Warning; this chapter is rated M because of a sexual assault incident that happens toward the end.

•••

It was dark, way past sunset, when Noelle arrived home. It had been a long day, seeing co-workers being let go and watching them exiting the building with a box of their stuff. Even her boss was fired because of all of this, which in her opinion wasn't fair- none of this was- but they needed a fall guy and unfortunately, he was it.

Then there was the run-in with Reed and trying to calm Becky down. It made her sick that he was able to roam around free, while Becky was the one feeling like she was locked up. She was the one having nightmares and having to constantly look over her shoulders. It wasn't fair, and it made her think about her situation with Jimmie way more than she wanted to.

She dragged herself down the narrow hallway toward the front door of her apartment. She paused for a moment when she heard her cell phone ringing from her bag. With a sigh, she slipped her hand inside the bag and pulled it out. She glanced down at her phone and felt her heart flip-flop when she saw it was Jamie calling.

"Hey," she softly said as she answered the call.

"Hey," Jamie said back, his tone matching hers. He was quiet for a moment, while she silently waited to see what he would say next or do next.

He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Nol."

She remained silent, wondering exactly what he was apologizing for; was it the kiss the night before, for leaving without saying a word, for taking so long to call her or all of the above?

"Don't be mad at me," he pleaded the longer she remained quiet. He could never stand it when she was angry with him growing up.

On the bright side, times before when she was mad, it never lasted long. He could always crack a joke to make her smile or if that didn't work there was always tickling her. Neither one of those would work right now though since they were on the phone and he wasn't in the mood for joking.

"I'm not mad at you, Jamie." She sighed and leaned back against the front door. "I'm just...honestly I don't know what I am." She blew out another sigh. "I'm-I'm confused and I'm scared...last night changed things and I'm so terrified of losing you."

"You're not going to lose me, Nol," he promised her.

"How can I not?" she questioned. "Things are never going to be the same between us. I'm always going to remember last night; I'm going to remember that moment we kissed and how it made me feel and all you're going to remember is that it was a mistake-"

"When did I ever say it was a mistake?" he cut her off to ask.

"Your absence this morning did," she answered, feeling the hurt just as much now as she did when she woke up and saw the couch was empty.

She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, she lowered her eyebrows in concern when she heard a noise coming from the other side of the door, inside her apartment.

"Nol?" Jamie questioned when he heard her breathing pick up. "Nol, what's going on?"

"No," Noelle breathed out as she took a few cautious steps back from the door. "It-It can't be."

"Nol, what is it?" he asked, starting to worry for her. He could tell from the tone of her voice that something had scared her. "Nol, hey, listen to me, okay? Talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

"He's-He's here," she whimpered, knowing in her heart that Jimmie was on the other side of the door.

"Who? Who is there?" he asked, really starting to freak out. "Nol, talk to me!"

Suddenly the front door popped open and her eyes went wide with fear when she was confronted with her worst nightmare. Jimmie gave her a smirk and took a step toward her, causing her to let out a bloodcurdling scream. The phone slipped from her hand, crashing to the floor as Jamie yelled out her name.

She ran down the narrow hallway, her feet pounding against the floor as loud as her heart pounded in her chest. With her vision blurred with tears, she saw the entrance door ahead of her. It looked close but felt so far away. She felt like if she could just get to it and get outside, she could get away from him. All she knew was, she couldn't be locked in somewhere with him again.

As she got closer to the door, she reached out to grab the handle, then felt Jimmie's arm snake around her waist before he shoved her forward, causing her body to slam against the door.

Jimmie ignored her cries and brushed her hair from the side of her neck before leaning forward and pressing his lips against her skin. He inhaled deeply, she smelled just like he remembered. When she began to wiggle around, trying to get out of his hold, he tightened his arm around her.

Raising his head, he placed his mouth against her ear and whispered, "I told you we'll be together again."

Noelle let out another scream as her eyes popped open and she sat up in her bed. She glanced around her dark bedroom and pushed her damp hair from her sweaty forehead; it was only a dream- it was all just a horrible nightmare.

She repeated that to herself several times as she waited for her heart rate to slow down; although she felt like it might never slow down. She was constantly tormented with thoughts of Jimmie coming back after her and since Reed and some of the others were released, it had gotten worse.

