Page 98 of I Never Stopped Loving You

“The Vallero’s case. Yeah. He fucking lost it and killed her. The neighbor called the cops about a domestic dispute, and they caught him red-handed. Your dad needs us in the office now.”

“That’s not surprising,” I sneer.

It’s then that I can feel her body trembling against me. Fuck. Why the fuck would he blurt that out right here? He knows what she’s been through. I fucking told him everything yesterday.

His eyes lock with mine and slightly widen before glancing back at Willow.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t discuss client cases in front of you yet. Or did you accept the job?” he asks, trying to change the subject.

“No. I haven’t accepted the job yet. Noah, can you take me home?”

“Are you okay?” Jeremy asks.

I can feel Willow tense more. She’s trying to hold back her emotions and keep us from seeing what she’s going through, but I can feel her mind spiraling.

“I’m fine. It’s just getting late, and I have some things I need to get done before tomorrow morning. Plus, I need to prepare for my interview on Tuesday,” she says, forcing a fake laugh.

“Willow, I’m sorry if I said something that upset you.” Jeremy tries to help, but he’s only making it worse.

“No, I’m fine. We’re going to be involved in these kinds of cases all the time, so it’s no big deal. Um, I’m just going to grab my clothes…shit. We never threw them in the dryer.”

“You can borrow mine so that I can get you home.”

“Are you even okay enough to drive, Cuz?” Jeremy asks, holding out a hand for me to take.

“I’m fine.”

“How about I drive you home?” he asks Willow. “Then I’ll take you to the hospital,” he says as he helps me stand.

Once I’m on my feet, I can feel the room slightly tilt. Fucking hell, this is not what I need right now.

“Yes. You definitely need to get it checked. You hit your head really hard, and you're off balance.”

“Fine,” I huff.

I take a step toward the foyer, and it takes everything in me not to throw up from the nausea. This can’t be happening right now. She needs me. She’s hurting from the memories resurfacing, and I need to be there for her. That’s the last thought I have as I lift my foot to go up the steps, and my world goes dark.

CHAPTER 45

WILLOW

The sound of something breaking, followed by a thud, is all that’s heard before Jeremy shouted Noah’s name. I had just pulled the hoodie on and was about to throw on the pair of his boxers when everything turned to chaos.

Jeremy screamed for me, and when I rounded the corner into the front foyer, all I saw was Noah passed out on the ground. The small circular table that sat in the center of the foyer was shattered, and there was blood on the ground near his head. Jeremy was practically in tears, screaming, trying to wake him up.

That was over two hours ago. We’ve been sitting at St. John Moross since then. Jeremy has been on the phone for the last ten minutes with Noah's dad. He doesn’t even seem to care that his son is unconscious.

I glance down at my hands, and I can still see the faint traces of blood along my nails. Noah’s boxers that I’m wearing are sticking to my legs from the drying blood coating my thighs. Thankfully, one of the nurses gave me a pair of hospital socks because I was barefoot when we came in. I sat in the back seat with him all the way to the hospital with his head on my lap.

“Willow. Oh my God.”

Jenna comes rushing over and pulls me in for a hug. She runs her fingers through my hair, smoothing it, trying to comfort me like she always does.

“Is there any update? Here. I brought you some clothes and your shoes.”

She hands me the bag as I shake my head no. Not a single person has come out to give us an update, and I’m freaking out.

“What the fuck happened?”