Page 81 of Catching My Dreams

Noah nodded. “Okay.”

He opened the passenger door for her and took Archie so she could put her seatbelt on. Once the Yorkie was back in her arms and he’d closed the door, Ella couldn’t push the panic away anymore. The sound of the gentle breeze rustling the leaves had been cut off. She felt isolated. Alone.

Her pulse only slowed once Noah had opened his own door and settled into the driver’s seat, but there was still that sense that there were eyes on her. Brett could be in the back seat, watching them, listening to them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.

Erotomania. Having a name for what made Brett act the way he did toward her didn’t make her feel any better. In fact, it made Ella feel worse. The word was frightening, charged with sexual connotations that made her skin crawl.

“You’ll be safe at my dad’s place,” Noah said before starting the car.

“Nowhere is safe,” Ella replied in a murmur. She could feel Noah’s gaze against her cheek, but she couldn’t face the pity she was sure his eyes were filled with. “No amount of self-defense classes will ever be enough, and no amount of moving around will ever make me safe.”

“I’m so sorry, Ella.” He placed his hand on her knee and smoothed his thumb over the top of her leg. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”

Ella couldn’t keep avoiding his gaze after that. “You couldn’t have known,” she argued. Not a single cell in her body blamed Noah for leaving that morning, and she needed him to understand that. “You can’t be with me every second of every day.”

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I know, and I fucking hate it.”

“Hey,” Ella said, reaching out and grabbing his chin. She locked her eyes on his. “This was the second time you saved me from that asshole. You’re not allowed to beat yourself up over leaving me alone for ten minutes when you literally stepped in front of a knife for me.”

His gaze softened. “Anyone would have done it.”

“That’s bullshit,” she said with a scoff. “There were other people around us, but you were the one who saved my life, Noah. Not Asher, not Chris, not Riley. You.”

“And yet you still managed to think I was an ass after the fact,” he reminded her.

Ella huffed and drew back. “Yes, well, you were kind of a dick.”

“I was,” he agreed with a chuckle, finally pulling out of the driveway and driving past the police car parked next to the curb. “But I think we should focus back on the hero part.”

“I’m sure you think so,” Ella drawled.

He hummed. “Maybe I should get a Superman T-shirt. Or a mug?”

“You’re absurd.”

He sent her a grin, and somehow, it managed to get through the thick cloud of fear and warm Ella’s chest. “But you still love me.”

She sighed. “I do.”

He patted her thigh as though comforting her for her bad taste in men. “By the way, my dad and stepmom know about Brett.”

Her brows pulled together. “I should hope so. He was the one who stabbed you.”

“No, I mean they know he has abilities. Riley’s mom already knew she could see ghosts, and after they told my dad, it didn’t make sense to keep this from them.”

“Oh.” She let her head fall back against the headrest. “Does that mean they know about me too?”

He shook his head. “Riley and I agreed that it’s your secret to tell.”

Ella chewed on her lower lip. Not even her own parents or her gran knew about her ability, but this felt different.

Her parents would likely send her to a mental institution if she told them her spirit could leave her body, and her gran would only worry about her more. But Noah’s dad and stepmom already believed in the supernatural. They wouldn’t think she was crazy.

“I don’t mind if you tell them.”

“Are you sure?” Noah asked. “They don’t need to know.”

“There’s a plane-walking psycho out there who’s obsessed with me and could be following us right now, and they’re offering me a place to stay,” she retorted. “They’re putting themselves at risk by having me there. They should know.”

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