Never Far Away (The Never #2)(85)
“Fucking Kyle!” Matt had been the one person Porter felt like he could talk to about everything happening with Ella and Kyle, so he was well informed on everything that was going on.
“That son of a bitch was here, Matt. He was here while we were out on the beach. I’m going to f*cking kill that bastard.”
“Porter?” He heard Ella’s voice coming from the front of the house.
“Shit, she’s going to freak out,” Porter said as he rubbed his hands on his face. “Matt, you need to leave. Get your family out of here. He could still be around.”
“Fuck that, Porter. Brook can take the kids home. You need to call the police.” Just then Ella came around the side of the house and saw Porter and Matt standing in front of the truck.
“Porter?” She said, her voice already starting to tremble. He walked up to her and took her face in his hands, making her look at him.
“Baby, I need you to go inside right now. Turn around and go in the house.”
“Come with me,” she begged him. He let out a loud breath, but turned her around and put a hand on the small of her back directing her towards the front door. Matt headed back to his car. He saw Brook get out and move into the driver’s seat, backing out of the driveway. Matt came back up to the house and stood guard on the porch.
Porter took out his cell phone and called the police. Ella was curled up on the couch, her legs tucked under her, wringing her hands in nervousness. Porter wanted to comfort her, but he was so f*cking pissed off he found it hard to even approach her. Once he hung up the phone, he looked at her. She stared at the floor, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
“Ella, are you ok?” She snapped her head up at him. “Everything is going to be all right, Ella.”
“There were kids here, Porter. Our families were here. What if…,” she lost her ability to speak as she began to cry.
“No, Baby. No.” He said as he sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms. “Kyle is a f*cking coward who will never have enough balls to actually do anything while I’m around. He wouldn’t have hurt anyone, Baby. He’s not capable. He just accosts women in dark hallways and vandalizes property when no one is around to beat the shit out of him.” He tried not to the let the tension he felt in his body seep out onto Ella. He needed her to remain as calm as possible, especially since the police were on their way and would inevitably want to talk to her again.
“Why won’t he leave us alone?” She continued to cry. That was a very good question; a question that had been plaguing him for quite some time. What the hell was Kyle getting out of all of this? Why wouldn’t he just disappear? Wasn’t it in his best interest at this point to just fade away? The more he hung around, threatening people, the more suspect he was. He was going to be caught, Porter knew it. He just wished it would happen sooner rather than later.
Minutes later Porter heard the distinct crunching of gravel as the police cars pulled into his driveway. He pulled away from Ella at the same time Matt called out from the porch.
“Porter, the cops are here.”
“Ella, do you want to come out there with me?” She nodded at him and stood, walking behind him, but never too far away.
The police took their statements, took photos of the truck, which was eventually hauled away by a tow truck. They gave them the same speil they had given them before: don’t let Ella be alone, report anything suspicious, be aware of their surroundings. Porter was nearly shaking with the feeling of helplessness. All they could do was sit around and wait for something else to happen. The police offered to patrol past his house overnight, but he was adamant that they weren’t staying there.
“No, we’ll go to my mom’s house.”
“Would you like us to patrol past her house, then?”
Porter nodded, not liking the idea of bringing this drama to his mother’s house, but also feeling like it wasn’t safe for Ella to be at his house anymore either. “I would really appreciate that,” he said to the police officer. Porter called his mother, waking her up from the sound of her voice. He asked her to come and pick them up, telling her he’d explain the circumstances when she arrived.
Matt stayed and gave a statement as well, mumbling to himself and intermittently cursing and saying “Fucking Kyle” under his breath. Porter was angry that Matt had to be included in the drama, but glad for the support of his closest friend in the stressful situation. When everything was wrapped up, Porter slapped Matt on the back and thanked him for sticking around.
“Go home to your wife and kids,” he said.
“I will, let me know if you need anything.” Porter nodded and shook his hand, and watched as he got a ride home from one of the police officers they knew from high school.
Ella packed a bag for them, which they sullenly carried into the backseat of his mother’s sedan and rode all the way to Porter’s childhood home.
After they explained everything to Tilly and tried to assure her that, for the moment, they were safe, Porter led Ella down the hallways of his mother’s small one-story house to the bedroom he used as a child. His mother hadn’t really changed much in his room, just made it more neutral. His old queen-sized bed was still there, along with the desk he used to sit at to do his homework. Ella walked in the room, looked around for a second, and dropped her bags on the floor where she stood. Her hands came to her face, and Porter saw her shoulders start to move up and down in silent sobs. He moved to her quickly and wrapped his arms around her, using his hand to guide her head into his chest.