She pushed the comforter off of her body, then turned to place her feet on the floor. She looked over at her cell phone sitting on the table, then reached out to grab it, praying she had heard from Spencer.

All she needed was one message from him telling her that Jimmie was still locked up, he had checked it out himself, and she would be able to relax, but unfortunately, there was nothing. No call or text from Spencer. She also noticed she had nothing from Jamie either, which disappointed her more than she wanted to admit.

With a sigh, she stood up from the bed and shuffled down the small hall and into the living room. For peace of mind, she walked over to the windows to make sure they were still locked, then glanced over at the front door, pleased to see it was still locked up as well.

She went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee, then went back into the living room.

When her eyes fell on the couch, Jamie crossed her mind, as did the other night and that kiss. It's no wonder that made its way into her dream since it was on her mind constantly.

The longer they didn't talk, the more she was convinced that he was avoiding her, and the more she feared for their friendship. What if he felt like he could never be around her again? What if it was too awkward to talk? What if she lost her best friend?

Those questions and more ran through her head as she sipped her coffee and watched the sunrise. As the light filled the room, chasing away the shadows, she released a breath like she did every morning- thankfully that she made through another night and was now surrounded by light again.

Hearing her phone beep, she jerked her head to the side to look at it, her heart in her throat as she assumed it was Spencer with an update, but instead she saw Erin's name and picture pop up. She set the coffee cup down, then picked up the phone and placed it against her ear after answering the call.

"Hey, Noelle, good morning," Erin said over the phone. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No, I was just sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee before work," she answered. "What's going on?"

"I checked my schedule and I'm free tonight if you wanted to catch dinner and talk?" Erin suggested. She had to move a couple of things around, but she was able to find some free time for the younger girl. She knew something was weighing heavily on her mind, and she had questions for her herself. She hoped Jamie could answer some of the questions later that day when she met with him, but if not, she planned to get them straight from the source.

"Yeah, that sounds great." She nervously picked at a piece of thread that had come loose on the throw blanket laying on the couch. She had hoped she would have spoken to Jamie by now, but maybe she could at least get Erin's opinion on everything. Maybe someone with fresh eyes could see something she couldn't and help her figure out what to do now.

"You can come by my office after work, would that work for you?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Noelle said. "I'm not sure what time it'll be. Some days are later than others."

"Same here." Erin laughed. "Some nights I'm lucky to get out before midnight."

"Thankfully, I haven't had to stay that late...yet," Noelle said. "But with everything that happened lately and the layoffs, I wouldn't be surprised if it happens soon."

"That whole mess is why I'm having to work so late," Erin said. "I still have one I'm trying to keep from being released. He was convicted on three counts of sexual conduct on a child."

Noelle made a noise of disgust. "And there's a chance he could walk too?"

"There's a chance, but I have a plan," Erin said confidently. "If I can get two shrinks to say he's nuts, I can have him locked up."

"Very sneaky, counselor."

"I try." Erin let out a sigh. "And then there's Reed."

"How's Becky?" Noelle asked. The other woman had crossed her mind often since her run-in with Reed hours ago.

"She's still shaken up, understandably," Erin answered. "And she's changed her mind about testifying."

"I'm sorry, Erin," she said sincerely, she knew Erin was counting on that for her case. "I could try to talk to her again."

"It's okay, I'll still make this case even if Becky doesn't testify," she stated.

"That's good," Noelle said, happy to hear that. She was quiet for a moment as she thought about Reed and people like him, which also made her think of Jimmie and her own situation.

"I wonder what it was...what it was that made him fixate on her," she softly said in thought, almost like she forgot Erin was on the phone and she was just talking to herself. "I mean, what is it that she said or did that got his attention? Is there something else she could have done?"

Her voice dropped to barely a whispered, "Was it her fault?"

Erin lowered her eyebrows in concern at her questions. She couldn't help but think that Noelle was talking about herself and not Becky.

"In situations like this, it is never the victim's fault," she said, hoping the younger girl was actually hearing her words. Whatever happened to Noelle, it was almost like she was blaming herself, like she thought she could have done something different to keep it from happening.

"Noelle, are you okay?" Erin asked, feeling even more concern about her.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking out loud," she said, trying to shrug it off. She cleared her throat, knowing she needed to quickly end the call before she slipped and said something. "I should get going. I need to be at work soon, but I'll text you later tonight when I'm on my way."

