Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Night crept onto us, slowly. The hours passed, but I still didn’t want to go back. Not to that house. Not while she was there.

Noah was lying beside me, back against the sand. His eyes had shut a while ago, and I figured he might have fallen asleep. I stood up carefully and steadied myself on the boulder beside me. I was hammered, and I think Noah was too. I didn’t remember how many beers he drank, but I knew it was enough to keep him from driving home.

“Noah?” I whispered, shaking his body. He groaned for a moment, before opening his eyes and remembering where he was.

“What?” he asked. He struggled to keep his eyelids from closing. I was far from sober, but by the strong odor escaping his lips and the crimson coloration concealing his natural eye pigment, I could tell that he was farther.

“We have to go,” I said, strapping my purse around my neck. He said something, but I couldn’t hear over the crashing of the waves against the sand. It probably didn’t help that I was drunk as hell. “What did you say?” I asked, helping him to his feet. He wobbled for a moment trying to gain his balance.

“Where do we have to go?” he asked. I thought for a moment. I couldn’t go back to Caleb’s house, and there’s no way in hell I was letting Noah get behind the wheel of the car. Our only option left was walking back to Noah’s house. He didn’t live too far away. Just a few blocks down, so it wouldn’t take that long.

“Home,” I said, grabbing his hand, leading the way.

The walk took twice as long as it normally would, but we finally reached the front steps of Noah’s house. I helped him up the steps and guided him towards the front door. I wasn’t sure if his parents were home, but I imagined this wasn’t the first time he’d wandered home drunk. I took the keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door. All of the lights in the house were off, so I assumed we were in the clear. I led Noah inside and locked the door behind me. He was having a hard time keeping his balance at this point. “We’re almost there,” I whispered. “Just up the stairs.” He nodded and followed me up the stairs. I counted the steps until I reached the top. Sixteen. I led him down the hall, past his parents’ bedroom, past the bathroom, and into his bedroom. He passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. I headed into the bathroom to grab a bucket from under the sink in case Noah were to puke.

I flipped on the light of the bathroom and rummaged through the lower cabinet of the vanity until I found a small bucket that would do. I shut the cabinet and turned around to find Mr. Wellman standing behind me. My heart nearly popped out of my chest, I jumped so hard.

“Charlie?” he said sounding somewhat relieved. “There you are.” I tried to sober up as much as I could, but it was quite obvious that I was a distance from sober. “Mr. Kepner called, asking about you,” he said.

“Oh,” I murmured, trying to conceal my breath. It must’ve reeked of alcohol. “I just planned on spending the night here,” I continued. He looked suspicious, but he didn’t question me further. I had spent many nights here before, so I was no stranger to this house. No stranger to Noah’s bed.

“Alright,” he stated. “I’ll just give Patrick a call then.” I nodded while biting the inside of my cheek. Without another word, I walked back into Noah’s room, placed the bucket on the floor beside his bed, crawled up next to him, and drifted to sleep.

                                 …

Leaves fell from the trees like any other autumn day. The day was comfortable when the breeze wasn’t blowing. But when it was, the air felt like ice against my skin. Despite that, nothing was going to stop me.

“Come on,” I yelled towards my grandmother behind me. She was walking slowly behind me, trying to keep up with my teetering, little feet.

“I’m coming, dear,” she yelled back laughing. “These old bones can’t walk so fast anymore,” she said under her breath so that I couldn’t hear, but I still did.

I ran back towards her and began pulling her hand. “Come on,” I yelled again. “We’re going to be late.” We were approaching a busy intersection, and I watched the cars speed by. Too preoccupied with their daily lives to take notice of us. Standing there, we watched them. My grandmother and I held hands, waiting for the crosswalk sign to light up.

An airplane flew directly above us. Its wings stretched out like an eagle and it was descending, preparing to land. I stared as it glided across the sky, painting a white streak in the sea of blue. “Look,” I said letting go of my grandmother’s hand to point up to the sky. “Look, look,” I yelled, jumping up and down. I turned towards my grandmother, but she wasn’t there. Where had she gone? I looked all around the street, but I still didn’t see her.

A shriek rang out from behind. It was my grandmother’s voice. I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her screams. I ran towards them. As fast as my tottering little legs would take me. I ran and, I ran until my lungs burned and my feet were aching, but I just couldn’t seem to reach her voice. It was becoming fainter until I heard another screech behind me. I turned and started running again, chasing after the screams. “Charlie,” she yelled. “Charlie.”

