Page 124 of I Never Stopped Loving You

CHAPTER 55

NOAH

THREE YEARS AGO

“So…You doin’ okay?” Monty asks as we fasten our seatbelts so the plane can take off.

“I’m fine.”

I glance down at the Taco Bell bag in front of me. Monty said we couldn’t eat in the truck because heaven forbid we get even a shred of lettuce on his clean interior. I ended up getting a Baja blast freeze with a chicken quesadilla and a bean burrito, extra cheese, and extra red sauce. Oh, and of course, cheesy fiesta potatoes. Monty got one of those combo boxes with a cheesy Gordita crunch with no lettuce, chips, and cheese, and a beefy five-layer burrito.

After I said I was going to get a Baja Freeze, he deleted his cherry Pepsi from the order and got one of those instead. I can already tell from the smell that this is going to taste amazing but hurt like fucking hell later.

“Sir, I need you to please close up the food until we’re in the air. I don’t want you to choke during take off,” the flight attendant says as the cabin door makes the pressurized noise of fully closing.

Have I mentioned I actually hate flying?

“Sorry, sweetness,” Monty flirts as he tosses his burrito back into his box and watches her walk away.

He’s a good-looking guy and he knows it. We’ve gone out a couple of times to the bar. He normally was the one leaving with not one, but two chicks on his arm. I never minded though. There was only one woman on my mind, and none of them could ever compare to her.

He’s a year younger than me with light brown hair and even lighter brown eyes. They look almost golden. He’s about the same height as me, but you can definitely tell he doesn’t get out much. He’s on the thinner side, with skin paler than a damn ghost. I want to tease him about needing some sun, but then I glance at my arms and see that I’m not much better. Damn Michigan winters.

“Thanks again, Monty,” I tell him.

He looks over at me, tilting his head slightly before answering.

“No thanks needed. I should be thanking you, honestly.”

“What? Why me?” I ask, slightly stunned.

“I never leave my house anymore. Like, I mean, I do, but not for anything fun other than the few times we’ve gone out to the bar. All of my work is done from home. I use DoorDash or Uber Eats for meals. Occasionally, I force myself out to go to the grocery store, but honestly, I’m a cave dweller. This forced me to leave.”

“Well, I’m glad I could get you out of your cave, Monty. You really didn’t have to do all this though.”

The plane lurches forward as it pulls onto the runway. The tarmac whizzes by as the plane picks up speed, and my stomach starts to drop. The plane tilts upward lifting off the ground, and I swear my heart stops beating. My eyes pinch shut as my fingers dig into the armrests of the chair. I can feel my heart snaking up my throat causing it to feel like I’m choking. Monty can clearly see the fear radiating off of me, so he decides to distract me.

“So, what are we going to do with him?” he asks, and I slowly crack one eye open.

“What? I don’t think it’s a good idea to talk about…”

“They’re up in the cockpit. The door is shut and it’s soundproof. I made sure of that when I got this plane.”

“I thought you would be the one flying since you have your license and all,” I tease as I feel the plane level out.

“I was debating on it, but after we talked about Taco Bell, I figured I’d rather be able to eat and chat instead of flying it myself. Plus, it’s a short flight.”

“How short?”

“Like two-ish hours. Don’t you remember flying there?”

“I don’t remember anything after you called me telling me that it might be her until I was standing outside that window to the ICU, looking into her room. It was horrible, Monty.”

“I know. I’m so fucking sorry, man. I thought we had finally found her.”

He pulls back out his beefy five-layer burrito and unwraps it. Holding it in one hand, he places his other on my knee and gives it a tight squeeze.

“We’ll find her, Noah. I won’t stop looking until I have answers for you. I promise.”