Circles

Chapter V

Alister ran through the deserted streets as if he could escape from the haunting thoughts that pursued him. He hadn't even noticed that Noah was following him with difficulty until he tripped over a stone in the path. Quickly turning around, Alister managed to catch him just before he fell to the concrete ground.

"Are you okay?" Alister gasped, almost breathless.

Noah nodded silently, trying to sit down on the ground to rest.

"Let's go home quickly," Alister said, taking his hand and preventing him from doing so.

"Why did you defend me?" Noah looked at him with a strange expression.

"Because you're my brother," Alister replied simply.

"You said you didn't care," the boy stood still, refusing to take another step.

"Noah, this is not the time for..."

"You'll do the same as before!" he shouted. "You'll do the same, and I'll be alone again!"

"Lower your voice, we're on the street..." Alister tried to take his hand to pull him home, but Noah pushed him away with a hit.

"I was alone, but I was fine!" he cried with a broken voice as tears uncontrollably streamed down his face.

Alister began to panic.

"Stop crying," he said tenderly, trying in vain to take his hand. "Let's go home, okay?"

At that moment, two elderly women passed by and stared at them openly.

"Hey, little one, are you okay?" one of them asked.

"He's fine!" Alister quickly replied, with a tense smile. "I'm his brother, everything's fine, he's just having a tantrum."

"Well, it doesn't look like that..." he heard them whispering.

"Noah, let's go home, okay?"

"Are you really his brother? You don't look much alike. Besides, she's a cute little girl, and you're at that age..."

"I am his brother!" he interrupted, trying to keep calm. "You don't have to worry..."

But Noah's sobs became louder and louder. In reality, Alister understood how the situation must have looked from the outside, given the deplorable state the boy was in.

"Little one, is he bothering you?"

"I'm not..."

"Please, be quiet, I'm not asking you."

Alister froze. The situation was clearly slipping out of his control, and the last thing he wanted was to attract more attention now. Noah was battered, with traces of blood on his clothes, and he couldn't stop crying, so he was at a disadvantage. For a moment he felt trapped, as if he had been discovered and had his mask, which he wore every day, taken away from him.

Immediately, plans that he was sure wouldn't work started appearing in his head, so he decided to try something else; he had nothing to lose. For the first time, he let himself be guided by instinct and, in a desperate move, hugged Noah tightly.

The boy was surprised by the contact, stopping his whimpering for a moment.

"I promise not to leave you alone," Alister whispered as he hugged him with more enthusiasm, feeling as if his heart had started beating at that very moment. "We'll always be together, okay?"

"Uhh..." Noah had started crying harder and, burying his head in Alister's chest, clung to him as if he were the only thing he had in the world.

Alister was surprised; even though he felt Noah's tears wetting his shirt, he didn't feel the slightest repulsion as he hugged him. For a moment, he remembered his mother and his younger brother, but it was impossible to make a comparison: this was totally different. It was different, and he couldn't understand why.

Tears began to fall down Alister's face too, although his senses were so numb that he didn't even notice. They welled up as if his body were reacting, but he couldn't feel anything.

"Noah... trust me. I promise everything will be okay from now on," he murmured, without even thinking about what he was saying, but at that moment, he no longer cared.

"...Yes," the boy replied with a voice so weak and trembling that it merged with the wind.

When they finally arrived home, the twilight light bathed the living room. As soon as they entered, Alister looked around, making sure their father hadn't returned from work yet, and both quickly went up to Noah's room.

They were exhausted. Noah collapsed on the floor as soon as he entered his room and didn't move from there. Alister, on the other hand, was still thinking about everything that had happened during the day and couldn't stop pacing around the room, preoccupied with his own thoughts. The sun had completely set before Alister realized he hadn't even turned on the light.

"Noah?" he suddenly called out to make sure the boy was still there.

The child didn't reply, but upon listening carefully, he could hear Noah's steady breathing, and he guessed that he had fallen asleep.

He turned on the bedside lamp and observed how the yellow light reflected in Noah's hair, and looked at him for a few seconds before realizing that he still had blood and mud all over his face and body. Well, he wasn't in any better condition.

Carefully, he touched the boy's face and gently wiped his pale cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt, trying to remove some of the dirt that had stuck to it. Noah slowly opened his eyes, puzzled by the sudden touch on his face. Alister immediately stopped and just looked at him as he sat up, rubbing his eyes clumsily. The habitual smile that he always wore appeared on Alister's face out of habit.

"Noah, go take a shower. Father will be home soon. It's not good for him to see you like this," he said.

The boy looked at him with half-closed eyes due to sleep, but he obeyed immediately. Alister helped him up and escorted him to the bathroom.

"I'll take care of your clothes, so don't worry," he reassured him.

As soon as Noah closed the door, Alister went to the laundry room; he cleaned Noah's and his own clothes, and started the washing machine. He had been lucky that his father hadn't returned from work yet.

With that done, he took out a clean pajama and left it in Noah's room while waiting for his turn to shower, standing in the hallway, unable to stop thinking about what had happened even for a second.

Shortly afterward, he heard the boy coming out of the bathroom, and without hesitation went in to do the same; he showered quickly, put on the pajamas, and went back to Noah's room through the door that connected to the bathroom; both rooms had a door connecting to this room, so they could move between them without having to go out into the hallway.

Noah had gotten into bed and was about to fall asleep. His tired and bruised face was gently outlined in the darkness, and Alister couldn't help but think that only he would notice.

"Hey, your hair is still wet," he gently scolded. "Come here. I'll dry it for you."

Noah scooted forward a bit as he sat up, allowing Alister to take care of it. He felt so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. After drying his hair, Alister carefully tended to his wounds and tucked him in with the blankets.

"Do you feel cold?" he asked before going to his own room.

"No... I feel really good. Thanks, Alister." Despite his exhaustion, Noah directed a warm smile at him.

Alister paused for a moment, surprised; he had never seen Noah smile. He was always with that bitter, scared, or indifferent expression, even angry, but this was new. Because he himself always smiled, to everyone, he could tell that this smile was entirely different; undoubtedly, it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life, filled with a warmth that overwhelmed him. For a moment, he hoped that he too could smile like that someday, but he immediately realized that it was a futile hope. At that moment, he was simply content to see him smile that way. That was enough for that night, and to console his soul, he allowed himself to wish that Noah would only smile like that for him.

"Goodnight," he smiled before leaving the room.