An Obscure Luminosity

Chapter 5: The Circle

Picture of Noah on the side -->

Chapter Five

We all sit in a circle on the floor and stare at each other. No one is speaking; things start to get too awkward too quickly. Asher starts tapping his fingers on the floor. Noah sits up straight.

"Who wants to start?" He says.

"I'll go," Artemis states holding her hand half up. We all turn to her expectantly.

"So, uh, the other day my dad got a call. That's not new but, uh, he actually, he paid attention to me. He looked at me, his eyes filled with horror. It was the first time he paid any attention to me since.." She looks down and starts taking deep breaths. I remember when she first told me what had happened to her to make her like this. She was only fourteen. She had three sisters in college, but they lived in Ohio. It was Artemis' birthday so being the good siblings they were; they decided to fly in to see her. On their way here their plane crashed, leaving no survivors. Her parents were crushed. Her mother was diagnosed with severe depression and moved to a mental hospital. She's still there. Her father, stereotypically, turned to alcohol. He ignored Artemis' existence. He would go to work, come home, drink on the weekends and that was it. That was poor Artemis' life. She looks up and her eyes are teary 

"He... he just grabbed his keys and hurried out of the room. I picked up the phone, they still hadn't hung up. I could hear the woman saying Mr. Linard? I answered and she said she was sorry to inform me that," her voice cracks. "My mum tried to commit suicide you guys. She tried to kill herself," she breaks down crying. Noah slides over to her and hugs her. She rests her head against his chest and weeps for a bit. Asher and I are looking at the ground. I really don't know what to say. Her mum was locked up in that place so they could cure her depression, not for her to get worst. Artemis sits up and wipes her eyes.

"It's just, I know she's locked away, but like that she can always get better. She can come back home, be my mum. If she's dead that can't happen. Why would she do that?" She says her voice mirroring her sadness. I slide towards her and pay her knee. I really am not good at this comforting thing. I smile at her, and she smiles back. Asher does the same. 

"She'll get better Arty, don't you ever stop believing that," Asher states. I admire him. I admire my best friend to no extent. How can he remain so positive? He's been through hell and back but he still believes everyone will get their happy ending. We sit back at our positions and Noah sighs. 

"I met up with my parents during summer," he says. 

"You did what?" Asher says.

"Why? Did they threaten you?" Artemis says.

"Just say the word and they're dust," I say. Noah looks taken aback.

"Whoa guys chill out. They asked to meet up with me and, I did. I thought they might have had something nice to say. You know maybe those messed up brains became a little less messed up over time, but that was so not the case," he says smiling darkly. Poor Noah was the result of two teenagers on the night of senior prom. That's right he was born to teenage parents. As he put it, it was hell growing up. He was given up when he was a new born; his parents hadn't even bothered to try with him. He grew up in various foster homes, each one giving him up for various reasons. The last two foster families were here in alibi creek. His current foster family only keeps him as display. They're a party couple but they need some proof for their parents that they're doing well. Noah is that proof. His foster parents let him live alone, and only let him stay with them when their parents are over. His previous family had actually been amazing. They had two teenage children but they were willing to care for him. They tried so hard with him, but he can't accept love from other families. That's a sad fact about Noah. While he was in his previous foster home, he went searching for his family. He found them. They were actually settled in, married and they had two other children. His actual parents had gotten married and had a decent life. That's rare for high school lovers. His father was a doctor and his mother was lawyer, they were both the biggest source of our money. They sent him away. He said he was their son and they denied him. They said we don't have a son in front of his siblings. They asked him to stay away from their family as he was a reminder of their dark past, but they promised to keep him financially well.