CHAPTER 36 - Noah Black
You and I belong together
Like iced tea and warmer weather
Where we lay out late underneath the pines
And we still have fun when the Sun won't shine
Belong Together – Mark Ambor
When the engine cuts off, my heart pounds so hard I'm afraid I'm having a heart attack, even though I know it's just nerves.
It's only been a few days since I last saw her, yet it feels like years since I've been with my daughter.
Actually, that's exactly what it was.
Even though I saw Sadie every day, I could never truly be her mother. I could never live up to that title, but now things are different, and maybe that's why I'm practically falling apart.
I feel Bryan's gaze on me, and when I glance over, he smiles. Unlike when we checked into the hotel, we're no longer covered in blood, and my bruises aren't visible since I chose pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
Bryan's wearing a black t-shirt and matching black jeans, and I wonder if that's the only color in his wardrobe.
As soon as we got out of the shower, we packed up and hit the road. There was no sex, just tender care as he soaped my body and kissed my bruises, the way he did the other day.
“Who are they?” I ask, pointing to the four guys on the porch.
“My employees,” he replies, looking at the men standing like a wall.
Every single one of them is huge, just like Bryan.
“The one on the end is Darius,” he says, nodding toward the Black man with somber eyes.
“Next to him is Hunter.” He points to the redhead with a grumpy expression.
“And Dylan and Andrew are the two tattooed ones near the door.”
“They were at the Redoubt, weren't they? I remember seeing them.”
“Them and almost thirty other men I managed to gather with Luke and Travis.”
“Do you think that place is still burning?”
“Probably, but when we left and you were passed out, I contacted a friend on the police force and filed a report. They should already be on site.” I nod and he unbuckles his seatbelt. “The dossier I put together on the Redoubt and the Primordial House will reach them soon.”
“I'm relieved to know these monstrosities will end,” I say, my chest feeling lighter.
“They'll investigate, and I hope they dig deep until they uncover everyone involved in the scheme,” he says through gritted teeth. I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “Let's go see our daughter.”
“You got used to the idea quickly.” I smile and he returns it.
“I've dreamed of being the father of your child since I met you, Butterfly,” he says, then opens the car door and gets out, walking around to my side. “Anxious?” he asks, extending his hand to help me out.
There's a good chance my legs will refuse to move, I'm that nervous.
“More than you can imagine,” I reply, and he laces his fingers through mine.
The gesture calms my heart a little, and together we walk to the entrance and climb the three steps.
Bryan greets all the security guards with a nod, and I just smile in their direction. His hand closes around the doorknob, and my eyes are already full of tears before he even opens it.
I'm sure at some point I'll run dry or get dehydrated from all the tears I've shed these past few days.
“See? Skye is very smart,” the cute voice says triumphantly, and I'd bet my life she's watching Paw Patrol because that's the name of the Cockapoo from the cartoon she's obsessed with.
Bryan pushes open the door, and my eyes immediately find Sadie sitting on the couch, engrossed in the huge television in front of her.
God, how I missed her!
“I still think Chase is smarter,” I say, announcing my presence and teasing her like I always did when we watched the cartoon together.
Her little face turns toward me, and her blue eyes nearly pop out of her head when she sees me standing there.
“Noah!!” she screams, and I crouch down, bracing for the impact of her little body.
In seconds she reaches me, throwing herself into my arms, and I let my tears fall like rain as I squeeze her tight, that little-kid smell washing over me. I let myself feel the relief of knowing she's really okay and safe from any harm.
Sadie squeezes me back, and a sob escapes me because I can't contain the avalanche of emotions that overwhelms me as I hold her again.
At the Redoubt, in my most desperate moments, I truly believed I would never see her again, that I had lost her forever.
But thanks to Bryan, my girl is in my arms again, and now I'll have the chance to truly be her mother.
The one she asked me to be in that damned mansion.
The one she always deserved.
“Don't cry,” she says softly, pulling away and bringing her small hand to my cheek.
“These are happy tears,” I tell her, and she pulls back further, bringing her hand to her mouth.
“You spoke,” she whispers in disbelief, and only then do I realize that in all the excitement, she hadn't noticed I'd spoken when I first walked in. “And your voice is beautiful,” she adds, being the incredible girl she's always been.
“Oh, my love, you're the beautiful one!” I pull her close again, and if I could, I'd never let her go.
