Noah & Navid

Chapter 8- Disappointment

I didn't hear from Navid that night. I texted Erik, my best friend who Navid didn't get along with. He took me out for coffee and I filled him in on everything that had happened.

"I know how it goes when relationships are new, Noah... But you can't just drop all of your friends for this guy." Erik was swiping through my phone of all the pictures I had taken with Navid.

"He is kinda cute though, and I'm happy for you. I am! He holds you so protectively... It's sweet." Erik commented.

We spent a few hours there and he seemed annoyed at my weeks of absence, but also genuinely happy for me. 

He took me home and I agreed I would go to his LGBT student meeting the next week where he was running for vice president. I'd been a good member before Navid so I could still vote. I just hadn't participated with them much this summer since Navid didn't seem too interested in that world.

I was happy for the distraction of Erik that night, but when I got home I started to worry about Navid's illness. 

I started to text him a hundred times but then thought he must be sleeping and I didn't want to disturb that. He needed his rest and as hard as it was, I finally fell asleep looking at his pictures on my phone.

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The next day seemed like I was vacationing in an old life. I awoke to a text from Navid telling me he was starting to feel better but was still sick. He wished me a good day and said he loved me and would dream of me in his naps. I replied with a similar message and then got myself ready for school.

I rode the bus to school and went to class alone. I sat in another part of the room so I could see Navid's friends and observe quietly, but they didn't show up either. 

Whatever he had must have infected all of them. I spent the whole class worrying for him and left during the break.

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I took the bus back home and thought about calling him, but I knew he was probably passed out on cold medicine. I hated worrying about him so much. I couldn't stop thinking about him alone and feeling awful in his bed. I decided to make him some cookies and take them over on my bike.

I walked to the grocery store on Reseda and got the needed supplies. I'd decided on making the chocolate cherry cookies my grandmother used to make with me when I was little. They always made me feel better. 

I made them perfectly and set aside two for my dad. He would be upset if he smelled them and had none when he got home. We almost never have anything with a lot of sugar in our kitchen.

I packed up the rest of them in a plastic take-out container. I found a silver sharpie marker and looked up online how to write "I hope you feel better soon," in Persian. I wrote it on the lid of the container and filled it with cookies. 

I packed it up in a paper bag and decided to take my bike over to his house. It wasn't too hot outside and the afternoon breeze was blowing in.

I biked up to his house and parked my bike on the front porch. There was a thumping bass sound coming from inside and I hoped it wasn't keeping Navid up. He needed his sleep. He needed a quiet place. 

I knocked a few times and then pressed the doorbell. Aram opened the door wearing just a pair of basketball shorts.

"Noah! NO-Uhh... Suh-mo-king!" Aram sang with a laugh like it was a joke. 

He waved me through towards the living room which was cloudy with a heavy pot smell and thumping with some loud Persian or Arab music with a hip hop beat. There was a group of guys sitting around shirtless and talking and laughing.