Consequences ~ Camila Cabello^^

Normal = Present time
Italics = Flashback

[Chapter forty-three]

-Noah-

{ Dirty tissues, trust issues
Glasses on the sink, they didn't fix you
Lonely pillows in a stranger's bed
Little voices in my head
Secret keeping, stop the bleeding
Lost a little weight because I wasn't eating
All the souls that I can't listen to, to tell the truth }

I look down at Nevaeh, who's fast asleep on my chest.

A frown rests on my face as I study her. She hasn't been eating much lately and she's been sleeping a lot. When she's not asleep, she looks tired. She's definitely skinnier than she was when she came back. Too skinny.

Her usually tan skin is pale and cold, the dark circles under her eyes never seem to go away.

She's not dying. She can't be.

But she is.

I brush her hair away from her face and place a kiss on her forehead before getting out of her bed, careful not to wake her.

I walk into the living room, shutting her door quietly.

"She doesn't have long, does she?" Megan's soft voice comes from the couch.

I bite my lip as I go and sit next to her. "What makes you say that?"

"The last days usually include loss of appetite, and being tired and sleeping all the time." She whispers.

{ Loving you was young, and wild, and free
Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet
Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound
A steady place to let down my defenses
But loving you had consequences }

"Yo, King!" Nevaeh pops her hood-covered head in my bedroom door. "Your mum said to get your ass down to the kitchen and help us make cookies."

Her head disappears from my doorway as she skips back downstairs.

I raise an eyebrow.

How is she so happy at nine AM on a Saturday morning?

Maybe I can smash her over the head with my guitar.

No, she'd strangle me with the strings.

Plus, you're in love with her.

Shut up, Pablo.

You shut up!

You shut up!

No, you shut up!

No, you sh—why am I arguing with my subconscious.

Because you're crazy.

Fuck off, Pablo.

You fuck off!

No, you fuck o—I really am crazy.

I stand up from my bed and trudge downstairs, raising my eyebrows when I hear the music coming from the kitchen.

"YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE," Nevaeh and Danny both scream out as they dance around the kitchen and mum sits at the island and watching with a smile on her face, ingredients for chocolate chip cookies sitting next to her. "I'VE BEEN LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN!

I smile softly at the sight.

You know what, Pablo? You were right for once. I am in love with her.

I KNEW IT!

{ Hesitation, awkward conversation
Running on low expectation
Every siren that I was ignoring
I'm paying for it }

"She—she's dying." Megan mumbles to herself, curling into a ball.

Loss of appetite and tiredness.

I can't believe I didn't think about that.

"Carter?" I speak hesitantly as she trudges into the lounge area. "Do you want something to eat?"

Despite sleeping for a good thirteen hours, she still looks exhausted.

She shakes her head, making her way to the bathroom. "I'm not hungry."

I glance over at Megan who's staring after Nevaeh sadly.

I pull her into a hug. "It'll be alright, Meg."

"No, it won't." She says quietly, making me sigh.

Of course it won't be alright.

{ Loving you was young, and wild, and free
Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet
Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound
A steady place to let down my defenses
But loving you had consequences }

"Noah, stop being a baby and jump!" Nevaeh's voice comes from the lake, the sun beating down on us.

"I'm not being a baby!" I shout from my place at the edge of the jumping rocks. "I just don't want to die!"

"You're not going to die." She rolls her bright blue eyes. "It's not even that hi—"

She's cut off by Max swimming over and dunking her underwater.

"Hey, O'Connell, you drown my girlfriend, I drown you!" I call down to him as Nevaeh comes back up and splashes him in the face.

"I'd like to see you try, King!" He calls back as he tries to dodge the water Nevaeh keeps splashing at him.

I jump off the ledge and into the water. I swim over to Max and grab his foot, pulling him underwater.

I swim back up and take a breath just in time for Dylan to dunk me back under. Megan swims over when I come back up and dunks Dylan.

"Haha, that's my gir—" Megan cuts Max off by pushing him down too.

"HAHA!" Dylan laughs, pointing at him as she comes back up.

The three continue splashing and dunking each other as I swim over to Nevaeh, who's floating on her back.

She stops floating on her back and wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist.

"I told you it wasn't that high." She grins as my arms wrap around her.

"Oh no, it was." I start. "But I had to drown Max for drowning you."

She chuckles. "My hero."

I grin, leaning in and placing my lips against hers.

She pulls away after a minute. "This is going to sound real cheesy, but I feel safe in your arms."

I smile softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You don't know how good it feels to hear you say that."

She smiles and pecks my lips before pulling away and splashing me in the face.

"Carter!"

"How's the water taste, Pebble?" She laughs swimming away.

{ No, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Said, no, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Hey, yeah, no, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, mm

Loving you was dumb, dark, and cheap
Loving you will still take shots at me
Found loving you was sunshine, but then it poured
And I lost so much more than my senses
'Cause loving you had consequences }

"Noah?"

"Yeah, Carter?" I look over at her from my spot at her desk.

"Come cuddle with me." She pleads tiredly, holding her arms out.

I sigh as I walk over and get under the covers, pulling her close.

"Do me a favour." She starts, her eyes fluttering shut.

"As long as you don't ask me to buy you a pet monkey, of course." I retort, running a hand through her soft hair.

"Stop being an ass and read the letter sometime, would ya." She mumbles before she falls asleep.

Her breathing is noisy and irregular and all of a sudden I get the urge to cry.

As if on cue, it starts raining heavily. Rain slapping against the roof of the building and hail hitting the windows.

After Anthony died I promised myself I wouldn't get close to anyone.

The less people I get close to, the less people I have to lose, the less it hurts.

But of course, that didn't work out.

Max just had to drag me over to her during detention on our first day back.

And now she's my girlfriend, but not for long.

As much as I don't want to accept the fact that she'll leave me soon, I have to.

Loving Nevaeh was sunshine, and then it poured.

{ Yeah, loving you }

*~*

Hey guys, yes I know this song means something completely different, but I thought it was perfect for Noah and Nevaeh's situation.