[This chapter is dedicated to Alma_Foley. Thank you for giving this story your power stones. I appreciate the support.]
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She was pacing the length of her room back and forth while biting her thumb—a habit that she had already cut—but now with the thought of Noah coming for her, she found herself doing the bad habit that she developed when she was a kid.
She looked at her right thumb when she tasted something coppery inside her mouth. She squinted her eyes when she saw the small cut that her own teeth made on her skin. She sighed and went to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to wake herself up from her agitation of the thought that Noah would fly over just to 'replace his own pillow'.
"Stop this nonsense, Jessica!" She snapped at her own reflection. "Even if he'll come, he won't be here at this instance. The flight from Berlin would take time! You're being stupid." She continued berating herself.
She heaved a deep sigh at how stupid she became with the mere thought of Noah coming for her. She was like a drug addict that was promised by her dealer to have a hit—waiting anxiously, totally out of her wits.
She shook her head with disgust at how she became because of this so-called love. She grimaced as she opened the first aid cabinet and took out a band-aid to cover the cut in her thumb. "You're terrible at this, Jessica," she mumbled to herself like a crazy person, discarding the band-aid cover.
She got out of the bathroom hastily, not sparing herself another glance in the mirror for she was disgusted by her lovesick self. She stripped herself naked once she's out of the bathroom, grabbed a clean pair of underwear from her closet, tattered shorts, and a white tee. She tied her hair in a high ponytail, grabbed her phone and her wallet, and got out of her room as if she was being chased by some ghost.
She put on an old pair of red Converse and left her apartment. She felt suffocated inside her own house. Her thoughts were muddled with the questions that she had for Noah but was so scared to ask. The idea of him coming for her, and the fact that she was excited to see him were scaring her for an unknown reason. She bit her lower lip and sighed. She walked out of her apartment building without any specific destination in mind. She crossed the street, her mind churning like a well-oiled machine, overthinking every little action and word from Noah.
She was quite sure that Noah loves her. He was very vocal not just with his words and his actions, also, he clearly told her that he no longer has memory lapses long before he met her, and yet, he forgot sleeping with her at the Midland Hotel. It is what eats her and makes her grumpy. She couldn't think of any explanation or reasons why Noah forgot that particular part of the night.
'You can't find any reason or explanation because you're not asking Noah!' A small voice inside her head screamed at her. And she bit the inside of her cheeks, hard enough to draw blood. She must ask Noah. That's the only solution. She would go insane if she doesn't and there's no way for her to find out the truth unless she talked about it to the person involved. It would be difficult but she had no choice.
She heaved a deep sigh and stopped walking. She narrowed her eyes when she realized that she had already walked far away from her apartment building. She ended up on the South side of the park where she usually jogs whenever she has the time. Her shoulders slumped with how absentminded she was to end up in this part of the park where not a lot of people were in sight.
She found a tree with a good shade and decided to take a rest and sat on the grass. When she settled in between the protruding roots of the tree, she glanced up at the cloudless sky. The blue sky reminded her of Noah and she sighed at how random things such as the sky reminded her of him. She must have gone totally insane. She leaned her back against the tree bark and watched the sky. She didn't get much sleep from last night because she kept on twisting and turning on Noah's bed, hugging his pillow. She flushed when she remembered how Noah teased her about it.
She wasn't able to think much of Noah for the gentle breeze and the warm sun lulled her into sleep. She has this part of the park all to herself. People who come at this hour mostly just stay in the center part of the park. This area was commonly used by joggers but at this time, none of them can be seen.
She was sleeping soundly and she didn't notice that a group of men approached the area where she was. She had no idea what happened because she was deep asleep.
"Hurry!" A grumpy voice barks an order.
"Shut up and be quiet or you'll wake her up." He grinned, running his tongue on his nicotine-stain teeth. He was eyeing her as if she was a dish being served for dessert.
"Get her phone first...and her wallet so she could not ask for help." He glanced at his companion and his beady eyes shifted back to the sleeping woman and he couldn't blame him if he was thinking malicious things about her. She was wearing short shorts that displayed her long, shapely legs. It looks so smooth that he has a feeling that even his coarse palm would glide on her legs with how smooth they are. The sleeping woman also had her lips slightly parted and her breast was falling rhythmically with her shallow breathing.. The swell of her breast can be clearly seen in her white t-shirt and his pants tightened.