Annabelle's locket

chapter 32

It was my imagination. The image quickly faded and I stood there, exhausted with myself and my hallucinations. The next couple weeks I had imagined Noah, standing in the distance, waiting for my arrival. His image would come and go, just as the days did.

It was winter now. It had been months. Do you ever get that feeling of false hope? That's what I felt. I had been beaten, used, and violated. Their motives for me were highly unsavory and I detested them for that. I had been around the country, and in Mexico. I felt like their personal puppet. Ordered to do what I had to do. In some instances I was ordered to break into a facility, and in some I was ordered to flirt with men twice my age. My stomach churned everytime as I attempted to act like I was supposed to.

Spring came around. And then Summer. It had been a year. Sylvester made a point in telling me the year "anniversary" was today and that he had a special "treat" planned for me. I could only imagine the dreadful things he might have had in mind.

Evening came around and I ate sesame seed chicken from the local Chinese restaurant. It was the first decent meal I had put into my body in a while. Apparently we had one deal to make and then it was time for the surprise. I was dreading the surprise and tried my best not to think about it. It was another abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of town near the woods.

I stood outside the van, staring blankly into the woods, all sense of hope gone. I looked up at the full moon and stars. It was a beautiful night tonight. And then a thought came across me. What if Noah was looking at these stars? I smiled at the thought of him. He was my first love. But also a fragment of my imagination. I refocused my eyes on the woods and jumped. "What?" Zayne snapped at me. "I'm just cold."

"Humph."

In the bright light of the moon, I saw a figure moving closer just as many times before. It was surely my mind playing tricks on me, but I watched anyways. Noah stood there, outside the trees.

But something felt different. I was convinced this was real. There his gaze held with mine. His eyes were bright blue, shining unlike the others. I looked away, not to draw attention to him. The deal was almost over, and someone was bound to see Noah approaching in the moonlight. All I could do was cross my fingers and hope for the best. He waved for me to come to him, disappearing in the tree line. What was I supposed to do? Just leave?

"I need to use the bathroom." I blurted, attracting the attention of everyone. "You'll have to wait." Sylvester barked and I stammered in response. "Okay maybe it's because you're around men all the time, but I'm a girl and I have to go." I raised my eyebrow. Sylvester sighed. "You go with her." He told Mark.

We reached the tree line and entered the woods. He followed me and I turned around. "Could I have some privacy?" I unbuckled my belt. He stuttered and turned around. I looked around for Noah, and saw him. He was behind a tree. "I'm just going to go behind that tree." I said and walked there. "If you run, I'll catch you." Mark hissed. "I'm not dumb." I assured and turned to Noah who was looking at me.

He took my hand, a rush of warmth overtaking me. Without a word, he picked me up and started running, as fast as he could. I heard Mark yelling behind us, yelling. I clung onto Noah, knowing I would never let go.

We were far ahead of Mark, and the other night riders. We were hours away and we stopped by a lake. He slowly placed me onto my feet, his eyes bored into mine. His hands brushed up my back and into my hair. "Anna." he whispered, cutting through the cold air. I could see his breath and felt it against my cheeks.

"I didn't think you'd come."

"I am so sorry."

"How did you find me?"

"That's not important. I'm here and you're safe."

I smiled and touched his cheek with my hand.

"I love you." we both seemed to say with our eyes. A tear of relief and happiness rolled down my cheek and Noah wiped it off with his finger. We both burned with desire and couldn't take it any longer.

Our lips brushed against each other slowly, and passionately. The passion grew more intense and he guided me against a tree, placing his hands on the side of me and keeping his lips on mine. I had forgotten how good it felt. I slid his shirt off and placed my hands on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "You're here." I whispered frantically between his lips. "Yes. I'm here. I'm never letting you go again." he replied and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. He nibbled on my ear and kissed down my neck, making me shiver. We found a soft grassy ground an d laid next to each other, staring up at the stars. "These stars gave me hope."

He turned to me and I turned to him. He stretched his two arms around me, and I rested against his body. "I love you." he stroked me to sleep.