I'm Broken but I'm fine

Part 18

"Are you scared?" I ask Noah.

He looks at me from the side, we are snuggled up together his arm around me and me leaning against his side, a blanket thrown over us.

"Yeah, to tell you the truth, I'm glad you are here" he tells me.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Yeah, it was scary going to sleep out here alone, even though I know I'm being watched and protected, like what if something went wrong you know" he tells me.

"Yeah, I kind of don't want to sleep by myself, I can't get the image of Nick out of my dreams, he haunts them most nights" I tell Noah.

"I'm so sorry Lou, I'm sorry you had to see that. To tell you the truth, I'm used to it. I've seen my fair share of body's from when I was in the gang" he tells me.

"Yeah, I'm just being a baby I guess" I shrug at him.

"No way Lou, it's hard....the first time I saw one was bad. I spent weeks trying to get over it, eventually I did. With Jaxsons help though" he says.

I nod at him.

"Harry isn't here though and I don't want to sleep, I'm too scared and I'm worried about something happening to Harry or to us while we sleep" I tell him truthfully.

"I know, but Al and Patty are the best, they will make sure we are okay. I will too, I'll protect you Lou. I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise" he tells me.

He kisses the side of my head and we get comfy snuggled on the couch together, it's an unspoken agreement that we are spending the night like this. Both of us needing the comfort. We drift off to sleep and I wake twice throughout the night sweating and upset.

"It's okay Lou, I know you want Harry but I'm here, I'll keep you safe" Noah tells me the second time I wake, my head rests on his chest and he rubs his hands up and down my arms.

"It won't stop, all I see is his lifeless body and it's my fault" I cry into Noah's chest.

"It's definitely not your fault Louis, none of this has anything to do with you, you are just as innocent" Noah tells me stroking my head.

I begin to calm down, Noah helping me breathe, when I'm settled again, I turn to Al.

"Can I call Harry?" I ask.

"I'm sorry bud, it's to dangerous to call him, especially at this hour. Stinger will be expecting things to go down at night and it's too risky" Al tells me sympathetically.

I nod my head and bury my face in Noah's neck.

"Don't be afraid Lou, I will never let a single thing happen to you. You are my best friend and my little brother, I'll do everything possible to protect you. Noah tells me.

"You are my best friend too, I love you lots and I promise to protect you too" I say back.

Noah smiles at me and we settle back down to sleep in each other's arms.

We are both woken at dawn by frantic voices.

"Louis, Noah. We need you both to wake up now" Patty is shaking us

"Whats wrong" I ask, we both sit up worriedly, knowing his tone of voice means business.

"We think we were followed yesterday, we don't have much time. I need you both to listen. Stinger and his gang have found us, they are nearly here, We have called Harry but him and backup are two hours away at best" Patty tells us.

"What does that mean, what do we do?" Noah asks as Al sets to putting my shoes on and Noah does his own.

"It means that you both need to run, towards the woods and don't stop. We will find you when we have dealt with this and Harry and his team are here. We promise" Al reassures us.