After

Chapter 4

Richelle's pov
I wake with a strange feeling in my stomach- fear. What's happening? Where am I? Oh yeah, I'm at Noah's house. The guy who's sitting next to me on the sofa. The guy who is watching me, not realising that I'm awake.

"Uh.." I speak up, indicating to him that I'm awake.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to freak you out," he apologises, his cheeks going slightly red as he moves closer to me so he's sitting right beside me.
I rest my head on the sofa's arm and let out a small sigh which makes Noah put his arm around me. He really is the sweetest boy I know.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asks hopefully, turning to look at me.
I keep my head resting on the sofa's arm and reply with, "A little, I'm not as tired. Thank you Noah."
"It's the least I can do, and call me No, just like you used to!" he says with a smile, making me look up at him and smiling back. "Hey, I found these for you," he says, passing me one of his grey t-shirts and a pair of black leggings. Where did he get the leggings from? Wait, these are mine! How did he get these?

Seeing my confused expression, he speaks up and says, "You left them here, ten years ago. The day before...the...incident! Yeah, the uh, incident. You came over here remember? We played Snakes and Ladders, your favourite board game, remember?"
I nod my head yes, clutching them against my chest. That was a great day, all of my days with Noah were great.

"Do you want to change into them now?" he asks, as I look at the leggings.
I nod my head yes, answering his question.
"Do you want a shower?" he asks.
Well, I REALLY need one, but I don't want the water to sting my cuts, so I shake my head no.
"Are you sure?" he asks.
"My cuts, I don't want them to sting," I reply, not letting go of the clothes.
"Agh, I see what you mean. Well they may sting a bit, but they'll be clean, and you'll be clean! After all, you probably need one, no offence. You can wash your hair as well! And uh...oh I don't know what girls do in the shower! But, I'm not forcing you Richie, it's just a good option," he says, persuading me and changing my thoughts.

I smile a little as he calls me 'Richie'. That's what he used to call me when we were teenagers, best friends. I miss him calling me that, I miss him being my best friend. But now I'm here, with him, safe.

"Ok," I reply in a small voice and he helps me up, taking me to his bathroom. The room hasn't changed at all. Blue tiles all over the wall, the same white rug on the middle of the floor and everything else- exactly the same.

"Take your time, I'll make your bed in the spare room. Do you want me to leave now?" he asks politely, slowly walking towards the door, but not taking his eyes off me.
I slowly nod my head yes, still looking at the shower, trying to remember how it works.
"Ok, if you want a jumper take one from my room- do you remember where it is?" he asks, half out of the door.

"Of course," I reply quietly, remembering all the good memories we shared there. Our tickle fights, jumping out at each other- scaring the other person, helping each other with homework, and ,most importantly, our food fights. I remember we'd sneak downstairs, past his mother, who was usually asleep on the sofa, and creep into his kitchen. Each of us would take a few snacks and sneak back upstairs, back to his room. Of course we intended to eat them, but when he tried to talk to me, and my mind was elsewhere, he'd start throwing his food at me to get my attention. Angry, I always threw mine back, and we continued from there, most days. Fun days!

He gives me a quick smile before leaving the room. I lock the door, even though I know that Noah won't come in, and take my night gown off. Gosh, I've only taken this off for...for something I don't want to mention. Remembering how his shower works, I turn it on to warm and hop in. It feels weird at first, the water trickling down my skin like a stream flowing in the summer, but it feels nice. Then, the water reaches my cuts on my arm.

"Ouch!" I yelp, without even realising I had said it out loud.
In only a matter of seconds, there was a knock on the door.
"Richelle? You ok?"
"Yeah, it just stings a bit. That's all," I reply, letting the water wipe the blood stains away.
"Ok, call me if you need me," he says and I hear his footsteps walking away.

Soon enough, I step out of the shower after washing my hair multiple times, and my body. My cuts are sore, but the dirt and stains have gone and I feel a lot better! I dry myself with a towel and change into the clothes Noah had given me before. The leggings still fit, yet his shirt looks quite big on me- almost like a dress! Well, he is quite a bit bigger than me, and he's grown since high school. But at least he was nice enough to give it to me!

Once I exit the bathroom, I walk back into the living room where Noah is sitting, patiently waiting for me. He gives me a smile and I sit back down on the sofa where I was before.

"I finished your bed, are you ok with sleeping in the spare room?" he asks.
"That's fine, thank you," I reply, giving him a smile back.
All of a sudden, he says, "Do you mind if I quickly do something?"
"Uh, ok," I reply, looking a bit confused.
What does he want to do?

Suddenly, he begins to pull my shirt up. What the hell?! Instantly, I scream, grab my shirt off him and move away from him. This can't be happening, again.
"Hey it's ok, I'm not doing what you think I am," he says, placing his hands in the air, then indicating for not to worry. "come on, sit back down. You're ok, you're safe with me."
I bite my lip unsure. He just tried to take my shirt off, that's what my kidnapper did when he...well, you know. Scared, I shake my head no and slowly back up.

"Richelle, I promise I won't hurt you. If you want me to stop, then just say so," he says, staying sat where he is, trying not to scare me.
"W-what are you g-going to do?" I stutter, biting my fingernails nervously, slightly shaking.
"I'll show you, just please come back," he says calmly, so I decide to trust him and walk back to him.

A smile appears on his face and he sits me down next to him. Once again, he begins to roll up my shirt. Just as he passes my belly button, he stops and asks, "Are you ok with me continuing?"
I nod my head yes, hoping I've made the right decision. He continues to roll my shirt up, slowly, and finally stops when my whole stomach is showing.

"Richelle, you're dangerously skinny. You need to eat something, now," he says, looking worried.
So that's what he was doing! It's kind of sweet actually. But he has got a point. You could see my ribcage showing and my stomach was extremely flat. The man didn't feed me a lot, once every three days and I drank once every two days.

Noah rolls my shirt back down and I let out a yawn. Yeah, I'm still pretty tired. He catches on quickly and says, "Tell you what, I'll make you something to eat whilst you take a nap. Is that ok?"
"Yes, thank you so much," I reply, hugging him tightly.
"Anything for you."