Noah

16 yearold Rayne deals with her sixth sense, and her now dead best friend,Cyri. Finding sanctuary with Noah.

                Noah takes my hand. His touch sends tingles up my arm, and his smile warms me. I force a smile back at him. Today, I will not smile not truly. Not for a long time. Today is my best friends’ funeral, my Cyri’s funeral. Cyri has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. And now… now she’s gone. I scan the crowd for my mother…gone. Great. I will remember December 15^th for the rest of my life. I listen to the sermon in silence. The air is cold, harsh even. It doesn’t care that there are 50 people outside. Only two, maybe three of whom actually knew Cyri. Knew her for her. Who she really was.

                Oh, Cyri… I wish you were here. I feel a burst of warm air swell around me, almost embracing me. It feels…like home. The wind dies down and through a faint breeze, I smell him. My dad. A mixture of pine trees and well…him. I feel pressure on my forehead and a whisper dances across my ear. My eyes shoot open. I am angered, at first, at the one who disturbed me. It was Noah.

                “Rayne?” his eyes screaming concern. “Honey, are you okay?”

                “Yeah. Fine.” I say, obviously lying through my teeth. I sense that Noah is about to protest and I instinctively change the subject. I mean its habit right? That’s what Taylor’s do. Avoid the questions all together. “I’m sorry Noah,” I blurt out. “I spaced out… what did you say?” His eyes sustain that look of concern. Three…two…one. He buys it.

                “I wanted to let you know that if at any time you want to leave, just let me know and I will take you home okay?” I suspect he can sense my exasperation, because he too scans the crowd looking for my mother. When he looks back at me it feels like he can see right through me.

                “Okay… thank you.” He is so sweet, how did I ever get him?

                “I don’t know how did you?” I turn to find that familiar, mocking tone of….Oh gawd. Cyri. Ohmigawd! I’m insane… I’ve gone off the deep end….I’ve… “Oh come on Rayne, you know it’s me. I’m really here, and you know it.”

                “Noah?” I call, and to my dismay there is no answer. I now realize that I-we? - are no longer at Cyri’s-her? - funeral.

                “Oh relax Rayne; you knew the day would come. Don’t you remember talking to your dad? No? Anyway, I haven’t got long. There is only so much time I have before I have to go.”

                “This is not funny! Whoever the hell you are you need to stop messing with my head!!” I scream. Cyri smiles, looks up to a very bright light and wave’s goodbye before ascending towards the light. Darkness surrounds me.

                “Rayne?...Rayne? Can you hear me?” I open my eyes and wait for everything to focus.

                “Noah…?”

                “Yeah it’s me. Are you okay, you look pale. Should I take you the doctor? What about..”

                “Noah, I’m fine. Just take me home, please. I just really need to go home.”

                “Are you sure?” I nod. “Okay, whatever you want.” I take his hand and together we slip out of the wake.

***

                He watches me get into my house. My mind goes back to our first date, sophomore year. I feel a small smile curl upon my lips. I ask him why he waits there, and he just replies “Because I want to make sure you are safe.” I knew right then that we would make it out of high school, but now. Now I’m not that sure. I open the door and I find a note, scrawled in my mothers’ handwriting.

Rayne,

I am going out with John. Be back late.

Don’t wait up. Sorry I missed Cyri’s funeral.

Love, Mom

Typical, so typical. I look out my window and see Noah, waiting for a sign that I have made it in the house okay. I run back out to his car, his eyes are alert, and he gives a sad smile.

                “Noah?”

                “Yeah?”

                “Do you want to stay?”

                “Only if you want me to.”

                “Of course I do.” I want to say. I just smile, and motion for him to come in. My mom won’t be home for a while, and I am thankful for it. Noah always takes my mind off of stuff.

***

                In the kitchen I prepare popcorn for our movie fest. Mom called this morning saying that she would be staying with John for the weekend, and it being Friday night Noah and I plan to chill here for the weekend. Zach would be over later, and I wanted some time alone with Noah. Even if it meant camping out on the couch for the next two and a half days, just the two of us. Or I guess the three of us. I assume I have just gone off the deep end, me seeing Cyri, but I don’t freak out when I see her, or when she pops up and starts talking to me. Not anymore. I’m officially insane. Completely irrevocably insane. Oh, well I guess I knew the day would come, I guess I just didn’t think it would be so soon.

