22. Jade
The next fewdays were hard to get through. I woke up the day after the incident feeling especially raw and exposed. I made Noah answer my phone when my mom called. As soon as he picked up, I could hear her freaking out that Steve was in jail. He explained what happened without giving away that we were together. I had expected that Steve would tell her when he called her, but he hadn”t. Probably didn”t want to showcase what a perv he was.
I loved that Noah gave me the space and time to think, but he was never far away. Like currently, we were sitting on the couch. He had the TV on low and was holding my hand. Other than that, he let me be. He didn”t try to get me to talk about what happened or ask me if I was okay. For the most part, I was but I had a lot of emotions I needed to work out myself. I had gotten through worse and didn”t have Noah by my side.
I looked over at him, studying him. I had this gorgeous, talented man. He had come to rescue me. Not leaving it to the cops or chance, he took action immediately. He had admitted that my necklace was a tracker, but I couldn”t even be mad that he bugged me because how else would he have found me? It wasn”t like I could call him and say, “Oh by the way, the stalker is my uncle.” Noticing me staring at him, Noah turned to me, smiling. I gave him a halfhearted grin back then laid my head on his shoulder.
“Did I ever tell you that you”re my hero?” I sang softly, giggling.
My heart lifted when he chuckled with me. I pressed my lips against his, wanting that easy connection back. He pulled my face to his as he sat back, causing me to follow into his lap. He kissed my lips softly twice, then my nose, cheeks, and forehead before wrapping his arms around my waist and burrowing his head in my chest. Realizing he was seeking comfort, I played with his hair and rested my head on top of his.
This whole thing could have gone another way, and the results would have been catastrophic. Steve was not happy about my rejection of him, which was why he had been slapping me when Noah came in, and was minutes away from forcing himself on me. I couldn”t thank Noah or love him more for what he did. I knew the story they spun to the cops, but Steve was nowhere near the stairs when I left that house. I was pretty sure Noah and Oli were responsible for his broken leg.
We spent the rest of the weekend hiding out in his room. We wanted space to ourselves, but when Monday came, it was time to face reality. The danger of my stalker was gone, but that didn”t mean that everything was sunshine and roses. No doubt, together, we could get through anything.