MY BLOOD RUNS COLD. I should have known better. I should have known things wouldn't last. I should have known that my happiness wasn't here to stay. I should have known.
From: Unknown
You can run, but you can't hide.
From: Unknown
I'm coming for you bitch.
Nolan quickly grabs my phone from my hands, I shriek as I try to take it back but we're in a bit of a wrestle while he tries to keep it away.
"No. I'm checking your fucking phone; you've been sitting there with a terrified look on your face. I refuse to be in the dark." His deep voice makes me wince. Nolan lets out a sigh as he rubs his temple. "I'm sorry baby, I shouldn't have raised my voice. But you have to understand after what you told me; I have to know things. Your safety is my number one concern." I play with my fingers as I softly nod. He's right, as much as I hate to involve him in my problems, he wants me, all of me. I would like to know what demons he faces as well. "May I please look at your phone Darlin."
I nod my head. My heart races as my nails dig into the palm of my hands.
Nolan's intake of breath makes my heart fall to my stomach. "You're going to stay with me, I'm taking you to and from work. I have a friend that's a cop, until we figure this out, you're not going to be alone." His tone is firm, he's telling not asking.
I trust him. So, I silently nod my head.
"Really? Is it that easy? No argument?" I can tell he means well; I know he's too stubborn to let this go, and if I'm being honest, I'm too scared to be alone.
"I'm scared Nolan..." I trail off looking out the window as tears fall. Of course, my tears take seconds to form and fall. I'm so tired of being scared. I'm weak, I shouldn't be crying, as much as I wish to be an independent bad bitch, I'm not. I need Nolan. He's managed to put together the broken pieces of my heart and make it into something so much better.
"Emberly, no one is going to hurt you." He grabs my face in his hands, his thumbs rub along my cheeks, the touch of him instantly calms me down. "After we get food, I'm going to take you back to work and I'm going to call my friend, alright?" He places a soft kiss on my forehead before quickly starting the car up again, taking us to the diner.
******
"So, do you have any idea who this could be?" The cop that Nolan called asks. Erick ended up stopping in as well since he was with him. The cop is around Nolan's age, he's pretty handsome, dark brown curly hair, green eyes and dimples, also another tall son of a bitch. But, he's nothing compared to Nolan... Not that I should be comparing anyways. If Nolan wasn't in the picture I probably might have swooned... Just a little, something about a man in uniform is just... Hot.
"I think it's my ex. I-uh- I have a restraining order on him." Jeremy and Angie stand around the desk, they're completely engaged in the conversation. Once again guilt hits me. I shouldn't be involving anyone in my mess. It's not fair for them to all be in this situation. Alice, Trent, and John are right.
A squeeze on my fingers catches my attention, I instantly look up and meet Nolan's concerned gaze. I look around the room and notice it's silent and the cop is looking at me expectedly.
"I-I-I' m sorry did you say something."
"Yes Ma'am, what's his name?" He has a pen and notebook out, he was taking notes this whole time, I of course made sure to show him the messages.
"Burke Walters." I say and he writes that down.
"Okay, I'm going to head back to the station and talk with my captain, I'll update you when I can."
"Thank you-"
"Harrison Jones." He shakes my hand softly before motioning to Nolan for him to follow. Once they're gone the room is quiet.
"Jeremy, I'm so sorry." I automatically apologize, this whole thing is humiliating. As much as I enjoy our work relationship, my drama may have taken it too far.
"Emberly, what did I say about making us feel like family here at the job? I'm glad you trusted us enough to fill us in. Your safety is a concern and it's at risk. We needed to know." The door chimes, expecting it to be Nolan, I fall in shock to see that it's Jason. He quickly walks up to me and pulls me into a hug.
"Nolan called, I'm sorry we didn't talk to you first but I heard you have a restraining order, whatever you need legally I'm here alright?" He runs his hands through his hair, my heart sinks with guilt that I'm putting him through this stress. "God, first Alice and her father and my dad, now this?" He shakes his head angrily. "You don't deserve this shit Emberly. None of it, my mother wanted to reach out to you but she's heartbroken, given the situation she doesn't feel like she has the privilege."
"Of course she can, you're so kind for doing this Jason. Please let your mom know I'm thinking about her and that I'm not mad at her for anything." Jason sends me a small smile. His eyes look around the room and instantly fall on Jeremy. His cheeks turn pink.
"Mr. Michaels. It's a pleasure to see you again." He walks over to Jeremy who is very red in the face.
"Mr. Benson, I'm glad you're here." The air is thick with tension as Jeremy and Jason are in a staring match. It breaks when Nolan walks back in. "Emberly, why don't you head home, love? You had a long day. We'll talk shift when you come in next, we can adjust your hours until this is over alright?" Jeremy walks over and hugs me, it's a firm comforting hug, something I didn't realize I really needed until now. I choke back an unexpected sob.
"Oh sweetheart." Jeremy says as he looks back at me. "You have a whole village of protector's love. He'll have to come through all of us to get to you." Jeremy looks at me and the promise in his voice is almost convincing.
I hate crying in front of people.
Nolan softly grabs my hand and leads me outside. The cloudy skies turned dark, a storm is brewing.
