All of Lexi’s blood flooded to her face. “Well, no one asked you to, buddy.” She shoved him in the chest and started searching the room for her purse. “Consider yourself unsigned up. Go back to your rock and roll lifestyle. I don’t need you.” She felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster for the past day and didn’t need any more.
Lexi found her purse and turned to storm out of the door. Noah was up and out of the chair, knocking it over in an instant to block her way out. “No, Lexi, wait.” He put his hands on her arms to hold her in place.
“No, you wait, Noah.” She tried to free herself from his grip. “I don’t know what the hell is going through your brain but I’m out of here. I don’t need this. So get out of my way.”
When she looked down at his hands and up at him with one eyebrow raised, a cold look in her eyes, it scared him. “Lexi, I’m sorry. I’m a little grumpy. I’ve been up most of the night, worried about everything. I sat there by your bed and it reminded me so much of sitting by my mom when she was in the hospital. There was nothing that I could do then, either. All I could do was calm you down, when you screamed through your nightmares.”
“I did have nightmares? I don’t remember anything.” Her brow furrowed.
Softly Noah said, “You woke Sam and Martha up from across the house and scared them half to death. Not to mention me. I’ve never heard such torment, such anguish. I wanted to make it stop, but I had no idea what to do. I’d just talk and sing to you while rubbing your back. That seemed to work and you’d fall back into a deep sleep for a while before it started all over again.”
“I’m sorry,” Lexi said to the ground.
Noah tilted her chin up. “No, Lexi. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who’s sorry. I have no excuse for what I said. I just don’t know what to do with all of these feelings I have for you and I took it out on you. I couldn’t bear to see you walk out the door. Please stay.”
She felt completely emotionally wrecked. She needed some time to herself. “I’d like to go home and get cleaned up and into some different clothes.”
“Sure, no problem. You’ll come back, right?” The corners of his mouth turned down. “I don’t feel like you should be alone right now.”
“I’ll be fine, Noah. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. As you said last night, I can’t let him win. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “I know you have, love, but we still aren’t sure of what’s going on. If you don’t want me to go with you to your place, at least have Sam go with you.”
“You’re right. It wouldn’t be smart to go into the house by myself after I thought I saw Anthony last night.” She knew he was right, but she wasn’t used to relying on anyone other than her family and herself.
“Is there anything you’d like Martha to make? I know how much you love her cooking.”
“Thanks, but no.” She shook her head. “I’ll leave it up to her since I kept waking her up last night.”
Lexi walked out the door and Noah listened as she went down the stairs and out the backdoor. He watched her and Sam, who followed her into her house. She never looked back. He laid his forehead against the glass. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
*
When Lexi returned with Sam to Noah’s, she knew she had to tell him about the strange things going on at her house. She knew now it wasn’t just her imagination or forgetfulness about things being moved. When she went home this morning more things were out of place and more of her clothes were missing. What scared her most was the new photo on the dresser in her bedroom of her and Noah having dinner in her house that was taken from outside. A picture that neither of them had taken.
She was scared and wasn’t exactly sure what to do. She was going to have to give up all of the independence she’d created for herself. She also knew how Noah was going to take it. There was going to be a battle. She should be thankful for all of his help, and she was, but—she needed her independence.
“Why in hell haven’t you told me any of this sooner? My god, Lexi, who knows who has been going in and out of your house for weeks. I could’ve done something to protect you before now.” He started to pace back and forth in the kitchen.
“Noah, I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t just moving or misplacing things on my own without realizing it. I’ve been a little distracted the past few weeks.” She sat wearily on one of the stools at the counter.
He leaned on the other side of the counter, and waited until she looked him in the eye. “You should’ve told me after the radiator incident.”
Lexi spread her hands. “Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, Noah. We can’t be going back and forth with woulda, shoulda, coulda. We need to think about what’s going to happen going forward.”
“I can tell you what is going to happen. You are moving in here. Don’t argue.” He slapped his hand on the counter when she opened her mouth.
She stood up and the stool skidded back. “Don’t tell me what to do and no, I’m not moving in here. I have my own house right over there.”