Circles

Chapter XII

As soon as Alister finished getting ready for work, he hurried towards Noah's room, but Noah was still asleep. Gently, he reached out and placed his hand under Noah's nose; he was breathing. There was nothing to worry about. For a moment, he had feared that the recommended dosage by Dr. Hawks was too high, but apparently, everything was fine.

 Everything would be fine.

Five minutes later, he went downstairs to prepare coffee. It was much earlier than usual and Lizzie hadn't arrived yet. While turning on the television and sipping the bitter but comforting drink, he noticed with surprise that his stomach churned, as if something was bothering him. He didn't quite understand what he was feeling, but that didn't matter; he went upstairs and began to check the drawers in Noah's bathroom and his own, making sure his father's old room was locked. When he finished he went downstairs, and at that moment, the front door opened and Lizzie entered the living room slowly.

"Good morning, sir," she greeted with a small bow. "I should have arrived earlier, I apologize..."

Alister looked at her for a moment without saying a word.

"It's your usual time, it's fine," he replied.

Lizzie smiled before entering the kitchen, and Alister quickly returned the smile, somewhat confused; he knew that if someone smiled at him, he should smile back, even though sometimes he couldn't identify why Lizzie did it. She was a strange girl. And that's exactly why he had hired her.

Half an hour later he left the house headed for work, as usual, driven by the company chauffeur. Noah hadn't woken up when he called to say goodbye, so he had entrusted Lizzie with informing him of any issues. While looking at the city's Christmas-adorned shop windows, he could barely think of anything other than Noah, as if the mere presence of him in his memories deeply unsettled him.

Noah woke up around three in the afternoon, not knowing where he was. He tried to stand up, but he felt heavy, and his head was spinning, so he could only sit on the bed. For a moment, he thought he was in Andrew's old apartment, and anxiety overwhelmed him. He took off the top of his pajamas and instinctively checked his arms and torso, but there were no recent marks, so he calmed down a bit. Nevertheless, he didn't recognize the place.

"Noah?" Lizzie called, opening the door to the room slowly.

He looked at her for a moment, not knowing what to say.

He knew her, but he couldn't remember the details.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking worried.

"Yes," he muttered.

"You're acting strange. Are you sure you're okay? Why did you take off your pajama shirt?"

Noah looked at her in silence for a moment, trying to remember, but as he couldn't, he began to search the room, trying to find his diary.

Lizzie immediately realized what was happening and spoke gently, "I'm Lizzie, remember? Your brother Alister hired me to..."

She didn't get to finish the sentence when a heart-wrenching sob escaped Noah's throat. He covered his face with his hands, and still crying, buried his head in the pillow.

"Hey! Noah! Calm down!" said Lizzie, fearing he might suffocate. "It's okay! Everything is fine!"

"Why Alister bring him here?" he mumbled through sobs. "I was better before he came!"

"Calm down, I'm sure Mr. Alister had his reasons..."

"Will you defend him too?"

"No, well... I mean... Noah, can you stop crying?"