The ride to Nolan's is quiet, Nolan had to call his chief and let him know the situation and he was more than willing to be flexible with Nolan for his hours. Another person that has to dramatically rearrange their life because of me.
I'm sinking in self-guilt.
I should have never been involved with Burke in the first place. I shouldn't have done it, out of all my regrets in life, this is the biggest one.
We turn down a few streets, then into a cul-de-sac. Nolan lives in town, luckily he has neighbors. I was a little worried that we'd be going out into the country and I wasn't ecstatic about that.
His house is surprisingly big.It's a two story house, it's surprisingly cozy looking. I was expecting it to look like a bachelor pad, if I'm being honest. By the looks of it, it might have been his mother that decorated it. Nolan quickly helps me out of the car and we head into the house. His house smells like him, the spicy wood scent I've become obsessed with. I seriously need to find a candle with his smell.
Pancake's nails scratch at the dark wood floors as she rounds the corner. As Nolan calms down Pancake, my eyes fall on the white walls, it's surprisingly really decorated. I already feel at home with how cozy it is, I'm envious of the gorgeous fireplace in his living room.
"My ma just redecorated for me." Nolan's cheeks turn pink as he looks up at me from the squatted position. .
"I love it, she did amazing. I feel at home." I giggle as I continue to look around, I don't miss how large Nolan's smile grows. I can't miss it with the warm fuzzy feeling that shoots through me. I walk over to the sliding glass door, Nolan lives the white picket fence dream too.
"So, I have extra bedrooms, but you're more than welcome to stay with me." Nolan clears his throat as he stands. Silence fills the air between us, tension grows incredibly thick. I can't help that my mind wanders to the problem we're facing. Nolan has opened up his home to me, he's changed his hours for me. I'm putting the people I care about at risk by being here.
I don't know if I can continue to pretend.
"Yeah, that's fine." I shyly say as my face blushes from his gaze. The amount of attention this man gives me, leaves me speechless. "I think I need to make a call real quick, to my friend back home." Nolan nods before taking a few steps across the room, his long legs takes seconds to reach me. He places a soft kiss to my forehead, one that lingers and causes me to feel warm all over.
"Alright love, I'll be right back down. I'm going to let Pancake out." He smiles warmly before walking out, the soft click of the door follows him. I'm engulfed in silence. Quickly, also clumsily, I grab my phone out of my pocket and dial Olivia's number. After a couple rings, her soft, kind voice hit my ears.
"Emberly." She practically shots.
"Hey Olivia... I hope it's not a bad time." Instantly, I feel terrible having to involve everyone else into my mess.
"No, it's never a bad time when you call. You can call at any time." She pauses, her breath shakes. "What's going on Em?"
Instantly tears burn my eyes as I fight back a sob, my throat burns. I wish I was strong, I wish I could change a lot of things. I never thought I would ever be in this situation. Part of me wishes I never left, that way my problems would only be my problem. Not everyone else's burden. "Oh, Emberly. Please talk to me."
"I-It's Burke. He found me somehow, I-I don't know how." I choke out as my tears stream down my face.
"What? He's there? Call the police."
"No, no, he isn't here. He somehow got my number. He's been sending me messages, saying he's after me. I don't know what to do Olivia. I've called the cops, they know what's going on. But, there's no way to know it's actually him. So right now, there isn't anything anyone can do. I-I'm scared Olivia." I sniffle, I drop my head in my hands as I sit down on Nolan's couch.
I was naive to think I was safe. I was stupid to think I could be happy. I was stupid to think I could get involved with someone else again. I was stupid to think I could escape him. I should never have stayed, I should never have gotten involved with Nolan.
We're only going to get burned.
And it's all because of me.
"He only stopped by that one time, I doubt he actually knows where you're at Emberly. I mean you literally went to the other side of the country. You're safe. He's probably just testing you, threatening you to see if you'll come back on your own. There's no way he could possibly know where you're at." Olivia tries to reassure me. "Emberly, seriously think about it. You paid in cash, you don't use socials anymore, you got a new phone and number. There is no way he could have found you. Especially in a random ass town. Don't let him win, don't let him have power over you. You're so strong Em. I'm so proud of you. You got out of a dangerous situation and I know your parents would be proud of you too."
My eyes burn at the mention of my parents. I have a feeling they would be proud too. I know that they weren't fond of him in the first place. I just hope I continue to make them proud with my choices that I make. I hope they're looking over me now, protecting me from a fire that I'm too scared to face.
"Emberly, breathe sweetie. There's no way he found you, I'll see what I can dig up here. I'll see if I can find him so I can give you a piece of mind. We all have mutual friends, I'm sure it's nothing." My shoulders relax as I take in her words. If she could manage to speak to people and find out his whereabouts I could definitely relax. "I got you babe, everything is going to be okay."
The door opens and Nolan walks in, his face scrunches up as he tries his best to be silent as he shuts the door. He shoots me a small smile as he walks over to me, sitting down he wraps his arm around my waist. His fingertips send goosebumps up my spine as he traces them up and down. I glance over at Nolan, my heart hiccups as we lock eyes, I shoot him a small smile. He's quick to give me a panty dropping smile.
"So, probably not the best time to say this but-as a hopefully better subject change- are you finally getting good dick?"