Summer

Chapter 57

Flickering red lights break me from my sleep, and I feel the covers shift when Noah lets go of my waist and moves his body away from mine.

"What the fuck?" he hisses as he rubs his eye with his fingertip.

I force my body up, planting my palms into the mattress, and my eyes follow him as he makes his way to the window.

He rolls down the blinds and the shocked reaction on his face immediately puts me in panic-mode.

"What's going on?" I ask alarmingly.

"Is that a cop?" Noah asks as he looks out. "Can't be," he whispers under his breath so that I can't hear him, even though I do.

Noah hastily makes his way for the stairs and I trail behind him in a frenzy. Our stomps are loud enough to wake Maggie.

"Noah?" Her voice cracks as she looks down at us from the top of the stairs. "What's going on?" The fear in her voice breaks my heart.

Noah's standing by the door, but he looks up at Maggie. "Nothing, Mags. Go back to bed."

She looks at me for some sort of explanation, but I'm expressionless, and I hate myself for not being able to comfort her right now.

Maggie hesitantly turns back to go to her room, and Noah's eyes follow her until she's no longer in sight.

He opens the door just enough so that he can see the officer's face. He's a muscular, bald-headed man wearing a standard navy uniform with a name tag that reads Johnson.

"Can I help you?" Noah asks, but the officer ignores him and peeks his head through the house.

"Sophia Parrish?" he asks once his eyes finally spot me, but I don't say or do anything. "I'm going to need you to come with me."

"She's not going anywhere with you," Noah commands, blocking the entrance with his body.

"Unfortunately, son, that's not up to you."

"Fortunately, it is. You see, this is my house. So, unless you wanna tell me what the fuck is going on, then you can get the hell off my property...sir."

"You better watch your mouth. Don't forget your place. You do and you'll be spending the night in a 7 by 10 jail cell that I promise you ain't pretty."

Noah's nostrils flare, and I know that it's taking everything in him to not lose control.

Officer Johnson shifts his attention back to me once he realizes that he's shut Noah up...for now. "Now, ma'am, if you'll come with me." He reaches for me as he moves the door slightly with his body, but that's enough to get Noah to go off.

"Hey! I said she's not going with you. What part of that didn't you fucking understand?"

"Noah, it's okay," I speak up before Officer Johnson can react. I rub my hand along his arm to calm him down. "I can assure you, officer, there's no problem here."

Officer Johnson doesn't say anything, and instead, leans in again.

"Don't you fucking dare take another step," Noah threatens, and just as Officer Johnson is about to say something, an all too familiar car pulls into the driveway.

Wait a minute. Is that...?

"I told you to stay the fuck away from my sister," a voice calls out in the dark.

Liam.

"Liam...you did this?" I ask when he makes his way to the door. It's taking everything in me to keep my composure.

"You left me no choice, Sophia. You heard Mr. Johnson. Now let's go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I cry out, which causes Noah to cover my shoulders with his palms.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay the fuck away from her?" Liam shouts, shoving Noah before reaching for me.

I try to fight him off, but it doesn't work, and before I know it, he's carrying me out of the house and down the steps to his car.

"Let me go," I protest, flailing my hands in the air in an attempt to break free from his hold. I cry out for Noah, but it's no use. Officer Johnson is holding him back, and Liam now has me in the car; doors locked.