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Chapter Twenty-Three
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Four
“What the hell is that going to solve?” Harken grits through clenched teeth. Scott sighs. “If you’re right, and Nathan James plans to use all mean necessary to have you cooperate with him, then we need him to act so that we can catch him during. Until he makes any sort of threatening move against anyone, there’s nothing I can do, and it would be a waste of time to report this with no evidence. Threatening someone on the sidewalk doesn’t count unless there was another witness and slight actions to back up the claim, otherwise it’s just empty words.” “So, I’m supposed to just wait for this bastard to do something? It might be too late by that time, this is a murderer we’re talking about, with a connection so powerful he was able to dodge jail time and get released early. We’re not just dealing with Nate James, anymore, there is obviously someone bigger behind him, and we have no clue who the hell that can be, yet you just want to sit back and wait?” “Does Nate see me as a means of pro
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Five
“Well, there isn’t really anywhere to start. You’ve just been acting weird ever since we got back from the winter break trip in Florida, I haven’t seen you very much and every time I do try and spend time with you, you’ve always brushed me off with the same excuses. After a while, I wasn’t sure what to think, I’m able to focus on school and make time for you just fine, and I don’t know why you’re trying to save so much money when I know my dad will help you out when the time comes, he isn’t going to kick you out onto the streets after this.” Harken waits patiently for her to finish her rambling. “Sorry, that was kind of mean,” she mutters. “I didn’t mean to make assumptions or compare; I just don’t know what’s going through your head right now.” He figures now is as perfect a time as any to bring up the impending topic they’ve both been avoiding for weeks. “You really can’t think of why I’m trying so hard to save as much money as possible?” She frowns and shakes her head, causing
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Six
Harken is torn between running out of there with Noel right this second and running after Nate to beat the crap out of him for having someone tailing Noel all this time. He is the biggest fool for not putting it together sooner and allowing this to have gone on for so long. He has naively thought that he was the only one being watched and under constant danger, but that was never the case. The target has been Noel from the beginning, and Nate has merely been confirming his own beliefs through Harken’s reactions. “Is everything alright?” He jumps at the quiet voice of Noel, standing right behind him. “Why did you come out?” he asks. “I peeked through the door and saw Nate isn’t here anymore, I thought it was okay to come back out,” she shrugs. “Why are you just standing here?” He continues to stand there and look down at her, a mix of emotions in his blue eyes. Wrapping his arms around her he pulls her
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Seven
Noel awakes to find herself in Harken’s bed once again, this time remembering passing out on the couch with Priscilla. Unlike before, Harken isn’t there when she gets up, the bed still warm from where he laid. Groaning as she stretches out of bed, a knock comes at the door and she freezes, thinking it’s her dad until she hears the soft voice of Priscilla calling. “Are you awake yet?” Noel opens the door with a curious look. “Where’s Harken?” Priscilla shrugs, already dressed and ready for school. “I think he left earlier this morning, an emergency with Abel he said, he sent me a text early this morning,” she says and takes out her phone, showing Noel the message from Harken. “Weird. What do you think happened so early in the morning?” Noel wonders, walking into her room to grab a change of clothes and hastily throwing them on. “Beats me, hopefully, it doesn’t have anything to do with my dad this time.” “This time?” Priscilla nods. “The last time he had Harken cover the pub for
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Eight
“You can see that I’m perfectly fine now, dad. You don’t need to keep staying here, I’m sure you have tons of work to do at the office.” Scott has been pacing the length of the hospital room for the last few hours with Harken sitting numbly in the corner looking at his phone. He wants Scott to leave just as much as Noel but knows the minute he opens his mouth, wanting to have a moment’s peace with her to calm his anxiety. Despite her sitting there completely intact, he can’t shake the foreboding feeling he has felt since leaving the crash scene. Abel left an hour ago, claiming he was going to go back and check out the cameras again, giving Harken the idea to check if any neighbors have cameras around the Ashford house. “The hoarder next door,” he mumbles to himself as he remembers the sketchy neighbor always eyeballing his motorcycle every time he came ripping down the street. It’s a vintage bike for sure, but not something meant to sit and collec
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Nine
**WARNING Sexual Content Included in Chapter**~*~ After agreeing to listen to Abel’s story, they climb out of the car and walk over to the nearby children’s park, barren at the time with everyone else in school or at work at this hour. They pick a picnic table near the sandlot and sit down. He takes a deep breath and contemplates where to start, still unsure of where the sudden feeling of wanting to share with her has come from. Since coming to Bisbee, Harken has been the only person outside his family with whom he has confided his secrets and stories with. “I’ll start by sharing that the father I have with me here is not my biological father, to give context to the story. He helped my mother and I get away from the abusive man I once called my father, the man we escaped Cairo because of. He is a military man with a high ranking and even here it’s no secret how corrupt the government-run military is in Egypt. My mother had met my father online as j
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty
