★JANIE★

I immediately rolled down the car window and tossed the phone away. With my chest rising and falling in anxiety, I swallowed down the hard lump in my throat.

Almost at once, Noel screeched the car to a halt. His curious eyes searched my teary ones. “What's wrong, Janie? Why did you throw out the phone like that? Does it have to do with those people pursuing you?"

I shakily nodded my head. “Yes." Then swallowed hard again before adding. “I think they might be tracking me with it and I don't want them to find out where I am."

“That's right," Noel muttered in agreement. “But if they can track you with the phone, then we have to destroy it. We can't afford them to track the location you threw it in. It's a few meters away from home." He implored and I consented to his statement.

“You're right."

Together, the both of us unlatched the seatbelt around our torso, then hauled out of the truck, in search of the phone.

We rushed to the other side of the road. Noel was busy, surveying the path filled with granite, while I scanned the carpet grass. Eventually, I found it first.

"I've found it!"

Picking it up, I showed it to Noel, who promptly took it from me and then smashed it against the ground. “Once this is broken, the signal connection will be severed, and trust me, they are never going to find you." He assured me.

Though I wanted to believe him, a part of me had to come to a resolution with the fact that Noel doesn't know Luciano. The man could rummage through the surface of the earth just to find me. Yet, I was hoping maybe.....Just maybe, this time I would get a break forever and Luciano would eventually lose interest enough to let me go.

Aiming to destroy it, Noel picked up a large stone and smashed it against the already broken screen. Heat oozed out of the phone before the screen went completely blind.

“There." He picked up the remainder and threw it into the middle of the road. “The vehicles passing will crush it out of existence."

I managed a small smile, although my mind was still unsettled.

"Come here." Noel pulled me into a warm hug. “You are going to be fine, I promise you. Everything is going to be just fine." He cooed, smoothening down my hair with his fingers.

Closing my eyes, I prayed silently. Just this once. Please just this once answer my prayers, God. Don't let Luciano ever find me. Because now that I have finally gotten a chance to a new life, going back to him should never be an option.

“We should go." Noel tore himself away from me, and then we walked back to the car, jumped in, and drove off.

I stared at the mangled phone through the side mirror as we drove farther and farther from it.

'You can run, La Mia damigella......but you can never hide.'

Those words echoed in my head and I could imagine Luciano saying them directly to my face.

Expelling a sharp breath, I tried to shut out the weird thought away from my mind and focused on Noel and the beautiful landscapes we drove past.

Noel's eyes were fixated on the steering wheel and the road, and he didn't attempt to utter a word.

I began to wonder what was going on in his head, but I didn't ask.

The ride was silent until he eventually parked the car in front of a large shopping mall and then uttered. “Don't hesitate to tell me whatever you need, Janie."

"Sure thanks."

We entered the shopping mall. If I thought Noel was merely shopping for a few stuff, I was wrong. Several minutes later, I held a lot of bags containing various types of clothes, shoes, bags, and even some of the romantic novels I'd been wishing to read. Noel helped me with some and lastly, we stopped by an Apple store and he got me an iPhone.

I was too stunned to speak.

All this generosity from Noel brought a feeling that strengthened my resolve. My joy knew no bounds as I jumped out of excitement in the shopping mall, thanking Noel over and over again.

Noel laughed over my attitude and termed my profound gratitude as 'cheesy'

“You are like the big brother I never had, Noel," I said to him with a wide grin as we walked out of the mall. "Why are you so kind to me, when we just met?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.

“Maybe because, I see you as my younger sister, Janie." He chided while I pouted at his remark.

“You know... I saw your younger sister's photograph. She seems way younger than me, I can pass as her aunt." I inferred.

Noel spared me a glance. “Chelsea? Of course, Chelsea is barely a teen. She is just 14."

No wonder she looked so young, I thought to myself.

"By the way where is she now?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't get an awful snippet of her at the same time.

“My parents put her in a boarding school because of her troublesome nature."

Furrowing my brows, I looked at him with surprise. “Troublesome? How troublesome could she be, to be thrown into a boarding school?"

Noel chuckled. “Oh trust me, you don't want to know. But aside from that, they put her there because I went to college while my father was always busy with homicidal crimes and all that, and my mom was almost occupied with shifts because she was the head nurse. So apparently, Chelsea can't stay home by herself. She might take that as a laxity to snoop around and get her ass kidnapped. And we don't want that, do we?"

“Yes, you are right. I don't blame her though. Teens that age tend to be rebellious." I stated as a matter of fact.

"By the way, how old are you?" Noel asked as he opened the entrance door for me to come out before following right behind me.

“I'm 19. But I'll be 20 in two months, you?"

"23," Noel replied then pressed his lips together into a grim line.

My eyes widened in shock. I never expected Noel to be this old, considering he appeared around my age. No wonder he said I seemed like his younger sister.

"I didn't get into college early because I wasn't a bright student and I kept failing my entrance exam. In case you are wondering." His voice split through my thoughts.

Twitching my lips, I waved it off immediately. “Nah, that doesn't matter. Look at me, if I eventually get into college, I think I'll be rounding up around 24 or 25. There is no need to rush, I always believe everyone can run their lives at their own pace. No judgments, no comparison, just thriving to be the best version of ourselves with each passing day."

Noel looked at me this time then smirked. “Wow, that sounds so smart."

I clutched my chest and said in a sing-song voice. “Thank you."

"Well, I believe in not giving up though. Look at me now, I'm a business major, looking forward to venturing into a start-up business soon." He bragged.

“And I'm so proud of you. I like that you are optimistic and very calculative." I said to him.

“If I wasn't venturing into business, I might as well scrap the essence of my existence and become Bob the builder." He joked while I laughed so hard until tears gathered in my eyes.

Noel was so funny. The fact that he was also a tall, good-looking guy, gave him a bonus point. Nonetheless, I was grateful to him for making me laugh this much when I hadn't even felt like this in months.

Right now, I don't feel burdened nor do I feel worried about what was going to happen next.

After walking down the lane, we finally arrived at the spot where the truck was parked. Noel put everything we bought into the truck and then turned to face me.

“I'd like to grab a drink at the coffee shop. Are you in?" He pointed at the coffee shop across the road.

I nodded and we walked into the coffee shop. Noel ordered a cup of cappuccino, while I requested for milkshake. We took our seats and continued to discuss as we took a sip out of our drinks.

"The waiter is stealing glances at you," Noel informed me then tossed the blond guy at the counter, a scowl.

Taking a quick glimpse in that direction, I looked back at Noel and shrugged. “Maybe I look like someone he knows."

"Oh, that's not the look he's giving. I think it's the she is so beautiful, I want to get her number look." He teased.

"Oh stop it." I snorted and then smiled.

However, my stomach fluttered at his remark. I couldn't believe Noel saw me as a beautiful girl.

Just as we were discussing other stuff, the door to the coffee shop opened and five men strutted in. They were donned in an all-black attire, and their faces were concealed beneath a face cap and black shades.