Glass Houses || [Noah Sebastian]

02. I see the world in black and white

   The sun peeked into the room ever so slightly through a small crack in the blackout curtains. Causing a warm thick ray to lay against my face. The warm luster provokes me to stir in my sleep and eventually wake up. My eyes are met with the blank white ceiling as I peer up at it for what seems like hours. My heart aching as the adrenaline from last night has worn off, and the harsh reality has come crashing down around me. I never thought I could feel so many emotions yet so numb all at once. Almost like I'm stuck on auto pilot. Waking up alone for the first time in 5 years, even with my memories keeping me company, it was a feeling I wanted so badly to never feel again. With a harsh breath, and shaking limbs I sit upright in bed, the comforter pooling around my waist as I do so. I glance over at the digital clock that sits on an old nightstand next to the bed, the numbers reading 10:45 am, I can hear light movement coming from downstairs. I take this as my cue to get up and rejoin the land of the living. I scoot myself to the edge of the bed, my legs dangling without touching the ground for a moment before I hoist myself off.

As I begin to exit the room, I can hear my phone violently vibrating from my purse that sits on the ground. I haven't checked it one time since returning home, and the urge to do so now is almost unbearable. I stand there staring blankly at my bag for a moment, my mind running in circles as I hear the continuous vibration. Without much more thought, I walk over and unzip my purse, receiving my phone from the small opening.
  It lights up brightly, allowing me to see the numerous notifications that line my lock screen. All of which are from jasper.

26 missed phone calls
  10 voicemails
  15 missed FaceTime calls
And 60 unread messages.

The brief preview of the most recent message is the only one I see, it being enough to holt all my curiosity.

When I find you, you're gonna regret this.

I quickly throw my phone back down into my bag, not bothering to entertain the rage filled man. His words causing a heavy weight to crash on my chest. Jasper is not only a very volatile man, but a man with very powerful connections. You don't achieve his level of success, so quickly, without gaining a few shady friends, and enemies, along the way. I don't know much about this side of him, but what I do know is enough to make my throat go dry and my heart begin to race against the hallow encasing of my chest. 

I attempt to push aside those thoughts as I exit the room, and head down the carpeted steps. I can't afford to think about him and his threats, not now at least. I need to preserve that energy in order to figure out my next steps.

My sock clad feet hit the first level floor, the sound of dishes clinking together filling the atmosphere. I walk into the kitchen to be met with Missy's back, her long blonde hair thrown into a lose ponytail as she has her full attention on a silver skillet that sits on the first burner of her stove. The smell of bacon and eggs wafting through the air as I quietly walk in and take a seat at the kitchen table.
   She has music playing faintly as she cooks, I can't quite make out what exactly is playing. The slight sizzling of the hot food swallowing the vocalist, causing the words to get lost.
  She turns around and we lock eyes, a tired look spread on her face as she gives me a sweet smile.
  "Well good morning, butterfly" she coos, using the nickname she has crowned me with since I was 13. This makes a large grin tug at my lips.

    "Good morning" I offer back as she begins to fill two plates with food. I notice four more empty ones sitting on top of the counter, waiting to be filled. I wonder who else will be joining us for breakfast.
  She walks over with the two plates full of food, sitting one down in front of me and one at the empty spot to my left. I offer a quick thank you as she walks over to pour us both a cup of black coffee.

    "How did you sleep?" She inquires as she sits down with her cup, not before placing mine beside my plate. I chew slightly on a crispy piece of bacon, swallowing the salty goodness before answering her.

    "I slept well, surprisingly. I didn't think after the day I had yesterday I would be able to"
I answer back as I begin to pick up the steaming hot cup of Joe, she remembered how it took it, which made me smile softly to myself. She would always make fun of me for liking my coffee black, but from the looks of her cup full of the dark liquid she's learned to also enjoy the simplicity of it. I would always tell her that people who drank coffee with cream and sugar didn't really like the drink, but liked saying they did. It takes an inquired taste to sip on black hot coffee.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we both indulge in our morning meal, the only sound being that of our chewing and the low music still playing faintly in the background.

    "What's playing?" I ask after swallowing the last of my scrambled eggs, moving onto the last few piece of crisp bacon on my plate.

She smiles for a moment, her mouth still full.
  "It's Noah's band" she says quietly as she swallows her mouth full. Her words take me aback, as I choke slightly on the food in my mouth. I cough a few times to clear my throat.

    "I didn't know you listened to them like this" I reply truthfully.

Missy has always been a god fearing Christian woman, so when Noah decided to pursue a career in the metalcore scene her apprehension was expected. Despite her own personal beliefs and feelings about it she always supported him. I just never anticipated seeing her actually listening to his music on her own free will.

    "I can only stand listening to his more mellow songs, all that screaming scares me." She admits truthfully with a small chuckle, causing one of my own to escape my lips "don't tell him I said that though" she finishes with a small wink.

    "Your secret is safe with me" I assure her, turning my attention back to the nearly empty plate of food in front of me. We fall back into our comfortable silence as I try to focus on the words of the new song playing

You set me up as the villain
But you never mentioned the root of the problem
Took what you wanted and flipped it
But you won't be dragging my name to the bottom

His voice different than I remembered. The maturity of his vocals obvious, but the same sweet softness he's always had still dripping his feathery voice. His words holding so much emotion it tugs at my heart to hear the robust passion he captivates.

So much left unsaid, left me for dead
I won't forget, and now you're next
Well, everyone's listening and they know the difference
You're not failing our senses.

His words hold a raw anger I've never heard fall from his lips before. It feels as if he's managed to write a full discography of my own personal pain, without even knowing in the slightest what I've been going through for all these years. The emotion he's making me feel with his words causing a slight sting to erupt in my waterline, my vision fogging with the salty tears. I can't fathom how or why his words are having this kind of impact on me,  maybe it's the slight bit of guilt I feel when I hear the sadness in his voice or maybe it's the fact that he seems to be singing about my exact situation without even knowing as if we have been connected still through all these years. Regardless of what the meaning behind it all is, the wave of emotion I'm getting is almost unbearable. My throat aches for moisture as I reach for my mug of coffee and force the tears back from my eyes.
A loud knock beckons through the house, the abrupt noise startling me slightly causing my body to jump in surprise.

Missy places her hand slightly atop of mine, mouthing a silent "it's okay" as she pushes up from her chair and walks towards the front door.
I watch her figure disappear behind the curve of the wall, and hear the creak of the old oak door as she opens it. Small banter can be heard over the music and the sound of my heart beating in my ears. I swallow harshly as anticipation builds. Light footsteps make their way towards me, laughter bouncing off the walls as whoever knocked has entered the house and is coming towards the kitchen.

The first face is see is Missy, her eyes glowing with excitement and happiness as she walks towards me. The next face I see, causes all the air to leave my lungs. Someone I haven't seen in years and wasn't expecting to see, at least not so soon. My blue eyes lock onto a dark pool of brown, a stale look lacing his face.

Noah