"Okay." Erin was a bit surprised about her quick turnabout. "We'll talk tonight," she stated- as if she was letting the younger girl know she was on to her and was not going to give up on finding out what happened.

"Okay," Noelle said, hoping by later that night, she would forget about her suspicions, but she had a feeling she wouldn't. Erin was not the type that would forget something like that. She, as well as most of the Reagans, did not let things go easily.

She had a feeling her secret was not going to remain a secret for too much longer.

•••

That afternoon, Erin checked the time on her watch, then grabbed her briefcase. She was due in court soon, but before she went there, she had somewhere else she needed to be. She was meeting up with her brother Jamie outside the courthouse for a quick chat.

After seeing Noelle with Becky the day before, she was curious about the years she lived in Florida. She had no proof, just a feeling, but she felt like something had happened to her, and if anyone would know, it would be Jamie.

"Hey," Erin said minutes later when her brother walked toward her, then came to a stop in front of her. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course." Jamie nodded. "You said this is about Nol?"

"Jamie, what do you know about her time in Florida?" Erin questioned.

Jamie shook his head. "Not much. She doesn't really talk about it. Just said she worked a lot." He looked at his sister closely. "Why?"

"I think you know why," Erin said when she saw the concern look on his face. "Something happened to her down there."

"She told you?" he asked surprised as he took a step toward her, hoping this was it; he would finally learn what happened to her.

"No." Erin shook her head. "And I have no proof, but I've spoken to a lot of victims through the years; women who barely survived an ordeal and is now haunted by that."

She paused for a moment. "And all of those women, the scared look on their faces, look exactly like Noelle's."

"I've seen that scared look," Jamie admitted. "I've also seen the mace she carries in her purse, the baseball bat she keeps in her apartment and all the locks on her door. I've also seen a mark on her ankle. It was a deep cut and I thought I saw smaller marks near it, but she pulled her leg away before I could get a better look."

"What did she say about it?"

"She said it was always there."

"Maybe it was," Erin said with a shrug, looking at things from both sides.

"No," Jamie argued. "I know every inch of her body, it was never there before."

At his comment, Erin raised her eyebrows at him, making him realize how that sounded. He stuttered a few times, then said, "I don't mean like that. I just mean any time she has gotten hurt growing up, I've been there- right by her side- and I've seen it all. The broken arm, the scratches, the cuts, the bruises...and there was never a cut on her ankle."

"From the things you have told me and the fact that she hasn't told you anything about it, leads me to believe it was something really bad," Erin stated.

"That's what I think too," Jamie said, feeling his heart break for her. All he could think about was worst case scenarios, someone hurting her, and he wasn't there to protect her- just like he couldn't protect his brother.

The siblings were quiet for a moment, both lost in their thoughts until he spoke up and admitted, "I looked her up and I found a report."

"What did it say?" Erin asked, surprised at the revelation. If there was a report then that meant they were on the right path, something did happen to her.

"Not a lot," Jamie answered. "Most of it was sealed. It was basically her name and a male's name; someone named Jimmie Jenkins."

Erin repeated the name to herself but had never heard of it before. What really got her though was that it was sealed. Most records were not sealed, unless the person was underage, which she wouldn't have been at the time. There were a few other reasons- special circumstances- but why would hers be sealed?

"Is there any way you can unseal it?" Jamie questioned his sister.

She shook her head. "Not without a court order."

Jamie blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair as he glanced around for a minute. He looked back at his sister, a heartbroken look on his face. "What am I going to do, Erin? I want to be there for her, I want to help, but I can't if she doesn't let me in."

Erin tilted her head for a moment, looking at him closely. "Something happened between you two."

Jamie's eyes widen, although he shouldn't have been surprised- she was a lawyer after all- and a damn good one. Instead of commenting he gave her a short nod to let her know she was right.

"What about Sydney?" Erin took a step toward him. It's not that she would mind him being with Noelle, she always felt like there was something between them growing up, but she didn't approve of cheating and she knew her brother was better than that.

"It's over." Jamie dropped his head for a moment.

He wouldn't lie, it still hurt him some that he lost her and they couldn't make it work, especially since he knew it was his fault. But as much as it hurt, he also couldn't help but think that maybe it would be for the best in the long run. Now he could finally be honest with himself and his feelings, he just hated that Sydney was hurt in the process.

"Because of Noelle?" Erin questioned.

