Infinite Love

Chapter 1

[Christmas Morning]

The warmth of the fire crackling in the living room felt surreal. It had only been a few weeks since A tried to tear our lives apart, yet here I was, sitting beside Noa, our hands intertwined as we exchanged glances and smiles. For the first time in what felt like forever, we had something normal—a Christmas morning. Our parents were in the kitchen, laughing over something my dad said, but I couldn't hear much over the pounding of my heart. This moment was ours.

I watched as Noa gently placed the wrapped gift in my lap, her eyes sparkling with a nervous excitement I had come to love about her. She leaned closer, her breath warm against my ear.

"I hope you like it" She whispered, brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear

I grinned and carefully unwrapped the small box. Inside was a sleek, custom leather bracelet with a quote engraved along the side. My breath hitched as I read the words, "Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise". The quote felt like it was meant for us, for everything we'd been through and for the hope we were slowly finding in each other.

"Noa" I breathed, my eyes welling up as I looked at her, "This is perfect"

She shrugged, a shy smile tugging at her lips. "I know how much you love Les Misérables, and it just felt...right. Like us, you know?"

I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face, "It's beautiful. Thank you" I said as I placed a short kiss on her lips

Then I pulled back and reached beside me, grabbing the gift I had for her, "Now it's your turn"

Noa raised an eyebrow, clearly curious, as she unwrapped the rectangular package. Her fingers paused when she saw what was inside—a black and red soccer jersey, custom-made, with the number 5 on the back. But it wasn't just any jersey. Across the top, the name "West" was stitched in bold letters—my last name.

"That's your number" Noa said, her voice soft, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing

I nodded, feeling a little bashful now that the moment was here, "Yeah, it's my number for Millwood High, and my last name, obviously. I figured...I don't know...maybe you'd want to wear it sometimes. When you're at my games or just...whenever"

Noa looked up at me, and I could see the depth of emotion swimming in her brown eyes. She didn't say anything at first, just threw her arms around me in a hug so tight it knocked the breath out of me.

"I love it" She murmured into my neck, "I really love it"

We stayed like that for a minute, just holding onto each other, until the sound of my phone vibrating on the coffee table broke the spell. I frowned, reaching for it, but when I saw the name flashing on the screen, my heart sank.

Imogen.

I glanced at Noa, and she immediately knew something was wrong. I answered the call, my voice steady despite the gnawing feeling in my gut, "Imogen?"

Her voice was tense, sharp with urgency, "Gianna, you and Noa need to get to the Haworthe's. A...he escaped"

The world seemed to tilt for a moment as her words hit me. A...escaped? My mind raced, the warmth of the morning replaced by a cold dread that settled deep in my chest, "We're on our way" I said quickly, ending the call before Imogen could say more

I turned to Noa, whose eyes mirrored my own fear and determination, "It's not over" I whispered, standing up and grabbing her hand

She nodded, her jaw clenched, "Let's go"

[Haworthe's House]

All of the girls and their families are sitting in Tabby's living room as Deputy Maroon explains what happened. We're all tense as I'm sitting in between Noa and Faran, my hand interlaced with Noa's for comfort, "How could you let this happen? Isn't it you single most important job to keep serial killers from escaping and murdering even more people" Faran pointed out