Never Far Away (The Never #2)(87)

“Please, Porter, I need more.” She wiggled beneath him, trying to gain some friction from their connections. As much as his body wanted the same thing she did – to feel himself inside of her, the slow rub and grind of entering her over and over again – his mind just wanted him to burn the feeling of his body aligned with hers into her memory. She pleaded with him with her eyes, begging him to give her more, and he was stalled just watching her breathe in and out.

“Promise me you won’t leave. Promise me you won’t run.”

“I’ll never leave you, Porter. I’ll never run from us.”

He knew what she was saying, knew what she wasn’t saying. Either way he wasn’t satisfied with her answer. The only thing he had left to do was love her.



When he woke the next morning, he wasn’t surprised when the spot next to him in bed was empty and he wasn’t surprised to see her bags gone. It killed him, but he knew she’d be gone. When he finally braved a world without Ella in it, he noticed an envelope sitting on the bedside table.





Dear Porter,

It’s funny, before I met you I never wrote anyone letters, yet here I am, writing one to you again. This letter is different, Porter, and let me explain why.

The last letter I wrote to you, I wrote it knowing that somewhere in the future we’d run into problems, that I would have doubts and fears, and that I would need you to come for me – to fight for me.

No one has ever fought for me like you did, Porter, and no one ever will. But now it’s my turn to fight. This will never end as long as we’re together, because you are so good at protecting me. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do for me and this is something I need to do on my own. I know you’re hurt and possibly sad, but don’t be.

I love you. Forever. I will never not love you. Never.

Give me an opportunity to fight for us. Trust in me, in us.

I will come back to you and everything will be fine. You’ll see.

No one’s ever loved anyone as much as I love you, except for you and how much you love me.

Wait for me. Never stop loving me. I love how you love me.

~Ella





Chapter Twenty


Ella


Megan picked Ella up early that morning. Ella gave her no explanation, just told her that she needed to go back to Portland, and to drop her off at her house to get her car. She never went into her apartment, but continued on to her parent’s house, guessing that her childhood home would probably be the safest place for her to be.

Leaving Porter was excruciating, but necessary. It tore her up that he was repeatedly put in danger over and over again because of her. It made her feel helpless and fragile. She was tired of feeling like a victim. The only thing she thought she could do to regain some control was to take back the reigns and try to keep her loved ones out of harm’s way.

She had a solid plan. Stay out of trouble and stay busy. The police had told her to stay away from Poppy, but at this point she figured if she had personal security at the store anyway, she might has well go to work. If Kyle showed up, at least he’d be caught and arrested.

She showered at her parent’s house and tried to keep her thoughts away from Porter and how he must have reacted when he woke to find her gone. Hot water ran down her back, her head bent down so that her chin was resting against her chest. She hoped the hot water could release some of the tension that was building up inside of her muscles. She wondered about whether Porter would even want her after she pulled this stunt. Her plan, all along, included their happy ending. Kyle would be caught and they would be able to build a long and stable relationship. But she also had to consider that fact that after she left him, he could make the decision to be done with her.

She felt a tear spring from her eyes, but it washed away with the water from the faucet down the drain, swirling and circling until it was gone. It was hard for Ella to feel anything but sadness as she felt the ache that came with Porter’s absence in her belly. They had promised each other they wouldn’t be apart anymore, but now she had to stay away to make sure they had many more nights together. She was confounded by the thought of how much her life had changed in just three months. Ella got out of the shower, got ready for her day at Poppy, and made her way to the store.

It had been a while since Ella had been to Poppy, and while pulling up to the store brought, in one sense, a feeling of relief and normalcy, it was coupled with the constant flashbacks and panic that usually came with them. She took a few deep breaths in and when she felt like she had calmed herself down, she got out of the car and walked up to the store front. Once she made it inside the store, she turned off the alarm system and switched the lights on. She felt a wave of apprehension leave her body as she fell into the routine of opening the store. She threw herself into the familiarity of the tasks: checking stock, folding tops, returning emails. Everything was as it was supposed to be and as long as she kept herself busy, she could pretend that everything was fine.

Thirty minutes after she arrived, a very large and bulky man in a suit knocked on the front window of the store. Ella startled at the knocking, her hand flying to her chest trying to calm the raging beat of her heart. The man held a plastic id badge up to the window and as she approached she could see he was from the security firm she’d hired. She exhaled, silently berating herself for getting so worked up over nothing. She opened the door for him and he slid in, very stealthily which, for a reason she couldn’t pinpoint, made her smile. She had a legitimate James Bond in her store.