That Kid: Noah Pryce

Chapter 5

After what I've seen, I hurriedly went up to my bedroom, locking the door so noone could barge in.

I dived down my bed, burying my face to my pillow as I let the tears storm from my eyes. My mind started flashing the fun times I had with Nasty, from the first day we took him in from the pound, which was 4 years ago, until our playtime yesterday.

Since I was someone who doesn't have that much friends at school, Nasty was the second best thing that happened to my non-sociable life. When Noah moved away with his family, my whole world crashed. I became more emotionally disoriented. And Nasty. He's my best friend. He may have been a dog, but in my years of existence, I felt like he understood me very well than most people do.

I could see him walking in my room, his tongue sticking out. He would jump on my bed, licks my face while his tiny tail wags, and I would laugh as I caress his soft fur. Then I would begin telling him everything that happened in school-- good and bad.

But now he's gone.

I wheezed as Nasty's tiny image in my mind swiftly transformed into the dead image he had become. And then I saw Noah with his knife plucking out my dog's intestines.

How could he do that? Why did he do that?!

Anger mixed up with my sadness. Then bewilderment caught up. Then nothing. My eyes, along with my mind, just became numb all of a sudden. Guess I cried so hard there was no tears left to shed.

Seconds later, there was a knock on the door. Aunt Clare's voice spoke up.

"Jenny? Are you okay?"

Go away! I wanted to shout at her, but my mouth remained shut. I propped my back on my bed's headboard and hugged my knees.

"Honey, I am so sorry," this time it was Mrs. Emily's voice. "Noah's sorry too," she added.

My eyebrows curled to a frown when I heard it. I scoffed and clenched my jaw. What Noah did was way out of bound. He can say sorry, yeah, but his sorry won't bring my dog back.

And to think I was so excited for his return. Then this happened.

I remembered his face. When he looked at me earlier. It was... Confusing actually. There was sadness, there was anger, yet at the same time his eyes were... dead. It wasn't the Noah I've known 10 years ago. It wasn't.

I fell into tears again for no clear reason. But I don't intend to stop my tears either.

"Jenny, please open the door," Aunt Clare's voice spoke again. Still, my mouth kept closed. Why won't they just leave me alone? I want to be alone for now!

Then, both Aunt Clare and Mrs. Emily's voice vanished into thin air. I heard footsteps but that's just about it. The outside of my room got quiet again.

I heaved in a heavy sigh, with both my eyes closed. I felt a tad bit of relief knowing they finally left for me to contemplate on my emotions alone.

However, a few moments later, there was another knock on the door. With frowning eyebrows, I finally snapped at them and yelled.

"GO AWAY!"

There was no respond. Only another round of knocks. Then another. The third knock had an obvious rythym to it.

"I said GO AWAY!" I screamed again. I didn't know if it was Aunt Clare, Mrs. Emily or my sister. Although a part of me was hoping it was either of them. I don't know what I'll do if it was Noah on the other side of the door. The truth is, he frightened me.

The knocking finally stopped, but then my doorknob began to twist. My eyes widened nervously as I watched the knob twisting, like somebody was trying to turn it from the outside. My adrenaline rush rose up that I jumped off my bed and slowly tip-toed to the door.

Abruptly, the door cracked open, and my chest thumped heavily, causing me to gasp roughly. As the door opened wider, Noah's appearance stood in the doorway. He had his pocket knife held firmly on his other hand. I gulped as my heart began to palpitate at the sight of the knife. As much as I was terrified, I tried my best to suppress it.

It seemed like he was waiting for me to give him permission to come in because he just stood there with his one hand not leaving the doorknob.

A lump was blocking my throat, and I had to swallow it really hard. The lump felt so rough it made my esophagus hurt.

I took a step backward with my jaws wide open in terror. His stare was mixed with daggers, and it stabbed me that I couldn't initiate any large movements. It felt like his dagger-stare stabbed through my innermost soul, and I was frozen.

"Jenny," he mumbles almost to a whisper. He wasn't looking at me anymore. Instead, his eyes were on the floor.

The moment he directed his eyes away from me, I gained control of my body again. The anxiety and terror was still there, but at least I wasn't trapped in a stun anymore.

I remembered my dog again. Only this time, it wasn't about Nasty anymore. It was about Noah, and what he did. It made me sick, and even more terrified.

No longer waiting for my permission, Noah let himself in. He stepped closer, and I unconsciously stepped backwards each time until there was no more space for me to step back since my bed was blocking behind me.  I plopped my ass on the edge of the bed.

Noah was closer to me. He dropped his knife, then he leaned his body closer, and I had to bend back, just so our torsos wouldn't get too much close to each other. I bend back, but before my back could land on the bed, Noah had wrapped his arms around my torso. He hauled me back up while hugging me.

The next thing I knew, he was... crying?

With a baffled look on my face, and a dash of hesitation, I hugged him back. For some reason, him crying actually eradicated the fear I had. Somehow it soothed me down. And the anger, it turned into pity, for some reason I can't comprehend.

All I know was that he was crying amidst hugging me, and it got to me. I cried along with him as if we had the same reason to cry about.

I patted his back to calm him down. I could feel his body shaking a bit because of his sobbing. His hug got tighter that I gasped. I patted his back again, wiping the tears that developed from my eyes.

"I'm sorry," he kept repeating in between his tears. Everytime he says the word, he'll just tighten his hug to a point where I could get literally squeezed. His hug would loosen whenever he breathes in for air, but then tighten the embrace again while muttering the same three words: I am sorry.

I admit. What he did to my dog, was unforgivable. It was inhumane. But by just seeing him crying, his tears wetting my shoulders, it broke my heart.

Finally, he pulled away from the hug. His hands were grasping my torso still, but we were looking at each other face to face. His eyes were puffy and red due to crying, and I know my eyes were the same for his point of view.

My eyebrow quirked up when I noticed he was just staring at me now. It made me feel uneasy, like blushingly uneasy. I suddenly felt self-conscious, embarrassed even.

Why is he staring at me? My mind asked myself.

His eye made a sudden twitch while his head tilted a bit to the side. I noticed him swallow before inhaling and exhaling deeply.

There was something different. I could tell it. I could feel it. His eyes were different now too as I stared into it. It wasn't plain confusing anymore. It was somehow... relaxing and comforting. The same eyes I once knew he had. For some reason, the old Noah I knew was here.

A smile unconsciously appeared on my face. He looked surprised, but then smiled as well.

In a blink of an eye, his face leaned in and our lips touched each other.

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A/N

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