Chapter Nine
KATIE
“Hey, buddy…” I tap my knuckles against Owen’s door. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Okay. Be right there, Mom.”
“I think you need to clean this room…” I say, glancing around at the Lego pieces and other random toys on the floor.
He furrows his brows. “It is.”
I snort, then pick up a piece of clothing. “Oh, is the floor your new hamper?”
His face turns red as he takes the dirty underwear from my hand and tosses it into his basket. I turn as Owen follows me to the kitchen.
Since it’s Friday, I’d usually be at the other house working for a couple of hours, but I couldn’t get a sitter, and after the long week I’ve had, I was content with staying in with Owen.
“So, tell me about school today. Anything fun happen?”
“No, school’s boring.” He groans as he twirls the spaghetti around his fork.
“Even recess and lunch?” I tease.
“No, those are fun.”
“So…” I linger, trying to ease into the conversation naturally. “Do you play with Anthony during recess?”
The image of Brittany all over Noah hasn’t left my mind, and even though it shouldn’t bother me, I’m annoyed by how much it does. I may be mad as hell, but I still care.
“Yeah, we play sometimes. We have to sit alphabetically at the lunch table, so he’s kinda across from me.”
“Ohh gotcha.”
“He doesn’t have a daddy, like me,” he blurts, and I’m taken off guard.
“Y’all have talked about that?” I ask, shocked.
“Just a little. We had a class project where we had to make a family tree.”
I furrow my brows because I had no idea about this. “Why didn’t you tell me, Owen?”
He shrugs, gazing down at his plate instead of at me. “I don’t know.”
I’ve talked to him about Gabe his whole life but haven’t told him everything about the night he died. I don’t want him to feel any of the resentment and anger I have, so I try to only talk about the good memories I shared with his dad.
“You know we can talk about your daddy anytime you want,” I say. “I know he’d be here if he could, baby.”
He wasn’t always a great husband, but I have no doubt he would’ve made an amazing father. He was always good with kids.
“I know.”
Owen doesn’t bring it up again while we eat, and once we’re finished, I serve ice cream for dessert.
He talks about his favorite game, Roblox, and shows me all the cool things he’s built on the iPad.
I love that it encourages him to be creative, though I don’t really understand it, honestly.
But it has opened a dialogue for online safety and strangers on the internet.
I spend the rest of the evening relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine as I scroll through Pinterest. I love looking for inspiration and have several boards and pins of house ideas. I’m not the best decorator, so I’ve been saving things for when it’s time to finally get furniture and décor.
“Alright, baby. It’s time for bed. Get jammies on and brush your teeth, please,” I tell him at nine. I let him stay up an extra half hour on the weekends.
He slowly walks down the hallway with the iPad in his face, and I chuckle when he nearly runs into the wall. “Turn it off, Owen. You’re gonna hurt yourself.”
“I will!”
If I had a dollar for every time he said those words, I’d have enough to retire.
I clean up the living room and kitchen while I wait for him to get ready for bed. My mom’s going to watch Owen tomorrow so I can get an early start at the house.
Once I’m done, I head to Owen’s room and tuck him in. “Love you, sleep tight.” I kiss his cheeks.
“Night, Mom. Love you too.”
I slide my hand underneath his pillow and grab the iPad. “Nice try.”
He groans as he rolls over and closes his eyes.
Taking the iPad with me, I close his door, then make my way to the bathroom to wash my face.
As soon as I’m getting into bed, my phone rings, and I see it's Gemma.
“Hey, it’s kinda late. Everything okay?”
“Katie! Oh my gosh. No! I need your help.”
Her frantic voice has me sitting up and my heart racing. “What is it?”
“Noah needs a place to stay for a few days. Can he stay at your new place?”
“What? I don’t understand. Why can’t he stay at your dad’s?”
She blows out a frustrated breath. “Someone threw a pipe bomb through the living room window and spray-painted MURDERER on his truck.”
“Holy shit,” I exclaim in disbelief. “Are y’all okay?”
“Luckily, it didn’t go off. Must’ve been defective or maybe just another warning, but after the brick incident, it’s looking more like someone is trying to intentionally hurt him.”
Gemma told me about the window a couple of days ago, which I’m still shocked someone would do that.
“We’re worried about his safety, Katie. Plus, my dad’s and Belinda’s. Not to mention, the cottage is right behind them, so it puts us all at risk. He needs to go where no one knows where he is.”
“Why can’t he stay at a hotel in another town until things die down?”
“Because we still want him close by, and honestly, he can’t afford it. Sheriff Todd is here filing a report and gathering evidence, but I’m terrified whoever keeps doing this will come after him again. They know what he drives, so Dad’s planning to move Noah’s truck somewhere else.”
“Gemma.” I sigh. “You’re putting me in a tough spot.”
“Look, I know you two have your issues right now, and I get it. But you don’t need to do anything besides let him inside. It'll only be for a few days until we figure something else out.”
