The Pilot And The Dreamer

Chapter 22

"I drove here, I can you guys a ride home if needed." Noah says once we walk outside.

"Natalie and I will catch a cab. I have a feeling you two need the time alone." Peter says just as a taxi comes and he flags it down, causing it to pull up to the curb. I help with the bags to load them up into the cab and then with a final wave from Natalie, they pull away towards the city, leaving Noah and I standing on the sidewalk with our luggage.

"Well then." I start and with one look at Noah, we grab a shuttle that is for the lot that Noah is parked in and we get on and sit down towards the back. We finally get to the right now and we deboard with our luggage. "I'm following you." He nods and I follow shortly after him to an SUV that we stop in front of. He unlocks the back and puts our luggage into the back before closing it and walks around to the passenger side door to open it for me. "Thank you." I get inside and he shuts the door, going around to the driver's side to start the car, but doesn't.

"How about I treat you to coffee? Help get back to a sense of normalcy." I smile at that.

"I would love that." I reply, before adding. "I think there are some things that you should know about my past relationship." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We pull up to a little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop that is not busy at all. I open the door and hop out, closing it behind me. Noah holds the shop door open for me and I relax at the aroma of coffee. 

"This is adorable. Where did you find this little place?"

"A fellow co-worker recommended it to me. Just haven't had a chance to check it out." He says, looking at me, "Until now." I smile before ordering my drink but stop short of pulling out my wallet when Noah places his drink order and pays for it.

"You didn't have to." I say, finding a table in the corner and Noah sits down across from me. 

"My treat, which means I pay." He says with a smile. They call our order and Noah goes to get it while I rub my hands across my arms. A cup of coffee is set down in front of me.

"Anytime your ready, H." I take a drink of my coffee before holding it between my hands.

"Promise you won't flip?" He nods before I take a deep breath and dive into the story. "Complicated relationship is an understatement. It was an abusive relationship, the reason for my self-defense training.  Anyway, we have been dating for about six months before I started noticing that things were different between us. I started having him tell me that he was better than me and it was just a mess. Next thing I know, I walk outside to see him hitting someone and when I gasped, he turned around and I tucked tailed and ran until I was able to call Natalie." I say and Noah lays a hand on my wrist in a comforting gesture.

"It's okay. If you don't want to continue, you don't have to." He says and I look up at him to see kindness in his eyes.

"I need to." I add. "It's in the note Bentley gave me." Noah nods for me to continue. "I was summoned to testify in court and I was scared because Logan looked at me with fury in his eyes. My testimony got him four years in prison. Peter swore that he wouldn't let Logan get anywhere near me. Natalie signed me up for self-defense classes just on the off chance that Logan would show up out of nowhere." I say, taking a sip of coffee. "That is my story." I add before pulling out the letter and giving it to Noah. 

"He gave you the confidence to tell me." Noah says, standing up and I follow to give him a hug. "Thank you for telling me. It truly means a lot."

"Thank Bentley." I reply when my phone starts ringing. I excuse myself and dig into my bag to pull out my phone.

"Hey Nat, what's wrong?" I ask as Noah looks at me, unsure.

"You better get home. There's something that you need to see for yourself." Her voice sounds shaky and suddenly become a little frightened.

"Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can." I say before hanging up.

"Everything okay?" Noah asks.

"We need to go back to my place. Something scared Nat and she doesn't scare easily." I grab my things and walk out the door, not checking to see if Noah was there. The car unlocks and I open the door, shutting it as Noah starts the car to pull out of the parking lot. 

What scared Nat?

Logan must be out.

I freeze at that thought.

He's coming after me.

"Hazel?"

I snap out of my trance to look at Noah.

"Sorry, my brain ran away from me." I try to joke, but I'm not feeling it. Noah clasps his hand over mine and squeezes it. We pull up to the apartment building and Noah parks the car. I get into the back to grab my luggage and help Noah with his before we walk inside to the elevator. The elevator takes us to the third floor and I dart down the hallway to Nat's place and knock on the door. She opens the door and takes my hand back to my apartment.

"I went to check in on the place, and something felt out of place..until I saw this." She opens the door and immediately, I get the same feeling. I look at Noah and he nods, bringing our luggage inside. We close the door behind us to see something attached to the couch cushions. I walk forward slowly and scream, holding my hands to my face. Noah comes running and he looks at me, removing my hands from my face. I point and he moves towards the couch.

"Rats get what they deserve." Noah reads and there is a rat on the couch. 

"Holy shit." I try to calm myself down as Noah disposes of the rat after taking a couple of pictures of it. He washes his hands and comes over to me. "He got inside my house." I say, on the verge of tears. Nat comes towards me to give me comfort.

"You're welcome to stay with me." She says and I nod.

"Thank you, but I feel like I should be here." I say, looking at Noah, "I'll see if he would like to stay here. I would feel better."

"Are you sure?" Nat asks me.

"Positive." I say. I turn towards the kitchen and find that Noah is already walking towards me.

"I think either you should stay with me or Nat." He says, "Logan could be anywhere." I shiver at that thought before I realize he's right.

"I'll stay with Nat, but could you stay with us?" I ask him and he nods before asking Nat for permission.

"I trust you with her life, and you sure can hold your own." I hug Natalie before changing out my clothes that were in my suitcase and grabbing fresh ones. I lock the door after we're all out and Nat walks me to her door, opening it. "Peter knows and he made up the couch for you. Noah, I think we can make something work for you."

"Okay." We walk inside and I put my stuff down next to the couch.

"Nat, are you sure you don't have anything else?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"Nope, but you may have something at your place. I'll go grab it while you stay here." Nat says, but I stop her. 

"I'll have Noah stand at the door while I look." She nods and Noah and I walk back over to my apartment when he grabs me by the arm.

"Scream if he's there, okay?" I nod and I kiss him on the lips.

" I will." I reply, walking into my apartment. I grab my sleeping bag and Noah's coat when the hairs on the back of my neck stick up.

"Hello Hazel."