I awoke in a panic to Noah sitting beside me, shaking my body. “Charlie, wake up,” he was saying. I pushed him away, and sat up in bed. It was still dark out, and I wasn’t sure what was happening. My legs were shaking beneath the covers, and I could hardly breathe.

“What’s going on?” I asked sternly.

“You were having a nightmare,” he said calmly. This had happened before. It’s a recurring nightmare where my grandmother disappears and I can’t ever get to her. I hear the shrieks, but I can’t ever reach her. I always wake up just as I’m about to reach her voice. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and shivered. Noah grabbed onto me tightly and held me for a while. “Was it your grandmother again?” he asked serenely. I nodded. His grip tightened around me, suffocating me for just a moment before it soothed me. Slowly, I drifted back to sleep in his arms as the first chirps of the morning could be heard outside. I couldn’t help but wonder if one of those chirps was the sound of Alex.

                                 …

I awoke next to the sound of pans clanging together in the kitchen. A boisterous noise jolting me out of unconsciousness. I sat up in bed, but Noah wasn’t there. I gazed around his room, remembering. Many a nights I had slept in his bed. I had been in his room a thousand times, but this morning it seemed so foreign. I recognized the same blue comforter spanning from one edge of the bed to the other in a rumpled mess. I documented the same trophies aligned on his dresser. I noted the same pictures posted on his wall. Surprisingly there was only one of Alex. I stood up and walked over to where his collection of pictures stood.

There was one of him and Derrick standing side by side in their football uniforms holding last year’s state trophy. The boys won it all by one point on a forty yard field goal with four seconds left in the game. It was our school’s first state championship in over a decade. Naturally, I stayed in and watched the game streamed online. Noah had begged me to come, but I didn’t want to sit alone in the bleachers and watch a sport I didn’t really care about. I think he was disappointed when I didn’t show up, but he never said anything. He knew sports weren’t really my thing, so he never pushed them with me.

I picked up the photo of him and Alex. It was from homecoming sophomore year. Noah had picked her up and held her in a classic pose. His legs steady, holding her up with ease. Her arm clinging to his neck. Alex looked radiant in her skin tight black dress with red heels. Her hair was curled in some fancy up do, and her ruby red lipstick painted on with perfection. Her look must’ve taken hours, but she looked absolutely incredible.  Daring, yet classy. She was kissing his cheek in the picture as he laughed. His gorgeous white teeth spanning from one cheek to the other. The two looked so unbelievably happy. This was just weeks before she ended her life.

I had seen this photo before briefly, but I had never really examined it. I held the image in between my fingertips. It was all so unfair the way he treated her. I felt sorry for Alex. I understood it all. He cheated on her. He broke her trust. Shattered the foundation of their relationship beyond repair. It was something she couldn’t look past no matter how much she had wanted to. Noah had known what he was doing. He know he messed up. But that doesn’t mean he still didn’t love her. Just like me cheating on Caleb doesn’t mean that I still didn’t love him. I needed to see him.

I held the picture in my hands for another moment. I wanted to rip it to shreds so badly. I couldn’t stand seeing Alex lied to. I couldn’t stand seeing that grin on his face. But mostly, I couldn’t stand seeing them together. It shouldn’t have made me jealous, but it did.

I flipped the picture over, so I wouldn’t have to see it anymore, but I noticed there was writing on the back. Red ink, splattered over the paper in perfect script. It looked like some kind of a note, a letter maybe. I skipped to the bottom to find Alex’s name printed at the end. “Love, Alex,” it read. As much as I wanted to read it, I knew it was wrong. I couldn’t get myself to do that to Noah, even though he had done it to me. Quickly, I placed the picture back with the others where I had found it, and went to go find him.

He stood in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. “Good morning,” I stuttered rubbing my eyes.

“Morning,” he said smiling at me. “Hungry?” he asked, offering me a plate. I nodded and took it eagerly. Hungry was an understatement. I was completely famished.

Strips of bacon were on the stove in uniform lines as well as a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. I took a piece of bacon and began nibbling on it. It was crispy and greasy sending my taste buds on a trip to heaven. I placed two pancakes on my plate and drizzled them in syrup. I felt like it had been years since my last meal, considering I never got the chance to eat the French toast I had made yesterday, and I was living off of gas station potato chips that tasted like they had been sitting there for weeks.

