emma was glad that he was here, that she had found him and they could have each others back through this. she wouldnât have wanted to end up here alone. her face was still tucked into him. she wasnât really close to any guys any more, her confidence from kieran had been shot and in all honesty she wasnât looking to put herself out there. it wasnât that she never would again but she was definitely on a break with it. she was done for now. she just wanted to concentrate on her friends and her mom, her life â get it back on track before she added anyone else to it. if she brought anyone else in right now it wouldnât be fair. sheâd just suffocate them in all the mess. âthank you.â she whispered practically in his ear. she needed to know that he wasnât going anywhere, that he was going to stick around because she trusted him and it meant a lot. thatâs what she needed â someone she could trust and someone who would trust her. âhey donât say that.â it wasnât that she minded but it was sad and not true. âyou have all of us. okay? but yeah, sure â you know you always have me.â
âitâs not that.â it wasnât. it wasnât an attack on him. no, maybe he hadnât trusted her at the time but she didnât blame him for that. not any more. no one had. âhey. it wasnât that. this wasnât about you.â her fingers squeezing his slightly. âyou were never a shit friend â there was a lot going on back then so you donât have to do that to yourself. okay?â feelings were everywhere and in all honesty she hadnât blamed them for not believing her because she hadnât wanted to believe it herself. âthe last person i trusted with something like this was kieran so i just, um â â she swallowed hard. âbut it wasnât about you.â emma wouldnât do that. at the time when no one believed her stories it had been difficult and parts of her did feel alone but she didnât blame them. sheâd been angry at them but she understood. âand before doesnât matter. it doesnât.â realising she needed to get this part of the conversation back on track. âwe all made mistakes, noah. you believe me now and thatâs what matters. i promise. okay?â a small smile on her features as she broke from him a little to look at him. âitâs okay.â
hearing him she chuckled, keeping her hand under his. it was nice to have contact with someone like this or at least have it and not want to pull away. âi like your motto. good luck with that.â a true smile on her features now, a sign she was teasing.âi hope not.â in regards to kieran not being able to hurt them any more. âokay. okay. youâre right â letâs figure this out.â they needed too before it literally made her crazy and before it went too far. this might not be real and if it wasnât then that would be something she could work out but if this was real? they needed to get on top of it before it got on top of them. âyou think it could mean something else here? i donât know noah.â was that too far of a leap? âi have enough of an issue thinking this could be from our world but from others? do we even want that to be a possibility?â her eyes drifted down, hearing his question as she nodded slowly. âyeah, they did.â her voice quiet. âbut i ran⌠i know i should have stayed but i ââ she shook her head, biting her lip again. âi ran, they didnât touch me but they tried.â
it did feel nice to be so close to someone like this. Emma was important to him and his mind has been racing with worry ever since he found out about Kieran and then âAlexâ at the Whitten mansion she just couldnât seem to catch a break. He couldnât even fathom how shot her confidence must be when it came to any sort of relationship, not that he felt Emma needed one but those guys taking advantage of her sweet, trusting nature bothered him. She deserved better than some idiots to bring her down like that because she was an easy target. It made him want to protect her that much more so holding her close to him, stroking at her hair with his fingers, he felt a certain comfort next to her as a soft smile spread across his lips. âI love you, Em, not like THAT of course,â He started to stammer immediately after having said the word âloveâ Audrey was usually the only girl heâd ever use it because she actually GOT it and their friendship was too strong to not be able to easily understand what it means when they shared it but right now it felt like the best word he could use to describe his feelings as he gently brushed her hair off of her shoulder continuing to stroke at her arm, âI am here for you 100% that is what friends do, support each other.â He sighed closing his eyes for a brief moment to take in the moment as he whispered, âyou donât have to thank me for anything. I am here because I want to be. I donât know what I would do without you but I CANâT lose you, we can't lose each other, okay? That is a promise.â
He was more desperate than ever to hang onto her. He found himself keeping his friends even closer than ever after everything and where he once considered himself a loner, their experiences in Lakewood brought him closer to people and for once he was able to rely on people besides Audrey, Emma quickly being one of those people. He knew she was trying to be comforting and he found himself nodding his head in acknowledgement but the other part didnât feel convinced. âIt wasnât just YOU, Em . . . remember when I started to suspect Audrey to be behind everything? I have always considered myself a loyal person but who does that? Who doubts their BEST friend? I let her down and I let YOU down, I let both of you down and I am just. . .â he sighed squeezing just as tightly at her hand before looking over at her, âI am really sorry, you know? Youâre worth more to me than some stupid seemingly unrealistic vision. Iâll never not believe you again, I promise.â He assured her with a smile as he placed a quick, gentle kiss to her hand and once again interlaced their fingers together, âthose were mistakes I should have never made.â It felt good to get it out there at least Emma knew and it was something he was never able to fully talk about with anyone and Emma deserved to know. Especially since Emma always had faith in Audrey when he should have been the one to.
Noah shrugged his shoulders at the possibility of the Brandon James mask being something else, âI am just trying to consider all of our options here.â He explained to her innocently, maybe he just didn't want to believe the possibility a copy cat from Lakewood or Kiera of Piper coming back from the dead to cause havoc. âItâd be better than . . .â he was cut off when she mentioned they tried to attack her. His face dropped, turning white as a sheet, he gripped at her leg. âEmma, they tried to attack you?! Where was I? How could this have happened? After everything and I STILL couldnât be there to save you.â he jumped up from where he was sitting, grabbing her hand, âI am going to wring that bastardâs neck I swear.â He stated angrily, balling his fist together on the opposite hand from the one that was holding Emmaâs. âI canât believe I trusted him!â He exclaimed as he gritted his teeth. âHeâs never going to hurt you or EVEN touch you again if I have anything to say about it.â