"No...and yes. I mean, nothing happened until after Sydney called things off." He looked down at the ground for a moment, before raising his head. "I like her, Erin. And it's not like these feelings just came out of the blue- I always have, I've just been scared to really allow the feelings to go there...I still am."

"I knew it." She grinned. "I always knew there was something between you two."

"Yeah," he breathed out, a smile appeared on his face for a minute before it fell. "I just don't know what to do now. I don't want to lose her if something goes wrong, I could lose her for good."

"Just follow your heart," Erin told him. "I know that is the most cliché advice I could give, but it is the best out there. You have to ask yourself, what do you really want? What will make you happy?"

He nodded his head as he thought about her questions and only one thing popped in his head- a person actually.

He thought about the girl who had been a huge part of his past, the girl he always wanted in his present, and the one he hoped to spend his future with, and that girl was his very best friend; Noelle Kelley.

•••

Late that evening, Noelle walked out of the building and sent Erin a text, letting her know she was finished with the work day and on her way to the office. Erin texted her back, letting her know she was finishing up and should be ready by the time she got there.

The two buildings were not that far away, but the traffic took a few minutes longer. Close to ten minutes later, Noelle parked her car on the street as close as she could, then walked down the sidewalk the rest of the way.

As soon as she stepped into the building, she felt a chill down her spine and instantly felt uncomfortable. She glanced around for a moment, a lot of the lights were off for the night and most of the workers have already left, giving it a creepy and deserted feel. She told herself that was why she felt uneasy, it was her surroundings, there was nothing in here to get her.

She took in a breath, then slowly released it, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest. She took another shaky breath, then began to slowly walk down the hall, telling herself she would be in Erin's office soon, then once she wasn't alone anymore it wouldn't feel so scary. She told herself she was going to feel silly in a few minutes for freaking out over nothing.

As she got closer to the office, she lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she faintly heard an opera song playing. She told herself it was just normal Muzak that the office played, but deep down she knew that wasn't the truth. Like her work building, Erin's didn't play any Muzak.

She cautiously said Erin's name, hoping the older woman would answer her. When she thought she heard a noise behind her, she came to a quick stop and glanced behind her, her breathing picked up as she tried to see through the shadows. A part of her was terrified that someone; namely Jimmie, was going to jump out at her at any moment.

When she didn't see any movement, she turned her head back and let out a loud scream when she saw Reed standing in front of her. She quickly turned to flee down the hallway, almost tripping on her high heels and feeling her bag slip from her hands. She didn't get far before he grabbed her from behind and slammed her against a wall.

"Well, well, what do we have here? The little medical examiner." Reed pressed her back against the wall with his hands on her shoulders.

When he saw her eyes widen at his comment, he shot her a smirk. "That's right. After our run-in yesterday I looked you up."

She knew she should fight back or do something, but she couldn't move a muscle. As her vision blurred with tears, it was like Reed had transformed into Jimmie in her mind. She couldn't stop the memories from hitting her of the time she was running through the house, going from room to room to try to open any window she came across to escape, only to realize he had nailed them all shut. She remembered the helplessness she felt when she realized she was stuck and was not getting out.

"Where is that spunk from yesterday? Hm?" Reed moved one of his hands to her throat to hold her in place while his other hand went to her face. He ran his knuckles down her cheek, causing her to flinch. "I liked that. I love a girl with sass."

He moved his hand down to her mouth, running a finger over her bottom lip and pulling in a breath through his nose. "I really like this mouth. The words that come out of it... Mmm, I can't get enough."

He removed his hand from her face, then in one fluid motion, he ripped her shirt open, taking all the buttons off in the process. Noelle gasped in surprise, coming out of a daze. The situation reminded her a lot of Jimmie, but she knew no matter how scared she was, she had to fight. She could not let this happen to her again.

She let out a scream and tried to push away from the wall, but he pushed her back and took a step forward to lock her in place with his body. When he saw her open her mouth to scream again, he slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her and leaned his head closer to her ear as he shushed her.

He pulled back to look at her, then his eyes dropped down to her black bra and exposed stomach. His eyebrows raised when he saw a scar on her side, it was several inches long and looked like it was once a very deep knife cut.

He clicked his tongue, then ran a finger down the scar, causing her to cry out, her voice muffled against his hand.

