Knowing Noah Trent

Seven - Pasta Disasters

Chapter Seven

"While that water boils, I'm going to go have a shower," I told Bobby as he sat down to watch cartoons when we got home. "Maybe on the ads, can you pick pasta to cook and set it on the table. I'm leaning towards fettuccini.”

"Yeah, okay," he replied, already engrossed in the latest episode of Adventure Time. "And I want Tortellini."

I shrugged my shoulders and made my way up to my bathroom. A nervous feeling had settled in my stomach at the prospect of Noah coming over for dinner. It wasn't a date, it definitely didn't mean anything. After all, it was Bobby that invited him over but despite all that, I was still uneasy about how things were going to play out. Noah and I were two completely different people so it was a wonder as to why he stuck around. I suppose it had a lot to do with Bobby, I mean, the kid was so cute it was hard to say no to him.

I jumped in the shower, my head full of thoughts. The hot water however, did magic in soothing my body and calming my head. When I hopped out, I was feeling more positive about the night. If Noah Trent wanted to be friends with me (or maybe Bobby) then so be it, there was nothing wrong with that.

I took a bit of time in the shower so I knew the water would be well and truly boiled and Noah would surely be arriving soon. So quickly drying myself off, I picked the first things out of my closet. It was a floral singlet and a high-waisted skirt. I put them on and let my hair out of its towel to dry naturally. After slipping my feet into my leather sandals, I made my way downstairs. Just as I approached the bottom of the staircase, the doorbell rang. 

"I got it," I called out.

When I opened the door, Noah was standing on our porch. He was wearing a SnapBack, chino shorts, a loose tank and a zip up hoodie and might I add, he looked delicious. I smiled at him. "Hey, come in."

He stepped in the doorway and just as he was about to say something, a loud bang followed by an ear splitting scream came from the kitchen. I didn't even think, my body just reacted, racing towards the sound with Noah hot on my heels. 

I suspected the worst and when I saw the damage, my stomach dropped and my breath caught in the back of my throat. 

It was Bobby.

He was standing in the middle of the kitchen, screaming out in agony, the pot of water and a torn open bag of pasta lying on the ground around him. 

His feet and legs had turned an alarming shade of pink and my head was spinning. I was frozen, his pierce screams cementing me to the spot. I felt sick to the stomach. 

Dazed and confused, I felt Noah push past me quickly, scooping up Bobby in his arms. "Where's the bathroom?!" he yelled frantically.

His voice snapped me out of my state. The shock wore thin while the panic started to settle in. The breath that was stuck in my throat choked free and came out sharply, followed closely but heaving gulps of air. As if breathing in as much oxygen as possible was a way of clearing my head.

It wasn't.

I whipped around and lead him to the nearest bathroom. I tried to think straight but Bobby's cries cut through every train of thought I had. Noah pushed past me again when I stood in the doorway to the bathroom. He set Bobby in the bathtub, put the plug in and ran the cold water on full blast. More of Bobby's hysterical cries filled the small bathroom. 

"You get the phone and call 911, okay?" he said assertively, using a voice I hadn't come across before. 

I nodded my head, my breathing still ragged. Turning around, I raced into the kitchen for the home phone. I hadn't realised I'd started crying until a fat tear drop fell onto the phone when I was dialling the emergency number. Wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, I put the phone to my ear and raced back upstairs. I got the operator in no time and just as I was about to tell her the details, I got sight of Bobby's legs. I would've spewed my guts up right then and there had it not been for Noah. He saw the state I was in as a shocked expression tore over my features at the sight of Bobby. Wordlessly, he grabbed the phone from my hand and started drilling off what happened to the woman. He was being so calm yet I was a mess. I was a ragged breathing, wet faced mess who had crumpled weakly into the hallway, leaning against the opposing wall, head in hands.