It’s been a few days now since the accident and Noel is finally able to return to school with not as much damage done as she expected to her studies and grades. The police report came back that the brakes were at fault and needed to be replaced before the accident, which caused them to seize when pushed down at full force.Noel remembers specifically, however, that Priscilla’s brakes stopped working before she tried pressing down on the pedal, a clear indication the brakes weren’t working well before she even tried using them at all.But even Harken and Abel confirmed that a thorough check was done of the car before it was impounded, Priscilla’s parents refusing to let her drive it anymore.Harken has also been spending a lot more time at the pub with Abel, spending most nights at his apartment down the street so they can work easier, still tracking down the man who broke into the bar and dealing with Mayor Wright trying to buy out the entire block of businesses.Noel has been trying
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-One
You’ve got to be kidding me… Harken stares on in silence as the shed is rapidly engulfed in flames, the foul odour of burning rubber and plastic from the gym and field equipment trapped inside fills the air, no doubt alerting someone close by soon enough. He barely hears his phone go off in his pocket, grabbing it at the last second to see Scott’s name. “Where the hell are you? Did you actually break into the school, Harken?” Scott starts screaming. Never thought I’d say this but – thank god he’s here! “Noel, I need you to run and meet your dad at the entrance of the school.” She gapes at him, still looking pale and ghastly. “What the hell are you going to do?” “I’m going to stay and call for help, I don’t want you getting messed up in this. I’ll just tell them I was smoking up and accidentally caught fire to the shed.” Noel grips his arms as if to glue him in place. “
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Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Seven
He was a boy; she was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious? Noel reaches over and rips her phone off the charging cord to press her finger on the screen to snooze her alarm, before lazily tossing it aside on her bed. Today is the day she takes her school exams ahead of everyone else. It wasn’t hard to convince her principal and other teachers to let her after she showed them both the letter of acceptance and her swift pass on the final interview for her top-picked college, they almost insisted at that point. She only really has two exams to take for Math and English, with Social Studies being mainly a slightly bigger test than your average class test. Her teachers assured her that it wouldn’t take her more than the morning to complete, and Noel can even have her exams graded on the spot by the respective subject teachers, and her final grade given by the end of the day. There was only one question that held her back from jumping fo
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Six
It has been three days now and Noel hasn’t heard anything from her last interview with CCA, but Priscilla keeps trying to put her in high hopes by talking to her father every day. To make matters worst, she returned to the abandoned water tower the night after they got back from San Francisco and the copy of the acceptance letter she left there was gone, but she had no way of telling if it was Harken, someone else, or even the wind one night that took it away. Now, she is just left wondering if it was Harken, what he has done with it and what he is thinking now. Priscilla convinced her to block his number but that isn’t stopping him from showing up at the house or school, though there hasn’t been a sign of him. Which tells her it really is over between them. He is aware she has been accepted into the California College of Arts and will be leaving soon, completely unaware of how soon that might be. No one else ever goes to tha
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Five
Deep breaths don’t let yourself panic. You got this.Noel continues the mantra over in her head, but it doesn’t seem to help as she patiently waits outside the office doors of the college board officials who will be administering his final interview. It’s described as a formality and a way for the school to meet a candidate in person before they enter.But anyone with knowledge of this school would know this interview could still make or break their acceptance altogether.“Miss Ashford? We’re ready for you,” a slender woman with sleek blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail calls out to her. She is wearing a light blue pantsuit with a white dress shirt and a gentle smile.Noel wipes her hands down her pants to remove the sweat before walking forward to shake her hand, hoping her smile is as bright and gentle as hers despite how much the corners of her mouth are twitching.“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Ms. Miles, and I will be one of the three board members interviewing you
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Four