"Looks like someone else got to you first." He raised his eyes to look at her, a smirk on his face. "Too bad, I was hoping to be the first." He laid his hand flat on her side, covering the mark. "I bet you liked it, right?"

With his hand still covering her mouth, she couldn't speak, instead, she wildly shook her head as tears fell from her eyes.

"Don't lie, I bet you did love it." He moved his hand up her side, his fingertips lightly grazing the skin under her bra.

At feeling his touch, she began to wiggle around, trying to get away from him, which only resulted in him wanting her more. He had always loved the ones who fought back, it made it that much more fun.

She opened her mouth, causing his hand to slide down, the area of skin between his thumb and index finger was now near her teeth. Without even pausing to think about it, she bit down hard on that area, causing him to let out a roar of pain.

When he released her, she grabbed on to his shoulders and went to knee him between the legs, but he caught her leg and shoved her, causing her to crash to the floor on her back. She let out a scream and tried to crawl away when he moved toward her, but she wasn't quick enough.

He grabbed a handful of her hair and slammed her head against the wall, causing her to blackout. He let go of her hair, watching her fall back to the floor.

A grin appeared on his face as he went to lean down and pick her up, but before he could grab her, Erin rushed over to him, planning to hit him with the fire extinguisher she took from one of the offices.

When she first came face to face with Reed earlier, she had ran down the hallway to get away from him and hid inside one of the rooms. With everything going on, she had forgotten that Noelle was even meeting her until she heard the younger girl screaming earlier and knew that meant Reed had her. Erin didn't even hesitate as she stormed out of the room and rushed to her aid.

She swung the fire extinguisher, but Reed caught it, causing her to push it toward him and knocking him off-balance before she turned to flee down the hallway. She assumed he would follow her, which would get him away from Noelle, and she was right. She could hear his pounding footsteps coming up behind her before he tackled her and knocked her to the floor. She tried to crawl away from him, but he pulled her back toward him before straddling her.

Reed grabbed onto her dark-colored coat and pulled it down some, causing her arms to get trapped inside them. He tied it so she couldn't get loose, then reached back toward his back pocket and pulled out a knife.

"Where are you going? We're just getting started." He grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her head back, ignoring her cries. "We've got all night. And after I'm done with you, I'll give your little doctor friend a spin."

As Erin yelled out and tried to crawl away from him, he began to stand up and pulled her up with him. "On your feet. Come on, get up."

"No!" Erin screamed and kicked her legs, refusing to do what he said.

After getting her on her feet, he pushed her face first against a wall, then stepped closer to her. He brushed some of her hair aside and leaned closer to speak in her ear. "I've been planning five years what I'm gonna do to you."

She let out a sob when he breathed in deep and laid a hand on her outer thigh. He closed his fist over the dark fabric of the dress she was wearing, causing it to ride up some. "Looking at those long legs of yours, crossing them and uncrossing them under the table. In that courtroom."

"Get your hands off of my daughter," she heard her father call out, causing her to cried out in relief at hearing his voice and knew he would save her.

Reed grabbed her and stepped back, placing her in front of him as he faced Frank and saw a gun pointed at him. He smirked, assuming he wouldn't try anything as long as he was using his daughter as a shield.

"Dad," Reed said, taunting him. "You just try it-"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Frank squeezed the trigger and fired the gun, hitting him between the eyes and causing him and Erin to fall to the floor. As his daughter began to sob, Frank took a few cautious steps toward her, his eyes and gun still on Reed.

Once he realized the man was dead, he reholstered the gun, then kneeled down beside Erin.

He helped her to sit up and took her face in his hands as he asked her if she was okay. He was thankful when he saw she was physically fine, just traumatized by what happened.

He pulled her toward him and whispered words of comfort as she cried harder. She latched on to her father, burying her face in his shirt. When she began to calm down, she remembered Noelle, causing her to softly say her name before she jumped up from the floor. She stumbled slightly, then made her way down the hallway where she left her passed out.

Frank glanced over at Reed again, double checking that he was dead, then stood up with a confused look on his face as he walked in the direction Erin went in. He came to a stop when he saw Erin sitting beside Noelle, her head resting in her lap. The other girl had a cut on her forehead and appeared to still be knocked out from earlier.

