89. Willow
WILLOW
ONE WEEK LATER
“Hold on. Damnit, Noah. Just wait a second,” I shout as I try to grab my purse out of the backseat of the truck, but he ignores me.
I swear, this man is hell-bent on ending up back in the hospital.
He got discharged this morning and as soon as the papers were signed, he became Mr. Do it myself.
He wouldn’t let the nurse or us wheel him down to the truck.
He walked all the way to the elevator and out of the lobby.
He got up into the truck on his own, which I personally had to nearly jump to get up into.
If Jeremy wasn’t already sitting in the driver’s seat, I swear he would have driven himself home.
Currently he has one small bag over his shoulder and is limping into the house.
This man is a pain in my ass, but damn it, I love him.
“I’ll grab your bags, Willow. Just get in there with him,” Jeremy says as he opens up the tailgate to grab my bag and Noah’s other one.
“Thank you,” I say quietly as I rush after Noah.
We haven’t talked more about that night in the labyrinth at all since he woke up.
I never knew how much anyone could hear at the hospital or if someone would come walking in, so all of us decided to wait until we got home to discuss that night.
There is one thing though that is going to come as a shock to Noah, and that is that Jenna is fully aware of everything that happened that night.
“Noah?” I call out as I walk into the house.
Not a single sound gives away where he’s at. The bag he carried in is set on the staircase, and his shoes are on the mat next to the door.
“Noah. Where are you at?”
“Kitchen,” he calls back.
When I walk into the kitchen, he’s standing just down the hallway and is staring into the laundry room.
There isn’t a single trace of blood anywhere up here.
The blood trail from the hidden staircase to the foyer was wiped clean, and the rags were burned in the backyard before the ashes were scattered into the river.
No one will ever know except for us four.
“Noah? Are you okay?” I ask hesitantly as I take a step closer.
“I need to know what happened, Willow…Where is he?”
“Gone. Come on. Let me get you something to drink, and we can sit on the couch. Jeremy will be inside in a second and Jenna…”
“What about Jenna?”
“She…” I hesitate because from the tone in his voice, he isn’t happy.
“Jenna knows everything,” a woman’s voice calls from the hall before Jenna appears with Jeremy right behind her.
Noah snaps his attention to me. He doesn’t look angry. He looks afraid. To be honest, I am too. I’m terrified of what this means. The secret that the four of us will take to our graves…I hope.
“Hey, don’t look so shocked, big guy. I told you I accept your skeletons in your closet…I just didn’t realize there would be actual fucking skeletons.”
She walks over to Noah and places a hand on his shoulder. He’s staring at her with a look in his eyes I can’t read.
Is it fear? Irritation? Hesitation? Or relief? I get my answer when she opens her arms for a hug, and he wraps an arm around her. He’s relieved.
“Can I have a drink? Like an actual drink. I think I’m going to need it,” he says as he releases Jenna, and she steps back into Jeremy’s embrace.
Noah walks back over to me and kisses me on the head before looking back toward the laundry room as if the ghost of that night still lingers in the doorway, staring back at him. Taunting him with the cold fingers of death that nearly took him from us.
“You can have water, juice, or a protein shake. Doctor’s orders,” I say as I lean up and kiss him on the cheek before taking his hand and leading him to the couch.
“I guess a protein shake.”
“What flavor?” Jeremy asks as he opens the fridge.
“Flavor?”
“Yeah. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberries and cream, banana, or mint chocolate,” Jeremy lists off the different flavors that he stocked the fridge with.
“Uhh…I guess chocolate?”
Jeremy grabs out a chocolate shake for Noah then three water bottles for the rest of us. All of us sit down in the front room and wait for Noah to take a sip of the shake. He closes his eyes for a second letting himself process the taste of the shake. When his eyes open, we’re all staring at him.
“What?” He looks confused as to why we’re all just watching him.
“How do you like it?” Jeremy asks.
“Why? Did you poison it?” Noah teases.
“If I wanted to poison you, it wouldn’t be with a protein shake. I’d wait until you can eat solid food again. Let you enjoy the first few bites before I…” he makes a slicing motion across his throat and groans as he closes his eyes.
“Fair enough. So…Who wants to start?” he asks as he wraps an arm around me and pulls me closer to him.
“Well, how about we start with how much you remember from that night?” I ask as I place my hand on his thigh.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment before pinching the bridge of his nose.
I can feel the tension in his arm around me.
I know from us being in the hospital that he’s had nightmares.
There have been nights when he’s been unable to wake up, thrashing and crying while screaming my name.
It was heartbreaking. I haven’t told Jeremy about it or even brought it up to Noah.
“I remember him breaking out of the restraints. I remember pushing you out of the way and getting hit in the head by the chair. Then when I went to attack him, he stabbed me. I struggled to get as close to the stairs as I could because the text to Jeremy wouldn’t send.
Once I saw it sent, I blacked out. I vaguely remember Jeremy waking me up and dragging me into the stairwell, but then there’s nothing.
Just your screams and then the sound of a gunshot. ”
He closes his eyes again, and I can tell that was what plagues his nightmares. The sounds of my screams and the gunshot. He takes another deep, shuddering breath before he places his lips against the side of my head and kisses me.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers.
“Why are you sorry?” I ask as I cup his face and force him to look at me.
“I wasn’t strong enough. I…I almost lost you.”
I can hear the tears in his voice.
“Hey. Stop it. He stabbed you but you were still able to get ahold of Jeremy for help. You are the reason I survived!”
He presses his forehead against mine and takes a few slow breaths trying to calm himself.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if he…”
“Stop. We’re safe now. He’s gone, and he can’t ever hurt us again. You’re the reason he will never hurt me again, Noah. You’re the one who saved me.”
“Hey, what about me?” Jeremy teases.
A slap is followed by Jeremy groaning from Jenna smacking him. I’ll be hitting him again later.
“I think I’m ready to hear the rest of what happened that night. I need to know what happened and...” He pulls his forehead away from mine and looks over at Jenna. “I need to know how you got roped into this shit show.”