Read Online Waiting for Midnight by Samantha Chase - Free Book Online Page A

sad smile.  “I’m sure you would have noticed the moving van being that you haven’t gone out of the house much yourself.”
    Maddie shrugged. “I’m out now.”
    “Only because I came to your place and dragged you out!”
    “I think I’m allowed to have my pity-party,” Maddie said quietly.  “Like the holidays aren’t hard enough and then this had to go and happen.”
    Reaching across the table, Kiera grabbed her hand and squeezed.  “I’m so sorry.  I really am.  I know how much you felt for him.  I hate that he didn’t realize all he had with you.”
    “Me too,” she replied and felt one hot tear fall down her cheek followed by another.  She looked at Kiera.  “I think I’m just destined to have people walk away from me.”
    “Oh, Maddie…honey, don’t say that!”
    “Why not?” she asked sadly.  “It’s the truth.”
    “Maddie…”
    “Would you mind taking me home?  I really want to curl up and be by myself.”
    Kiera stood and sighed softly.  “Of course.  Come on.”
    Fifteen minutes later, Kiera was walking out of Maddie’s apartment.  She stood there in the frigid temperature contemplating what in the world she could possibly do to help her friend.  It just about broke her heart to see Maddie this way. 
    With no real answer in sight, she walked toward her car.  She was almost there when another one pulled into the lot.
    Noah’s.
    “Perfect,” she said as she began to change direction and walk toward him.  She knew the instant he spotted her.  They’d never formally met, but that wasn’t going to stop her.
    “Can I help you?” he asked.
    “Are you Noah?”
    He nodded.
    “That’s what I thought,” she said tightly, her hands going to her hips.  “I want you to know I think you are the worst – and I mean the worst – kind of human being.”
    His eyes went wide for a brief second before he seemed to straighten – his expression going blank.  “Do I know you?”
    Kiera shook her head.  “No.  You don’t,” she said defiantly.  “I’m Kiera - a friend of Maddie’s.”  She almost smiled when he seemed to pale.  “Personally, I’m glad she found out when she did that you were such a coward and a loser, but it pisses me off that you had to go and ruin her Christmas.”
    For a minute he looked like he was going to bolt, but he stood his ground.  “That wasn’t my intention.”
    “Oh, really?  So you were going to keep sleeping with her until after the holidays?  Was that your plan?”
    “Look…there wasn’t any plan.  It wasn’t like that.  I like Maddie – a lot – but…”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kiera interrupted.  “Spare me.  She has a hard enough time with the holidays and you made it worse.”
    He sighed and hung his head slightly.  “I’m sorry she lost her family, but…”
    “She didn’t lose her family,” Kiera said, cutting him off once again.  “Maddie never had a family.  Her mom took off when she was a toddler, and she never knew who her dad was.  She grew up in foster care.”
    “What?” Noah looked stricken even as he asked.
    Kiera nodded.  “She was one of the kids who sort of got lost in the system.  She went from foster home to foster home but was never adopted.  She’s never had a family of her own,” she said sadly.  “Which is such a shame because she’s the kindest most loving person I’ve ever met.  I thought she had gotten better about her abandonment issues, but…” She shrugged.
    Noah cursed under his breath.  “I had no idea.”
    “Maybe you would have if you did more than drop your pants every time you were with her.”
    He opened his mouth to argue, but instantly closed it.
    “I knew from the start you weren’t good for her, but she didn’t believe me.  She always defended you – even when she didn’t really know you.”  She looked at him from head to toe with disgust.  “Personally, I wish she’d never tried to get to know you.   You broke her heart.  And