After calling for help, Frank pocketed his cell phone, then shrugged his coat off before kneeling down beside his daughter and Noelle. He lowered his eyebrows for a moment, briefly catching a glimpse of a scar on Noelle's side, but he didn't comment on it, and instead laid his coat over her to cover her up.

As they waited for help to arrive, he pulled Erin against him and wrapped an arm around her to lay it on Noelle's shoulder. He wanted both girls to know he was there for them and would always go above and beyond to protect them; the one who was his blood daughter and the other who was like a daughter.

•••

A couple of hours later, Noelle was sitting alone on Erin's couch staring straight ahead in a daze. Not long after help arrived, she finally came to and felt someone touching her, causing her to freak out until she heard Frank's voice. He told her everything was okay, that it was all over now, but she knew that was a lie. Her past with Jimmie was proof that just because the monster was locked up, didn't mean you were free. The incident never leaves you.

She had slowly opened her eyes and saw a paramedic standing over her to check her out, which explained the feeling of being touched earlier. She had turned her head to the side and saw Frank standing beside the stretcher, then saw Erin over his shoulder talking to Danny to give him a play by play account of what happened with Reed.

When a paramedic touched the scar on her side, she flinched and turned her head back to look at the older woman. From the corner of her eye, she knew Frank had seen the scar and had a ton of questions on his mind. She was thankful he didn't ask any, he just silently watched as the paramedic continued to check her over.

Now here she sat on Erin's couch, in a long sleeve shirt and pajama bottoms Erin let her borrow to sleep in. The older woman didn't want Noelle being alone after what happened, and truthfully, she didn't argue because she didn't want to be alone either.

She wrapped her arms around herself and laid one of her hands where she knew the scar was, she flashed back to when Reed was touching it and accused her of liking it. She squeezed her eyes shut, the memories mixing in her head, going from Reed touching her to Jimmie, then heard his voice asking her if she liked that as he continued to touch her.

Feeling a hand touch her shoulder, she jumped and snapped her eyes open to see Erin standing in front of her holding a cup of coffee in her hand. She held it out for her to take with a concerned look on her face.

Erin didn't know what all happened between her and Reed, Noelle had spoken to another officer about the incident. Erin had a sneaking suspicion it was because she didn't want herself or Danny to know exactly what happened to her; almost like she was trying to protect them from it. She couldn't help but wonder if that is why she was so secretive about Florida as well.

"How are you feeling?" Erin sat down beside her.

Noelle took a sip of the coffee, then shrugged her shoulders. "My head hurts." Besides a cut and bruise on her forehead, she also had a mild concussion but was cleared to go home once the symptoms passed.

"Did he hit your head?" Erin asked, getting a nod as an answer. She reached out to lay a comforting hand on Noelle's leg. "Noelle, did he-"

Knowing what she was going to ask, Noelle shook her head to cut her off. "No. He was mostly all talk, you know? It was more about what he wanted to do than what he did do."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Erin gave her leg a pat before removing her hand. She couldn't help but feel guilty since she was the one who invited Noelle to meet at her office. "No one should ever have to go through that."

Noelle nodded her head in agreement and couldn't help but think to herself, 'especially more than once'. She gave Erin a small smile. "I'm sorry you went through it too."

Erin gave her a smile back and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Nicky walked into the room from the kitchen, grabbing their attention.

"Mom, I can't find the cookies," she announced. She knew cookies wouldn't solve anything, but she just felt like she needed to do something. She hated seeing her mother and Noelle going through something like this.

No one gave her any details, all she knew was one of the convicted killers who was released had come after her mom and Noelle got caught in the middle when she had shown up to meet her mother for dinner.

"It's okay. We'll find them later," Erin told her daughter as she patted the couch, asking her to come sit down.

Nicky walked over to the couch, but instead of sitting down on the empty spot beside her mom, she motioned for the two women on the couch to scoot over, then sat down in between them. She rested her head on her mother's shoulder, then looped an arm through Noelle's arm, trying to give comfort to both of them.

She wanted to tell them she was glad they were okay, but it was like no words needed to be said between the three; instead, they all just sat silently and gained strength from each other. The moment was something they all needed after what happened.

Minutes later, when they heard a knock at the door, Erin pressed a kiss against her daughter's head, then stood up to walk over to the door. She wasn't all that surprised when she opened it and saw her brother Jamie on the other side.

"Hey, I heard what happened, are you okay?" he asked, his words rushing out as soon as the door opened.

