Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 75720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Noah looked up into my eyes. His upper lip quivered as tears welled up. “Jake—that means… if Robby didn’t say anything, and after that text message last night—” Noah choked on a cry. I wrapped him up in my arms and held him as tight as I could.
Noah didn’t need to finish his thought. I already knew what he was going to say, what this morning implied. It started to fall into place, the picture becoming clear.
It was Robby. Noah’s neighbor, his onetime fling, and his obsessive stalker.
Robby had eyes on us. He had made sure to keep watch, and he’d made sure to keep the pressure on. He’d been obsessed with Noah since they hooked up but likely didn’t decide to act on it until I entered the picture, increasing the heat on our relationship in hopes that we’d break up and Noah would go running to him.
“We need to tell the police,” Noah said, sniffling and rubbing at his face. His cheeks were pink, his pupils blown wide with fear. I didn’t have to have my hand on his chest to know his heart was beating at an unhealthy pace. “Is that what Yvette’s doing?”
“She’s calling her sister. She’s the lawyer,” Tia explained. “She wants to sue Robby into the ground.”
Noah shook his head. “That won’t work. This guy’s crazy—he’s insane. He needs the law, not the legal system.”
“Those are one and the same,” Eric said. “The cops won’t be able to arrest Robby without any cause. We willingly stayed in his parents’ cabin. He can say he wasn’t even aware of the cameras, and the police would have to thank him for cooperating and leave.”
“But if I sue that fucking asshole, then maybe he can learn a lesson,” Yvette said, steam rising off her shoulders from how angry she was.
Noah rubbed at the bridge of his nose. I could see him spiraling. He started to bite at his nails, something he only ever did when his back was up against the wall. I rubbed his elbows, but I knew that nothing I could say or do in this moment would help ease his worries.
“I’m going to call him,” Noah suddenly said, pulling out his phone. “I’m just going to have to call him.”
“Wait, hold on, hold on.” Tristan had his arms raised as if he were negotiating with someone who’d threatened to blow a bomb. “Let’s not give the crazy and unhinged stalker a heads-up that we’re onto him.”
“Tristan’s right,” Eric said.
“Then what the hell do I do? Just lie down and wait for him to abduct me?” Noah’s face turned cherry red. A vein in his forehead throbbed, his eyes snapping shut as he rubbed his nose again.
This hurt. Watching him suffer like this tore me apart. I may have not said it out loud, but Noah was the man I loved, irrevocably and powerfully. The kind of love that binds two souls together. When he hurt, so did I. And the fact that I couldn’t do anything to fix it only made it a thousand times harder, turned the twisting knife into a rusted blade, making every breath more painful than the last.
“You might be able to get a stalking protective order,” Eric said. “If we can get the parents to say they never put in those cameras, then maybe a judge can see that Robby wanted you under surveillance. That would be enough. And if he violates the order, then he goes to jail.”
“And if we can’t get the parents to cooperate?” Noah asked.
Eric didn’t need to answer. His silence was enough.
Noah would be fucked. Robby had been careful with his tactics, keeping himself out of the picture as much as possible. He must have been wearing a wig when he tried breaking into my house, although I still wasn’t sure how he had gotten Franky’s car. Either way, it didn’t really matter. None of it proved to law enforcement that Robby was the one behind the threats and break-in attempts.
“I need to go home, I’m sorry,” Jess said, looking back at the cabin as if it were a cougar poised on its haunches and ready to launch. She had an arm around her stomach. “I feel sick.” She started to cry, and no amount of comfort from Tia seemed to help soothe her. “I’m so sorry, Noah. I’m just so scared.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Noah took Jess in a hug. She cried into his shoulder, triggering a couple of sniffles from Noah. She turned and hurried into the car, Tia giving Noah another hug before promising that she’d meet up with them later.
“I’m not going home,” Noah said. “I can’t. I can’t go back there, not with Robby next door.”
“We don’t have to,” I said.
“Can you stay with me? We can go to the other cabin?”