"Where is Ethan?" The first question Noah asked.
"He's meeting someone right now." Gary stood on the edge of the bed and noticed the tension in Noah's voice.
"You mean he's home?" Noah looked at the wall clock and it showed 3 pm. He sat up quickly and then realized his current state. He was still naked under the thin covers.
Noah couldn't concentrate on Gary's answer because he was thinking about how Ethan didn't like strangers coming to his house. The few times his friends had wanted to visit him, every time he had mentioned it to Ethan, the man had clearly said no.
But his friends were here now. And he was naked!
"Boss is still out. But will be home soon, I think," Gary said. "Why, just come out. They are waiting for you."
Noah looked at Gary intently. "Seriously? I'm naked!"
Gary looked at Noah and seemed to think. "Well, there's nothing I can do about that."
"Can I have some clothes?" asked Noah. A stupid question just to get some clothes. He had plenty of clothes, but this wasn't the case. Ethan had told him to get naked and the man hadn't given him any clothes yet. If he dared to wear clothes now and meet his friends, who knew what Ethan would say? Based on past experience, Noah couldn't imagine it.
And Gary was the same. The man didn't take any risk.
"I can't tell you without the boss's permission. Do you want me to call him?" Gary asked.
"He's not home?"
"No, he met someone outside."
Noah immediately breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Gary expectantly. "Can you please not tell Ethan about this?"
"About what?" asked Gary seriously.
"About my friends, and please let me use my clothes."
Gary refused immediately. "Forget it, I will not help you. Either you meet them or I have to tell them to leave.
Noah groaned. Although he tried to convince Gary again and again, the man stood his ground. He was confused, there was no way he was going to meet them with his condition.
At that moment the door opened. Noah was stunned, he quickly lay back down and covered his body with the blanket. Whether it was Ethan or someone else, he didn't want to take any chances.
Merry entered the room with a big smile, especially when she saw Gary inside, her smile became even more beautiful. Behind her, several teens with uniform appeared and the room immediately became noisy.
"Noah!" they shouted.
Noah panicked as he saw some of his classmates enter the room. He pulled the blanket even tighter around his body.
"I brought them here, they want to meet you, Noah," Merry said, beaming, proud of what she'd done.
Gary scratched his head. He looked at Noah, who was deathly pale. Then he looked at Noah's five enthusiastic friends standing in the middle of the room.
"I'm going to leave you all. Please be careful, he is in pain," Gary said to them. Then he continued, "And please don't let him get out of bed."
"Sure! We will be careful!" Veronica, the only girl there, said thoughtfully.
Noah was a little relieved and Gary helped him a little. At least he could stay on the bed.
Greg came over immediately and observed Noah's face, which was completely pale at the moment. "What happened?"
Greg was getting worried because now Noah's cheeks were flushed and his lips were pale.
"N-nothing serious, just a fever," Noah replied simply.
Greg put his palm on Noah's forehead, it wasn't too hot, but it was warm.
Noah brushed Greg's hand away lightly, his heart already beating hard. He quickly distracted himself by chatting with his other friends. They sat around him.
"Sit on the couch!" said Noah, uncomfortable with everyone approaching him.
"Bro, you never told me you had such a big room and house!" said Frank, fascinated by the size of Noah's room. He couldn't keep quiet in the Vargaz mansion. He was amazed that his friend lived in such a big mansion! With so many servants.
"If he told you, you would come here every day! Of course he doesn't want you to know!" Brian joked. Then they exchanged a few words and the room erupted in laughter.
Noah joined in the laughter, forgetting about his situation.
As they talked, Veronica suddenly reached for her blanket. "Don't you feel hot?"
Noah panicked and accidentally slapped her hand away roughly. Then he felt guilty.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to. I just feel hot, that's why I don't wear clothes. So I better stay in the blanket," Noah said regretfully.
Veronica adjusted her glasses and smiled. "It's okay, I'm just worried that you might feel uncomfortable."
"No, no. I'm fine. Thank you."
Greg continued to stare at Noah as if the young man was dying and about to die. "If you need any help, just call me."
