Circles

Chapter XXI

Sitting against the wall, Noah stared into emptiness, feeling as if his soul were leaving his body. He could almost see it evaporating slowly, leaving a shimmering trail behind, along with all traces of willpower. If things continued like this...

The cry of the baby jolted him out of his stupor, making his heart start beating again. Air filled his lungs, and for a brief moment, he had the certainty that he was alive. He looked at his hands and wrists, covered in recent scars, trying to recognize himself, and then he remembered what had happened. He didn't know why he had suppressed it all for so long, but now that he was "awake," somehow he knew what he had to do. 

He took out the diary he used to keep in his pocket and began to read, for the first time in years.

 He didn't remember most of the things that had happened, but somehow his body did. Everything began to make sense.

He got up from the floor laboriously, trying to get his numb limbs to respond, and left the room.

He stood at the doorway, observing carefully.

One of the staff members was holding the baby in her arms, feeding him.

Stealthily, he moved a little closer without the girl noticing, and for the first time that he could remember, he managed to see him.

He was small and pale, and of course, he resembled Lizzie. Although, his hair was just like Alister's; dark and straight.

The memories flooding his chest caused him to momentarily lose himself in what he was feeling, and during that lapse, the employee noticed his presence. She looked at him with a bit of suspicion and then entered the room, closing the door behind her.

Noah stood there for a moment, his mind a bit hazy, but he quickly recovered and descended the stairs.

The baby looked like Lizzie and Alister.

He entered the kitchen and noticed that only one of the employees was there. He assumed the second one had fallen ill or been fired; after all, no one would give him any answers to his questions, so it wasn't worth trying to gather information.

The baby resembled them both. And since he wasn't really Alister's brother, it was impossible for the baby to inherit any traits from him.

Impossible.

"Do you need anything, sir?"

Noah only stared at him in silence, noting the young man's discomfort. Nervously, he touched his hair and then his face. He couldn't remember when he had last looked in a mirror, but it seemed that his hair had been taken care of and his clothes were clean, so someone had been tending to him, even though he couldn't recall it. He didn't even know how many days he had been in this state.

It was all Alister's fault.

Pain shot through his body like an electric current, making his chest burn so intensely that he brought his hand there to verify that his heart was still beating.

"Sir?"

Just a little longer. Hold on a little longer.

Noah stared at him in silence, and without warning, he knocked the dishes off the table in the center of the room.

The employee jumped back, unsure of how to react, and stared in shock at the young man who proceeded to break anything within his reach, creating a mess in the kitchen. When there was nothing left standing, Noah silently left the room, managing to hide something in his pocket. The employee who had been with the baby earlier was now observing from a distance in the living room; she probably came down alerted by the noise, but as soon as she saw Noah, she averted her gaze and shrank back.