16~ Warning

                                    

                                          
The next few days I spend worrying over the note. We don't do much, trying to stay on the low. Three days in, I finally decide to tell Noah about the letter.
"Cassidy" he groans, his face in his hands. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks frustrated.
"I was distracted" I mumble. Noah barks a short laugh. "Distracted? Cass" he sighs, exhausted.
"Listen I'm sorry! But you know now so we have to deal with it!" I fold my arms over my chest and huff.
Noah sighs and softens. "Alright fine, fine. But don't keep things to yourself anymore. We're partners on this"
I nod and pick up the note, weighing it in my hands. "Who could have sent it?" I ask.
"The Slax company is dying. All of the originals are dead. So most likely not them. But maybe an alibi..." Noah rubs his chin, huffing.
"Who do they work with?" I ask. "It's a family friend company... maybe they're worried... but it's us against them" Noah shakes his head, confused. "What do you mean?" I ask.
"Their company is just as powerful as Slax's was. But they're silent. They work in the shadows if you will. They very much could feel scared. Slax's company fell so quickly and was covered up so efficiently. If we did that, then they could be trying to get us out of the picture so they feel safe"
"Okay but who are they?" I ask.
"The Walks."
"But they haven't done anything!" I exclaim. "We have no reason to go after them" 
"Yes but they worked with Slax. Partners. And if he's down they assume they're next"
Noah tells me all about the Slax and Walks relationship. Apparently, Willow Walks grew up with Jack Slax. They built companies and wanted to work together for more power. They split peacefully for purposes unknown. Of course a few years later they joined together again but the truce was never strong enough again after that.
"Well how do we tell them that we don't want to have problems with them?" I ask. Noah shrugs.
"We can't"
~
A day after our conversation a similar black envelope shows up again. Another threat.
Time is ticking. Confess for safety or wait for Hell. You decide and we'll comply.
"It's like some sick fucking rhyme!" I cry out after we read the note. The storm has stopped for the most part, but tonight it thunders and pours.
"We don't know if they have evidence" he says. "Oh what? Us killing Jack and William and starting the restaurant on fire-" Noah presses his hand against my mouth to silence me. 
"Relax. So far we have the upper hand and these..." Noah picked up the envelopes, waving them around before slamming them back down on the counter, "Are simply words. All bark no bite"
I huff skeptically, but let it drop. There isn't a point to stress over this when clearly everything is under control as Noah claims.
~
That night we're lying in bed while the storm brews outside. The thunder is loud and you can hear the raindrops. It's awfully loud like a ticking clock. 
I stare up at my ceiling and sigh. I can't just drop this. Slax is taken care of, but now we have the Walks breathing down our necks. Whether it's an act or not, it's still stressful and it fills me with dread.
I feel a hand brush against my own and it makes me shiver. "We'll figure it out" Noah promises. 
I nod and turn to him. Noah flips onto his side, facing me. His hands curl around my waist, pulling me close. 
"I think... I think I want to call you mine" Noah whispers in the dark.
"What?" I ask. "You and I... don't have a label. And even though they're dumb it would be nice to make us official"
I smile and press my face against his chest. "Okay Noah. Say the words and I'm yours" I whisper. "Be my partner. My girlfriend" he says. "Of course" I kiss him.
~
Even with a 'label' as Noah called it, things are relatively the same. Well.... normal for us. We've started going out for things other than groceries. But Noah loves grocery shopping with me. I'll be looking at which bagels we should get and when I turn around he's stuffing Goldfish into the cart.
We work together in all things quite well. I'm surprised actually. I fully expected Noah to be out of place with my routine, but he works well shifting into my life.
But the constant worry of the perhaps Walks family being after us looms ominously. 
Noah tries not to act too stressed, for my sake I assume. But some nights I wake to find him sitting up in bed, his face in his hands. I leave him be, pretending to sleep while I watch to see what he does. 
Since that second letter, we have gotten no news since. However the restaurant fire has seemed to have died down, the explanation put all on William craving the power from his father. 
This makes me wonder if that's why the Walks haven't sent anything again. If the only thing they held over us has been shredded to bits, then the Walks have nothing.
I thought this was a good thing but it only seems to worry Noah more, his stress hitting an all time high. So that night I asked him about it.
"Why are you so worried? If they don't have anything over us then they can't threaten us and maybe will figure out that we don't want to deal with them" I asked, moving to shift onto Noah's lap. 
He sighed and moved his hands up my back. "If they don't have an easy way to deal with us then they might come after us and..." he trails off.
"And kill us. Right?" I ask. Noah nods and looks down, his hands moving to my thighs.
"What if we 'took a vacation' while we wait them out?" I ask. "It's like a mafia. They won't stop until every threat is gone"
I nod, humming in agreement. I comb my hands through his hair before running them down his chest. 
"It's okay we'll figure it out. We always do"
Noah grins at me. "We do, don't we?"
His picks me up and flips me under him, me squealing with giggles.