CHAPTER THREE
1225 Words
For Elara, love didn’t feel like falling. It felt like a choice like she was settling.
It revealed itself in quiet, small, undeniable moments that piled up until denial was impossible.
It was the way she searched for Noah in every room before she realized she was doing it. The way his absence felt louder than anyone else’s presence. The way her day softened simply because he was in it. He hasn't come to school for a week, and he hasn’t been picking up her calls.
Elara didn’t go to school on Tuesday. The reason? She wasn’t sure. Just a fever that made the world spin and a headache that refused to ease. She stayed home, half-asleep, drifting in and out of dreams and wondering what happened to him
She wasn’t expecting anyone expect maya who would come after school.
The knock at the door startled her.
“Maya” she said softly
The door opened and Noah stood there, holding a plastic bag and looking uncertain.
“Hi,” he said.
She blinked. “ Noah? You came here? How did you know my address”
Inside, he hovered awkwardly before sitting beside her on the couch. He talked about schoolwork and every other thing while she rested, filling the silence with easy commentary.
“You have brought me here a few times remember? You weren’t in class today” He lifted the bag. “I brought soup. And notes. And… concern.”
She laughed weakly. “You were in school today?”
“Yes,” he said gently. “ I am sorry Lara. I should have called or at least returned your calls”
“What happened?”
“It’s complicated” he says rubbing his head
“ Want to talk about it”
“No. Forget about me. How are you doing?”
“I am okay” she replied with a smile
“Miss me?”
“Sure did” she said as she rested her head on his shoulders without permission. Noah froze, then slowly relaxed, wrapping an arm around her like she was something breakable.
Elara slept better than she had in days
When she woke up he wasn’t there but she saw his note.
“Hey, you looked so peaceful and beautiful, I couldn't wake you. I left the soup on your dining table. Enjoy
Ps: My mom made it.”
She smiled and that was when it hit her.
She loved him.
The realization didn’t panic her. It thrilled her
It settled into her bones like truth.
She knew that things had changed
They didn’t name it. They didn’t have to. Their closeness deepened naturally. They studied together, walked while holding hands under streetlights, sharing pieces of themselves meant for no one else. Things meant for only them
NOAH’S POV
He was driving home from Elara's place when he remembered all that had happened in the past week and he was filled with rage.
His father’s voice was filled with rage.
“I told you to stop seeing her.”
Noah didn’t look away this time. “You told me to stop living, not seeing her.”
“Don’t be smart with me,” his father snapped. “That girl is trouble.”
“Because you say so?” Noah shot back at the surprise of his father. “You’ve never even met her.”
“I don’t need to,” his father said too quickly. His jaw clenched. “I know her kind.”
The son laughed, sharp and bitter. “Her kind? What’s her kind, Dad? All I know is she’s kind to me. She listens. She doesn’t lie to my face.”
“Listen to Dad, Noah” his brother said
“No! And you will shut up when I talk. Do you understand?” He said as he walked to his brother.
Now he was angry.
“Now tell me,” Noah demanded. “Tell me why you flinch every time I mention her name. Tell me why you are so angry that I am friends with her. Are you scared of something?”
“I’m not scared,” his father said, but his voice betrayed him.
“You are,” Noah insisted. “And whatever you’re hiding, it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you.”
Silence fell heavy between them.
Finally, his father spoke, quieter now but with vile“Some doors, once closed, don’t open again. They have to stay closed, Noah.”
The son stepped back, shaking his head. “That’s not a reason. That’s a warning from someone who doesn’t want the truth found.”
Noah turned toward the door.
“Stay away from her,” the father said, almost pleading now.
Noah paused, then answered without turning around.
“I can’t. Not when the only reason you’ve given me sounds like guilt.”
“You will stay away from her Noah” His dad said in anger
“ Why? You haven’t told me a single thing so why should I listen to you”
“I am your father and you will do as I say!!!”
“I will not. I am not Lucas. You can not tell me what to do” He says as he runs up the stairs. He could hear his dad shouting downstairs and giving instructions that he shouldn’t be allowed to go out of the house for a week but he didn't care.
Now back to reality, he wondered what his dad had against Elara. He hasn’t even spoken to the girl before, just seen her once when he dropped him off at school. He is worried for her because he knows his father too well to know that he would never back down from a fight.
Elara. He thought throughout the drive. The thought of her gives him peace. The kind he has never felt before. The kind he never found at home.
Noah had told Elara about the pressure he felt, about being pulled in directions he didn’t choose. She had made him smile by dancing and making funny faces.
One evening, as they stood outside her house, Noah reached for her hand and hesitated.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
Her heart ached at the care in his voice. “Yes.”
Their fingers laced, fitting like they’d always known how.
Then they kissed. She was his first. It was Soft. Uncertain. Noah leaned in like he was asking a question he was afraid of the answer to.
Elara answered him.
The world narrowed. The moment burned itself into his memory. The warmth, the stillness, the certainty.
They pulled apart breathless, foreheads touching.
“This feels dangerous,” she had whispered.
Noah smiled, tender and solemn all at once. “I know.”
His phone pinged. It was a text from Elara and it read:
“Thanks for stopping by.
Ps: Tell your mom I loved the soup”
He was in love with her. He couldn’t hide it anymore.
He smiled so wide as he imagined her smile and then it hit him.
He had seen the shadows gathering.
He knew how much silence could cost.
He has to protect what they had at all cost but he didn’t know how. All he knew was that he had to protect her.
- Writer