I'd spend my whole life just holding her small, cuddly little body.
“Say it again, pleeeease,” she begs, and everyone in the room laughs.
“I love you,” I tell her, and her little blue eyes fill with tears. “I love you so much, my Butterfly, and I'm going to spend my whole life telling you I love you until you get sick of hearing it.”
“I won't get sick of it.” She wipes her tears with the back of her hand. “Never ever, because I love it when you say you love me.”
“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.” I tickle her belly and she squirms.
Her laughter fills the whole room, bringing lightness to what had been such a turbulent night.
“I love you too, so so much,” she says when I stop tickling her so she doesn't get sick. “The hunter did it, didn't he?” she asks, looking from him to me.
“Yes, my love, he destroyed all the monsters and witches that were haunting our lives,” I say dramatically, as if narrating a movie. “There's not a single one left to hurt us!”
“Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” she shouts excitedly, hugging Bryan's legs. “You're the best friend in the whole world!”
I watch his face transform, and there's so much love visible on it that I need to sit down on the floor so I don't collapse.
Friend... God, when she finds out he's her father, I have no doubt she'll love him even more.
When Sadie lets go of him, he crouches down, mirroring my gesture, and if I didn't know him so well, I'd swear he was thrown off by what she just said.
Of course she sits down with us.
“Now it's just the three of us.” I hold her little hands. “Is that okay with you, my love?”
“No.” She lowers her head, letting her excitement fade, and I'm startled, looking at Bryan, who's just as confused as I am.
A weight settles in my throat, and it takes tremendous strength to swallow it down.
She can't possibly miss Gavin and Sarah, not after everything she saw and heard.
Could she have loved them deep down too?
“Why, my love?” I lift her chin gently. “I thought you wanted to leave the mansion so they couldn't hurt us anymore,” I say, trying to hide the anguish building in my chest.
“I don't want them,” she grumbles, pouting and pulling her hands from mine. “I want Auntie Greta and Uncle Luke.”
I let out a sigh of relief I didn't even realize I'd been holding.
I glance at the couch and find my brother-in-law with a smug grin, showing all his teeth.
“Of course they'll always be with us,” I assure her, and her smile starts to return. “I meant the three of us so you'd understand that Gavin and Sarah aren't in our lives anymore.”
“That's really good!” she practically shouts, her excitement back in full force. “Stay right here,” she says, and I hold back my laughter as she takes off running down the hallway.
“It's good to see you again, Noah, especially alive,” Luke says, and I smile. “Plus, I won't have to put up with my brother's bad days anymore.”
Bryan grumbles and I laugh.
“Don't worry, I'll take care of him and smooth out those grumpy days,” I joke, earning a smile from both of them, but I look up when I see Sadie running back.
Greta comes right behind her, smiling.
“A present for saving us.” Sadie hands Bryan a sheet of paper. “This is me, Noah, and you dressed as a hunter while we play monster hunt.”
I recognize the drawing she made—the one Gavin found and ordered thrown away.
“I wasn't about to throw away something so precious,” Greta says, as if reading my thoughts. “How are you?”
“Much better,” I answer, getting to my feet, and her mouth falls open in surprise. “I love you, Greta,” I say, remembering how much she wanted to hear that again.
How much she deserves to hear it, since she was like a mother to me.
She did everything in her power to protect me.
“Oh, my girl, come give me a hug,” she calls, and I throw myself into her warm embrace. “I knew everything would be okay in the end.”
“Thank you for everything you did for us,” I say, and she strokes my back.
“There's nothing to thank me for. Everything I did came from the heart, and now, seeing all of you together, I know it was worth it.”
We both turn to watch Bryan and Sadie, completely engrossed in each other.
She's chattering away and he's gazing at her adoringly.
It's magical how quickly they connected.
I think both their hearts already knew there was a stronger bond between them.
A father-daughter bond!
“He’s a great father,” Greta comments, and I let go of her, searching her eyes to see if I heard right. “Of course I knew,” she says, shaking her head like it’s obvious.
“Why didn’t you say anything after I came back to the mansion?” I ask, meaning when I returned from that damn clinic.
“I knew it would hurt you, so I just prayed that one day you could be her mother and that Sarah would pay for everything she did.”
“They both paid.” I smile, feeling the burn of revenge wash over me again.
I’ll never forget the way they both ended up.
And I don’t want to erase the memories because remembering their pain makes me forget mine.