Unveil The Veil

Chapter 12 - Noah

Noah's Point of View:

A graceful refusal is better than a lengthy promise.

-Ali Ibn Abu-Talib
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It was quiet. A calming silence filled the walls of my room, as the breeze filled in from the open window in the center wall. The light fan swept across my face, and I felt the hairs on my arms peak from the sudden cold. With my arms placed behind my head, and my feet circumscribed around the heavy sheets my mother had given me, I looked solely at the ceiling and thought about how my life had drastically changed throughout these past months. It took me close to a month for my life to change both physically and emotionally. My behavior had changed, my thoughts didn't revolve around Scarlet, or my friends, or getting a new car to drive around town. They had absolutely nothing to do with any of the priorities I had before this spring came in.

My eyes roamed around the clear white ceiling and I thought about how my family was falling apart right before me because of my selfish actions. My unnatural need to help others jeopardized the little hope I had that our family wouldn't turn out to be a complete disaster. My eyes, fixated on the small flicker of light that shone into my bedroom wall, dampened with worry.

I don't think I could do it.

I promised Aleena I'd bring her back. I promised her I'd help those girls in there and free them. I promised to myself that May was going to be fine. I promised mom our family was going to finally become one. I promised everyone, thinking I could help them all when in reality I couldn't even help myself. I couldn't decide what I believed in, who I trusted or where I was even going to start from.

I had no idea what I was going to do.

I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, taking in a heavy breath, and letting it out to clear my mind. The sounds around me became more apparent, and I heard the faint cries of my mother in the room next door. Worry etched itself into my stomach, and next thing I knew I was sitting up, and listening to her words as she spoke on the phone.

"...Meg I don't know what to do. He's starting to become violent, and even hit Noah. I can't deal with him any longer." There was a slight pause and I heard aunt Meg's voice on the other side of the phone and shook my head in shame as she continued.

"...Yes, I've tried to reconcile with him but all he ever thinks about is work, and ruining people's lives. He never thinks about what it does to his family, and I can't take it anymore."

I tuned her trembling voice out and thought about all she's been through. She suffered through sleepless days waiting tirelessly for Dad to come home, only to great the backside of his head as he stomped his way to bed without saying a word.

After everything she's been through, she still stuck with him thinking it would make me feel better knowing I had a man to call my father, when in reality I was ashamed. I was ashamed to call that heartless, cold, and distant man my father for reasons she didn't even know. I sat there for a moment, listening as she wept silently, and eased back into the bed. The silence around me soothed me down, and I immediately shut off my thoughts. My eyes found their way back to the ceiling as the thoughts faded to nothing. I sighed, and let it all go away as my eyes rolled back into a deep slumber.

***

I awoke the next morning tired, and overwhelmed from lack of sleep. The sun shined through the window, and lit up the room. I stood up and stumbled to the bathroom and rested my hands on the edges while letting out a yawn as I closed my eyes slightly. My body still filled with drowsiness, I cupped my hands and turned on the faucet to let the cold ravishing water splash across the side of my face, instantly awakening me from my slumber. With a shuddered sigh, I looked up at my blurry figure, and caught the dead look in my eyes through the rugged reflection peering back at me.