“Hey, hey, you can do this,” Noah reassures me as I wrap my arms around my waist protectively.
“I’m scared. What if… what if goes wrong? What if something bad happens?”
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Tor. I promise.”
I know more than anyone, he can’t promise me that, and I’d be a fool to believe it.
“You can’t promise me that, Noah.”
He nods in acceptance. “You’re right, so can you have faith that I will keep you safe?”
I chew on the inside of my cheek nervously and let his words sink in.
Have faith.
He holds out his hand, palm up, “Will you take a leap of faith with me, Darlin?” I hesitate for a second, and he speaks again. “For Scotty. For your Trent?”
I place my hand in his, instantly feeling at ease with the warmth of his touch.
“We jump on one, okay?”
I nod in understanding. “Okay.”
“Three…” he says.
My heart begins to race.
“Two…” I say.
So loudly I hear it thumping in my ears.
“This is for you, buddy,” Noah shouts.
I close my eyes.
“One.” We say together, and with an iron grip, I cling to Noah’s hand and leap. My stomach plummets, and my heart feels like it stops for just a second, but oddly, I’ve never felt more alive. The adrenaline pumps through my body as we free-fall, our hands locked together. When we hit the cold water, it steals my breath, tightens my skin, and quiets my mind. Silence. Peace. A brief moment of freedom from the pain. I let myself succumb to the water, sinking. It feels so calm down here. I think I’d stay here forever if I could.
Noah’s strong hand tugs me towards him, he wraps his arms around my waist, and I cling to him like a life raft as he takes us to the surface. When we break through the water and the cool evening air hits my skin, I release the breath I was holding and let out a laugh.
Noah lets out a cheer and tightens his hold on me. “You did it.” He yells so loudly, the noise echoes off the cliffs.
“We did it.” I sigh, wrapping my arms around his neck and throwing my head back to look up at the sky where I notice a single star above us. I choose to see that as my sign that Trent was here with us, watching over us, helping us to complete his life list in his own special way, and it gives me the strength to keep fighting, to keep trying, to keep living, and make him proud.
Chapter Twenty-One
Noah
Gunshots.
Blood.
Scotty’s lifeless body.
One, two, three, four…
I bolt up in bed, sweat coating my trembling body. It’s been a few months since I had my recurring nightmare. They seem to ease when I’m busy with work or with her, and neither has been a possibility recently.
Tori has been visiting Harry in Miami. She didn’t want to go, but I encouraged her to fly out with her parents. I could have gone, but I wasn’t sure how I’d cope being around her and the guys. I’m so happy and proud of what they are achieving with the club out there, but it would be a reminder of what I was too scared to have.
