Fragile

Chapter 16

I was impatiently sitting at my bed in anticipation for Noah to text me. It was almost midnight, and I had been pacing anxiously since dinner.

 Kiera went home for the weekend, and I stared blankly at my closet. Was I even dressed properly? Where was Noah going to take me? Why did everything he do have to feel so ominous? 

Part of me wanted to call him and tell him to fuck off. Who was he to tell me what to do? I wasn't obligated to go anywhere with him. He wasn't even a real college student, for fucks sake. On top of that, the only things I knew about him were things he allowed me to know. If that wasn't a major red flag, what exactly was? What if I had been played all along, and he was just as guilty as the other traffickers? 

Rationally, I knew if he wanted to hurt me, he had already had plenty of opportunities to do so. Aside from his overprotective nature, I had no real reason to be afraid of him. He saved me multiple times. He never got aggressive with me, even in his grip. Firm, but never scary. Even when he was angry, he never tried to hurt me. 

So maybe his intentions were good, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. How could I be so sure everything he told me tonight wasn't a lie? What if the truth was much more terrifying than I could imagine? 

A knock on the door made me yelp and jump off my bed. Losing my footing, I fell smack on my face with a thud. 

"Fay?" Noah's voice carried through the door. 

I stifled a groan and rubbed my cheek as I got to my feet, sheepishly creaking the door open. "Dropped something," I muttered a lie. 

He nodded. "Ready?" 

I followed him wordlessly, forgetting that I wanted to ask about wardrobe requirements. dark wash jeans and a puffer jacket would hopefully suffice, because once we were out by the car, I felt awkward asking. 

"I'm not gonna bite," he acknowledged my stiff posture in the passenger's seat as we drove off. 

"Where are we going?" 

"Somewhere I hoped I'd never have to take you," he admitted. My eyes widened. "I'm not going to hurt you, christ. I just... you'll understand when we get there." 

I recognized the part of town where Kiera and I went to the bar. The one where her class TA had invited us. It was more run down than the rest of the city, as was to be expected just outside a college campus. There was a lot of garbage, lot of homeless... until there wasn't. Noah passed the area, and we were soon in a more rural part of the city, an area I didn't recognize. Trashy buildings were beginning to be fields on the side of the dark road. 

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to stop myself from shaking. I want to go back, my mind screamed. 

Noah wordlessly pulled down towards an abandoned parking lot on a hill. He pulled right up to the edge, enough to make me hold my breath, before killing the engine. We sat in silence for a moment before I exploded. 

"What are we doing here?" I demanded. "Did you bring me out here just to slaughter me? What kind of bullshit-" 

Noah covered my mouth with his hand, holding up a pair of binoculars with the other. "If you'll let me explain, this will go much smoother." 

Trying to swallow my nerves, I clamped my mouth shut and Noah removed his hand. He gestured towards his left. "You see the loading dock down there? That main boat pulling up?" 

I nodded. "Not sure why we are looking at a loading dock for a reservoir..." 

He handed me the binoculars. "Look at the people approaching the boat."