He was ready to run again. His jumbled words and bouncing knee were more than enough indication of his flighting response, and I wasn’t sure how far he’d make it.
“You’re safe here. I promise.”
“My phone...”
“Is shut off. Someone kept calling over and over.”
“Shit.” Noah’s downcast eyes widened. “He’s going to kill me for sure next time. It’s not just a threat any longer.”
That better be a figure of speech, I thought.
“Who, Noah.”
“Asher...” Turning his sad blue eyes towards me, he dropped his shoulders, defeat hanging over him more than it ever had before. “I thought....I thought he was the one. He said he loved me, and wanted me to be his boy, and....and....he made it sound so....nice.”
“Who?” I repeated. Maybe it’d be better if I didn’t know.
“Da- Mathew. I swear. I didn’t know he was going to take everything away.”
“Noah, sweetheart,” I scooted forward, watching for any change in him as I did so. When he didn’t flinch away, I laid a hand on his knee, hoping it’d keep him calm.
“I didn’t mean to show up here like this. I didn’t know where else to go.”
Taking the cup that was about halfway gone from his hand and setting it on the table beside the couch, I kept my movements slow, predictable even.
“He hurt you.” It wasn’t a question. And there was no reason to make him lie about it either. It was all over him. “Badly.”
“Not at first.” Noah sniffed.
How long was he with this one anyhow? A week? Longer? When was the last time we really talked over the phone about who he was seeing?
“You’re here now, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you never go back. Please, let me help you now, Noah.”
“It’s...not the first time. He....Matthew almost killed me three months ago.”
“Noah...” It was my turn to choke on a sob. That was about the last time I had heard from my best friend.
“He was mad. I don’t remember what I did, since lately, I can’t do anything right. But he was mad, and I asked about visiting you. For just a day or two. I promised I’d never bring it up again if he let me just come see you. I knew if I came to you, you’d keep me safe. You’d help me get away. But....but....he....” Noah’s breathing turned labored, fighting off sobs as he bent forward, head in his hands.
“Shh. It’s okay.” He all but fell sideways into me, my arms wrapped around him as he cried and fell apart once again. “I’m going to keep you safe now.”
After a few minutes, Noah went on quietly, wrapping his own arms around me. “He’s going to find me. He’ll track my phone.”
“I’ll get it taken care of,” I promised. “I know people, remember?”
He nodded against my chest before sighing. “You aren’t mad?”
“I can never be mad at you, sweetheart.” If anything, I did understand. I understood too well how easy it is for another man to dictate every aspect of a person’s life. It was far too easy to fall into the hands of a man who made promises, even if I knew those spoken promises could be broken.
Chapter 20
I waited until I was far enough away from my apartment before turning on Noah’s phone. There was no way I’d risk doing anything with it so close to where I lived, and where I was all but hiding my best friend.
Once it was on, I quickly scrolled through the messages from a certain person who deserved to rot in hell. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but the texts ranged from apologies that could have easily been heartfelt, to threats of keeping Noah tied to a bed for the rest of his days alive.
I gulped, pushing down my own memories that wanted to take hold.
I never wanted Noah to be dealt anything close to what I had. Ever. He was...Noah. The type of person I could possibly have been if my childhood hadn’t been ripped from me like it had been.
