Chapter 42
FORTY-TWO
NOAH
I’m on cloud nine as walk inside the cottage, a permanent smile on my face.
Today, we took a step that I didn’t think was possible only a few short months ago.
Gracie let me kiss her, touch her, make her come.
And it wasn’t because of the heat of the moment, she wanted it, and that makes it all the more special.
We’ve been going on dates for weeks, but there’s been aspects to them that always felt a little platonic, but it wasn’t like that today.
Well, I wouldn’t call me dragging her into a storage room in the school building a date, but still.
I couldn’t not take her somewhere private.
Especially not after hearing her whisper my name in her sleep last night.
I thought I already loved her with everything in me, but each new day with her only makes me fall harder and deeper.
She’s… well, she’s everything.
“You’re gonna give yourself away if you keep walking around with that creepy smile on your face.” Lana’s voice pulls me from my musings, and I look up to see her sitting at the kitchen island with her laptop in front of her.
I glance around, looking to make sure she’s talking to me. “We’re alone, don’t worry,” she says with a dismissive wave, so I take a seat opposite her, staring at her intently and waiting for her to tell me what the hell she’s talking about.
She stares back and when I don’t say anything, she sighs and closes the laptop.
“How’s life, Noah?”
My lips quirk. “Good. How’s life, Lana?”
“Fine,” she grunts. “When are you planning on telling Cole that it’s actually you that Gracie is dating?”
The world spins on its axis for a beat while my heart threatens to beat out of my chest. I can feel the blood draining from my face as I stare at the girl in front of me.
“You know?” I ask, my voice a thick rasp.
Lana snorts. “I’ve suspected for a while, and you’ve just confirmed it for me.”
“How?” I ask.
I’ve been so careful, so fucking careful, that I’m struggling to come to terms with it.
She shrugs, like the entire thing isn’t a big deal. Like her knowing couldn’t blow up my entire life.
“I’m observant. That, and I’ve seen you going into her building a couple of times when I’ve been out for a run. By the way, putting a mask on in the middle of a parking lot is a sure-fire way to make people ask questions,” she says with a tut.
I take a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose in an effort to not lose my shit.
Once I finally feel a semblance of calm, I focus all of my attention on her.
“Are you going to tell Cole?”
She stares at me, her eyes drilling into mine and I have to force myself not to fidget.
“Nah,” she says, and the relief that washes over me almost makes me dizzy, until she mutters, “I think you should be the one to tell him, and soon.” She pins me with a glare, and I can tell with that one look that she’s not kidding. If I wait too long to tell Cole, she’ll tell him herself.
I let out a slow breath and a thought occurs to me. “Is it you that’s been leaving me notes and texting me from an unknown number?” I ask, figuring it best to ask her outright.
A look of confusion crosses her face, and she frowns. “No, if I was to do something like that, I would have been much more creative. What are the messages saying?”
I sigh, since a part of me really hoped it was Lana’s doing, but since she seems to know everything that’s going on around here, it can’t hurt to talk to her about it.
“Asking what I think Cole would do if he knew about me and his little sister… about what Cole would do if he knew I was visiting her while wearing a mask. It’s not even Cole I’m worried about finding out at this point, it’s Gracie. ”
Lana blinks and then blinks again. “What do you mean, it’s Gracie that you’re worried about finding out?” she asks, and I frown.
“Well, what’s gonna happen when she realizes it’s me behind the mask?”
Her mouth from open as her eyes widen, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen shock on her face. “You’re telling me that Gracie doesn’t know it’s you wearing a mask? I figured it was just some sort of kink that you guys were into and that she knew.”
I snort, glad to have been able to surprise her with at least something, but I also inwardly chastise myself at the fact I’ve just told her a secret I’m not so sure I want her to know.
Well, there’s no going back now.
“She has no idea, but things have been getting a little… messy. We started seeing each other with me as me but then she was responding to messages to me as her stalker and now I’m confused as fuck.
Add in the messages I’ve been getting, and it’s all fucked.
I have no idea what’s happening at this point, all I know is that the thought of Gracie finding out the truth and leaving me…
” I trail off, not wanting to even think about that being a possibility.
