He fucking hit me!
In that moment, Noah graduated from breaking my heart to physically hurting me without a second thought.
I felt around and realized I was on a bed of leaves and dirt. I closed my eyes and could smell the familiar scent of the river. He didn't take me far. But what was he going to do with me now?
"What are you doing?" I tried to pull myself up to sit, but Noah gripped my shoulders and shoved me until I slammed against the ground, my head bounced off the dirt.
In the force, we were taught a shit ton of defensive tactics. I could, without a doubt, take Noah down without a weapon. Despite his size, I had the defensive training and knowledge of his pressure points that could subdue him, in mere seconds, to a blubbering mess. But I couldn’t focus on that. A buzzing in my ear revealed how inebriated I actually was. I couldn’t believe how very short-sighted it was to confront Noah alone—and drunk. As a detective, I should know the importance of having a plan and contingencies, but I fucked up.
He paced back and forth in the darkness. While I couldn't see where he was, I could hear the crunch of twigs and leaves beneath his feet. I could barely breathe while my body convulsed. I patted down my body but couldn't feel my phone to call for help. Panic washed over me. How would I get out of this? What did he intend to do with me now that he knew, that I knew about his involvement with Callie? An owl hooted in the distance, at which Noah jumped back a few feet.
"Why, Noah? Why did you do it?" I croaked.
"Shut up!" he cried.
"Why did you kill her?”
I didn't know what I was doing. If I provoked him, he'd get this all over with sooner rather than later. Maybe it'd be fast, and I could see Zac again, the one man who truly loved me. The taste of salt kissed my lips, and I realized I was crying. My heart wept for Callie, for her family she left behind, for Zac and for myself, because I missed him so damn much. All the grief that riddled my body for months bubbled to the surface. My entire body shook as I writhed on the ground, unable to speak, breathe or understand what was happening.
"Shut up, Elle! Someone will hear you!" Noah knelt beside me and covered my mouth with his hand, which reeked of sweat, dirt and beer.
Instinctively, I bit down on his fingers, hard enough to draw blood. Noah cried out in pain, and I rolled several feet over just in time to hear his other fist hit the ground where I would have been. In that moment, it was as if a light switch turned on, or a voice inside my head called to me. It said, "Don't give up now, Elle. Fight!”
Despite my body wavering, I pulled myself up. I saw Noah's shadow within the dense foliage beside the river. He strode toward me, but I turned on my heels. I bolted through the trees in the opposite direction, several branches nicking my cheeks while I ran. Sweat dripped down from my forehead and mixed with the blood on my face.
"I'm going to kill you! Do you hear me?" Noah shouted.
My heart raced while horror sped through my veins. This would be my only chance to get away from my first love turned murderer. If he caught me now, he wouldn't let me get away again. Noah tore through the trees, only a few paces shy of me. At this point, it wasn’t just about catching Callie's killer, but saving my life. No one else was here to save me this time. I couldn't rely on alcohol to carry me through the night. I didn't have my badge or a gun. My phone was God knows where. It was up to me and only me.
Ahead, light peeked through the trees. The street was close. If I had to guess, I figured we were a couple of miles down from where we parked our cars. But there were houses out here. Spread apart, but they were there.
Noah didn't miss a beat. He was only a few feet behind me. I could smell the stale beer oozing from his pores. I tore through the edge of the trees, out into the open air. It'd be easier for Noah to chase me now, but easier for me to know where he was, too.
"Elle!" he panted. "Let's just talk about this, okay? I'm not going to hurt you!”
I ignored his calls to me and bolted toward the closest house. All its lights were out. I pushed myself harder until I put more distance between us. Maybe it'd give me enough time to rouse the homeowners. Oxygen eluded my lungs. I couldn't stop; I needed to reach safety.
I reached the front door of the house and rang the doorbell incessantly. I yelled for help until my throat was raw. Noah caught up. He was close now. I rang the doorbell a dozen more times, but not even a light flickered on. I gave up on this house and set my eyes on the next one down the road, several hundred yards away. My knees felt like they'd give out at any moment, but I couldn't give up now. If I stopped, it'd be the same as committing suicide. Noah wouldn't give up on me, and I couldn't give up, either.
"Elle, stop! We can talk about this!" he heaved while his paced slowed a bit, but not enough to lose him.
I sprinted as fast as my body would carry me to the next house. It was getting closer into view. I started screaming until my throat turned raw. "Help me! Help me! Somebody!”
The silence of the night turned eerie. Even though I was near houses where people were surely living, it felt like I was as alone as ever. Would anyone hear me? Would anybody help?
Despite being out of the woods, the light wasn't all that better out here. The streetlights were few and far between, and the moon hid behind the clouds. The vast array of stars in the sky weren't enough to ignite the night. The darkness inside my soul now enveloped me on the outside too.
I cut across the lawn toward the front porch of another house. In a flash, I fell to the ground as my feet caught a hole in the grass. My body landed hard with a heavy thud. I bit into my lip upon smacking against the ground. Blood flowed freely from my face and dripped onto the grass blades beside me. I tried to pull myself up, but my foot was stuck in the hole. I screamed at the top of my lungs for help.
I turned to see Noah was closing in on me. A grin spread across his face like a predator about to capture his prey. My heart skipped a beat. I'd fought hard, but the end was near. I wriggled and writhed, but my foot wouldn't budge, not to mention I could tell my ankle was sprained. Even if I were to get out, I wouldn't be able to escape very far.
Noah slowed his run to a jog until he approached me with glee. "Hello, Elle.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. "You're not going to get away with this."
He laughed heartily, clutching at his chest. "Well, of course I am. No one is going to save you now. I'll kill you the same as I did Callie and dump your dead body into the river. No one's going to miss you. No one in Keygate cares about you, Elle.”
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I sobbed at Noah's feet. Memories from the past invaded my mind. I remembered the first time Noah and I made love together. The way he held my face in his hands and kissed me gently. I remembered the heartache of when he finally admitted to cheating on me. I remembered the way he shattered my universe when we broke up for good. The same person to breathe life into me as a young girl was about to snuff it out as a woman.
"Do it, then. Get it over with, you fucking coward," I snarled.
Noah knelt beside me and stared deeply in my eyes. I'd stopped crying now. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of breaking me. He caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. I turned away, disgusted by his touch.
"I did love you, you know, back then. But I can't let this ruin me or my family."