Noris&Nathan: Waiting for you only

Chapter 9

Nathan woke up feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. He opened his eyes, swollen from last night's sobs, and looked around, but Dr. Mason was not there.
When Nathan sat up, he met Noris’s stare. The man was  sitting on the chair, looking at him intently.

But before he could say anything, the man walked swiftly to the bed and grabbed him, sitting down on the mattress.  Noris flipped Nathan onto his stomach, laid him on his lap and slapped him  palm hard several times.

- Aah! - Nathan grimaced in pain.

He could not pull himself away from the blows, Noris held him firmly. After a few more slaps, he finally let him go. Tears streamed down Nathan's face, and when he got free, he slapped the strong shoulder of his abuser. 

The bodyguard asked him angrily:
- Do you know why I did that?!

The boy froze momentarily.

- Dr. Mason told me everything.

He got his message when he was getting ready to go on the ship with Roman and Keith anyway. He had been busy last week and hadn't been able to get in touch with Nathan, but he was sure he was fine, and they would meet soon anyway. When the message from the scientist had arrived, the man had been so afraid that he'd almost gone mad with anxiety, but he'd had to hold back because he didn't want Roman to find out about it. Noris asked Mason not to tell his boss what had happened, promising to look into everything.

- Why did you do it?! If you don't feel sorry for yourself, think about what would have happened to me!!! Do you think that if something had happened to you, I could have survived it?! - There was so much pain in the man's shout that Nathan instantly shrugged and grabbed his pencil. 

[You disappeared]

- I've been busy!

The boy froze with the pencil in his hands, and Noris hugged him. 
- Please don't do this again. You're not alone. You have me!

When Nathan heard these words, he cried and cried against his strong chest.

- Have you eaten anything? - Noris asked him worriedly, noticing that Nathan had lost a lot of weight.
Nathan did not answer, but the answer was clear from the look on his face. 

- Come and wash your face and eyes. When you are ready, I will take you to the dining room, the man said softly, pulling Nathan into the bathroom. - When you are done, wait for me here in the room.

Nathan nodded. When he saw the bodyguard again, he felt as if the vise in his heart had disappeared and he could breathe again.

Noris went straight to Nathan's office. As soon as he entered, A.J. jumped with joy, but when he saw the expression on his face, he stopped smiling. Noris looked at him as if he wanted to burn him on the spot. 

- Do you know what you've done?!

- What... what do you mean? - The confused employee asked.
His colleagues stopped working, staring at them. 

- What did you say to Nathan yesterday?

- Did he snitch on me?!

- It's nothing like that. But you knew?! That what you said made Nathan decide to kill himself?! If Dr. Mason hadn't found him in time, he'd be gone!

There were shocked gasps from the staff. A.J. went pale.

- You've let off a lot of steam. I repeat: Nathan made a mistake, but it is not for you to judge him and sentence him to death!

- I didn't mean to... - A.J. said in a shaky voice.
He had not expected this turn of events.

- If you all don't like him working here, I can ask the boss to transfer him to another department, - the bodyguard said sternly.

- Calm down, Noris. Let Nathan work here. He's doing an excellent job, yesterday was the only time he made a mistake, - Henry intervened, not wanting to lose a valuable employee when there was plenty of work to do.

- Why would he stay here? How do the people in this office feel about him?

The room fell into  silence. Everyone realized that Noris was very angry, as he was usually reserved and quiet.

- From now on, Nathan will work for Dr. Mason. And from now on, don't mess with him anymore. If anyone does anything to him, I'll kill them! - Norris glared at A.J. and left the office.

When he returned, he saw that Nathan had already showered and changed his clothes. 

- Let's eat together, -  he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

They went to the dining room. When Noris and Nathan sat down at the table, Keith came up to them.

- Hi! - Tiger’s boyfriend greeted him and Nathan stared at him in surprise.
Then he lowered his head again and continued eating, feeling a growing anxiety.

- Where are you going, Keith? - Noris asked in his usual manner.

- I'm going to take up boxing at the gym. I haven't seen you anywhere since we got here. I didn't expect to find you here with…, –Keith looked at Nathan again.

Nathan tried to get up from the table, because he felt that Keith was uncomfortable with his presence.

- Sit down, – Noris said calmly, which made him hesitate for a moment and glare back at him, but finally he obediently sat down on the chair.

- Eat all your food, —  the bodyguard said in a softer tone, but Nathan frowned again when he saw that Keith was still looking at him.

- If you could talk, you would probably ask why I was looking at you.

Nathan remained silent with his lips pressed together. His eyes filled with tears from helplessness.

- Hey, I'm just talking! Noris will be angry with me. He'll say I'm upsetting you, –  Keith said jokingly, giving Nathan a light pat on the shoulder when he raised his hand to wipe away his tears.

- Keith didn't do anything to you, – the bodyguard said, which made Nathan's face look displeased.
He thought Noris was not on his side. 

Tears of resentment were still streaming down his face and Norris reached out to wipe them away, but Nathan pulled away:
- Ooo!

- Wipe it gently! Be gentle, Noris, – Keith said with a mischievous smile as he watched the scene.

- Keith, weren't you going to box?

He laughed softly and got up from his chair.
- Yeah, it's time! I just came over to say hello. I'm leaving now. I hope we will meet again after you have regained your voice and we can talk, — Keith said seriously and left the cafeteria. 
Nathan thought about his words.

- Keith is not angry with you. Now you can forgive yourself too, — Noris said. 

Nathan frowned slightly, but then lifted his face and nodded. He was sure the tattoo artist would resent him after everything that had happened.

- I'll talk to my boss about transferring you to work with Dr. Mason, –  Noris added, and Nathan looked at him puzzled.

- If you stay with Dr. Mason, I'll feel better.

Nathan's heart fluttered: in spite of the mistakes he had made, Norris had always been there for him. He had obviously realized that he missed him the most. Yes, he thought about Roman, but it was more a feeling of guilt than anything else.