Chapter Sixty-One

The moment I opened that door, I wished I hadn't.

Kyle had just sent me a message to say he was nearly here so when the doorbell went I thought it was him. It didn't occur to me that it was odd for him to ring the doorbell, I was just excited to see him. Liam had been practically keeping me prisoner in the house claiming it was doctor's orders but I knew it was more than that. Aiden hadn't been much help either. He had been escorting me everywhere like a bodyguard rather than my boyfriend.

I understood their wariness though. It wasn't like I was magically over this ordeal but I did want to get on with my life.

Liam had explained how they found me and the deal struck between him and Noah's mother. It wasn't how I had wanted this to end but I had seen Liam's point. We didn't stand a chance against a family like the Winters. They had an arsenal of top-level lawyers at their disposal. There were so many ways they could spin this and none of them would leave me in a very positive light. I was also too exhausted to fight. I didn't want to live the trauma again and again. I didn't want to be a victim. I just wanted to move on and find peace again.

But when I opened that door, the chance of that happening seemed to shatter right before my eyes.

"Hello Ellie, did you miss me?"

Those black eyes were trained on me with amusement and fire. To a passerby, it probably looked like a totally normal encounter and yet this was anything but. A torrent of icy panic was building in me as I stared into the eyes of my tormentor.

I snapped into action the moment the initial shock subsided and quickly went to slam the door shut. But Noah was faster, blocking the door from closing with his shoe before slamming his weight against the door. The impact sent the door rushing open and me crashing onto the floor.

"Get away from me!" I screamed.

"Not a chance. I'm going to show you who you really belong to!" Noah smirked, his glinting wickly like the edge of a blade.

"No!" I yelped when Noah lunged for me and quickly scrambled to get away.

I felt his grip close around my ankle and I screamed, kicking out to free myself. I was on my front so was flailing blindly but I must have hit something as I felt a crunch before Noah was howling in pain above me like a beast. Flipping over I saw I had caught his face and blood was gushing from between his fingers as he covered his features protectively. The sight had my stomach churning but I pushed pass the paralysing fear and panic. I had to. I needed to get away.

Scrambling to my feet, I headed for the living room, slamming the door shut and pressing against it as Noah continued to curse and yell outside. My hands were trembling as I tried to grab my phone from my back pocket, nearly dropping the damn thing before managing to get a hold on it.

I could see both Liam and Aiden had called me numerous times but while the urge to call them was strong, I knew that it wouldn’t do anything.

“911, what’s your emergency?” a female voice answered after one ring.

“Someone has broken into my house and he is trying to hurt me!” I babbled, yelping when the door shuddered from Noah hitting it. “Please help me!”

“Okay calm down miss, I need your address.”

I managed to get it out between the door being slammed into by Noah, nearly screaming when he smashed into it particularly hard and nearly sent me flying.

“Do you know if he’s armed?”

“No!” I was wheezing, my heart hammering so hard I couldn’t breath. “Please, you have to help me. His name is Noah Winters, he’s crazy!”

“Okay ma’am we have dispatched poli---”

I screamed as the door sent me flying, my phone flying from my grip. My wrist which had been fractured (or still was) collapsed under me as I sprawled onto the floor, my knees taking the brunt of the impact with the laminated flooring.

"You're going to pay for that, Ellie." Noah snarled, his face smothered in blood and eyes blazing as he lunged for me again.

He was missing a tooth and blood poured from his split lip. It was smeared all over his face like disturbing war paint and the coppery tang hung around him as blood covered hands reached out to grab me.

I dodged again, moving just enough so that Noah sailed past me and crashed into the floor with a grunt. I was on my feet straight away, cradling my wrist to my chest as I ran for the back door intending to escape around the back of the house and maybe find a neighbour or the police…

"You fucking bitch!" Noah was screaming like he was possessed, not caring if the whole world heard him. "You will not get away again! You're fucking dead!"

I was close to the door, so painfully close. My good hand was on the handle but Noah was faster, his hands grabbing my ankles and ripping my legs out from under me. I fell forward, my temple connected with the door handle before I hit the floor. Pain exploded across my forehead and my vision blackened then everything spun. I could feel myself being dragged along the floor while my pulse pounded in my head, trying to burst through my temple. The door was further away. It was out of reach. Where had the blood on the floor come from? Maybe if I just close my eyes, things will settle and this will all just be another nightmare...

Noah's face was above me only now there were two of him coming in and out of focus and his face was twisted and contorted. He looked like some kind of monster who had come to tear me apart. This had to be a nightmare...

"Not so tough anymore, are you?" He sneered, his hand going into the pocket of his coat only to reveal a hunting knife. "Let's see if your precious boyfriend still wants you after we've had our fun with this."

His hands were moving quickly, like a kid at Christmas unwrapping their presents excitedly. He didn't bother with trying to pull down my leggings, he just used the knife to slice the fabric carelessly, nicking the skin of my thighs and hips before ripping at the leftover fabric with his bloody fingertips. I wanted to fight but my body was weak as a kitten and just as uncoordinated. I tried to push Noah away but he just slapped my hands away.

"When I'm done, no one will recognise you." Noah laughed as he undid his jeans. My stomach turned as I thought of what he was about to do. "It won't be an open casket for you when they put you in the ground."

I started to fight back, struggling under his weight. I lashed out, my nails digging into his cheek leaving angry marks. He snarled as this, his own hand connected with my cheek with a crack, sending my vision spinning.

"That's the last time you ever do something like that." Noah hissed, raising the knife over his head, the blade winking ominously in the light.

The shot rang out so suddenly my ears rang to the point it was all I could hear. Above me, Noah's face had gone from maniacal to shocked, his eyes wide as if he had just been told some unexpected news. At first I couldn't work out what was happening. Noah had a dark shirt on and from my angle on the floor, I couldn't see the blood blooming out from the hole in his chest, saturating the material. For a moment nothing happened. I was on the floor still and Noah was above me. It was like we were frozen in time except that the ringing in my ears was still there, and there was movement in my peripheral vision.

There were people rushing around us while blue and red lights flicked against the walls. Everything felt like it was happening too quickly and in slow motion at the same time. Noah was suddenly falling, his eyes glazing over as he slid to one side, hitting the ground beside me like a rag doll. He was staring at me as he fell still and yet it was like he couldn't see me.

The lights behind his eyes had died out and no one was home.

Noah was gone.

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a/n: So we are one more chapter away from the end. Thank you again for reading. I will be making some edits (nothing dramatic and nothing will change in the storyline) see you all for the last chapter!