                “Rayne?” I jump at the sound of Noah’s voice. “Hey,” he wraps his arms around my waist. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” I look up at him, and I can see how tired he really is for the first time. I look back down and lean into him, immediately feeling guilty for being so self-absorbed. He just holds me, and I know he’s there for me, and he always will be. Cyri pops up and starts mocking us. The sad part is, it doesn’t even faze me that I’m the only one who can see her. I want to be alone with Noah, I think. “I love you Rayne.”He blurts. Cyri’s jaw drops, her once electric green eyes faded but still held the jolt of shock. I don’t say anything. “R-Rayne,” he stutters. “I-I know this isn’t a…” I lean in and kiss him.

                “Noah, I know. But it was the perfect thing to say.” He flashes that smile of his, and I swear I began to melt. He hugs me, and just holds me. I feel almost whole again, almost normal again. “N-Noah?”  I ask.

                “Yeah?”

                “I’m ready.” That’s when Cyri goes ballistic in the corner, almost as shocked as Noah.

                “Rayne?”

                “I’m sure.”

                “You sure?”

                “Yes.” And I was certain I was. We’d been dating for a year and a half now. I am ready, I mean, he is Noah Bradley. And I am just me, Rayne Taylor, freak. How did I get him? I don’t deserve him. Cyri is still freaking out, and I am determined to ignore her. Noah pulls me close, and kisses my forehead.

                “Are you sure?” he whispers. I nod and lead him up to my bed room. “Rayne,” he says. “We don’t have to do this. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” I look at him, and I know he is right. He has never pressured me into anything, he’s always been there, and nothing was going to stop that. I could see it in his eyes, he wasn’t going anywhere. He’s now standing at the end of my bed, and I can see he’s worried for me. “He doesn’t want to pressure you Rayne” Cyri says.”Are you sure you want to do this she asks. Rayne you really need to think about this.

                I ignore her and push Noah onto the bed. “Rayne, really. Only if you are ready.”

                “Noah, I am ready.” He doesn’t believe me. I smile at him. “Really”. I lean down and kiss him, he wants to. I  can sense it. He pulls me on top of him, and immediately rolls me over. He kisses my neck, stops and says the most relieving thing.

                “Rayne, this isn’t the time. Not tonight okay? Sometime, just not…”

                “Tonight, I know. I get it.” Cyri, is still gawking in the corner. Under the initial relief and slight annoyance, I feel the slightest bit of paranoia creeping in. I shove that thought to the back of my mind, I’ll get back to it later.

                “Rayne?” I look up at him. “I’m sorry, I just. Not tonight. I want you to be sure you are ready.” I nod. Noah looks at his watch, “I have to go pick up Lissa. I’ll be back.” He smiles at me, kisses me on the forehead before leaving. Cyri’s back.

                “Rayne what were you thinking?!” she practically screams at me.

                “Calm down Cyri” 

                “Calm down? Calm down? Rayne! You almost cashed in your card! Come on?”

                “Just don’t, okay. Not now.”

                “Rayne, he wants to.” My eyes falter, revealing the paranoia for the world to see.

                “You don’t know that”

                “Yes I do.”

                “How?”

                “You’re telling me, you couldn’t feel his emotion? Come on Ray, you aren’t that blonde.”I ignore her. “Ray, he loves you.”

                “But why? His family hates me, I don’t fit in with him. He deserves better than me”

                “You’re right….” I look at her. “His family does hate you.” She smiles. “But he doesn’t deserve you.”

                “Cyri, stop feeding that crap to me, I’m not stupid.”

                “You are if you believe he doesn’t love you.”

                “What if it’s just an illusion? What if he doesn’t?”

                “Okay, what’s bringing this on? You’ve been dating a year, you’ve never shut up about how much you love him, and now you’re saying you don’t trust him? C’mon now.”

                “He l-loves me, but not enough to-“

                “Ray, that boy was trying not to rip your clothes off. Walking away like that is probably the hardest thing he’s done in a long time. He wants to, trust me.” All I want to do right now is get off this subject. Thank God the doorbell rang. Cyri’s eyes

 started to water. I don’t ask because quite frankly I don’t care. Not now, she left me. She left me and now she is tearing up because I could have lost my virginity. Why is she here, why do I see her? Why? That’s all  I want to know.

                No- that’s not true. I want to know everything. Why dad was taken away, and now Cyri? I don’t get it. Why are the people who are close to me being taken away so suddenly. Noah is all I have left anymore. I don’t know how I’m going to make it anymore. I just, I just don’t get it.

 

 

Author's Note

As sixteen-year-old Rayne deals with the loss of her best friend, she discovers a "talent" that she somehow supressed after her fathers' death years before.She tries to deal with her sixth sense, and finds sanctuary with her boyfriend, Noah.