32. Noah
Chapter thirty-two
Noah
I’m here… I’m now…
I wake with a start as a car horn honks nearby, my throbbing back and aching legs making themselves known as I shift in my seat. I press my palms into my eyes, scrubbing the blurriness away, then push my fingers against my temples as I try to dull the headache pounding in my skull.
I adjust myself in my seat and start my car, glancing down at the time on the display screen that reads 4:13a.m. “Fuck!” Veronica is going to kill me! I buckle myself in quickly and put myself in gear, driving away from the roadside I had parked at last night.
I hadn’t planned on spending most of the night in my car. It was only supposed to be a quick snooze. Two or three hours until I got some of the liquor out of my system and was once again capable of driving myself home.
I know I promised Veronica I would keep in touch while I’m out, that I wouldn’t take my car if I were planning on drinking.
But then I did the stupid thing anyway, left the penthouse early in the morning, and took my car.
I drove around for a few hours until I found an empty, grimy roadside bar, where the likelihood of someone recognizing me was slim.
Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on my side, and after a few glasses, someone did.
I got up, jumped in my car, and found a liquor store instead. Then I drove some more until I ended up in some sort of countryside, where all that waited for me was long green fields. I parked myself halfway on the grass, got out, and sat down against my car.
I then drank everything I had bought until my mind was too hazy to think properly anymore.
Until my thoughts could no longer torment me.
It’s pretty much all I’ve been doing since Trinity’s funeral.
I leave the city and wander into another, one where I’m not immediately recognized, and head into a bar or a club.
Anything that will serve me something to numb the pain.
And when the place gets too crowded and women begin to circle around me, I leave and find somewhere quiet to try and clear my mind. I know I’m losing it; I know I’m spiraling out of control, but what I don’t know is how to stop it.
How do you stop your brain from thinking the worst? From realizing that you’re now all alone in this god-awful world. That everyone you grew up loving, idolizing, has now vanished from existence? Gone forever. That the only family I have left is a woman who couldn’t care any less if I were dead?
I know technically I’ve been alone for a while, but it wasn’t the same. Even if my sister was unconscious for the past six years, she was still here. She was still with me physically. I could still see her, talk to her, hold her. Now she’s gone as well. And all that’s left is me…
After the sun had gone down and I had nearly drunk myself to death, I stumbled my way into my car.
I started it up, tried to buckle my seatbelt but failed, then turned on my wipers because I thought it was raining outside, but it turned out to be my eyes crying.
I decided it wasn’t safe for me to drive in this condition, and I know my Kitten would have had a fit if I did.
I grab my phone from the cup holder, switching it back on after having turned it off earlier in the night. I didn’t want to ignore Veronica, but I just couldn’t face her, couldn’t listen to the hurt in her voice. The one I’ve caused and keep causing over and over.
Unread messages litter my screen, some from Veronica and others from Gabe. I head into my voicemail and play the last two I haven’t listened to.
Gabe’s frustrated voice filters through the car speakers. “Bro, I get you’re going through some shit, but this isn’t cool. You’re making her worry nonstop. Just answer her fucking calls or come home. Get your shit together. If not for you, then do it for her.”
I continue on to the last message. The recording begins to play, and all I hear is the rustling sound of fabric being moved and soft sniffling. But then her beautiful broken voice echoes loudly in my car, even though the volume is set to low.
“Hey, babe. I was just wondering where you were…. I’m worried about you… we all are…” She sniffs again, a quiet cry falling from her lips. “I miss you… please come home, Noah… Please.”
“Fuck…” I close my eyes and bang my head against the headrest but quickly reopen them when I remember I’m driving. “I’m so sorry, Kitten… I’m so fucking sorry,” I mutter to myself as I press on the gas and hurry home.
An hour later, I’m stepping out of the elevator and into the quiet penthouse, although it doesn’t stay that way for long. A high-pitched scream pierces through the air, making my skin pebble and bones rattle.
“VERONICA!!!” I shout as I sprint up the stairs so fast I nearly trip and fall face-first once I hit the landing. I push my bedroom door open in a panic, expecting to find a distressed Veronica in bed, but the room is dark and void of any presence.
