Chapter 30
I’d been walking for about ten minutes when I heard a car behind me.
It started to slow, and some of the tension in my shoulders released as I realized Wes must have come after me.
But when I turned, I didn’t see Wes’s car pulled up by the curb.
Instead, it was the black truck that had been parked at Luther’s house, and Noah was jumping out of the driver’s seat.
I turned and kept walking. “I don’t want to talk to you,” I called over my shoulder.
“Okay, then don’t talk,” Noah replied. “Just get in the car. You’re going to freeze if you stay out here dressed like that.”
“I’m fine.”
Noah caught up with me and grabbed hold of my arm, spinning me around to face him. “You’re not fine. Stop being so damn stubborn.”
“I’m not stubborn.”
He ran a hand through his dark, messy hair. “We’ve been over this before. You are.” His frustration seemed to fade as he looked into my eyes. It was probably because he could see they were moist with the tears I’d been fighting back since I’d fled from Wes’s house.
“I’m sorry if I made things worse with Wes, but I couldn’t stand back and watch him accuse you of something you would never do,” he said. “Why are you out here? What happened with him?”
“Nothing happened.”
“I beg to differ. Cress and Anna went after you, but you weren’t at the twins’ house. They came rushing back to see if you’d returned to Luther’s, but you weren’t there either. Everyone is worried.”
“Well, if everyone is worried, perhaps everyone should have come after me.” It wasn’t hard to tell I was only talking about Wes.
“Seriously, Isobel, what happened?”
“I told you nothing happened. Everything is just fine and dandy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get back to my walk.”
I tried to leave, but Noah didn’t let go of my arm.
“I’m not letting you walk away right now, Crash. You’re going to freeze.”
“Don’t call me that,” I said. “And don’t tell me what to do. I’m just clearing my head. I’ll come back when I’m ready.”
Noah folded his arms across his wide chest. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but you’ve left me no choice. If you don’t come with me, I’m going to have to insist you give me back my hoodie.”
I glanced down at the sweatshirt before looking up at Noah and scowling. If he thought his little threat could force me back to the house, he had another thing coming.
“Fine.” I whipped the sweatshirt over my head and tossed it at him. I didn’t want it anyway. It had already caused enough problems for me today. “Are you happy?”
I was left standing in nothing but my snow boots and my skimpy bikini, but I wasn’t getting in the car with Noah, and I wasn’t going back to either Luther’s or Wes’s.
I probably wouldn’t last long outside without Noah’s sweatshirt, but I was fairly certain I’d seen a café not far down the road, so I’d just have to hang out there until my thoughts cleared.
Until some of my anger dissipated. Sure, I’d be sitting there in nothing but a bikini, but at least it would be warmer than wandering out here in the snow.
Noah growled and gripped the sweatshirt tightly. He didn’t look happy, and he didn’t even seem to notice how revealing my bikini was. No, he was too busy glaring at me. “Well, I’m definitely not leaving you out here now,” he rumbled. “Will you please get in the car?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Get in the car, Isobel.”
“No.” I turned and continued down the road, trying my best not to think about the view Noah would have of my butt.
He came right after me though.
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” he said.
“I don’t care.”
“Well, you were warned…”
The next thing I knew, Noah was in front of me. He leaned down, wrapped his arms around my bare legs, and tossed me over his shoulder.
“What the hell, Noah?” I screamed as my butt went up in the air and all too close to his face.
“I tried to ask you nicely.”
“And I refused. Put me down.”
“Only if you come back to the house with me.”
“That’s not going to happen. I just want some space.”
“And you can have all the space you want when you’re not at risk of freezing to death.”
He probably had a point. And if he wasn’t pissing me off so much, perhaps I would have listened.
I knew I was being stubborn, but fighting Noah was so much easier than giving in to him.
For a moment, it distracted me. It helped me forget about the look in Wes’s eyes when he’d accused me of cheating.
When he’d said I wasn’t worth fighting for.
But as I dangled in the air over Noah’s back, I realized this wasn’t a fight I would win.
Noah was probably going to carry me the whole way home if that’s what it took.
And it didn’t matter how much I bickered with Noah; eventually I was going to have to think about Wes.
Maybe I needed to stop being so difficult and do as Noah asked.
“Okay, fine,” I huffed. “I’ll come with you. Just put me down.”
“Finally.” Noah grizzled as he came to a stop and he gently lowered me to the ground.
