Falling Love

Catch Me.

Chapter 35

Harry's POV

I ring the doorbell to Noel's house at 9:52. I'm a little earlier than what I told her last night, but I was tired of waiting in my truck for ten o'clock to come. I hear footsteps, loud thudding coming from inside that sounds like running.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" I hear Noel's faint voice through the door. I chuckle to myself as I hear the click of the lock before the door flies open.

"Hi," she breathes and smiles.

"Hi," I laugh lightly, "are you..?"

"Almost. I just have to finish up a bit. I'm sorry. Come in," she rambles and opens the door wider. I notice that only half of her hair is curled while the other is a bit mossy. Noel only has on an undershirt with her skinny jeans, revealing some of her bra. I swallow hard and enter through the opened door.

Noel begins running around the house again, from upstairs to down, from room to room. I sit amused in the living room, watching her go.

"So why aren't you ready yet, Noel?" I tease, "You're ruining my amazing schedule I made for our amazing date."

She laughs and calls from another room, "I'm sorry! In my defense, you're early."

"By minutes!" I laugh.

Noel enters with her hair and makeup completed, along with an oversized cream sweater with a lace back on her upper half. Her dark skinny jeans does wonders to her body and makes her ass look amazing. I push the sinful thoughts to the back of my mind as Noel takes a seat across from me.

"But seriously, I'm sorry," she apologizes and slips on her boots, zipping them up. "Maybe if I wouldn't have had to spend fifteen minutes attempting to cover up this," she moves her hair and points to the marking I left in her neck last night, "I would've been ready. I mean I literally put the whole bottle of concealer on it and it still shows through."

"You weren't complaining last night when I was-"

"Okay! Okay!" she laughs and I can't help but notice the heat rising to her cheeks. Noel wraps a scarf around her neck and I can't help but wonder if it's to complete her outfit or to shield her prominent love bite. Probably both.

"Ready?" I stand and ask. Noel nods and follows me to the front door. She grabs her large jacket before following me outside.

Things have been great with Noel since she'd agree to start over with me. She's more open now and we seem to get along better. Despite this, I know the direful fear is still there, causing this inevitable distance to remain between us. It's like she built a wall around her, protecting herself from everyone in her life. I've been chipping away at the brick that's stopping her feelings for me from developing, but it's almost impossible. She's afraid. I can see the uneasy fear in her eyes when I take her hand in mine, when I kiss her cheek, when I tuck away her misplaced strands of hair. And I saw the heavy emotion last night when I peppered her neck with kisses. She was nearly sexually abused, and to make it worse, our whole school received her nightmare via text message. He ruined her.

I know the fear won't leave her easily. Every time Noel is touched, rather it be friendly, affectionately, or harmfully, she'll always be reminded of what that dick tried to do to her. It'll be hard to get across, but worth it. I know I can't fully heal her fear, but I can gain her trust. I need her to believe that I won't hurt her the way Baylor did. If Noel trusts me, we can move forward. And that's all I want.

Today, I hope to gain some of Noel's trust, show her that I'm reliable and that I care for her.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going, or am I just wasting my breath?" Noel teases, and I'm lured back into reality. I almost forgot I was driving on the freeway.