Sapphire

Chapter 34

Shay rushed after Noah as he started storming over to the house, grabbing him and wrapping him in her arms before he could get too close. "We're not supposed to intervene, remember?" Shay whispered, holding him in place in the backyard just ten feet from the window. "Just do surveillance and gather evidence for the police, ok?"

Noah's body was so rigid she felt like she was wrapped around a tree trunk. Nothing soft about it. "I can't just let him hit her." His deep voice reverberated in her bones and she pressed her cheek against his chest, trying to soothe his speeding heart.

"I know. I know it's hard but just think about how much worse it will be if you go in there." Shay reasoned. Greg would fight back until Noah did irreparable damage, maybe even Barbara would step in to stop the intruder from hurting her husband, and the kids would most likely run in and bear witness as well. Nothing good could come out of it. Nothing. The best shot they had was gathering enough evidence that the cops had no choice but to put him away.

"You stupid bitch, you better listen to me or I swear I'll kill you next time." Greg's voice interrupted them again, the threat clear and irreputable. The perfect thing to have recorded.

"She'll be okay, Noah. She'll be okay." Shay whispered.

Noah flinched and seemed to make a tiny attempt at breaking free, but Shay held strong. "You don't know that, Shay. You can't possibly know that." His voice was low but held a smidge of panic, an emotion that rarely found its way into Noah's tiny range of feeling.

"We can't do anything."

"Yes we can."

Shay knew what he wasn't saying. That they could hurt him so bad he may never walk, or maybe break a bone, or maybe even kill him. Those would be real ways to get justice for the years of abuse Barbara had no doubt endured.

But what about the children? What about the love that Greg's wife had for him? There were too many things they didn't know, too many possible consequences for every action they could take.

"We can't hurt him, Noah." Shay's voice was firm even as more protests and loud bangs came through the speaker. "Just look at me, ok?"

Noah's eyes stayed focused behind her, so she started to turn their bodies. Noah resisted at first but gradually went along with it, moving his feet so he was facing the woods behind them.

"Look at me, please." Shay repeated, this time taking a step back to gaze at him. Her hands still holding onto his arms to make sure he didn't make another move, her hands not even wrapped halfway around his biceps.

Eventually, he looked down. His haunted eyes found hers and she temporarily lost her breath, a flash of pain shooting through her skull at the sight of his expression. Another thud came through the speaker and Noah winced, his eyelids shutting for a moment as his lip twitched. His fists were clenched at his sides and it looked like it took everything he had to stand in front of her.

"You can do this." Shay encouraged. "You can do this for her." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "I'm calling 9-1-1. Everything will be fine."

Noah's eyebrows furrowed together. "I thought we weren't supposed to."

"I'll put in an anonymous tip." Shay stated. "I can't let him keep hitting her."

Things had been quieter on the audio for the past couple of minutes but they couldn't be sure it wouldn't start up again. Besides, they had enough evidence to put him away by now.

"Are you okay?" Shay asked after she made the call, concerned. He was taking deep breaths that seemed to calm him, and she even had the gile to think her embrace helped as well.