Under The Stars

Chapter 17

"Sorry about that." Noah apologized, "Sorry for calling you and you know, making you come here and see all.. This, my problem."

"It's fine. You know you can call me anytime you have any problem. I'll be there for you." I smiled at him.

He didn't smile back though which was so weird. I asked him what's wrong, but he just grabbed my arm and dragged me in his room.

"Now, what's wrong, Noah?" I asked him, looking straight into his eyes. He adverted his eyes from me and looked through all the picture he had when he was with his father. I did the same...

He sniffed and I could see a tear rolling down his cheeks, "Father always pays for the bills, the food, and he's the one who's always working, 'cause he doesn't want mom's condition to get worst. Now that he's gone, we don't know who'll work, or pay for the bills. Or even pay for the medical bills, too." He looks at me with tears in his eyes.

"Condition? What condition?" I asked, afraid of the answer. I feel so bad for Noah's family.

"She has lung cancer. She had it for 2 years. She didn't tell us until dad noticed she was acting different. She told us not to worry about it and focus more in our studies. She's strong. She's always happy, she always smile, and laugh. And that's what I love about her." He smiled at the picture of his mother and him.

"I-I'm sorry." I bowed my head down, regretting asking the question.

"No, it's fine, it's not your fault. It's no one's fault. But, Brooks, I've been thinking, what if I find a job to help my mom? I don't want her to go out and make her condition even worse. I don't want to loose her. And, I can handle it myself." He sat down and stared at the ground. I looked at the door and saw Gabriel standing there, looking at Noah, with some tears in his eyes. I decided not to tell Noah.

"But, Noah, it's your choice. Whatever makes you happy. Whatever makes your mom and your brothers happy. But think about it before you discuss this to your mom. Don't stress her out. You need to have some proof that you can handle working for your family. But I believe in you, Noah. You're responsible and independent." I was still standing in the same spot, not thinking to move or anything.

"Thank you for your support, Brooklyn." He sighed and stood up. Gabriel walked away as fast as he can. "I saw your motorbike. It's pretty cool." He smiled, although, it wasn't the same smile as always.

"Wanna go around? And maybe, talk about what job your going to temporarily take or something. And just relax your mind." I suggested.

He nodded and went to the living room where his mom, Troy, and Gabriel was. He told them we were going out, to relax his mind for a bit and talk about stuffs.

"Okay, honey, bye." Ms. Hanson, Kerry, said. Gabriel and Troy said their goodbyes, too. But, then, Noah told me to wait here and ran up the stairs.

He came back down with a big bag. I furrowed my eyebrows, but he just walked past me and opened the door. I said my goodbyes to Kerry, Gabriel and Troy and left.

I went to my motorbike and started it. I sat down and told Noah to sit behind me. He sat behind me and I roared out the motorbike.

"Show off?" He raised his eyebrows. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows, too.

"No. I just love the sound of it." I told him. He surprised me by wrapping his arms around my stomach. I smiled and went off.

I decided to go to an ice cream shop, since I'm craving for ice cream and after all the sadness Noah had felt today, he needs an ice cream.

When we entered the ice cream shop, Noah smiled and ran to the counter where you order. I laughed and went beside him. A guy, about our age, turned around and asked what our orders were. Then, he looked at me... No... Looked at my breast and I glared at him.

"Ehem.. Her eyes are up here, Blondie." Noah snapped his fingers where my eyes where and I laughed at his nickname, Blondie. His hair was blonde so it's obvious why Noah called him that.

"Right.. Orders?" He asked, again.

"I already told you our order, but you were busy looking at your customer's breast. So will you listen now and stop being a pervert?" Noah retorted, smirking. Ha! Get that, Prev!

"Sorry. Can you tell me your order one more time?" He glared at Noah. Noah told him our orders while glaring at him.

When he was done taking our orders, we chose a seat. We sat down where a window is in front of you. The sight is beautiful too. It's a beach and the sun is setting down.

"Here's your order." The guy came and served us our orders.

"So.. Um.. You don't need to answer this question but, what was it like when your dad left you? Why did he leave you?" He asked me, stirring his ice cream.

"My dad left 'cause he didn't love mom anymore and he kinda cheated. It hurts knowing your dad left cause he doesn't love your mom anymore. I kept asking to myself, why didn't he just stay even though he didn't love her, for his children. He started drinking and whenever he came back home, he always yelled at mom and sometimes at my sister, my brother and I. But, he never hit us. And I was fine with that." I ate some ice cream and continued.

"Once when he came back home drunk, he told mom he had sex with another woman, a woman he doesn't know about. He told her not because he doesn't love her anymore, but because he wanted to be honest with her. That's the day he left, well, mom told him to leave, but he also told mom that he always wanted to leave anyways so he was fine with it."

Noah stared at me every time I was telling the story. I felt uncomfortable, but kept telling him the story anyways.

"Sorry about that. But, you're a strong girl. You managed your life without a father. Wanna know why my father left? It's a sad story." He told me. I nodded and continued eating my ice cream.