My Mom is rushing around trying to find her medical supplies while I lay Noah down on the bed in the guest bedroom. He immediately fell unconscious for a minute or two and woke up again. I asked him what happened and he said all he remembers is someone whipping him on the back. But that is not all they did because his face is covered in blood. I tell him I need to look at the wounds on his back and help him with his shirt. He rolls over on his stomach and falls unconscious again.
I told my mom about his back and she tells me that we need to clean it. After I heard that, I got the rubbing alcohol and ran into the bedroom. Noah is suddenly conscious again and I warn him that it will hurt. My mom comes in to clean it and I sit down next to him and hold his hand. My mom injects a pain killer into him and he loudly moans. He moans even louder when my mom pours the alcohol on him.
I hate to see him like this. At least last time he was unconscious. He squeezes my hand harder and harder until I feel like it's about to fall off. My mom pours more alcohol on him and he moans and suddenly falls unconscious again. He loses grip of my hand but I still hold it tightly.
After that, we placed ice on his back and I tried to clean off his face. An hour or two later he wakes up. I am still sitting the same place I was when he passed out.
Noah: "Anna?" He says in a moan.
Anna: "Yes, Noah?" I said, happy that he is awake.
Noah: "What happened?" He said, still tightly holding my hand.
I explained to him what happened. He looks at me and says thank you. I said of course and asked him if he remembers anything. He said he remembers hearing Naomi scream and went to help her, then he felt a very sharp pain in his back and he was knocked out. He remembers looking for my house and seeing me at the door..... but he doesn't remember anything else.
I look at him sadly and comb his brown curly hair out of his face. He looks up at me with his beautiful blue eyes and says,
Noah: "Why do you help me?"
Anna: "Noah, I help you because you are important to me. Because I want to help you get better. I hate to see you in pain and I wish this never happened to you." I said. He pulled my hand closer to him and kissed it. I suddenly blushed and smiled.
Noah: "Anna.....I love you." and he falls unconscious. I whisper in his ear, "I love you too." and he smiles.
I didn't even have control over my body when he said he loved me. The words immediately flew from my mouth. I wonder if he will remember? I stayed with Noah all night. When I woke up, he was still holding my hand, unconscious. I carefully set down his hand and got up. I went into the living room and saw that my family was watching the news. The news reporter said there were many gangs out last night attacking people. Then he was talking about a world wide pandemic?!
Oh my.... I thought to myself.
"Your school was cancelled for the rest of the week." My mom said as she looked at me. I nodded and went into the kitchen for some food. As I was pouring my cereal I heard a quiet moan coming from the bedroom Noah was in. I ran to the bedroom to check on him. He sat up and was trying to take the ice off his back. I went over to tell him to rest. He looked up at me and asked, "Where is Naomi?" I tried to hold back my tears when I said, "I don't know Noah, but we will find her." A tear rolled down my cheek and Noah immediately got up and hugged me. I was careful not to touch his back so I wrapped my arms around his neck. It felt comforting to hug him.....I liked it.
After a while, he came out of the hug and asked if I was ok. I nodded and asked him if he was ok. He said yes and hugged me again. I asked if he was hungry and when he nodded. I went into the kitchen while he put a new shirt on. He poured some cereal and sat down next to me.
Anna: "How's your back?"
Noah: "Better, still hurts pretty bad."
Anna: "Good, we will have to ice it some more."
(He nodded)
Anna: "Do you know where your parents are?"
Noah: No. They said they were going out last night and never came back."
Hmmmm? I thought.
After breakfast, I got Noah some fresh clothes and went to my room to change as well. I thought about last night and what Noah and I said to each other. When I came downstairs my parents were leaving to go to work and my sisters went to their bedroom. Noah was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. I went over to him and softly asked....
Anna: "What's wrong?"
Noah looked at me trying to hold back tears.
Noah: "Anna, why couldn't I have helped her? Why did I not go after her? I am so stupid!" he said in a frustrated voice.
Anna: "Oh Noah, it wasn't your fault. You tried your best. I promise we will find her." I said, trying to console him.
Noah: "And what if we don't!?" He said as he angrily got out of the chair and walked into the bedroom.
