[Revising]
In a world already hard enough, Alex Baker tries to navigate his way through life, and make a better world for him and his mother. His dreams are innocent, and his path is set in stones. Except, the paths have started colliding, and the...
I knew that I would not see him at school anymore. Why would I? Even I would not return after something like it. I was hopeless when I walked in. But I was wrong. He was there. Sitting by the farthest corner of the practice ground. His head was lowered, and he appeared to be a distant swan under the light of the day.
I felt an ease meltdown in my chest as I saw him there.
I headed to where he sat, unhesitant. It was only I who could do it.
He was lost. Entirely. He did not notice me come close. I lowered onto my knees and sat in front of him. It was then that he stirred a little. His eyes roamed and were full of life for a moment, and his chest inflated as if he was going to say my name. But something pulled onto him. Perhaps, memories from our previous nightmare.
I touched his knees. “You do not let your past define you. None of this is your fault. You have not lost anything. We love you still, and we love you for who you are, Nova.” I was crying now. I could not keep the tears from flowing, though, I had tried to. It was all that I had been keeping in all this time.
Yet, he was doing a much better job at this than I was. His tears were cradled in his eyelids. He did not blink, or they might have spilled. I would not let them.
“Forgive them. Forgive yourself. Move along. With me; with us. I cannot see you suffer.”
I was weeping even bitterly now. Some of his tears had spilled too. His hand raised to reach my face, and his thumb wiped my tear off.
“Do it. Please do it for me.” I begged.
I was willing to beg a thousand times more, if it meant that he could be happy.
But he would not make me beg.
I saw him smile again. Yet, it was different this time.
When I had told mom what happened last night, she had instructed me to get Nova home as soon as I could. I told him this, and he was not against it. She wanted to talk to him herself. When we were at my place, they were in a room for hours, while I waited patiently outside. It was almost dark, before Nova came out. He thanked mom and insisted to leave. I asked if I could see him out. It was weird that mom did not ask him to stay, but I was not stupid enough to question it.
We walked quietly in the dark. He knew these alleys now—they were his favorite—so he did not follow me. I measured the pattern made on the dirty road as I walked. What did they talk about? Was I to not know about it—
I was not paying attention, so I did not notice when my head bumped into someone. Someone big, tall and broad. I looked to check who it was, and it was Sylvie. (Yes, the ‘Corny Brother’) It was expected, because these guys lurked around at night.
He looked down at me. “What you doing at night?”
“Just let me go already.”
“Lost or something?”
My stiff body stalled my pockets, and I pushed some bucks into his hand. “Here. Let me go now.”
He glared dumbfounded at the crumbled money I gave him. It was a mistake, because it only made him interested. He grinned.
“So you did start making money finally?”
“No, I don’t—”
I felt my heart skip a beat.
“Alex?” I heard.
Sylvie moved his humongous body out of my way, and I saw him. He hadn’t left yet. I hoped he might have.
“Alex?”
“Nova, go.”
“Who is this?” Sylvie asked, “Your second cousin or something?”
“I am not his cousin.” Nova was quick. I wished that he was just as quick at sprinting too.
For a fact, I knew it would have done it for Sylvie. The man had brains the size of a peanut, and pride the size of a boulder. He turned, and steered to where Nova stood.
I would have never let him.
I held onto him from the back. He turned, his huge shoulder casting his shadow down at me in the streetlight. He was angry now.
He ended up beating both of us to pulps. I got successful at diverting his anger towards me, so he left Nova with just easy scratches. I might have a broken nose. It was still bad enough that I had let anything happen to him.
I was expecting Nova to put up a fight. But he didn’t. At all. It was like he was ready to take it. Just like me.
And so we did. And it ached. Everywhere. I did not want to open my eyes.
“Alex,” he mumbled, as we laid in the dirt, panting. “Alex.”
“Not now, Nova. I am tired.”
He raised himself onto a shoulder, shaking all the while. He looked at me. “Does it hurt too much?”
“It happens always. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I am sorry. It was because of me.”
“What are saying? You did not do anything.”
He studied me for a while. He was searching for something. “Alex… I…” His mouth hung open. “Did I tell you?”
“What?”
“That your right eye squints a little when you are angry. I think it’s really cool.”
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