Growing up in a large, middle-class (if not lower) family had its challenges. More than I can account for actually. I had five older sisters and two older brothers. Throw me into the mix and that's a grand total of eight children living under one ro...
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Eventually, my unwillingness to provide a different answer to Noah's inquiry gets to him and he gives up, no longer pestering me to tell him the real reason I'm not prepared for today's lesson. The hour goes by a little too fast for my liking and before we know it, we've run out of time. While I'm putting my belongings away, my eyes skip over to the boy whose eyes, in contrast, are trained on his phone. Both of brows are puckered together as deep creases form valleys on his forehead. My curiosity gets the best of me and my mouth acts faster than my mind does.
"What's the matter?" I question with my head cocked to one side. It's as though my voice reminds him of my existence as Noah tears his gaze from the device sitting in his hand and places it on me instead. Suddenly, I feel self-conscious under his piercing stare and all I could do is clear my throat. I shift a little, unsure if I should break the intense eye-contact we're currently engaged in. Why is he looking at me like that? It's kind of unsettling.
A couple of seconds go by and still no words escape his lips. Maybe I should have minded my own business. What's wrong with me? I probably look like the world's biggest hypocrite right now. I've never shared anything personal about myself with Noah, yet I'm expecting him to tell me what's going on with his life? I must be crazy to think he'd voluntarily tell me anything. Just as I open my mouth to say never mind, Noah pushes his chair back, stands up and swallows me into his arms. I freeze like a statue as he tightens his hold around my rigid body. His chin settles into the crook of my neck as his hot breaths drum against my bare skin.
To say I'm shocked would be an understatement.
"It's my mom," he whispers softly. I'm immediately filled with fear. Don't tell me something terrible has happened to her. "She wants to meet me," he continues and that's when it hits me. Noah pulls back and flashes me a small smile.
My heart flutters at the sight as I return the gesture. "That's good," I say.
"I know. It took me forever to get her contact information. The first time I called her, she hung up on me before I could even finish telling her who I was. Whenever I texted her, she'd never reply either. But today she did." The look on his face is one exuding with hope and I can't help it as my smile broadens.
"I'm really happy to hear that." I mean it. I can't believe he's actually sharing something so private, something so intimate, about himself with me. I'm not going to lie, but I feel pretty damn special right now. How can I not? Just look at the guy! Perhaps, I should return the favor. I mean, it's only fair. Plus, Noah hasn't done anything but help me thus far. He seems to be a pretty trusting person. There's no reason for me not to confide in him. Maybe, he's the answer to all of my problems.
It'd be nice to talk to someone about my dysfunctional family without being judged or pitied for it. Although my friends are a great bunch, I know how they are and how they'll react if they discovered how messed up my life could be. I don't need someone to feed me sympathy. I just want somebody who'll listen to me vent all of my frustrations away so that I could breathe properly for once in my life. And who knows, Noah could be that person. I'll never know unless I take a leap of faith.
