Page 46 of Catching My Dreams

“How’s the neck?”

“Pretty awful,” she replied with a forced smile. “But I managed to get dressed, so I’m not a complete loss.”

Noah noticed the buttons at the front of her dress shirt. She might have managed to get dressed, but it looked like she hadn’t been able to pull a shirt over her head. He moved closer and knelt next to her, taking in her pale skin and the dark rings beneath her bloodshot eyes.

“Can you get up, or do you need some help?”

Ella swallowed and bit her lower lip. “I could use some help,” she admitted after several seconds, her dark brown eyes shining with moisture. “I can’t lift my head up.”

“I’ve got you,” he assured her, carefully easing his hand behind her head. “Ready?”

“Mhm,” she hummed, but when he started lifting her head, a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. Her teeth dug into her lip like she was biting back a gasp or a scream.

“Are you sure you want to go to class like this?” he asked her once she was sitting up.

“I have a quiz. I need to go.” The words were adamant, but the way she turned her body to the side and placed her feet on the floor, her head and neck stiff and fixed in one position, didn’t give Noah much confidence.

“Is the quiz during your first class?”

She nodded.

“Great. I’ll bring you back home straight after.” He took the still-warm heat pack from the pillow she’d been lying on and gently placed it over her shoulders.

“What about your lectures?” she asked.

“I can afford to miss one day.”

Her eyes softened, the hardness she so often looked at him with easing. “You don’t have to do that.”

Noah reached forward and cupped her face, his thumb grazing over her too pale skin. “I’m bringing you back here after your quiz. End of discussion.”

Ella’s eyes searched his, the wariness in them far from banished. “Okay.”

“We should also book with a physiotherapist or something,” he said after she’d stood up. “This isn’t normal.”

He’d dealt with plenty of his own muscle pain and injuries, but he couldn’t imagine how bad her neck muscles were that she couldn’t even lift her head.

“As much as I want to, that’s not an option right now.” Her words were muttered, but Noah heard them and the frustration beneath them.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, just that I’ll be fine without physio. I’ll keep putting heat on it, and it will sort itself out.”

She’d been heading for the front door, but Noah stepped in front of her and pinned her with a skeptical look. “I know you’ve gone to physio for less than this, so why can’t you go?”

Ella’s eyes shot to the side, studiously avoiding his gaze. “I don’t have the money for it at the moment, but I should be able to go tomorrow.”

Noah’s eyebrows knit together in a frown. “Can’t you ask your parents to cover it?”

Her lips pressed together, and the steel returned to her eyes, though it didn’t seem to be directed at him for a change. “They’re not very happy with me right now.”

“What the hell does that mean?” He shook his head, heat building in his stomach. “Are you saying they’re punishing you by not giving you the money to get your neck treated?”

Ella winced. “Not really. They drained my account last night because I had an argument with my mom. They don’t know about my neck because they’re on a plane right now.”

Noah’s hands curled into fists. He had never liked Ella’s parents, but this was a new low even for them. “Let me get this straight. Your parents haven’t come back since you were attacked by Brett, and now they’ve taken away your access to money because you had a fight with your mom?”

She shrugged. “I’m sure most parents would have done the same. I was a bit harsh with her.”

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