Tears Of Love

|.1.|

September 30th, 10:23 am

Jackson

'Noah, open the door it's freezing out here,' I shout. It's Bella's birthday today, and I woke early to celebrate, even with her insistence on not doing so. She's been nothing but sad for what feels like weeks, and I know that I might just be part of the cure. 'Noah!' I yell, twice as loud and slightly angered. He's the only person I know in the house — save Bella and Ash, who I know will still be sleeping. After a minute of banging, I see Noah's head pop into the kitchen.

A smile spreads across his face. 'Please, shut up,' he says, though his voice is muffled through the glass. He twists the key in the lock painfully slowly as to enrage me. Then, he lets me enter the warmth.

'It's so cold,' I hiss. Rubbing my hands up and down my arms, I attempt to warm myself up.

'It is fall,' Noah laughs, looking me up and down. 

I'm wearing shorts. 'Hey! I was out with Alex. His wardrobe is limited,' I wink. 'Besides, I didn't expect to be shut out in the cold.'

He doesn't bother retaliating, so closes the door behind me and drags me towards the living room. 'Just so you know, your incessant knocking woke me up,' he scowls, faking annoyance.

I throw my hands up, palms facing him. 'My bad.' Then my expression changes. A small pile of pink wrapping paper sits on the carpet. 'Have they already been down?' I question.

'Not a clue, I literally just got out of bed,' he replies, with a puzzled look on his face. He allows himself to glance at his watch. '10 am! You woke me up at 10 am?' he exclaims.

'Calm down, it's not like the majority of America have been awake hours before now,' I mock. He shudders, then bends down to pick up the paper. He rubs a piece in between his fingers, like that would do something. I lean down to help. 'Why didn't they clean up?'

He shrugs. 'Dunno.' He looks as bewildered as I am.

'Do you think they're okay?' I ask, spotting Ash's phone thrown on the floor. Putting the paper down for a second, I walk over and retrieve the device from the ground. A plain, black background is all that's there. No notifications.

'I guess,' Noah replies. 'Weird,' he mutters after a second. I flinch as I realize he's just behind me.

I turn my head to see him watching over my shoulder. 'Why would he leave it?' I wonder out loud, turning it over in my hand.

He takes it from my hand, and I go to pick up the paper I just dropped. 'No idea.'

I follow him to the kitchen, disposing of the wrapping paper. 'Shall we go see if they're in their room?'

He nods. 'Yeah. Maybe he just forgot to bring it back upstairs.' I can sense the — failing — attempt of covering up his worry. I don't reply, just follow him again. 'Ash?' Noah questions after a sequence of three knocks.

I wait a second before doing a few of my own. 'Bella?' My words travel smoothly through the oak. Loud and clear. There's no reason for them not to reply. 'Hello?' I shout when there is no response. We both knock together. 'Are you sure they're even home?' I question.

'Where else would they be?'

He tries the handle. 'I'm coming in,' he says when he feels the handle turn. We prepare ourselves as we head in one after another. The bed is messy and the draws lay wide open as though somebody had ransacked them. 

'Shit. It looks like someone has robbed them,' I laugh. It was more of a breath of air I released in a moment of fear, but still.

'It does.'