Chapter 42 Noah
Noah
“Brad!” I chase after him through the door. I have no idea what I’m doing but one second he has the keys in his pocket, and the next, he doesn’t.
Sliding into the front seat of his truck, I put the keys in the ignition and start it up.
“Come on.” I shout out the window.
He doesn't flinch. Doesn’t speak. Just stands there on the front porch like the world ended and no one told him what to do next.
I unbuckle my seatbelt, swing open the truck door, and march toward him. Cupping his face in my hands, I lean in, my forehead nearly brushing his. “Baby…look at me. Please.”
It takes a second, but eventually, his eyes drift to mine.
“Let me take care of you,” I plead softly. “Come with me.”
I see him swallow deeply, before he nods his head, letting me pull him by his hand.
I’ll be forever grateful for the way he slides into the passenger seat. Still choosing me. Even when he’s feeling so lost. So broken.
I don’t say anything. Not for a while. I just focus on us getting out of town. Just driving. Putting miles between Brad and the wreckage we left behind.
An hour or so later, we’re on quiet country backroads—just cornstalks, old barns, and skies that don’t seem to end.
I turn down a narrow dirt lane I’m almost sure leads to nowhere and ease the truck to a stop.
After cutting the engine, I glance over at Brad. He’s pulled his hat low, shielding his eyes from the world. But the tear streaks down his face tells me enough.
I lean over and gently knock the hat off his head.
“Hey,” he mutters, reaching for it.
I take it and place it on my lap. “Hey, yourself."
Reaching across the console, I tilt his chin towards me so I can really see him. All of him. Tears and all.
“Paislee’s yours.”
Brad shakes his head, wincing like the thought is too much to bear. “What if she’s not?”
“She always will be. Because I always will be.” I pause, steadying my voice. “She’s my sister. So if I’m a part of her… she’s a part of you. No matter who her dad is.”
I press my hand to the back of his neck, drawing him forward until our foreheads rest together.
The same way he’s done for me countless times to make me feel safe.
“You’re a part of me, Brad. Always.”
He exhales a heavy, broken sound, and wraps his arms around my waist.
I lean over the console, pressing my chest to his, and match my breathing to his—slow and steady.
In. Out.
Slowly but surely, his shoulders stop shaking. His chest rises against mine, following the rhythm of my breaths.
I pull away to look at him. He quickly rubs his eyes with the back of his hand.
“That went well, eh?” he says with a soft, broken laugh.
I smile. “Couldn’t have gone better.”
Brad’s eyes flick to mine. “She knows.”
“She knows.” I confirm.
“And we’re still alive.” His brows raise as he looks out the car window. Finally taking in where we are.
“And the world keeps spinning.” I rest my head back on the headrest.
We sit there for a long, quiet moment, just watching our fingers slowly intertwine.
“I don’t think I can go back to that house right now.” Brad shakes his head. “I want to be with Paislee but…not when I’m like this.” He sniffs.
I can see the tears threatening again, the way his throat bobs as he tries to hold it all in.
So I say the first thing that comes to mind.
“Wanna go camping?” I shrug.
***
This feels like one of those full circle moments people always talk about.
As we drive up through the camping grounds, everything feels so close to last year when we were here. It’s almost like we never left. Only now, I feel so much closer to the man sitting beside me.
We arrive just before sunset and the closer we get, the more I realize that Dakota and her friends actually prepped for my arrival. It’s clear from the streamers, the lightbulbs strung through the trees, and the snack-filled tables that they actually decorated and prepared this weekend—for me.
Which is wild because I never thought I made such a great impression.
Thankfully, we stopped at my car before coming up here so I was able to grab everything I had packed previously. Extra lucky, was that Brad still had a bunch of his camping gear in the back of the truck from last time. It’s almost like we were always supposed to return here. Together.
Right away, Dakota jumps up from sitting with everyone and runs over to greet us.
“Oh, I’m so happy you’re here. Joey and Luca have gone on and on about how much they’ve missed you. They want to show you the jumping rock in a bit—oh!” Her eyebrows shoot up, locking in on Brad getting out of the truck. “I see we’ve brought Step-daddy.”
“Uh, yeah.” My cheeks heat as I look over at him. “Actually, it’s just Daddy now. No more step.” I crinkle my nose at how lame my joke was and shake my head.
Her mouth drops, looking at me as excited as ever. “Seriously!? Oh my gosh!” She jumps, throwing her arms around him.
“Oh! We’re hugging now.” Brad smiles awkwardly at me over her shoulder, making me chuckle. I’ve never really seen him hug someone else before. It’s kind of funny.
Dakota steps back and takes a deep breath. “Okay, I feel like I need to apologize. You should know, I only kissed Noah’s neck to make you jealous.”
His eyebrows raise and I feel even more red-faced.
“Oh, is that so?” He looks at me, a slight amusement playing on his lips.
“Thought it’d be a good idea to get you all riled up. Looks like it worked—” she cheerfully smiles, but before she keeps royally embarrassing me, I tug her arm away in the direction of all the others waving us over.
I have to admit, being around all these smiling faces for a whole weekend is a little daunting.
Before we get too far, I stop and make sure Brad’s right behind me.
Immediately I feel calm and protected, feeling him right there. His chest is close to my back, as though to show me he’s never too far. Like he’s never left.
And I trust he never will.
***
“This is one hell of a way to distract me,” Brad laughs, a genuine smile on his face. “You first,” he says, giving my shoulder a little nudge forward.
I shake my head, looking back and pressing against him. “No way. If I’m going, you’re going.”
“You need me to jump off with you, Noah?” He smiles, tugging my arm close to him.
I can’t describe the way he makes me feel when he looks at me like that. It’s like an out-of-body experience. It shocks all my nerves at once and I never want him to stop.
I bite my lip and eagerly nod my head. “Yeah, I do.”
“Hey lovebirds!” We hear Dakota’s voice call up to us. Peering over the cliff, we see the group of them treading in the water, waving up at us. “Get your asses down here!” She continues. They all laugh and cheer, egging us on.
Taking a big breath, I glance to my left and raise my eyebrows.
“You in this?” I ask, reaching out my hand.
Brad’s eyes drop to my outstretched fingers. Without hesitation, he laces his hand in mine.
“All in,” he says.
I grin, cocky and sure. “You better be.”
Then it hits me—so am I.
I’ve always been so scared of people leaving me, that I didn’t see the people that never have.
Brad has never left me. Not the year before on this very cliff, not after finding out about Paislee.
After everything we’ve faced…he’s still here.
Now it’s my turn to hang on.
We run together, hearts racing, hands clasped, and dive into the cold summer water.