I step in, about to look inside the ensuite, when another scream coming from Gabe’s room resonates through the walls. This time it seems gargled or muffled, like something is stopping the sound from traveling properly. “Oh God, no. Please, no!”
I skid across the hall, throwing his door open as it bangs against the wall.
The image before me nearly brings me to my knees.
Gabe is kneeling above Veronica, hands around her throat as she fights him for dear life.
Her legs kick repeatedly, nails clawing away at his arms and face as she tries desperately to free herself from his death grip.
I jump into action, running over to the bed and tackling him to the ground.
Veronica tumbles along with us as his hands finally let go of her neck.
She gasps for air, sobbing as she crawls backwards, far away from us until her back hits the wall.
Where she then brings her knees up to her chest, holding herself while crying hysterically.
Gabe continues trying to fight me, his hands now grabbing at me, reaching up to choke me the same way he was doing to her seconds ago. His eyes are wide open and stare straight back at me, but I know he doesn’t see me. He’s still stuck in whatever sickening nightmare this is.
I quickly knock his arms back, pinning them down to the ground as he tries to shake me off with his body. “Stop it, Gabe! Wake up!” I shout, lifting his wrists and smacking them back against the floor, hoping the hit will shake him out of this confused state.
“It’s me, Noah. Your best friend. You’re safe.” I try to sound calm, despite hearing Veronica’s sobs behind me that are tearing my heart to shreds.
Gabe manages to free one of his hands and punches me in the jaw, sending me to my side as he climbs above me. But I regain the upper hand quickly and get him on his back once more, and this time I don’t try to reason with him.
I raise my arm and backhand him right in the face. “WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!”
The fight suddenly leaves his body as his arms and legs lose their strength and stop moving. His eyes blink a few times before I see recognition flick through them.
I pant, rolling off him and dropping to my ass. “Finally.”
He doesn’t say anything, just lies there for a moment, and it’s then I realize Veronica’s no longer crying.
Instead, she’s mumbling something over and over again.
I look over to the corner she’s now crouched in, arms around her knees as she rocks herself back and forth.
Her eyes are wide and look a little unhinged.
“I’m here, I’m now, I’m with Noah and Gabe, they don’t want to hurt me, they won’t hurt me, I’m here, I’m now.
I’m here, I’m now, I’m with Noah and Gabe, they don’t want to hurt me, they won’t hurt me, I’m here, I’m now.
I’m here, I’m now, I’m with Noah and Gabe, they don’t want to hurt me, they won’t hurt me, I’m here, I’m now,” she repeats in a hushed voice.
I stand slowly from the ground, taking cautious steps over to her.
I place my hands in front of me, showing her that I intend no harm.
“Veronica?” She doesn’t answer, doesn’t acknowledge me as she continues to chant.
I kneel down tentatively before her. “Kitten? It’s me, Noah.
Can you hear me, love?” I place my hand hesitantly on her knee.
She flinches at the contact, blinking once, then twice. She looks down at my hand, then back to my eyes. “You still with me, Kitten?”
Her face scrunches up as the tears begin to pour once more. She sobs as she stretches her hands out toward me, begging me to hold her. “I’m still with you,” she cries as I take her in my arms, and she crumbles against me, turning into a small, frail version of herself.
“Oh, no… no, no, no…” Gabe stands, rushing over to us, but stops himself halfway.
His cheek is red and a bit swollen from where I hit him, and his arms and jaw are covered in scratch marks with small little beads of blood breaking through the surface. “Baby… I’m… I’m so sorry… I swear… I swear I didn’t mean to.”
He takes another step closer, but Veronica turns herself more into me.
He drops to his knees, eyes turning glassy with unshed tears. “You have to believe me… you know I would never hurt you willingly. You know that, don’t you? I’m so, so sorry. Please, forgive me. Please, Vixen…”
“Just give her some time, Gabe. She’s still in shock right now,” I whisper quietly while stroking her hair. “I’ll take her into my room and try to calm her down.” I manage to stand from the floor with Veronica in my arms, clutching at my clothes like they’re her lifeline.
His eyes bounce from me to her and back to me. “I… okay… yeah, okay…” He stands as well and steps back, giving us more room. “I’m so sorry, Ronnie… please don’t hate me…”