Invisible String |

Chapter Three

The apartment was quiet, the sun had fallen over the mountains, and the sounds of the city were the only noise that I could hear. I noticed Aleida start to stir in her bassinet, she blinked her eyes and began to fuss quietly. I scooped her up, changed her diaper and put her into her pajamas. It was cold and I had to take out the trash. The bags had been staring me down for what felt like hours. I bundled Aleida up and put her in her carrier, I grabbed the bags and my keys and walked into the hallway. The movers were still carrying in boxes, and one was carrying a potted plant and a TV. I took the elevator down this time, I stepped out of the lobby into the crisp winter air, Aleidas breath was warm against my chest. As I walked back into the lobby I stood waiting for the elevator. I stepped on and pressed the button for floor eight, Just as the doors were about to close, someone jammed there foot in before they could close. I looked up as the door slid open, it was the man from the grocery store. The one who'd helped me in the cereal aisle. The one whose presence felt strangely familiar, like I should know him, but couldn't place him. He stepped in, his eyes meeting mine  His dark hair was messier than it had been earlier, and his jacket was unzipped. There was snow on his eyelashes. I gave him a warm smile, as warm as I could muster. He glanced at Aleida, then back at me. I shifted uncomfortably. 

"Hey." He said, smiling. 

"Small world huh?" I asked softly.

"I suppose so." He chuckled.

His voice, so familiar. Yet I couldn't place where I knew him from. But it was so familiar. He gestured towards Aleida. An akward silence passed between us then. I shifted again. Adjusting Aleida. This elevator ride was taking forever. 

"I'm Noah, I just moved in." He said. Finally the doors opened on floor eight, 

"I'm Alena, and this is Aleida." I said stepping off, I expected him to stay on the elevator but no, instead he stepped off as well. Then I realized, he was the one in the apartment across from mine, I sighed inwardly. Now he would know who's baby it was crying at 3am.

"Alena.." He said, his voice trailing off. There was something in his voice, that suggested he wanted to say something more but wasn't going to.  I glanced at him as we walked down the hallway. I shook off the feeling off. When I reached my door he went to swipe his card on the door across from mine.

"Well, I'll see you around Alena, you too Aleida." He said as I opened my door. I nodded in goodbye, but yet we both seemed to linger in our respective doorways. I shut mine first. I racked my brain, how did I know him. How did I know him? I nursed Aleida to sleep and then went a curled up in my bed. I brought Aleida's basinet into my room and then fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I sat up straight in bed twenty minutes later. That night, all those months ago, laying on the floor in a pool of blood, he had been the one to save me. I got out of bed, and opened my apartment door, thought once, walked back in and grabbed the baby monitor and shut the door behind me. I stood in front of his door for a long moment. I could hear movement inside, unpacking maybe, or maybe just settling in for the night. What the fuck was I doing? I willed my feet to guide me back to my own door. They didn't. I knocked on the door twice then stood there, heart pounding. The door swung open moments later.

"Alena? Is everything okay?" He asked, his eyes picking up on the baby monitor in my hand. 

"I—" I started, then stopped, shaking my head. This was insane. "I just... I think I remember you from somewhere," I blurted out, trying to sound more certain than I felt. But I knew it was him, his voice. That's where I knew that voice from.  His eyes met mine. Recognition sparking in them. He raised an eyebrow.

"Your the girl..." He trailed off.

"You saved my life." I said, the words burning my tongue even as I spoke them. He nodded, understanding passing over his face. I traced the scar on my neck. His eyes watched my fingers.

"I knew I knew you." I said softly, still wondering what I was doing at his door. That night, I had been dying, and now I stood in front of him breathing. My breath caught in my throat, just like it had all those months ago.  We stared at each other then, I watched him look at me. 

His eyes never left mine, and I could feel his mind working, just as mine was. There was recognition in his eyes, but also something deeper, like an understanding of the gravity of what I had just said.

"You...." Noah started, then stopped himself, looking at me as if trying to reconcile the girl standing before him with the memories of that night. "It was you, in the grocery store, I thought I knew you."  He said. I nodded. I wasn't sure what to say. I was standing in front of my savior, the man in front of me was the reason I was alive, Aleida was alive. 

"Thank you. You saved my life, kept me awake, you put water on my cuts, you kept me alive." I said, the words foreign to me too. He smiled. 

"I did what anyone would've done. I can't even remember why I was at that complex that night, but I heard you screaming and I knew whoever it was, needed help.

"Not everyone would've done that." I stated. I looked at him, my eyes filling with tears. 

"I don't know what I can do to ever repay you." I said quietly, swallowing the lump in my throat. 

"I'm just glad your alive. I wondered sometimes if you were. Your not indebted to me Alena, I would've done that for anyone." 

"No, I'm not indebted to you, I'm alive. Because of you, my baby is alive because of you. Thank you doesn't repay that. 

"Alena your alive, so's your daughter, that's enough to repay he said, brushing my shoulder with his fingers. it was a  soft touch, a touch I hadn't felt in what felt like years.

"Well maybe, you could let me make you dinner sometime?" I asked. He laughed.

"How about you let me make you dinner sometime? Bring the baby, I'm sure it gets lonely... " he said and then looked regretful. "I didn't mean it like that." He said blushing. I laughed despite the gravity of the situation.

"No, it does get lonely. This is the most adult conversation I've had in months." I said smiling. He nodded.

"Then why don't you come over tomorrow night, around six? Bring the baby, we can make food or even takeout?" He said. He was being so nice to me, nobody had been nice to me since he'd saved my life. I nodded. I felt a warmth in my chest as he smiled at me, and for the first time in a months, I didn't feel quite so alone. Just  the thought of having someone to share a meal with, someone who wasn't Aleida, or the walls of my apartment, was comforting and brought me happiness.  

"Six it is," I said, my voice steady despite the mix of emotions swirling inside me. I wanted to tell him how much this meant to me, even though to him he was just being nice. but to me, it meant the world, having dinner made for me, getting to talk to another adult, not being alone all the time. 

"Thanks," I said quietly, the words coming easier now. "For everything, Noah."

"I'll see you tomorrow Alena." he whispered, and I smiled. Retreating to my own door. Once I shut it behind me, I sank back against it, letting the tears pour down my cheeks.