"I'm fine. Just shook up," Erin admitted as the two hugged.

"What about Nol?" Jamie asked panickily. "I've been trying to call her and I went by her apartment-"

"She's here," Erin cut him off and stepped back to open the door further.

Jamie breathed out a sigh of relief as he walked into the room and saw his best friend standing up from the couch. She mumbled out a greeting and took a step toward him.

She knew there were millions of questions that need to be answered, but before she could say anything, he strode across the floor and pulled her into his arms- the impact almost knocking her off balance, but he was holding her so tightly there was no way she could have fallen.

Erin silently watched the two for a moment with a knowing smile on her face, then lightly tapped her daughter's shoulder before nodded her head to the side to tell her to follow her as they left the room to give the friends privacy.

Jamie ran a hand up her back to cradle the back of her head as he took in a breath- the scent of her vanilla cake shampoo hitting him. Any confusion he'd been feeling before quickly went away as he realized this was exactly where he wanted to be and this was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her in his arms for the rest of his life.

After hearing bits and pieces of what happened to her and his sister, he never wanted to come that close to losing her again.

He kissed the side of her head, then pulled back to look at her, resting both hands on either side of her face as his eyes scanned over her. He lightly ran a thumb over the bandage on her forehead as he asked her if she was okay. She nodded her head, finding it hard to find her voice. When he saw tears fill her eyes, he kissed her forehead near where the bandage was, then pulled her toward him again to hold her close.

"I'm sorry," Jamie softly said as he ran a hand through her hair, hoping to comfort her.

Noelle pulled back to look at him, giving him a small smile to thank him. The two looked at each other for a moment, before he apologized again, then nervously added, "And I'm also sorry for the other night...the uh, when I- when I kissed you."

"Oh," Noelle breathed out as she stepped back out of his arms. In her mind, if he was apologizing, that meant only one thing; he regretted it.

She sat down on the couch and shook her head. "It's okay, you don't have to apologize. We were drinking and you were upset about Sydney, and honestly, after I woke up and saw you were gone without so much as a goodbye-"

"Whoa, wait, I didn't just leave," Jamie cut her off as he sat down beside her on the couch. "I left you a note."

"What? Where?" she asked.

"By your phone. On the nightstand."

Remembering she had reached out that morning to grab her phone without opening her eyes, she was starting to think that maybe she had accidentally knocked it down. She turned her head to look at him, explaining all of that and telling him it must have fallen on the floor.

She lowered her head and nervously pulled at a loose thread on the cuff of the long sleeve she was wearing. "So, uh, what did the note say?"

"Not much. Just thanking you for letting me crash and saying we needed to talk." A shy grin appeared on his face. "And honestly, that took me several minutes to come up with because I wasn't sure what to say."

She softly chuckled at his comment, then raised her head to look at him. "Do you know what to say now?"

"If you would have asked me yesterday, I would probably say no," he began to say. "I was pretty confused about things and feeling a bit guilty-"

"It's okay," she interrupted. Truthfully, with the night she had, she knew she wasn't up to a long explanation of why that kiss was a mistake. She would rather just get it all out in the open at once, then she could go deal with the heartache afterward. "I already kinda figured you regretted it-"

"No." He shook his head, then turned toward her. He laid a hand on top of hers, stopping her from pulling at the loose thread any longer, something he knew she did when she was nervous. "Nol, I don't regret kissing you, the only thing I regret is the timing of it."

"Why didn't you just tell me that sooner?" she questioned.

"I had some things to figure out in my head first," he explained. "Honestly, I felt a little guilty. Sydney just gave me the ring back and I went right to you. Regardless of what happens, I don't want to hurt her worse than I already have by moving on too fast."

He lightly ran a thumb over the back of her hand and shot her a smile. "Because the truth is...I like you, Nol. There is something real and strong between us and frankly, it's always been there. I've just been ignoring it because I'm scared... I'm scared of losing you and losing what we have."

She gave him a short nod, knowing exactly what he meant. She was just as terrified of losing him as he was of losing her, but she couldn't deny the fluttering in her stomach at his confession. She had many dreams growing up where he would say things similar to what he was now, only this time it was better because it was real.

She laid a hand on the side of his face and smiled when he laid one of his on top of hers. His hazel eyes stared into hers as he shifted a little closer to her and began to lean toward her. He rubbed his nose against hers, then paused right before his lips touched hers.

