Circles

Chapter XIV

A year later, things seemed to remain the same, but it was only in appearance. Alister, who was close to turning 15, had fully entered adolescence when he started high school, and even though he appeared to be the ideal son on the outside—getting good grades and having a normal school life—he was entirely different when no one else could see him. He used to sneak out at night and associate with gangs, sometimes picking fights with anyone who crossed his path, just for the thrill of it. Always careful, of course, to not let anyone find out. The only person who knew about this was Noah, who stood by his side to help him without judgment. Alister didn't agree with Noah getting involved in anything he did, as he himself seemed indifferent to everything and Noah was still too young to accompany him. But it had been inevitable for him to find out, given the level of attachment they had.

Noah, who was now eleven years old, had become a cooperative and responsible child at school and in front of their father, but Alister also knew it was just a façade, and that his brother's mental state was worsening. He would often smile now, and that, along with his appearance and magnetic personality, had drawn many more classmates to him, though Noah would show his character immediately if pressed—part of his charm. His grades were impeccable, and if Alister didn't know him, he would have thought he was a regular, happy kid, even though his reactions were sometimes unexpected.

The situation with their father was worse than before, but Alister had found a temporary solution. Since the night they had first slept together, he had taken complete care of Noah. Perhaps due to growing up and maturing quickly, he had more confidence in his decisions. Whenever their father came home drunk, Alister would rush to Noah's room, wake him from his deep sleep, and bring him to his own bed to protect him.

Sleeping together had become a common occurrence for them. On the few nights when they didn't have issues with their father, Noah would wake up startled in the middle of the night, feeling the absence of his brother like a painful hole in his chest. He would search for him among the blankets, and if he couldn't find him, he would walk semi-asleep through the bathroom and straight to Alister's room, lying down beside him without even realizing it. Alister knew why he did it, and it wasn't as if he found anything wrong or unpleasant about it, so he simply allowed it.

However, when Alister disappeared into the night to escape to the city and Noah couldn't find him, he would be left stranded in the desperation of being alone and unprotected, feeling fear growing uncontrollably inside him. To cope and feel better, he would lock himself in his room and curl up inside the closet, clinging to some old piece of clothing of Alister's that he always had at hand. There was something about the small, enclosed space that made him feel safer, and that way, at least, he could fall asleep. Or at least, that was the case for a few weeks.

Their father seemed increasingly frustrated because he couldn't find Noah at night to "vent," although he would never show that in front of his beloved elder son. He knew the boys were attached and that Alister would take Noah to his room, so if he entered there and tried to take Noah away from him, it could be dangerous. He didn't really want to confront Alister, who was taller and stronger than him now, and he also understood that the boy still didn't know the true reasons behind his actions. Noah would never tell him, and he, even lost in his alcoholism, loved Alister almost devotedly. And also feared him.

The boy seemed very docile, and from a young age, he would obey without questioning. He always tried to please him in any way possible, and he had never dared to raise his voice against him. He seemed like the ideal son on the outside, but despite this, there was something about Alister that made him recoil; he felt he was like a lake that beneath the apparent calm of the surface hid a deep and dark bottom, and sometimes, when he looked at him, his eyes gave him the same sense of emptiness and immense darkness that could swallow him at any moment if he wasn't careful.

Of course, he had tried to find solutions to his problem with Noah, and sooner rather than later, he discovered that some nights, although Noah wasn't in his own bed, he was in his room and not Alister's. He had finally found him.

That night, he entered the room trying not to make any noise, and as he confirmed that Alister wasn't there, he headed to the closet and carefully opened the door; it was just as he had suspected.

Noah didn't even wake up until it was too late.