Page 51 of Your Fault

After a few seconds, she responded: “Just us.”

I could feel her pressing into my back.

Shit.

21

Noah

Hearing something shatter downstairs had scared the hell out of me, but for a moment, I was happy for the interruption.

What are you scared of?

That question was so complicated, touched on so many issues in my life, that I could answer it any number of ways, and that made it the worst thing anyone could ever ask me, especially Nick. If I started listing all the fears still present in my mind, it would cause a lot of problems. Some stuff was better to leave buried, even if it occasionally rose to the surface and messed up my life.

“Please tell me you put the alarm on, Noah,” Nicholas said, walking toward the door and cracking it to listen close as he peered into the darkness.

“We have an alarm?” I asked, feeling like an idiot and actually getting scared.

“Jesus, Noah,” he groaned, walking out into the hall and motioning for me to be quiet and stay where I was.

I ignored him, following close behind. For a few seconds, there was silence, apart from our breathing. But then we could hear voices. Men’s voices.

Nicholas turned, grabbed my arm, and dragged me back into the bedroom. Terrified, I watched him bring a finger to his lips.

“Give me your phone,” he whispered, trying to stay calm, but I could tell it wasn’t easy for him.

I nodded, then cursed. “I left the damn thing by the pool!”

How could I be so stupid? I always had my phone on me, and now that I needed it, it was outside in the yard.

“Well, mine’s downstairs, on the table by the door.”

His brain started clicking. “Listen to me. I want you to stay here.”

I shook my head.

“Dammit, Noah, stay here. I’ll go to Dad’s room where there’s a phone and dial nine-one-one!”

“No, stay with me,” I begged him in desperation.

I was so fucking scared… I had never been the victim of a robbery or anything like that. It was true that the kidnapping had been bad, but it hadn’t made me any stronger when it came to facing situations like this. More like the opposite. I was so scared, my hands were shaking.

“Nicholas, they turned off the power. They probably cut our phone line, too.”

Before he could respond, we heard the voices again, this time closer by. Nicholas hushed me with one hand. There was no doubt about it. They were coming upstairs. A glance back at me must have sufficed to let Nick know that whatever he had in mind, he needed to take me with him.

“Stay close behind me, and don’t make a sound,” he warned me. Then he opened the door and walked out into the dark hallway. I was present, but at the same time, I was inhabiting those memories it was best not to return to, the ones that stoked my fears in the darkness. Nothing good could happen in the dark…or only one thing, but this wasn’t the moment to think about it.

“What is that?” I asked, my breathing halting from fear.

“Nothing,” he said, walking over to the window. As he opened it and peeked outside, I saw what was sticking out of the top of his jeans.

“What the hell are you doing with a gun, Nicholas?” It took all the self-control I could muster not to shout.

He turned to me with a serious expression. “Noah, I want you to climb out this window,” he ordered me, ignoring my question. “There’s a tree out there. It has lots of branches; it won’t be hard for you.”

I felt hot tears rolling down my cheeks again. I shook my head… I couldn’t take the risk; I couldn’t fall out a window again… I just couldn’t.

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