Broken Soul

Part 14

Nora took Alex home and the moment his body touches the bed, he was gone. The soft snores that escaped from him made Nora chuckled but saddened at his reality. She left immediately after Alex had fallen asleep but came back around six in the evening with food in her hands and she stood by Alex's door waiting for him to open. She knew Alex routined by hard even before Henry came into their lives.

She pressed on the bell for him to open few times before Alex finally opened and revealed his messy hair with his swollen eyes groaning at her present. "WHAT?!" He yelled rubbing his face with his hand and soon regretted at his own voice when he saw Nora stood before him with food in her hand.

"Okay Mr. Grumpy," she commented pushing him out of the way and Alex rolled his eyes at her allowing her to enter. She placed the bags down in the kitchen dining table and saw Alex went to the living room plopping his body down on the couch with a groaned. "Did the detective call yet?" She asks and Alex mumbled something, "What?" She asks again and this time Alex lifted his head up from the couch, "Nooooooooo." He says and Nora eyed him from the kitchen knowing well how frustrated Alex would be especially in waiting.

"Come, eat. I brought Thai." She said and heard Alex protest but she didn't tolerate him being spoiled and insisted for Alex to join her. "I'm not gonna ask again, either you come here or I'm gonna drag you here." She said and she heard more protest coming from the living room before Alex finally joined her.

He sat on the chair and rested his chin over his palm on the table watching Nora placing the Pad Thai over the plate before handed him the chopstick and she pushed him the soda can after.

"Henry loves this." He says and Nora smiled, Alex was staring at his food before he lifted his chopstick into his mouth. It was complete silence before Nora could see how upset Alex were and he starts to sniffs chewing into his food. She could see how miserable he looks without Henry and the guilt he is holding inside is killing him.

"If there is anything they would have call, I'm sure of it." She tried to tell him but he wasn't feeling it. Instead, he kept chewing on his food and pushed the plate after three feeds and leaned against the chair. Nora caught him staring at Henry's room opposite of the kitchen and she knew how Alex missed him.

"Can I ask you something?" She starts and Alex returned his gaze towards the plate before him, he nods giving Nora the approval.

"Earlier, you told the security guy that Henry is your boyfriend. Is it what you really want or you just making a dramatic entrance like you always do?" Alex didn't raised his gaze at her, he was still staring at the plate in front of him with his finger fiddling inside his jumped pockets. It took him a while before he could realized that he didn't actually know the answer.

"I don't know." He says almost a whisper and Nora sighs, "Do you love him?" She asks and it was no doubt that he did. "Even if I did, I don't know if Henry would feel the same. He would think that I love him because he owes me." Nora dropped her spoon from eating her fried noodle and it clanked on the plate making Alex look up to her.

"Are you joking with me right now? Didn't you and Henry talked about this?" She asks and Alex shrugged. "We never had a chance to. I didn't think that it would come to this." His voice breaks towards the end and Nora rested her palm over the table for Alex to grab and he did.

"From what I see, I think Henry does. He smiled a lot lately and I know it's because of you. Doesn't matter how tired he was, or how annoying you can be sometimes. Henry never complaints." Alex smiles before his eyes adverted towards Henry's closed bedroom door again and she could see a single tear fell on Alex's cheek.

"I feel bad Nora. I judge him and assumed he was using before I even asked him. If only- " he broke into more tears towards the end and Nora raised from her seat and gave Alex a hug. She was small and her height matches Alex's sitting which she glad cause she didn't have to bend down or stood on her toes for him.