Never Far Away (The Never #2)(89)
“You know what the point is, Porter,” she said quietly, trying to combat his anger by staying calm.
“You expect me to just sit around while you’re out there baiting him?” She almost flinched at his words, his anger now seething. She could feel his anger radiating towards her, even from two hours away. She’d never heard him so mad and it pained her that his anger was directed at her.
“I just called to tell you where I was going. I’m not asking you to do anything, Porter. And I’m definitely not asking for your permission. I need you to trust me and let me fix all of this. Everything will be ok.”
“I won’t be ok if anything happens to you,” he said, almost a whisper and that affected her almost as much as if he’d yelled it in rage.
“And I won’t be ok if anything happens to you because of me,” she replied. He was quiet after that and she knew he tried to accept the fact that she was making the decisions, even if he didn’t agree with them.
“Please let me come see you tonight. I don’t want to be away from you,” he said quietly. His rage she could almost handle, but the sad and dejected Porter was more than she could take at the moment.
“Oh, Porter,” she cried. “I don’t want to be away from you either. I will call you later and we’ll talk until we both fall asleep. Just read my letter and, please, stay in Lincoln City. I need you to be there. I need you to be safe.”
She’d made it in and out of her apartment in record time. The last thing she wanted was to spend time there at all, so she hurried through the apartment quickly, gathering the things she needed for a few nights. She was surprised when her panic wasn’t an issue, but she figured that her determination and purposeful plan helped to ease her nerves. She knew what she was going in for and she had a plan. Once she had loaded her car and has everything she needed, she pointed her car towards Salem.
Ella was never really a fan of camping, but that’s exactly what she felt she was doing at the new house in Salem. She’d set up her air mattress and made a little nest of pillows and blankets she’d brought from the apartment in Portland. She had a little lamp plugged into the wall and after everything had been situated, she laid on the air mattress and read for the majority of the evening.
The house was, as expected, entirely empty which only illuminated her loneliness. She tried repeatedly to push the thoughts of Porter alone at his house out of her mind. The ache she felt from the need to be with him was physical and real. She’d gotten use to always being with him and now that she was trying to keep him away from her, his absence was overwhelming. She waited as long as she felt she could before she called him, wanting to hear his voice but not wanting to spend a lot of time rehashing their earlier conversation and argue. She wanted his voice to wrap around her like his arms might do if they were together.
She dialed his number and at the same time heard a car door shut just outside the house. The phone started ringing and she got up to look out of the front window in hopes that she could see the car. As his phone kept ringing, her heartbeat sped up. She couldn’t help but half wish that Porter was there. As if she expected it, her head snapped around to the front door as she heard a knock. She froze, unsure of what she should do. Something inside of her, a small voice or instinct told her not to open the door.
She breathed heavily and all she could hear was her lungs pushing air in and out, and then Porter’s deep and sexy voice as he asked her to leave a message. Then she jumped and was startled by the pounding on the door.
She ran back into the bedroom, all of a sudden cursing herself for not having anything to protect herself with. She huddled in the corner of the room, turning the lamp off as she passed it. She heard a beep in the distance and realized that she had heard the tell-tale sound letting her know she should leave a message.
“Porter,” she whispered into the phone. “I don’t think I have much time. I think he’s here.” She heard another large bang, but this time it sounded like someone was trying to bust through the door, not just bang on it. “Oh, Porter, I’m so sorry for everything,” somewhere along the line she started crying. “I love you so much and I don’t want you to blame yourself for anything that’s about to happen to me. I’m so glad that you’re not here and that I could protect you this way.” Her voice immediately ceased when she heard the distinct sound of the door finally giving in and breaking open. She cupped her hand over her mouth to keep herself as quiet as possible.
Footsteps could be heard roaming through the front of the house and all she could do was wait until they found her.
“I love you, Porter,” was what she whispered into the phone before she placed it on the floor, readying herself to run as soon as she got the chance. She saw her door creep open and she knew before he said anything that it was Kyle. His silhouette so perfectly outlined by the light cast in form the hallway and she knew it was him.
“There you are, Ella,” he said, his voice making her stomach roil.
“What do you want, Kyle?” Ella said, her voice sounding more strong and sure than she had anticipated.
“The same thing I’ve always wanted: for you not to be a problem for me anymore.” He lunged at her and she tried to dart past him. He reached his arm out and grabbed her around her waist. As she yelled and screamed for someone to come and help her, she couldn’t help but think that she’d made this too easy for him.