Thirty-Eight Days by Len Webster Read Free Book Online Page B

and pillows thrown across the room. This was not a situation she wanted to be in. She leant against the door and let out an exasperated sigh. She never imagined that she’d find herself attracted to Noel, not in the slightest.
    This was trouble, and she knew it. Pushing off the door, she knew they needed to stay platonic. It would be easy for him, but hard for her. She walked over to the foot of her bed and picked up her blanket. Deciding that the best way to forget a naked Noel was to not think about him naked.
    Clara walked over to her bookcase and started to collect her thrown pillows off the floor. She had next to no sleep last night, caused by pure frustration. She knew the reason; he had come to town, and he had come to stay.
    Turning, she dropped her pillows on the bed and started to rearrange them back to perfection. Since she lived on her own, she had a certain way she liked her apartment to look. Moving out of home as an almost eighteen-year-old would have been hard for any teenager, but with her parents not caring, it was easier than she thought. Clara wanted her parents to care and ask her to stay, but they never gave her a second of their time.
    It was Alex’s idea for her to move out. Clara never argued. She felt like more of a burden than a daughter for her parents. She hadn’t heard from them since. Walking around her bed, she reached her large window and pulled the curtains back. The view was the reason why she chose her apartment. Although it was smaller than the ones Alex desired, it was the beautiful picture of the city that had her begging him for the apartment. It was worth every penny Alex spent.
    Like every morning, Clara lowered herself onto the window seat and pulled up her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs. The view was one that calmed her, made her forget about the ruins of her complicated life.
    Untangling her arms, she reached into her jeans pocket and retrieved her phone. She still hadn’t discussed Alex’s willingness to offer her guest room to Noel. It didn’t take Noel long to convince her to let him stay. They had one thing in common, and that was Alex. In the end, Clara had no choice but to show him the guest room. Whether or not she liked it, Alex sent Noel her way.
    As she unlocked her phone and pulled out her contacts, Clara looked out her window. Melbourne was offering yet another picturesque day; unfortunately for her, Melbourne couldn’t get rid of her roommate problem.
    She would have to find a way to adapt to her new lifestyle, one that included Nolan Parker. He had made it loud and clear that he would not be leaving until Alex returned. His loyalty to her brother was one thing, but his egotistic personality was another.
    I don’t know if I can tolerate Noel for two weeks.
    Straightening her legs, she pressed on Alex’s number and hoped he’d pick up. She wanted answers as to why Noel was here and why Alex insisted on him babysitting her. The phone rang a few times before he picked up.
    “Hey, kiddo.”
    “Hey, kiddo? Alex, I think you know why I’m calling!” She didn’t mean to sound annoyed, but she was.
    “Clara.” He sighed. Paper ruffled before silence.
    “Don’t ‘Clara’ me, Alex. I could have made it on my own for another two weeks. I’ve lived on my own for over a year. You know I have. Did you really need to send the asshole down?” Clara moaned. Alex sighed into the speaker, and she felt the guilt.
    “Clara, I couldn’t leave you alone on your birthday. Mum and Dad are on that cruise with the Parkers, and Noel was already going back home. So why not stay at your place?”
    “You could have had Rob check in on me. But Noel, really?” Clara bit her lip as she thought back to their kitchen fiasco.
    Alex definitely doesn’t need to know about that!
    She knew for certain she was blushing and she hated that more than anything.
    “Look, Clara, I know he can be an asshole, but he can be the good kind.”
    There’s a good kind of