face would turn sour, as my cheeks get hot with guilt.
It was a subconscious promise of his, he was certain now that he had the us that he wanted. He had me. Not just physically, I had given every part of me, just as he wanted. And yet, I couldn’t come to regret it. I felt so me, so genuinely me when I was with him. And for a girl who has been running from herself for such a long time, that was nice.
We spent most of our car ride filling the air with mindless chatter. He made me feel as though anything I said was the most important thing he had heard all day. “Look, they have all these little markets a couple times a week, once we have settled in I’ll bring you.” My eyes were wide with amazement as I observed everything in the streets, it was surreal. The bustle of people around the cobblestoned streets, the vendors calling out to people to lure them towards their stall.
It was homely. “Noah, this is amazing” I continued gawking at the foreign infrastructure, mesmerised by it all. “Only the best for my baby girl” he smirked, as I smiled up at him, giving his hand a small squeeze.
It was about another twenty minutes when we found ourselves driving up towards a quaint house. Surrounded by a cream fence, sat a two story cottage partly covered in ivy, and completely surrounded by grass and flowers. There was a stone pathway, which split the two stretches of grass encased by bushes and trees.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off this new place as we stepped out of the car. My smile only grew as the greenhouse extending from the side of the house came into view. It was simply dreamlike. “The door should be open, go ahead and explore baby girl, I’ll take in the things from the car” Noah nudged me towards the house leading to me trekking up to the front door, trying to take in as much of the landscape as possible.
My mouth was agape at the allure of the interior, there were flowers everywhere, and most of the wall was a stone material. It felt like home. Stepping into the house, there was a small entry hallway, with the stairs sitting to the left of it. Straight ahead, it opened up into the living room, a small stone fireplace sitting between two brown oak cabinets. The room was lit by the abundance of windows to its left, two of them having their own window seats. A large mirror sat above the fireplace, a floral centerpiece sitting right in the center of it all.
Exiting the room, I found myself in the kitchen after going through the door which was to the right of the entry hall. I knew straight away that this would be my favourite room, the cabinets were white, and much like the living room, windows spanned from each side of the room, with a wooden back door leading to a part of the garden I had yet to see. But my favourite part of the kitchen was how it opened up into a greenhouse towards the back. Stepping through the glass doors, I sat down at the hanging chair in the corner and observed the mass of plants.
“How do you like it?” Noah’s voice echoed as he seemingly appeared from nowhere at the door which separated this from the kitchen. Hopping from my seat, my emotions felt too grand to explain in words, so instead I wrapped my arms around him. “It’s everything I could have asked for and more, thank you Noah” I whispered, my hold on him tight.
“I can’t even think of words to describe it, it’s just, it’s amazing” I beamed up at him. “And it’s all ours” he brushed my hair from my face, cupping each cheek with both of his hands before I felt his lips gently pressing against mine.
“You have no idea how long I have wanted a life like this for us Embry, thank you for allowing me to have it” his eyes shone with vulnerability as I dotted my lips against his cheek. “Would you like to show me the rest of the house?” I questioned, intertwining our fingers together.
The aesthetic of the house remained the same all throughout, each room amazing me more and more. Noah had shown me the bathroom and laundry room downstairs, along with the three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs. Although I had been quite certain the kitchen and greenhouse would be my favourite area of the house, I had begun second guessing myself as Noah led me towards a small crook of the upstairs landing, separated by curtains, sat an armchair in front of a window. On either side of the armchair were tall shelves, full of books.
“I figured this would be a nice area for you to have for when I am working, the only room you haven’t seen is the office but that’s boring and it’s getting late so I thought we could order some food for dinner” he sheepishly smiled as I was led back downstairs.
I rummaged through the different cabinets in search of cups as Noah set the pizza on the table. Half of the cabinets I had opened were empty, emphasising our need to get groceries as I tried to commit to memory the different cabinets for the plates and cooking equipment. Finally gathering everything we needed, I joined Noah at the table to eat.
“My mom said she would call later, she wanted to talk to you and see how we were settling in” he nonchalantly noted, pulling off a slice of pizza for each of us. A giddy feeling formed in my stomach at the mention of Evelyn, it felt like I hadn’t spoken to her in forever, she was the closest thing I could get to a parental figure at the moment so I refused to lose her as well. “Oh also, we get the groceries delivered so if a random man walks into the kitchen later this evening with like a bunch of food, don’t try to attack him” he lifted his eyebrow in amusement. Making a face, I gave him an unimpressed look, “gosh, no faith in me” I sulked.
“After dinner, do you think we can take a look around the garden?” I smiled hopefully at him, my cheeks puffing with half chewed pizza. Running his hand down his face at my antics he shook his head laughing, “sure, but that won’t be happening if you start choking on your pizza”. “How rude” I glared at him, I turned away from him, enjoying the company of my pizza.
We had spent most of dinner bickering and teasing each other. Just like we agreed, we had gone out to explore the gardens. So here I was, sitting on the tree swing, observing Noah who lay quite still beside me on a blanket. I examined his face and how his chest moved slowly up and down, I found myself often questioning whether he was asleep or not. The warm feelings I used to get when we would sit like this in my back garden in high school sat lightly in my chest.
“You know it’s rude to stare, baby girl” his once stoic face lifted into a smile as he peeked up at me through his eye lashes. The smart comment sat at the tip of my tongue, heavy and halfway into the air before a noise from the house caught the attention of both of us. A flash of panic and fear ran through me as I looked towards the house.
Grabbing my hand, he gave it a comforting squeeze, “it’s probably just the groceries, remember?” He reassured me, “we can still go check it out just to make sure, okay.” Giving a light nod, I stayed close towards his back as we walked towards the house. Holding my breath as we entered the kitchen.
Peaking around Noah’s form, I observed the man who much like Noah had said, was carrying in food. “Ah Jonathan, good to see you again” Noah stepped forward, shaking the hand of the unfamiliar man. “Mr Hill, it’s a pleasure to have you back.”
Transferring my weight from foot to foot, I felt awkward just watching the two interact like some sort of stalker. “This is my wife, Emilia” shooting a confused look towards Noah, I took his facial expression as a sign to just go with things. “Nice to meet you” I smiled, now meeting the eyeline of the man.
I watched as he stretched his hand out for me to shake, but as he looked at my face his smile faltered.
As if he knew something.
As if he knew me.