Lana clearly thinks my pain is hilarious because she bursts into laughter and I glare at her.
“I’m sorry,” she says, still wheezing a little. “But this is fucking brilliant. Oh my God.”
“I’m glad you find my issues amusing,” I say dryly, continuing to scowl at her.
“Want my advice?” she asks once she finally calms down, and I nod.
Not sure how good her advice will be because, well… it’s Lana, but I guess hearing what she has to say won’t hurt. I’ve already disclosed far more than I should have, I may as well see if I can reap any benefits from this entire shit show.
“You should tell Gracie everything and then come clean to Cole. Whoever is leaving you notes and sending you messages is clearly trying to hold it against you and you’re going to spin yourself in circles to cover up all the lies.
You’re better off just coming clean with everyone and letting the chips fall as they may.
I imagine Gracie will be pissed that you lied to her, and Cole will be furious either way, but you’ll be able to work through it with both of them.
The longer you keep your secrets, the worse the betrayal will be.
Just something to think about,” she says and stands, grabbing her laptop before heading back to her and Cole’s room, leaving me to think over her words.
She does have a point, but what if Gracie can’t overcome it? What if I lose her? Well, not lose her, because I’d never let that happen, but I’d hate to have to force her into staying with me.
There’s no way on this earth that I can be without her.
One way or another, I’m keeping her.
So, what do I do?
My phone dings and I take it out, expecting a text from my girl, only to see another message from an unknown number.
Fucking hell.
I open the thread and this time, instead of there being a message, there’s pictures.
Two, to be exact.
They’re stilled images from the camera placed on the door to Gracie’s room, the first is an image of me letting myself into her apartment last night while wearing the mask. The second is of me leaving, and you can clearly see my features from the side profile.
Fuck.
Not only is there now photographic evidence, but they also have access to Gracie’s security system.
The only people who should have that is me and the guys, but Harley is too in his own head to do anything like this.
It’s obviously not Cole and I really can’t imagine Logan bothering with this.
He wouldn’t involve himself with it, and if he was to put himself between me and Gracie, this definitely isn’t the way he would go about it.
Which means someone has hacked the camera system and if they’ve done that, then what else have they done?
And how long until they share the pictures?
My heartbeat picks up at the thought of Gracie receiving these, and I know I need to do something.
I need to make a choice.
Tell her and hope that she accepts all of me, or leave it to someone else to tell her?
Clearly, there’s only one thing to do.
My heart is in my throat as I pull up outside Gracie’s building.
This is so fucked.
I am so fucked.
Not only am I going to have to do something about this, but I’m going to have to do it without my mask. Leaving my mask with Gracie clearly wasn’t one of my brightest ideas, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
“It’s fine,” I mutter to myself. “Just go in there, grab her before she can refuse and get the hell out of here.”
It’s the best thing I can do in this bad situation. I have to get her out of her dorm and to somewhere safe. She’s not going to react well to what’s about to happen, but it’s what needs to be done.
It’s probably not great that I’m going into this halfcocked with no real plan at all, but I can’t help it. Ever since I saw that text, my brain has been screaming at me to do something.
And do it now.
I bite the inside of my cheek and take a deep breath before getting out of the car…only, once I do, I see Gracie exiting her building at the same time.
This is either a really bad sign, or a really good one.
My eternal optimism is going to go with good, and I rush to open the trunk of the car before she can spot me.
Once she gets closer, I spare a quick glance around to make sure there’s no one witnessing this before grabbing the things I need that I brought along for this reason and grab her.
I stay silent behind her, since I’m not wearing the mask and I’m not sure I want her to know it’s me—we have enough going on.
She fights me, but I manage to control the situation, getting the bag on her head, the zip ties around her wrists and getting her into the trunk with minimal effort.
I’m sorry, love. I’m so fucking sorry.
My heart pounds as adrenaline races through me and I once again look around to make sure no one saw what just went down. Luckily, the street is empty, and no one in the building seems to have seen what happened because I’m sure they would have called out.
Now all I need to do is get my mask from her dorm and hope like hell that she doesn’t hate me for this.
One can only hope.