I sat down at the kitchen table, and Noah took a seat beside me. His eyes were glowing with the morning and mine were crusty and swollen. My headache was strong and my body ached. I looked at Noah. He didn’t look the least bit hungover. He was always lucky like that. I envied him and his good genes this morning.

We ate our breakfast in silence. Not because there was anything particularly wrong, but because we were both starving. I gobbled down my food quickly, as did Noah. My stomach began to hurt, probably from eating so fast.

Noah cleared off our dishes and placed them carefully in the sink. “You know,” he said, looking at the dishes, “I think you should talk to her.” He was talking about my mother. As much as I had always valued his opinion, I didn’t want to hear that. I began to shake my head, thinking of something to say.

“I�"”

“Give her a chance,” he demanded, finding my eyes. I looked at him, and he looked at me.

“Why should I give her a chance?” I asked sarcastically. “She’s done nothing but hurt me.” He stared at me for the longest time without saying a word. I felt a tense pressure on my shoulders but I didn’t flinch.

“Maybe she had a reason to come,” he whispered. I really didn’t want to hear this. Especially from Noah.

“I don’t know, Noah,” I started. “I can’t look past what she did.” My voice began to choke up, but I had to finish. “She is the reason my father went to prison. She is the reason he is dead,” I said sternly. I shuddered as soon as I said it and Noah noticed. He walked over to me and put his arms around me, his fingertips stroking my back.

“Please just talk to her,” he said. “For me.” His words came out slow, but steady. I really didn’t want to talk to my mother, but I couldn’t say no to Noah. Not after everything we’ve been through. I nodded and buried my head into his shoulder. “I’ll be there if you want me to,” he said, but I shook my head.

“No,” I said. “This is something I have to do alone.”

He understood and held me tighter. His arms pulled my body closer to him and I could feel our chests pressing against one another. I didn’t want to ever let go, but just as quickly as he had pulled me in, he released. “I’ll drive you over there,” he said, kissing me on the forehead before walking away.

Reviews

[Lorry]

I think the one thing that really stands out in this chapter, as well as many others, is the way you deal with flashbacks, here with your Gran. No need to let the reader know that it is a flashback, it just naturally fits the flow as well as improving and expanding the story as a whole. It is also a good reminder to us all that before all the confusion of life and living hits us, there were times that were just free of such thoughts and worries.
I like how you end this chapter, with the knowledge that Charlie is about to face her fears, for good or bad. It leaves the reader wondering which way this particular part of the story will pan out. Still a great read. Onward we go :)

[Sarah]

Thanks for the kind words!

[Rebecca]

the nightmare was well written, loved it. keep writing.

[Christopher Miller]

Charlie seems to have a pretty big weak spot for Noah. As I read about him bringing up her mother, I was thinking 'who does he think he is now' and expected her to say much the same. She resists, but with none of the vitriol anyone else would have encountered, only to fold when he asks her to do it for him. And I'm wondering, what is he expecting to get out of it that makes it worth applying all that pressure? He knows very little, if anything, about the situation.
But, I am keeping in mind that when I was his age, I probably wasn't so different. I gave plenty of advice that would be different now.

[Sarah]

Interesting thought. I like where your head's at!

[Mifa]

Okay, not much to say about this chapter. My sentiments about Noah may very well be impeding on my objectivity though. But all in all it is a good chapter. I am particularly glad you're sticking to the dialogue route. The tale seems to be moving forward more as it should be through the characters eyes other than through the writers.

I do have a funny corection to note though. There's a line in the third intercut where you substituted 'Nowhere' for 'Noah'.

"I sat up in bed, but nowhere wasn’t there"

I know its a typo but I just couldn't help laughing. Plus I think you should take caution in not mixing up the names too. In this line, I was sorta confused on who's who.

"Just like me cheating on Noah doesn’t mean that I still didn’t love him"

I suspect Caleb was the intended name to fill that space. Anyways, good one though. Sarah, good one. On to the next then.

[Sarah]

Thank you for the review. I'll make sure to change that right away. I think I had caught it in my own copy when I went back but I had forgotten to change that on the website.

[Mifa]

Aii...cool.