ALPHA

CHAPTER 2

A cold breeze hit my skin as I try to open my eyes. It's cold. I said to myself. Why is it cold? Oh, the window... My eyes feel heavy and tired. I can't open it even if I want to. My body is immovable. It feels like there's something heavy on top of me. 

Window... window... 

And the darkness consumed me once again.

---

Everyone is silent. Amelia is pacing back and forth while Anthony is silent looking down at his now cold cup of coffee. Justin, Lewis, and Charlotte are just staring into the house's white walls. As if something will come out of it. No one bothers to speak. No one has the energy to break the ice. Only glances and emotion-filled faces. The mood is dark and cold as the night, combined with the heavy rain outside.

"What are we going to do now?" Amelia broke the silence. Looks at her husband Anthony. Her eyes are puffy because of constant crying. Anthony looked up, his expression is unreadable. Nonetheless, he stood up and hugged his wife. Comforting her and whispering assuring words in her ear. "Oh, Anthony!" Amelia can't help but cry again. Sobbing in her husband's arms.

The people around them are just observing. Lewis gently grabbed his sister Charlotte's hands. He squeezes it lightly. An assurance. Justin stood up and faced his siblings. "Noa will be okay. You know how strong she is. She will never do that again. She promised us, right?" Justin and Charlotte didn't say anything but their faces are telling that they believe their older brother. 

They know how brave Noa is. 

She has to be... After all the things that happened to her -- to them, they cannot lose her again.

Noa Jacobs is the third child of Anthony and Amelia Jacobs. She was found unconscious again in the bathroom by her nurse. She told that Noa said that she wanted to take a shower and asked her to prepare a hot meal so she could eat after her quick cold shower. When the nurse came back from the kitchen, she went straight to check Noa. She knocked for how long god knows but received no answer behind the door. And when she opened the door she found her patient, Noa, laying on the bathroom floor.

Her skin is as cold as ice. A bottle of empty medicine container was found at the bottom of the sink. But the nurse assured the Jacobs that she left it there but Noa's parents doesn't believe her. 

After the long wait, the doctor came out of Noa's room. He was bombarded with Amelia's never-ending questions. The whole family was seated in the living room listening to the doctor's findings. 

The doctor said that Noa slipped. She has bruises on her legs and arms and a swollen left foot. 

"I already instructed the nurse on what to do".  He said while looking at Noa's parents and acknowledging her siblings. 

The doctor's theory is that Noa lost consciousness or maybe she's feeling nauseous that's why she slipped. He assured them that she didn't overdose on medicine. He found nothing except minor physical injuries. But to make sure she's not thinking of doing anything again, the doctor advises her parents to talk to her and her therapist. 

After the long discussion, the doctor left with Noa's nurse in tow.

"Did she do it, Anthony?" Amelia asked her husband. Eyes are pleading. 

Anthony hugged her again. "She promised us. And you heard what the doctor and the nurse said, honey. She didn't do it."  Anthony sounded like he was convincing himself. It's not that they don't believe the doctor and the nurse, they do. But it's just that their experience with Noa's case made them question a piece of factual information.