“I’m supposed to be working on the house this weekend.”
“He’ll stay out of the way, I promise.”
I snort, knowing damn well that’s a lie.
“There’s nowhere for him to sleep. I don’t have any furniture yet.”
“We have an air mattress, and you have electricity and water, so he’ll be fine.”
I squeeze my eyes closed and blow out a breath. “Fine, but only a few days, Gemma. Of course, I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! We’ll come over tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll be there by ten.”
“Perfect. He’ll have his things packed and ready.
Though the cameras on my cottage don’t show the front of the house, we’re gonna check anyway in case we can see something.
It’s most likely the same person who vandalized the gym, so hopefully, if they don’t see his truck, they’ll stay away from the house. ”
“Where’re ya gonna keep it?”
“Not sure. Dad hasn’t decided yet.”
“What does the sheriff think?”
“He believes it’s someone with a vengeance. Though, whoever it was did a half-ass job building the bomb. If they intended for it to go off, they could be charged with intentional homicide. Photos were taken, and they gathered evidence.”
“I hope they find whoever’s responsible for this soon because it’s total bullshit,” I say honestly. “Please stay safe, okay?”
“I will. Thank you again.”
“You know I’d do anything for you…even when I really don’t wanna.” I groan, thinking of the things I can pack for him.
She chuckles. “I know.”
After we hang up, I grab a couple of duffel bags and put extra blankets and pillows in them.
I don’t know what he’s going to need, so I grab everything I can think of—towels, soaps, snacks.
Though I hate to admit it, I still have a soft spot for Noah and don’t want anything bad to happen to him.
It’d devastate Gemma and Jerry, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be sad too.
Once I have the bags ready for tomorrow, I check my phone and see a message from Everleigh.
Everleigh
Oh my God, did you hear what happened?!
Katie
Yes, it’s horrible. I can’t believe someone’s trying so hard to hurt him.
Everleigh
You mean KILL him! That bomb could’ve exploded and destroyed the entire house for all we know.
That thought sends a chill down my spine.
Katie
They better find out who it is soon. I can imagine Tyler’s ready to swoop up Gemma and take her away.
Tyler’s always been an amazing partner to Gemma, but he's been super protective ever since she got pregnant. He’s already a take-no-shit kinda guy, but if he thinks his wife or family are in danger, he won’t think twice about getting revenge.
Everleigh
Oh, he’s pissed. I called him after Gemma texted me, and he was nearly screaming in my ear. I told him to calm the fuck down so he wouldn’t stress her out.
Katie
Yeah, she sounded pretty upset on the phone, which is how she sweet-talked me into letting Noah stay at the new house for a few nights.
Everleigh
Yeah, I might’ve suggested that. DON’T BE MAD!
Katie
OMG, EVERLEIGH! I’m gonna strangle you!
Everleigh
You love me, and you know this is the right thing to do. It hides Noah for a few days and keeps his family safe until they have time to investigate. Sheriff Todd has to interview the neighbors to ask if they saw anything.
Katie
Y’all owe me margaritas.
Everleigh
Don’t worry, they’ll be bottomless
I swear, my friends are going to be the death of me.
After an hour of tossing and turning with my thoughts racing about Noah, I decide to get up.
I go to my closet and look for an old shoebox I stuffed in the back.
We used to write notes to each other during school, and for whatever reason, I kept them.
Hell, I know why I did…I was crazy about him, even if we were only just friends.
Everleigh and Gemma would pass notes to me during class too, but not as much as Noah did. Sometimes, they’d be serious things, like how he struggled in a class or how he missed his mom. Other times, it was stupid drawings, jokes, or he’d ask silly questions.
Katie,
If you could only take one thing with you to a desert island, what would it be (besides me, of course)?
I read the note and laugh, remembering how I responded.
If I could only take one thing with me, it’d be a How to Survive on a Deserted Island book, so I had a better chance at living since I know you’d be useless.
Noah knew I was only teasing, but I bursted out laughing when he read it.
After school, we made a whole survival guide as if we’d actually get stranded.
He was in charge of gathering wood for a fire and branches to build us a shelter. Then he’d hunt, and I’d cook.
We had planned out an entire scenario, and it was moments like those when I thought maybe he did have feelings for me. We were acting like a couple at our pretend island. According to Gemma, Noah did have a crush on me, but I still don’t believe that. If Noah did, he was really good at hiding it.
I find another box with all kinds of keepsakes Noah gave me.
Birthday cards, super special notes he’d written me, movie theater stubs, dried petals from the flowers he’d gotten me for Valentine’s Day, so I didn’t feel left out freshman and sophomore year.
There’s a decade of memories inside, and though our friendship is long over, I can’t find it in me to throw these boxes away.
Once I finish going through them, I put on the lid and tuck them away because that part of my life doesn’t exist anymore.