Page 168 of Chasing Infinity

“What? When?” He almost shouts into the phone. He waits for a beat before asking, “More than one?”

Silence.

Then Noah swears, and the next thing I know, he’s storming back into the living room. His face is thunderous as he stops mid-stride right in front of me. He pauses for a moment and then turns to walk into our bedroom without another word.

I stare after him for a moment, confused as to what is happening. Finally, when I hear him rustling around and making a bunch of noise in there, my curiosity wins out. I hop off of the couch and hurry into the bedroom, my jaw falling open when I see the mess he’s made.

Noah has his duffle bag and my suitcase lying on the bed. He’s going through my drawers, scooping everything up, and then dumping it inside my suitcase. He presses his hands down on the pile of clothes to level it out and then goes to do the same thing with my next drawer.

“Noah, what the hell are you doing?” I ask him. Anxiety starts to well up in my chest. What is happening right now?”

“We’re leaving. I’m packing you a bag.”

“What? I can’t just leave.”

Noah turns around and levels me with a dark look. “It wasn’t a request, Addison. So either you can help me pack, or I’ll do it for you. But we’re leaving. End of discussion.”

I let his words wash over me as I plant my hands on my hips. He watches me take my stance but doesn’t change his expression. “You want to try that again? Maybe with an explanation as to why you’ve completely lost your mind suddenly?”

“Because I told you, and I would appreciate it if you would just listen to me for once in your damn life.”

I recoil, and Noah’s words fall flat in front of us like a brick. The room goes eerily silent to the point where I can hear both of our ragged breaths. Finally, in a low voice, knowing that we’re gearing up for a fight, I ask, “What thefuckis that supposed to mean?”

Chapter 43

Noah

The second she recoils from me and snarls, “What thefuckis that supposed to mean?” I know I’ve just dug my own grave.

I back down as much as possible, trying to let the frantic energy coursing through my body dissipate. Rubbing my hand down my face, I turn away from her. “Nothing.”

“No, by all means, Noah, get it off your chest.”

I can’t ignore the bait. The fear and frustration engulf me again, and I whirl around to face her. “You were supposed to leave! You were supposed to leave Willow Heights and never look back, but you didn’t. I didn’t want you to stay here. It’s dangerous, Parks. Don’t you get that?”

“Well, I did.”

“I’m aware.”

“And I built my life here, Noah. Everything that I am ishere. My work, my friends—the only family I have. They’re here,” she tells me, her voice firm. “I’m not just going to pack up my life and leave in the middle of the night without explanation. So why don’t you just tell me what the hell is going on.”

I grit my teeth. “Ican’t.”

She scoffs and shakes her head, looking away from me. “So we’re back to this then? I thought we had gotten past all the secrets and shit.”

“You don’t understand, Addison. We can’t stay here.”

Something about that rubs her the wrong way because her temper flares again. “You know what? Fuck you, Noah. I can’t believe that you’d think that, after all this time, you have any say in anything I do. You effectively gave up that privilege when you walked away from me and didn’t look back.”

“Parks, I—“

“I waited for you, you know,” she laughs humorlessly. “Oh god, I was pathetic justwaiting. It took me years to figure out that you weren’t coming back, that you had no interest in me or anything this town had to offer you.”

“That wasn’t the reason I left, and you know it,” I growl back at her, my muscles tightening.

“No? Well, it sure felt like it. Forgive me for not catching onto your macho-hero story without you telling me anything.”

“I told you I was sorry. I don’t know what else you want from me. And now I’m trying to fix it. We can’t stay here, but I’m not going just to leave you behind again.” I exhale and pinch the bridge of my nose to fight off the headache I feel brewing behind my eyes. “I don’t have a backup to keep you safe anymore. Do you understand that? They took me off the case, took my badge, and everything. And without their resources, I don’t want to risk anything going wrong where you’re concerned.”

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