I slid through his arms, and his hands flashed across my bare skin until they came to rest gently on my waist as he made sure I was steady on my feet.
I tried to ignore how good it felt. How my whole body still tingled when he touched me.
As soon as I was standing, Noah handed me his hoodie. “Here, put this back on.”
I quickly did as he asked, not uttering a word of protest.
“Let’s go.”
I went to follow him, but my foot slipped on some ice, and suddenly I was sprawling forward. I probably would have fallen straight to the ground, but Noah was there in a second, grasping me tightly once again as he held me upright.
“Careful,” he said. “It’s icy. I—” He choked on his words as my feet slid out from under me again.
Noah couldn’t seem to steady me this time, and we tumbled to the ground.
Somehow, Noah was able to cage me within his arms as we fell, and my heart plummeted as I heard a resounding crack when I landed on top of him.
The world seemed to go silent, and I scrambled to my knees. “Oh my God, Noah.” He’d taken the brunt of the fall, just like he had in the woods when we first met. But this time, it wasn’t loamy soil we were falling on but hard ice.
His eyes were shut, and he was lying on his back. My heart raced as I looked him over. I reached out a hand to softly touch his face. “Noah, are you okay?”
He didn’t respond.
“Noah…”
He didn’t move an inch. He was so still, like he was sleeping peacefully, which only made me more concerned.
“Noah, wake up.” My voice became more urgent.
I squeezed his shoulders, desperate for a response, but still he lay motionless.
“Noah!” Tears stung my eyes, and emotion broke my voice as I tried to rouse him.
He needed to wake up.
I couldn’t handle it if he didn’t wake up.
“Noah, please.”
My tears were falling now, and I had no idea what to do. I needed to call an ambulance, but I didn’t have my phone on me. Perhaps Noah had one in the car.
I began to push myself up, but a soft wheezing noise made me freeze, and my eyes darted back to him. “Noah?”
I held my breath as I waited for him to respond, praying I hadn’t imagined the noise. Praying he would open his eyes.
He let out a low grown, and I thought that one small noise might just be the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard. I fell back to his side, placing my hands gently on his face.
“Noah, can you hear me?”
He slowly opened his eyes, and my whole body exhaled with relief. His expression was dazed, and his eyes looked dopey, but he smiled as he looked up at me. “If I’d known all I had to do to get your attention was fall and crack my head on the ice, I would have done it weeks ago.”
I released a laugh because it felt so good to hear his voice. “That’s not funny,” I said, but I was still smiling like an idiot. I’d never been more grateful to be able to look into his green eyes.
“Seriously, are you hurt?”
He lifted a hand to rub his head. “I banged my head, but I think I’m okay.”
He started to push himself up, and I wasn’t sure whether I should stop him. What if he’d really hurt himself ?
“Should I call an ambulance?” I asked. “Maybe one of the guys? I’m not sure you should move after falling like that. I—”
“You’re stressing, Crash.” Noah waved me off. “I’m fine. Seriously, I…” He went to stand but stumbled and almost fell to the ground again.
I quickly moved to steady him. His eyes seemed unfocused, and he could barely keep his feet without my support.
“We need to get you to a doctor,” I said. “You were unconscious, Noah. Where are your keys?”
He looked like he might argue, but he must have felt worse than he was letting on because he nodded. “They’re in the truck.”
“Do you think you can make it back there if you lean on me?”
“I can walk.”
“I think you’ve just shown that you can’t. You nearly fell over again.”
With a sigh, he accepted my help. Noah was a big guy, and I was grateful we weren’t farther from the truck. I wrapped one arm firmly around his waist, and he rested his arm over my shoulder as we made our way back to the vehicle.
Any other time, I would have felt awkward being so close to him and my instincts would have resisted his proximity, but I was too worried about him to even consider how good he smelled or how nice it was to have his arm around me.
I got him in the truck before I hurried round to the driver’s side and climbed in.
“Where’s the emergency room?” I asked as I fastened my seat belt.
“No idea.”
“Do you have your phone?”
He fished it out of the center console and passed it to me. I swallowed when I saw his background was a picture of the beach. It wasn’t just any beach though. It was the secluded beach in Rapid Bay where we’d shared our first kiss.
I did my best to ignore the idea that he looked at the picture every time he unlocked his phone, and I searched online for the nearest emergency room. As soon as I had the directions, I glanced at Noah. “It’s not far.”