No Body No Crime || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

Sad Beautiful Tragic

Noah had been pacing back and forth in his living room for what felt like an eternity. His band had received incredible news, something that could be a game-changer for their career. They would be opening for one of his favorite bands, Bring Me the Horizon.

They would be touring the world and introducing their music to as many people as possible. They still had to finish their latest album, and who knows, maybe they would climb the global charts. The Bring Me the Horizon tour would start in a few weeks, taking them away from home for a couple of months. Once back, they would finish the album, just in time to head out on tour again.

He was excited but also incredibly nervous. He didn’t know how to tell Lisa that he’d be gone for so long. They had only been seeing each other for a few months, and he didn’t want to lose what they were building together.

He had called his girlfriend and asked her to come over after work. Maybe if other people were around, Lisa wouldn’t get too upset.

When he heard the knock on the door, he rushed to open it, meeting the brown eyes of his girlfriend. Lisa greeted him with a quick kiss and walked in casually. By now, she was more familiar with these walls than any other place in the city, so the initial awkwardness of being in a house with four guys had worn off.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Lisa asked, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water.

“It’s something pretty important, and I hope you won’t take it badly.”

"Oh my god, are you pregnant?” she said with a mischievous smile while she took a sip from her glass.

"Yes and it's yours" he said touching his belly "that's right, you knocked me up"

Lisa's face turned into an ironic surprised expression and Noah shook his head with a smile "No, but seriously, we need to talk"

Lisa gave him a puzzled look. “Now you’re scaring me.”

“No, don’t be scared.” Noah raised his hands as if to stop the thoughts forming in her head. “We’ve been offered an opportunity with one of my favorite bands, but it means we’ll be traveling a lot. It’s important to me, but so are you, and I really hope you’re okay with it.”

Lisa stared into his eyes for a few seconds, but to Noah, it felt like hours. Then she broke eye contact and threw her arms around him. Noah was stunned. He hadn’t expected that reaction. He had anticipated shouting, tears, maybe even that she’d break up with him on the spot. After all, they hadn’t known each other for long. After a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Lisa’s waist and held her tightly.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m so proud of you.” Noah felt his eyes well up with tears as he heard those words leave Lisa’s mouth. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’ll be fine.”

“Will you wait for me?”

“Like a thirsty person waits for water. I’ll miss everything about you, but I’ll know you’re happy, and I hope you’ll be just as happy when you come back home to me.”

They were still holding each other, but now they were looking into each other’s eyes. Noah found himself thinking that their children would be incredibly beautiful, especially if they took after Lisa. She wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but for him she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Her eyes were so dark that you couldn’t distinguish the pupil from the iris, and the slight bump on her nose added character to her playful face. It was a silly thought; it was far too soon to be thinking about long-term plans. But when he held her in his arms, it was impossible not to imagine how wonderful it would be to grow old together.

___________________________________________

Noah had been waiting outside Lisa’s office for a good half hour. He was trying to calm his nerves; he didn’t want to be rude to Nancy, or he wouldn’t get anything out of her.

He took a deep breath and got out of the car. When his eyes met Nancy’s tired face, the anger inside him flared up again, but he tried to keep it in check.

“Noah, hi. I wasn’t expecting you. Have you managed to talk to Lisa?”

“Please, Nance, don’t treat me like an idiot. These last few months I’ve considered you a friend. You owe me this. Just tell me where she is.”

Nancy’s face furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Noah. Come inside, I’ll make you some coffee.”

Noah sighed but accepted the invitation to come in. Nancy led him to the relaxation room and started preparing coffee.

“Tell me what’s happened,” said the therapist, handing him a cup of coffee.

“She’s not answering her phone, she’s not at home or at her parents’. The neighbor said he saw her with another guy last night. Do you know anything about that?”

Nancy avoided looking him in the eye, her gaze wandering over the objects decorating the office.

Noah leaned towards her and placed the coffee cup on the table in front of him. “Nance, I know you know something. Please, I’m not even angry anymore at this point. I just want to know if she’s okay.”

Nancy let out a sigh of resignation, but Noah could see the cracks forming in her wall of silence.

“Listen, Lisa… she made me promise not to tell anyone. Especially not you. She didn’t want you to worry.”

“Sure, I shouldn’t worry about being cheated on. Nancy, do you even hear yourself?”

“It’s not what you think. There’s no one else in her life. At least, as far as I know” Nancy sighed again, still unable to meet his eyes. “Lisa’s been having some trouble. A patient hasn’t been leaving her alone. She even saw him outside her house a couple of times. Lately, she’s been terrified, scared to even leave the house, but she didn’t want to report him. She was afraid that would only make things worse.”

Noah felt the world crumble around him. “How long has this been going on?”

Nancy blinked rapidly as she tried to remember. “A few months. At first, she didn’t even tell me. She thought it wasn’t a big deal, but then…”

“Then?”

“Then she found him at her front door.”

Everything started to make sense. And Noah felt like an idiot, a terrible person. He hadn’t noticed anything. He could blame the tour, but some signs should have been obvious. Had she been on edge when they walked hand in hand through town? Had she trembled at the thought of getting ready for work? Did she hesitate before opening the front door of her house?

“Do you think she ran away because of this?” he asked his friend in a whisper.

“I hope so, at this point. I don’t want to think that…” Nancy couldn’t finish the sentence, but Noah’s mind completed it for her.

That man could have hurt her.

“Nancy, do you know who this patient is?”