Page 84 of Saved By Two

I cover my mouth. "Oh my God," I mumble into my palm as I spin to take in the room. My hand does nothing to stifle my scream.

I begin to back away from the sight before me when a hand lands on my shoulder. I go to scream again when his deep voice stills me.

"What the fuck?" Caleb's voice booms into the room.

The light is suddenly switched on, and I blink at the brightness, shaking as Caleb steps around me and pushes me behind him, where I'm met with Noah's bare chest. He pulls me to his side as he tries to see around Caleb.

I swallow, trying to process everything my eyes see, but my brain is having trouble deciphering.

My once white bed linen is smothered in claret, the sheets cut up and ripped into pieces. My underwear drawer has been tipped out on top, shredded into pieces.

It’s him. He’s found me.

I can barely get oxygen into my lungs as I struggle for breath.

"Easy, sweet girl," Noah says as he wraps me in his arms, my back facing the room. I bury my face into the crook of his neck as I breathe him in, using his scent as an anchor.

"Someone broke into the fucking house," Caleb roars, and I flinch.

"Fuck," Noah says, carefully pulling me away from his chest. "Earlier, the back door was ajar, and I thought maybe it was when you put the bins out.Shit."

He rubs his hand over his face, and I step out of his hold, wrapping my arms around my body, my eyes darting all over the room into every corner, expecting Curtis to jump out at any moment. My stomach bottoms out. I feel the telltale rise of bile as I rush back into the bathroom and barely make it to the sink in time to expel the contents of my stomach.

A calloused palm rubs up and down my spine as the other holds my hair away from my face.

When my stomach is empty, and it turns to dry heaving, it finally subsides, and I run my mouth under the tap to rinse it out, then wipe the back of my hand over my lips.

I'm shaking when soft cotton touches my skin as Noah pulls my arms into my dressing gown from the back of the door. He pulls the robe tie tight, and I'm grateful to be somewhat covered up.

And then I follow him back into the room, where Caleb is on his phone, no doubt pulling up the camera footage from outside the house.

"Is that blood?" I ask, nodding my head towards the bedspread, which is ruined.

Caleb glances up, his eyes the colour of steel. "No, it's some sort of dye."

And that's when I notice two Polaroids on the bedside table. I step closer and reach out, but Noah stops me.

"Don't touch it. We'll want to dust for prints."

I pull my hand back.

"Sorry," I whisper, my eyes racking over the pictures until I realise what I'm looking at. It's us three, all naked in the height of pleasure. The second is me asleep alone in their bed. I want to vomit all over again, knowing we were being watched, and I know in my gut it was Curtis.

"Shit." I can barely keep the tremble from my voice.

Noah hands Caleb a pair of joggers and a t-shirt. I didn't even notice him leave the room.

"Come on, let's go wait downstairs."

I begin to panic and pull away from Noah.

"Wait, what? Wait for who?" My voice is high pitched. I'm hyperventilating now, but I can't help it.

Caleb is the one who takes hold of my face between his strong, calloused palms. "Little one, I need you to calm down for me. Can you do that?"

His question sounds surprisingly soft, which gives me a moment of pause. I watch as he exaggerates, taking a deep breath and then exhales, urging me to do the same.

"That's it, deep breath in, deep breath out." And then, when I gulp enough air into my lungs, he walks us back into the hallway, Noah closing the door behind us.

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