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“She will be okay for the night. She can’t have visits yet and the doctor said they’d let us know if anything changes, so we should go.”
She sits up straighter and looks me in the eye. “Thank you.”
And I can tell she means it. “For what?”
She gives me a weak smile. “For being here.”
I embrace her warmly and whisper into her hair. “Anytime.”
The ride to my house is silent.
Pulling into the driveway, I kill the engine and turn to Noelle.
She’s sleeping against the window, her hands clutched around her waist. Every now and then, she mutters something incoherent. With a smile, I watch her lips move, her eyes closed.
“Never would have pegged you to be a sleep-talker,” I tell her sleeping form, knowing she won’t hear me.
I gently nudge her awake. She groans a little, opening her eyes, and blinking them rapidly to get her bearing. With a jolt, she sits upright and glances around.
“Where am I?”
“At my house.”
She relaxes but her eyes are still wary. “Why am I here?”
“I don’t want you to be alone.” I shrug.
She rolls her eyes and reaches to unlock the door. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. I won’t leave you alone tonight. Besides, it’s midnight already.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll call a taxi.”
Hell if I’m letting that happen. “Look, I’m not asking for too much. I’m just looking out for your safety. Just sleep over and you’re free to leave tomorrow.”
She levels me with a cool gaze, then sighs. “Fine.”
“Thank you.”
Stepping out of the car, I lead her inside and tell her to wait. When I return with freshly-laundered sheets, she stops looking around and looks up at me, sheer incredulity plastered on her face. “You—you live here?”
“No, I killed the owner and their kids and buried their bodies in the backyard.”
Her jaw drops to the ground and blood drains from her face.
I grin at her, enjoying the horrified expression. “You should see your face. You get spooked quite easily.”
She clamps her mouth shut and narrows her eyes at me. “That wasn’t funny.”
“No, but it’s sad that you actually believed it. Do you really think I’m capable of something like that?”
She looks away, a sheepish smile playing at the corner of her lips.
“Oh, uh,” I approach her and point to the two different beddings in my arms. “I wasn’t sure which one to choose.”
“Really?”
“Well,” I scratch the back of my neck. “I wasn’t quite sure which you’d prefer.”