I wanted to go comfort him but I decided it would be best to let him cool off. My parents left for work and I got medical supplies to clean Noah's back.
After a while, I walked into the room Noah stayed in and he looked up at me and turned his head back to look at the ground. He still seemed pretty angry.
I walked over to him and asked him to turn around so I could clean his back again. He laid on his stomach and I started to pour alcohol onto his back. He instantly clenched his fists and shut his eyes. While I was drying off his back I said....
Anna: "I'm sorry."
Noah: "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong."
Anna: "No I am sorry about everything that happened. You never deserved any of this."
Noah looked at me and sat up. He put his hands in mine and said....
Noah: "What ever happens, promise me that we are in this together."
I could see the pleading in his eyes.
Anna: "Of course, I promise." I said as I hugged him.
Noah held on to me tightly as if he hadn't seen me in years. My phone started ringing and he let me go so that I could answer it. It was my mom.
My mom: "Hey honey, just wanted to let you know that they are transferring me to take care of soldiers in the army tomorrow. Your dad is supposed to be traveling for a few weeks as well so both of us will be gone. Your sisters are going to stay with Mrs. Wilson for the next couple of weeks. Is it ok if you stay with Noah?"
Anna: "Oh umm yeah....sure. I'd love too. Please be safe." I said.
Mom: "Of course, you too. Our plane number is N6859A. I will keep you updated on when we land. Love you!"
Anna: " Ok! Love you too!"
I put the phone down and Noah looked at me with a questioning look.
Anna: "It was my mom. My parents are going out of town and my sisters are staying with Mrs. Wilson. Soo... it is just gonna be you and me!"
Noah smiled and looked down.
A few hours later, Mrs. Wilson picked up my sisters.
Mrs. Wilson: "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" She asked after she saw Noah walk in.
Anna:" No Mrs. Wilson, we will be fine. Thank you though."
She looked up and down at Noah and sighed.
Mrs. Wilson: "Ok.... you two don't have too much fun." She said as she winked at me.
Noah and I laughed and after we closed the door, decided to eat some dinner. After dinner I went to look at Noah's back.
Anna: "The scars look much better. How does your head feel?"
Noah: "It's ok, sometimes I get dizzy and my head will start throbbing." He said as he was rubbing his head.
Anna: "Yeah that's normal for what your head has been through these past few days."
He chuckled. I wonder what he was thinking about? After we ate and I cleaned his back, we decided to watch a movie. While we were watching a movie, I noticed Noah slowly moving closer to me every now and then. He was only a few inches away when I moved close to him and laid my head on his shoulder. I laughed in my head while he put his arm around me.
About 30 minutes later I looked up at him. He was asleep. I softly woke him up and helped to the bed where he was staying. He fell asleep instantly. I walked into the living room and slept on the couch because my room was way too far from Noah....in case he needed help. Before I laid down I locked all the doors and made sure all the windows were closed and locked as well. I grabbed a soft blanket and dozed off right away.
The moment I heard the shriek I was on my feet. There was a loud scream coming from Noah's room. I ran to the room and he was sitting up and breathing extremely fast. I rushed over to him and softly touched him. He freaked out and I tired to console him.
Anna: "Noah, it's me, Anna. It was just a dream you're okay."
I tried to speak in a reassuring voice. He was still shaking when I sat next to him.
Noah: "Sorry, it was just a nightmare. I didn't mean to wake you up."
Anna: "It's okay. Do you wanna talk about it."
Noah: "No...not really."
Anna: "Okay, can you sleep?"
He nodded.
I said goodnight and walked away. As I was walking out the door, Noah asked,
Noah: "Wait! Anna....will you stay with me?"
When I said "yes" the words flew out of my mouth before I even processed the question. I laid next to him and he wrapped his arms around me. I was looking into his ocean blue eyes when he said,
Noah: Oh, and by the way...the reason I got into that fight at school the other day..."
Anna: Yes?
He took a deep breath.
Noah: "Cole was talking bad about you and I got defensive..."
Anna: "Noah? You hurt yourself for me?
Noah: "Yeah....."
I put my hand on his cheek,
Anna: "Thank you"
He looked at me with a smile, pulled me closer to him, and kissed me.