Ungullible

Chapter 18: Lean On Me [Jason POV]

Have you ever had a time in your life were someone you care so dearly for calls you and without saying a word you know exactly that the person needs help, you can't stand to hear anything you just have to rush to them wherever they are? that's what happened to me when she called.

I knew something was wrong the moment I heard her voice, or rather, the silence where her voice should've been.

When Novia called, she didn't say a word at first. Just the sound of her breathing, ragged and uneven, and then... the quietest sob. It cut straight through me.

"Novia? What's wrong?" I asked, panic tightening in my chest.

Then came her voice, barely a whisper. "Please... come pick me up. I need you."

I didn't hesitate. I grabbed my keys and drove like every second mattered, because it did. Because it was her. And I knew when she said I need you; it wasn't casual. It wasn't something she said often, or ever, really.

When I found her, she was sitting on the side of the road, legs curled into herself like she was trying to disappear. She didn't even look up. Just sat there, still and quiet, like the world had stopped spinning for her.

"Novie?... Novie, is that you?" I called out as I stepped closer. She didn't react.

That's when I ran.

My heart dropped as I reached her and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She flinched, just slightly; like she hadn't even felt the world around her until then. When she finally looked up at me, her eyes were distant, lost. It was like she wasn't fully there yet.

I crouched in front of her, slowly, carefully, and reached out to hold her face in my hands. Her skin was cold, and her eyes were brimming with something deeper than just tears. It was grief. Real, heavy, soul-breaking grief.

"Are you alright?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

And that was all it took. The question shattered something in her. The tears started falling, fast and unstoppable, and she collapsed into me like a wave crashing to shore. I was shocked but I held her close, arms wrapped tightly around her, wishing I could pull the pain out of her and carry it myself.

In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the past. Not the confusion. Not even the reason for her tears. All that mattered was being there for her. 

She wept for a while and when she finally stopped, she tried composing herself. She pulled away and wiped away all sign of tears that could possibly be seen but who was she deceiving, her eyes were evident that she did. I held her hand to stop her and she looked at me. 

"Come on, let's go," I said gently, rising to my feet and offering her my hand. She took it without a word, her fingers cold in mine, and I helped her up from the curb.

As we walked toward my car in silence, she murmured something under her breath, too soft for me to catch.

"Come again?" I asked, turning to look at her.

"I'm not going home," she said, barely above a whisper.

I paused, the weight of her words hitting me harder than I expected. But I already knew. I wasn't planning to take her back. Whatever had happened tonight, whatever news had broken her like this, I couldn't send her back to that place. Not when she clearly wasn't ready.

"I know," I said firmly. "And I'm not sending you back."

She didn't respond, but the silence that followed felt less like resistance and more like relief. I opened the car door for her, helped her in, and buckled her seatbelt like she was something fragile; something I didn't want to risk breaking any further.