Truth In Trust

PART ONE Pages 79-83

3:12 P.M., SAME DATE, AT THE STEPS

I dash out to the front steps of NCH as fast as my legs can manage. I see Noah sitting there, waiting for me. Although, I know he is in a stormy mood based on his posture. He tends to slouch whenever he's sad, upset, or just plainly ticked off. I shut my eyes tightly, and count to twenty, all while taking slow breaths. As I near where Noah is, without warning, he jumps up, spins on his left heel, and pins me down with his deadly glare; I gulp and freeze in my footsteps. I had forgotten how keen his hearing was.

"What do you want now?!" he growled.

"I. . ." I stumble backward at his hostile stance.

"You know, I bet it's something about yourself! Katara was right! You're always being so stupidly selfish!!"

"I just wanted to tell you that I got chosen for the presidential position in the Poetry Club. . . But, it's okay. I can just go home, if that's what you'd rather. . ." I try to ignore what he just spat into my face.

"Well, finally something considerate exits your mouth! I would rather you leave, Marisa!" he exclaims coldly underneath dark eyes.

"Um. . . I guess I'll go catch a bus then, if that's how. . . you wish for it to be. . ." By now the waterworks have started.

Yet still, he doesn't move to comfort me or apologize for his mean behavior. He just stands there, wordlessly spewing harsh hateful opinion upon opinion with his tense face. I wonder, how could our relationship have come to this? It wasn't like I had blabbed his secret, agreed with his parents' idea, or even laid eyes on another boy!! Despite all this hypocrisy, I still have faith in him for the real Quiver Boy to come through.

My brain has a built-in fight-or-flight mechanism, and so I make myself as invisible as scientifically possible, and crawl away to meet the next bus. If Katara's issue had taken a toll on me, this was ten thousand times worse. I run into my welcoming building, ready to race up the staircase, when I realize Mom is home. Before I even have time to question this blessing, I throw myself into her arms, and thank God for caring enough to give me a source of comfort, now that Noah is no longer available. She just holds me with a motherly love emanating from her entire being.

After a few minutes, she speaks.

"So, is this in any way connected to Noah?"

I just stare in disbelief. How did she know?

"Yes, but. . ."

"You call out his name in your nightmares. He's not hurting you by any chance, is he?" she says by way of answering the quizzical look on my tear-streaked face.

"Oh. Well, he's not exactly hurting me, but he's not the person I have a crush on, either. I just. . ." I try to find the right words and phrases.

"Go on", she says gently. She is like the true Noah in a lot of ways.

"I just don't understand where all this is coming from. I was hoping things would continue to go well, especially after the Winter Formal. I thought he was practically perfect." The words 'especially special' flash across the movie screen in my confused mind.

"No one is perfect, dear. Only Jesus has that title." Mom says in her wise mother voice.

"I know. But after the drama with Katara, it was basically as if Noah was all I had."

"Who's Katara?" I wasn't kidding when I said she was super busy.

"Just a friend of mine. Kind of. Our friendship has been really rocky lately" I explain, though it was much more like 'since forever'.

"Okay. Listen, sweetheart, I want you to know I am always here for you. I might have been busy for a long period of time, but I'm sorry and I know you need me as your mother and as your best friend. Got it?"

"Yeah, Mom. I got it" I whisper as I dive my head into her bosom.

Noah may not be willing, or ready, to be my protector again, but I know I have my loving Saviour, Jesus, and my caring mother, Beatrice Callwell-Vernon, to guide me through the dark and dangerous forest that is my life. Every step means a new opportunity, and whether I stumble or continue onward, they will help me rise. With all this havoc existing, I'm glad I was, unexpectedly, able to regain an old friend later on today.