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Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Leah

            My stomach is fluttering with the thought of spending time alone with Noah again.  I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him all week.  When I left his apartment I wanted to be mad at him, but I just couldn’t find anything to be angry about in our conversation.  He thinks he is doing me a favor by letting me in on his hypothesis, but I believe he is wrong and has just been hurt too bad to see it.  Helping with his dissertation will give me the perfect opportunity to help show him the light. 

            “I’ll follow you,” he says as I turn to walk up the stairs to our apartments.  I smile to myself and begin the climb up.  As we get near our floor, I can hear the voices of a couple men shouting to each other about water and stuff being ruined.  My heart sinks into my stomach when I see that the door to my apartment is open and the voices are coming from inside. 

            Taking the last few stairs two at a time, I run into my open front door.  “What’s going on?  What are you doing in here?”  Noah quickly joins me inside my place and now we can see that there are three workers in here and the building manager.

            “I’m so sorry Leah.  I tried calling you all day.”  Henry, the building manager apologizes and makes his way over to us. 

            “I’ve been in class all day.  I turn my phone off.”  I reach for my phone in my backpack.

            “A pipe broke above your apartment.  It flooded the room upstairs, your place and your neighbor to your left.”  I look at the water that is dripping from the ceiling and the carpet that is now torn up in the corner.  I imagine Noah is relieved his apartment is in the clear. 

            “What does that even mean?” I ask in disbelief. 

            “You can’t stay here until we fix the damage and make sure that it is all dried up so there will be no mold.”  I feel the tears burning in the back of my eyes.  “We will pay for you to stay in a hotel, but I am afraid the only one with a room available is about thirty minutes out of town and does not have a kitchen or any of those sort of amenities.”  I feel the weight of that statement on my shoulders and release a long sigh. 

            “Leah you can stay with me.  I have a big place and never use the extra room.  I’m sure we can make it work for a few weeks.”  Noah puts his hand on my shoulder and then rubs it down my back in little circles.  “It’s no big deal.” 

            “Well, there is more,” Henry starts, “your room was pretty flooded.  I’m afraid your bed and a few of your items in there have been ruined.  The workers do not recommend that you keep the items since the water could lead to mold.  We will be purchasing you a new bed and I would like for you to make an itemized list of the items that were ruined so we can reimburse you for your loss.” 

            Noah wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his chest.  The tears I have been holding back finally fall down my cheeks.  I had finally felt settled in my new place and now I have to start all over.  A strong thumb gently wipes away a tear from my cheek. “Leah, let’s go see what was ruined so you can make a list.  We can gather up what ever wasn’t damaged from in there and bring it over to my place.”  I nod my head against him and let him lead me into my very wet room. 

            The roof above us is swollen and broken in a few spots.  Plaster and water is covering every surface in my room.  Noah loosens his hold on me and I make my way over to my dresser.  Water is still dripping from the edge of it and big puddles are already damaging the wood below.  In one of the puddles I find the last picture Lyle and I had ever taken.  It is upside down and completely submerged in a puddle.  I rescue it, but it is too late, the water has already caused the ink to blend and the paper it is printed on to warp. 

            I feel the pain in my heart as I hold the picture in my hand, left with only the memories of what it used to look like.  Noah comes up behind me and again places his warm and comforting hand on my back.  I close my eyes and lean into his touch as I listen to his softly spoken words, “I’m sure you can get a copy of it.”  He is right, I immediately remember that my mother has this picture in a small frame in the guest bedroom back home.  I nod my head and slide open the drawers, gathering the clothes I will need for a few days. 

            When I finally have everything I think I might need tucked into an old duffle bag Noah and I leave my apartment.  Henry tells me that they will be drying it out with large fans and will be replacing the carpet.  Movers will move the big stuff on the day they replace everything, but I will need to take my belongings out so that they are not responsible if anything gets lost or broken.  Noah takes my hand in his and grabs my bag to carry it out. 

            This is not the way I saw my first week of grad school ending, but I should have expected it given the horrible way it had started with the break up of my relationship. Once inside the safety of Noah’s apartment, I can no longer hold in all of my sadness and disappointment.  I curl in my shoulders and cover my face with my hands, crying into them silently.  Noah’s arms encircle me and I am overwhelmed with the warmth of his body and clean scent as he comforts me. 

“It will be ok, Leah.  It’s just water.  I’m grateful you weren’t in there when it happened.  Let’s get you situated.”  His big hands splay out across my back.  I suck in a few deep breaths and pull away so that I can do as he suggested. 
            “Thank you for letting me stay here.”  His smile is warm and bright as he brushes the hair from my face and wipes at the tracks of my tears.

“Of course.  You are totally saving my ass in my dissertation.  It’s the least I can do.”  I help clearing the tears and even laugh a little.

“I’ll just put my stuff in the extra room.”  I grab my bag from him and make my way over to the room.  When I walk through the threshold I realize that maybe I didn’t think this through very far.  I take a few steps into the empty room.  There is no bed, no dresser, not even a small desk.  The room is completely empty.  I turn around when I hear Noah behind me.

“So I guess I should have mentioned the whole bed problem when I offered to let you stay here.”  He shrugs a little and his crooked smile makes an appearance. 

“It’s ok.  I can sleep on the floor.  It’s better than in the swamp that is my apartment.”  He leans against the doorframe and crosses one foot over the other.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor.  You can take my bed.  I will sleep on the floor.”  I can’t let him do that of course.  I am already inconveniencing him.

“Noah, I can’t let you sleep on the floor.”  His smile spreads across his face and he pushes himself off of the doorframe.

“Then I guess that leaves us with just one other option.”  His words float between us and my stomach clenches with the recognition of what he is saying.  My heart speeds up and I feel my throat go dry.  Letting out a breath I had been holding, I gather up my bag and lift my gaze to meet his. 

“Lead the way.”

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