Page 44 of Catching My Dreams

“Ella?” he repeated, the word a plea.

“I know you’re not my biggest fan,” she said, her words sending a dizzying rush of relief through him, “but I need help.”

“What happened?” he asked, barely focusing on the road in front of him.

Any relief he’d felt at hearing her voice had vanished at her admission, replaced by a dread so intense that he worried he might vomit.

“I…”

“Is it Brett?” he pressed when she failed to finish her sentence. “What did the fucker do?”

“No, it’s not him,” she rushed to assure him.

“Then what’s wrong?” Noah asked. “Talk to me, Ella. Please.”

“I would have asked Asher or Riley, but they’re already on campus, and Becca and Jasmine aren’t an option. I know it’s probably the last thing you—”

“Ella,” he interrupted her, trying not to get irritated at her implication that he was her last option. “What’s going on?”

“This is going to sound really stupid,” she said, the words hesitant, like she didn’t want to talk to him even though she was the one who’d called. “But I hurt the muscles in my neck, and now I sort of can’t really move my head.”

“What?” Noah yelled. His foot accidentally pressed down on the brakes, making the driver behind him hoot before swerving around the Jeep.

“It’s not a big deal, but I have a quiz today, and I can’t really drive like this, so, well, I was kind of hoping that since you don’t have any training this morning, you might have time to—”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” he said, already making a very illegal U-turn. “Have you put heat on it?” he asked, his foot pressing down on the accelerator. Despite Ella’s claims, the fact that she couldn’t move her head was a big fucking deal.

“Not yet, but I can do that now.”

“Good. Make sure you don’t do anything to aggravate it, okay? Don’t try to stretch the muscles in case that makes it worse.”

“I don’t think I could even if I wanted to,” she admitted with a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “I couldn’t even lift my head off the pillow when I woke up.”

“Shit, Ella.” Noah swallowed. She must have been in a huge amount of pain. “I’ll be there soon, okay?”

She hesitated before replying, and Noah wished he was already there so he could see the expression she was wearing. “Thanks, Noah. I wasn’t sure you’d even answer after yesterday.”

“I’ll always answer,” he promised her.

“I…” She cleared her throat. “I’ll see you soon.”

She hung up before he could offer to stay on the line with her, and Noah swore as he chucked his phone back into the console.

Anything could happen in the time it would take for him to reach her. Ella was more vulnerable than ever. If Brett ended his weeks-long absence and attacked her, she would be practically defenseless. He was already speeding, but he pressed his foot further down.

“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Chris asked, reminding Noah that he wasn’t alone in the car.

“Ella hurt her neck,” he explained, failing to keep the worry from his voice. “She needs a ride to campus.”

Chris let out a thoughtful hum. “And she called you?”

Noah’s jaw tightened at the reminder that he wasn’t Ella’s favorite person. “Well, Asher’s already at Georgetown, apparently.”

“I see.”

“Ella, as in the girl you punched Eric over?” Brady asked.

Noah sighed. “Yep.”

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