Noel is now weeks away from graduation and has yet to hear a single word from Harken or see him anywhere. She has gone to the pub a couple of times with Priscilla to visit Abel, but she has never caught sight of Harken and Abel, despite noticing her looking around, never saying anything about him. It’s as if he has simply disappeared, and she is the only one who remembers he ever existed. She wishes it were that simple for her. Even though the room he once occupied has been reverted back into a guest room, void of any sign Harken ever stayed there, she can still picture the time and memories spent in that tiny space. They are clear as day in her mind, like every other piece of him that remains around the house. Her dad is also acting as he they never had anyone else living with them for the last 9 months, making being at home almost unbearable. Sitting in her room, she stares at the copy of her acceptance letter into CCA, the one she planned to give to Harken and has attempted to
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Three
Noel has locked herself in her room for the last three days, having her dad call in sick for her at school and getting Priscilla to drop off her homework after class. Every time he tried to enter her room, she has thrown a pillow or piece of clothing at yelled at him to get out.Refusing to see anyone or barely touching a plate of food, Scott feels he has no choice but to force his way through using a shield. Phoning in the buffer, Priscilla shows up soon after with a determined look on her face.“Is she still in her room?” she asks.Scott nods. “Hold on, take this with you.” He hands her an envelope.The letter from California College of Arts.“When did this come in?”“A few days ago, but the incident at the school field happened not long after, and now this.”Priscilla nods firmly and marches upstairs, already knowing what she needs to do. Throwing open Noel’s bedroom door, she ducks as soon as a pillow is launched at her face and holds out her hands to fend off the balled-up shirt
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-Two
“All right, when we get there don’t say anything until I tell you or they ask you directly. I know you’re nervous and when I get nervous I tend to say more than needed or I don’t make sense.” Noel’s dad continues to lecture her as they approach the front entrance of the police station. “Dad, relax, who are you accusing of being too nervous right now? I’m fine,” she says and brushes him off to walk ahead of him. There is a rush of ringing phones and loud chatter once they enter, people dressed in both police gear and light business attire run back and forth between two rows of perfectly aligned desks. Noel’s dad clutches her to his side to keep her from getting sidewinded as one whiz past her at a close distance. “I didn’t expect it to be so crazy here. What happened?” he mutters. “Why don’t we ask him,” Noel says and points out the only guy sitting alone at a desk, looking quite bored. “Hello, folks. What can I do for you?” the man asks when they approach the desk. Noel sits down
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty-One
You’ve got to be kidding me… Harken stares on in silence as the shed is rapidly engulfed in flames, the foul odour of burning rubber and plastic from the gym and field equipment trapped inside fills the air, no doubt alerting someone close by soon enough. He barely hears his phone go off in his pocket, grabbing it at the last second to see Scott’s name. “Where the hell are you? Did you actually break into the school, Harken?” Scott starts screaming. Never thought I’d say this but – thank god he’s here! “Noel, I need you to run and meet your dad at the entrance of the school.” She gapes at him, still looking pale and ghastly. “What the hell are you going to do?” “I’m going to stay and call for help, I don’t want you getting messed up in this. I’ll just tell them I was smoking up and accidentally caught fire to the shed.” Noel grips his arms as if to glue him in place. “
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Thirty
It’s been a few days now since the accident and Noel is finally able to return to school with not as much damage done as she expected to her studies and grades. The police report came back that the brakes were at fault and needed to be replaced before the accident, which caused them to seize when pushed down at full force.Noel remembers specifically, however, that Priscilla’s brakes stopped working before she tried pressing down on the pedal, a clear indication the brakes weren’t working well before she even tried using them at all.But even Harken and Abel confirmed that a thorough check was done of the car before it was impounded, Priscilla’s parents refusing to let her drive it anymore.Harken has also been spending a lot more time at the pub with Abel, spending most nights at his apartment down the street so they can work easier, still tracking down the man who broke into the bar and dealing with Mayor Wright trying to buy out the entire block of businesses.Noel has been trying
Keeper of my Heart Chapter Twenty-Nine
**WARNING Sexual Content Included in Chapter**~*~ After agreeing to listen to Abel’s story, they climb out of the car and walk over to the nearby children’s park, barren at the time with everyone else in school or at work at this hour. They pick a picnic table near the sandlot and sit down. He takes a deep breath and contemplates where to start, still unsure of where the sudden feeling of wanting to share with her has come from. Since coming to Bisbee, Harken has been the only person outside his family with whom he has confided his secrets and stories with. “I’ll start by sharing that the father I have with me here is not my biological father, to give context to the story. He helped my mother and I get away from the abusive man I once called my father, the man we escaped Cairo because of. He is a military man with a high ranking and even here it’s no secret how corrupt the government-run military is in Egypt. My mother had met my father online as j
