"Shit, Abi. Get up."

Charlotte's frantic whisper woke me from my dreams immediately.

With one glance at my phone through blurred eyes, I shot up from the plush sofa of her hotel room, throwing off the blanket to grab my bag and shoes from the floor.

"How the fuck is it nearly nine o'clock?" I hissed, my mouth still dry with sleep and the two bottles of white wine we had shared the previous night.

"I'm surprised Erin didn't wake you up in the night," she said, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. "Alex got back about two and said he'd deal with the night feed so I just slept through."

A look of guilt washed over her delicate features. "I'm so sorry, I'd have woken you up but I kind of forgot you were even here."

Quickly pulling on my boots, I let out a groan at the wave of pain that shot through my forehead. So much for a romantic weekend in Paris with my man. Noah would probably be up and packed already. Just like we should have been, in time to catch the Eurostar back to London at ten o'clock.

"Leave here in ten minutes, yeah?"

I didn't mean to snap at Charlotte, but I couldn't help feeling bitter about the fact she'd shared her bed with Alex, while Noah had gone to sleep on his own. Even if he wasn't angry to start with, I had no doubt he would be now.

It seemed as though my doubts were confirmed after I slipped my key card into the lock and crept back into his suite.

Freshly showered, Noah was sat on the balcony, steam rising from the black coffee he held in his hand. The muscles of his back were taut and broad under his tight, white T-shirt. He didn't look around as I stepped out to join him in the crisp morning air.

"Morning," I muttered.

He glanced over his shoulder. "Morning."

"Sorry I must have fallen asleep in Charlotte's room last night. We had a drink, I don't remember going to sleep but I must have just passed out."

"I know," he said with a faint smile. "Alex sent me a picture of you tucked up under a blanket on the sofa."

I took a deep breath and was just about to speak again when he beat me to it.

"I'm sorry if I seemed annoyed with you yesterday," he said. "I just don't like it when you bring up this whole situation as if I'm doing something wrong. Like I'm out here living the dream while you just plod on at home."

Noah stared blankly into his coffee cup as he continued. "You're doing alright for yourself you know, Abi. There aren't many nineteen-year-olds out there writing hit songs and making good money from it. If anything, I envy you."

"You envy me?" I almost choked, finally feeling brave enough to sit down on the white metal patio chair next to him.

Noah looked up through his thick eyelashes. The tip of his nose was pink from the fresh air and his stubble cast a dark shadow on his face. He looked tired.

"You don't have to put up with the bullshit of being recognised," he sighed. "I'm not saying I'm a megastar or anything, but you know I have to be careful. And that means with my love life. With you."

I felt my forehead knotting into a frown. "What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking," Noah said quietly.

I shook my head and reached out to place my hand on his knee. "Whatever you're going to say, don't. I'm sorry if I've been making out like I'm the one suffering. I know it's hard for you, too. I'm sorry."

"Abi I don't want you to apologise," Noah sighed, gently removing my hand from his knee and placing it back in my lap. "I want you to be free to enjoy yourself. Not tied to someone who can't even be your boyfriend in public."

My heart began to pound harder in my chest. I pulled the chair around to sit opposite him, the metal legs scraping across the tiled balcony as I did so and sending another sharp shock through my head.

"Noah," I began, placing both my palms on his knees this time and digging my fingertips a little firmer than I'd intended to. "If you're trying to break up with me right now, don't even think about it."

He raised his eyebrows, a little taken aback.

I continued. "I love you. I love everything about you, even the shitty parts like having to keep things secret. It's only temporary, right? The label said when the second album comes out you can all have a bit more freedom."

Noah tipped his head back to face the clear, crisp blue sky and closed his eyes.

"Fucking Karen," he murmured. "Even now, she's controlling me. Controlling us. I hate this whole situation sometimes, Abi, I really do."

"I know, but she's not-"

The loud chime of the suite's doorbell cut me off mid sentence.

"Guess that'll be Charlotte?" Noah said. "You guys are going to miss your train unless you get a move on."

I swallowed down the desperate lump of anxiety rising from my chest to my throat. "Ignore it, I'll stay."

"You can't stay," Noah said, shaking his head with a bemused look. "We leave this afternoon for the next country. You've got Uni and work to think about anyway."

"I don't care about that, I'll come with-"

The doorbell rang again, followed by a loud knock.

"You better go," Noah sighed, placing his coffee down on to patio table and taking my hands in his. "I'll call you when we get to Barcelona, we can talk more then."

His lips were warm from his morning drink as he brought my hands up to his mouth and kissed my knuckles.

"I don't want to leave it like this," I whispered, my stomach twisting.

Noah stood up, pulling me with him. "I love you," he said, stroking my hair down with his large palms. "I just need to think about what I'm doing to you with all this."

His full lips closed over mine in a gentle, lingering kiss, the strong Colombian blend still fragrant on his breath.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream out, to beat my fists against his chest and tell him not to be stupid. We were fine. Everything was fine. One small disagreement didn't mean the end of us.

But I didn't. I did what the same old scared and naïve Abi had been doing all her life.

The same old Abi who had always tried to run away from pain and heartbreak simply gathered up her things on the way to the door, took one last look at the love of her life, and ran away again.