Chapter 24: Noelle’s POV

[Noelle's POV]

It'd been a while since I'd been this happy about spending time with someone. Damon and I had become so much closer since that day.

I was right, he'd definitely changed, but I never took the time to find out why he'd changed or what changed him and now that he finally opened up to me, I couldn't have been happier.

I was happy because he saw me as someone he could express himself with, I was happy because he felt vulnerable with me, I was happy because he finally opened up to me.

Our exams were fast approaching and at first I was very worried about what I would do, but with Damon's guidance and tutelage, I started to feel confident in myself.

We were practically living together now, I had to spend the night at his place most times as we would be up studying till late at night.

Most times after school I'd cook, and he said he enjoyed my cooking a lot. Sometimes he tried to help with cooking and most times he would end up making a mess and we would both laugh it off.

We didn't speak in class or go home together after so as not to arouse suspicion, and the only people who knew about us living together were Damon and a few of my close friends.

He always slept on the couch and I felt bad about him having not having the bed to himself. Sometimes I would ask him to join me but he'd decline, other times I'd offer to sleep on the couch and he'd also decline.

I knew he'd added weight but was very shocked when he took off his hoodie in front of me for the first time. Most people wouldn't notice his enlarged frame because he often wore oversized clothes and I was clearly shocked.

When he noticed me he laughed and said "I've been working out" and I felt embarrassed.

'What a gentleman he is.' I thought, smiling as I woke up from bed that day.

He wasn't home, as usual. It was around the time he always went for his morning jog.

During the day he went for gym and martial arts classes and I would be out of the house before he got back, I didn't want to be too much of a burden.

'Guess I'll take a shower' I thought and I grabbed my towel and headed to the bathroom.

As I let the water pour down on my face I felt at peace. 'Nothing could ruin this for me' I thought and I washed myself up.

As I showered I heard some footsteps outside the room. Thinking it was Damon, I instantly felt a wave of embarrassment flow through me.

He'd never met me showering before. Most times I'd be done before he got home.

"Uhm Damon? I'm in the shower. I'll be done soon!" I shouted, letting him know I was there. I didn't get a response so I thought he must've been tired.

I hurriedly finished my shower and came out to the room to see that it was empty.

'He's probably in the kitchen or something' I thought as I got dressed quickly and hurried to meet him.

As I came out to the corridor I called out to him.

"Damon?" I said and there was no response.

I had a feeling in my spine that something was wrong. Suddenly, a person grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth, I struggled and tried to scream, but I felt myself go numb as my mouth was covered with a handkerchief that contained some sort of chemical. It seemed to put me to sleep and I fell on the floor, losing my bearings.

As I lost my consciousness, I could vaguely hear what the assailants were saying.

"Who is she?, she's not the target." Said one of them, "just grab her, we'll figure something out" said another.

As they argued I couldn't identify who they were and the last words I heard before I blacked out were that "we can use her to lure him in".

****

I woke up in a dark room, it was only illuminated by holes and crevices in the roof and walls of the room.

I realized that I was tied to a chair and I struggled to get out, to no avail.

"Who are you people?!" I screamed, and the door opened as one of the men who I believed to be their leader approached me.

"Look kid, it's nothing personal. We don't want you, we want Damon and you're our bait. Kapish?" He said, as he threw the cigarette he was smoking on the floor and killed it.

"What do you want to do with Damon?" I said, staring at him with so much hatred.

"That's none of your business princess, you just stay right there and be a good little girl alright?" He said, chuckling in mockery of me.

I thought of what I could do, 'I could use my family name to threaten them, maybe that would work'.

I stopped myself from shaking in fear and summoned all the courage within me to speak.

"You guys have no idea who you're messing with, I'm Noelle Everglade and my father is Drew Everglade. Trust me, you don't want to make an enemy out of him. And Damon is a Darhk, do you know how powerful our two families are? You won't get away with this." I said confidently.

The man stared at me for a moment before he burst out laughing, he called the rest of his gang into the room, about six to seven guys, I couldn't tell because of how dark the room was.

He repeated what I'd just told him to them and they all burst out laughing as well.

"What's so funny?" I said firmly and the room quitened.

"Look princess, we are perfectly aware of who you and your boyfriend Damon are." He said and they exchanged small laughter again.

"In any case, don't worry we're not gonna hurt you, we're just going to keep you here till we get what we want and then we'll let you go, easy."

"I know who you people are, I'll tell my dad to track you down and-," "don't worrry about that little missy" he said cutting me off.

"After our little episode here is over, you won't remember a thing, I promise." He said and they all burst out laughing again as they began to leave the room till I was the only one left.

I screamed for help but no one responded, I could only hope that Damon wouldn't fall into their hands.