Greg's words left everyone speechless. They thought he was overly concerned for Noah. But for Noah, Greg's words were like a breath of fresh air.
"Sure." Noah had even come up with a plan to get Greg to help him escape. But was it worth it? Meanwhile, the national exam was coming up. If he failed, everything would be ruined.
But if Ethan was serious about not letting him go back to school, then Greg would be his only way out.
"Do you know what happened to Dean Harvy?" Frank asked suddenly.
"Gee, not now, Frank!" Veronica gave Frank a sharp look.
"Why? Maybe he wanted to know?" Frank asked.
Noah immediately stiffened. "What happened?"
Hearing Dean's name made his body freeze. Bad images filled his mind. What if Dean spread the video and they found out what had happened that night?
"Hey, are you okay?" Greg patted Noah's cheek, which was even paler now.
Noah was surprised, but curious to know what had happened. "What happened?" he repeated.
"Nothing serious. The bastard was just admitted to the hospital this morning," Greg said. "You know something?"
Noah was quite surprised. Because just yesterday Dean had been bullying him. "How should I know? I just found out," Noah replied.
"They said they were mugged in the middle of the road. The driver died instantly," Frank said. He seemed very excited about the story.
Noah swallowed hard. A flood of images immediately flashed through his mind. Could it be Ethan?
He was the one who told Ethan Dean Harvey's name, then... the blood on Jack's shoe. Could it be...
Noah felt his chest tighten. He didn't know why the image bothered him. If this was Ethan's doing, it wouldn't be the first time. The man often did this under the pretense of protecting him. But it scared Noah.
"Noah, you look so pale!" Brian approached and took a closer look at Noah's face.
Noah shook his head. "No, I'm fine. And... How is Dean? Is he okay?" He felt his voice choke, unable to hear a bad answer.
"He's okay. But you know, I wish he wasn't!" said Frank, who had been the victim of Dean's bullying for weeks.
Noah was slightly relieved. At least Dean was okay.
"From what I heard from Fyn, he was asked to accompany Dean somewhere last night, but he refused. This morning he was surprised to hear the news from his teacher," Brian added. Brian added.
"Everyone's talking about Dean today, I'm sick of it," Veronica said, looking fed up. Greg agreed.
"We'd better go outside, some fresh air will do you good," Greg said.
Noah immediately panicked. "No, I can't!"
Greg and the others were surprised by Noah's reaction. "Why?"
"I, I don't feel well. So dizzy," replied Noah.
Greg grabbed Noah's wrist and there were red marks on it. Noah quickly pulled his hand away.
Greg didn't say anything, but he looked at Noah intently, which made Noah feel uncomfortable.
***
"Faster!" Ethan ordered.
Juan nodded and drove a little faster. He knew why Ethan wanted to take them home, after hearing from Gary about Noah's friends.
"I think you should let him catch his breath, Ethan," Juan said after a moment's thought.
"What do you mean?" Ethan looked annoyed by his assistant's words.
"They are just his friends. You can't forbid him to socialize. He's young and-"
"You don't know what he needs. He doesn't know either."
"Not everyone is like you."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"If you care about him, just let him go. You can't hold him like this."
"Am I asking you to talk?" Ethan got angry.
"I don't need your permission to talk. You can fire me if you want. I'll go back to Mr. Emanuel. But I care about you."
Ethan chuckled softly. "You want more punishment."
"Please don't take me so lightly, sir. I take any punishment you give me to teach my men to respect you."
*Click*
Juan stiffened when he heard the gun. He took a deep breath when his words ended. He slowed the car. He felt the tip of the gun against his head, cold. Quickly he stopped the car.
Juan said nothing, his gaze was forward. There was no doubt that his heart was beating fast. But he felt that he had done the right thing. If he died, Ethan would be the one to lose. Not him.
"I know you work for my father. But don't cross the line. I don't want you talking too much. Just do your job. I will not think twice to kill you. I have nothing to worry about. But think about your family. NEVER make me angry," Ethan whispered, full of pressure, making Juan hold his breath.
Silence.
Ethan drew his gun, making Juan exhale in relief.
"I'm sorry."
"Just drive!"