As much as he wanted to kiss her right now, he also knew how important this kiss would be. This kiss would be the start of something, it would be a kiss where neither one was intoxicated or done on accident; this would be the real thing and he wanted to savor that.

He smiled when she breathed out his name, and he felt her breath on his lips. She moved her hand to the back of his head, her fingers going through his hair. Her breathing was labored as she closed her fist, lightly tugging on his hair, causing him to let out a low groan, while she waited for him to close the short distance and press his lips against hers.

Jamie was about to do just that until the two heard a surprised gasp, causing them to jerk apart and turn their heads to the side to see Nicky peeking her head out of the kitchen door to watch them, a huge grin on her face.

Noelle blew out a chuckle and fell forward to hide her face against Jamie's shirt. She felt the rumble of laughter coming from him as he lowered his head to press his lips against the top of her head.

"Nicky!" Erin hissed when she caught her daughter spying on the childhood friends. She pulled her daughter away from the doorway, then looked over at the couple. She threw up a hand to apologize, then told them she and Nicky were going to bed.

"You're welcomed to stay too," she told her brother, earning a nod from him to thank her. She told them goodnight, then lightly grabbed her daughter's arm to drag her down the hall to her bedroom.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm back in high school and just got busted making out?" Jamie asked with a laugh once they were alone.

"'Cause that kinda just happened," Noelle said with a laugh of her own. "Well, minus the high school part and, actually, the making out part too since we didn't technically-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was cut off when his lips were suddenly pressed against hers. She chuckled against his lips, then laid her hands on the back of his neck as he moved his lips against hers for a gentle kiss.

"How's that?" his voice soft as rested his forehead against hers.

"That was a perfect first kiss," she whispered with a grin on her face.

Jamie pulled back to look at her with a confused look on his face. "First? That's more like the fourth."

"Yeah, but, do those others really count?" she questioned. "I mean, the first one, we were so young and had no idea what we were doing. Then it was the accidental kiss and then the drunk kiss. But this one..."

"Is no accident," he finished when her voice trailed off. He laid a hand on the side of her neck and smiled. "And I'm not drunk."

She smiled back and lightly ran a fingertip against his bottom lip. "And you definitely know what you're doing."

He chuckled at her comment, then lowered his head for a moment to kiss the inside of her wrist. He raised his head to look at her. "Do you want to have dinner with me later this week?"

"Yeah, just tell me where to meet you-"

"No," he interrupted. "I'll come pick you up."

"You mean like a date?"

"Yeah, like a date." He smiled. "I just figured, we've done the kissing part and that's good, so why not throw in dating too. Is that okay?"

Noelle grinned as she quickly nodded her head to answer, then let out a groan when the movement made her head hurt. As she poked out her bottom lip in a pout, Jamie lightly chuckled at her antics, then leaned forward to give her forehead a tender kiss.

"You should get some rest," he suggested.

"Are you going to stay?" she questioned, remembering when Erin invited him to stay, and a huge part of her hoped he would.

"Do you want me to?"

When she gave him a short nod, he gave her one back in return, telling her he would stay then.

He turned his head to look at the recliner across from them, then looked back at her. "You can take the couch and I'll take the chair."

"Or..."

"Or what?" he questioned when she paused.

"We can both sleep on the couch," she suggested. The two have shared couches and beds in the past when they were growing up, so it wasn't that unusual of a request.

"We haven't gone on a first date yet and you're already trying to sleep with me?" Jamie joked, earning a laugh from her.

"Shut up!" Noelle playfully slapped his shoulder, then pointed at the couch. "Just lay down."

Minutes later the two were laid out on the couch, him on his back with her laying on his chest and their legs intertwined. They talked a little back and forth until she suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence and he realized she had fallen asleep.

A soft smile appeared on his face as he kissed the top of her head, hoping her dreams would be pleasant after the night she had.

He didn't know all the details of what happened to her tonight or what happened in Florida, but one thing he did know, nothing like that would happen again. He would do whatever to protect her; he just wished he knew who he was protecting her from.

•••

A/N; I feel like this chapter was so intense. It was like a rollercoaster writing it. So Nol and Jamie are finally going to give it a go, at first I kinda worried it was too soon, but let's face it, this has been coming since the beginning lol.

Thank you to everyone reading!

Happy reading!
xx