Page 12 of Keeping Noelle

“Are you okay?” He asks me, and I smile.

“I’m perfect now.”

SEVEN

Ansel

“Let’sget you inside and warmed up. I’ll add some more wood to the fire and get you a blanket,” I tell her as I usher her inside.

“I…” she starts, and I look over her, wondering if I missed something.

Is something else wrong?

I’ve been tense since she left me last night. She rushed out of the house and I had wanted to go with her, but she put up that wall between us. Deep down, I knew that Noelle needed to see for herself that she couldn’t trust or rely on her family. She needed to realize that she deserved better than them. She always has.

So, I had watched her go, praying that she would come back to me soon. I barely slept last night. Every sound from outside had me shooting up in bed, wondering if it was Noelle outside. Around three am, I had given up on sleep and went downstairs to pace around the living room and peek out the window every other minute.

“I think that we need to talk,” she says, and I swallow hard.

“Okay, come here.”

I lead her over to the couch, and when I see her rub her hands together like she’s cold, I grab a blanket and pass it to her. I add two more logs to the fireplace and then join her on the couch.

“What happened?” I ask her, taking her cold hand in mine.

“They said it was life or death,” she says, and I nod.

“I know. That’s why you left, right?”

“Yeah. I mean, I thought that there had been an accident or something, that someone was legitimately dying.”

“Was everyone okay? What was it?” I ask quietly, and I see her jaw tense as she grinds her teeth in annoyance or maybe anger.

“Allergies,” she finally spits out, and I blink.

“What?” I ask, thinking that I misheard her.

I don’t know why I’m surprised. Her family has always been so entitled and narcissistic. They would do or say anything to get what they wanted.

“My mom’s allergies were bad.”

“So…she just…”

“She had me come home to take care of her. Get her medicine and Kleenex, and make soup. Oh, and while I’m there, I could clean the kitchen and bathrooms and then go pick up her dry cleaning, and I can just pay for that too,” she says, listing off all of the tasks that they told her to do in the last twenty-four hours.

“Where were her husband and son during all of this?”

“They had to relax. They’ve been working hard all week, all month, really.”

“As opposed to you?” I ask, seething, and she nods.

“I shouldn’t have gone. I was worried, but I should have known that it would be nothing.”

“You have a big heart, Noelle. That’s not a bad thing.”

“I can’t go back there,” she sighs, and I wrap my arm around her.

“You don’t have to. You can stay here forever. You know that I’d love to have you here.”

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