I'm fine
937 Words
"Hey Eric." Noah says, leaning carelessly against my car in the parking lot.
"What's up?"
He chuckles. "The sky."
That line causes pain in my chest as a memory is showed in my mind. I made that stupid joke three years ago. The fact that he ignores this information hurts. But thinking that he might be faking everything gives me strength.
He's just playing with you, Eric.
"Oh really?"
He laughs and looks at the pavement. "Sorry." A sigh escapes his lips along with some happiness. "D-Did you see Felix's name on my phone?"
"Free drinks and food?"
He closes his eyes and covers his face with his hands. "Yeah, that one."
"Why? Did he even mean something to you?"
His eyes open as his hands slide slowly over his face, stopping at his neck. "Not really."
"Then why being in a relationship? Did you just want to have fun? That's not the Noah I knew."
His eyes start to tear up. "I-I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize with me." I say in a softer tone.
He nods, wiping away a tear before it falls. "C-Can I hug you?"
"Sure." I whisper with a smile, opening my arms for him to hug me. His head rests on my shoulder, taking away all the emptiness I had ever felt. "This is the Noah I knew. Someone who cares a lot about others."
He chuckles. "Thanks Eric."
I step back and look for my keys in my pocket, not letting the memories get to my emotions. "No problem."
I notice behind him a couple of backpacks. One of them is the one he has school stuff, but I don't know the other's content.
"Oh." Noah says, knowing exactly what I'm curious about. "My aunt brought me this other bag with some clothes. May I put it in the trunk?"
"Ah, of course."
We enter the car after saving all our stuff. My phone rings. I take it out and look at the screen.
"There he is, could you answer for me, please?" I request, starting the engine.
Noah does as told and puts the call on speaker. "Hi, Eric?"
"Yes?"
"Your friend Noah must answer some questions for us." The detective states in a serious tone.
I look at my friend for a second and then back to the front, avoiding crashing against a parked car.
"Er-Let me talk with him."
"Sure. Be here soon."
"We'll be there."
Noah hangs up and stares at me. "Eric..."
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to."
He sighs heavily. "I-I'll do it."
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
I nod slowly and keep driving.
I'm asked to stay outside while they interrogate Hansen. In the time I'm alone, I think of a way to prove Noah is faking all this I-don't-remember-you bullshit.
However, all of my ideas vanish right after seeing Noah walking towards me with a sad look.
I get up immediately, meeting him halfway and placing both of my hands on his shoulders. "What's wrong, Noah?"
He looks at me with a small smile. "Nothing. I'm fine." He sighs, stepping back and running a hand through his brown hair. "I was thinking, and it'd be stupid if we stayed at your house tonight. You know, the murderer knows where you live..."
I chuckle as he laughs. "True." I accept, rubbing he back of my neck. "What should we do then?"
"Er-don't misunderstand this, Eric. But I think we should stay at a hotel." He says, his cheeks turning slightly red.
My eyes open widely. "Well, I-I" I cough.
Noah looks away. "It's less probable to be killed with all the security. Besides, I don't want Hannah to be involved in this. That's all."
"Er-Sure. Yeah. Great idea. But, for how long?"
"This detective knows almost nothing, if we want to be free of all of this we must hurry up with our own investigation." He looks at his phone. "Holy s**t, it's late."
"I don't think we'll find a hotel room available at this hour."
"I know a place, but you have to sleep as soon as we get there."
I frown and shake my head, not understanding what he means. "Why?"
"Because you have a football match tomorrow, dummy!"
"Wow, I had already forgotten. How do you even know about it anyways?" I ask, trying to find a lie in his words. Nevertheless, something else gets my attention.
Right behind him, at the very background, there's a man sitting on a chair leaning to the front and covering his face with his hands. A strange feeling invades me. He seems to be crying.
I hate when people cry because it hurts me to know that I can't always help them calm their suffering.
It's a very familiar feeling for me, but in this exact moment it feels even more intense than ever.
Unfortunately, Noah is determined to get out of this place as fast as possible.
"I have some friends in the team, now let's go." Hansen says, taking my hand tightly again, ready to lead the way to the exit.
"Hold on." I say, but it's not loud enough for him to hear me.
I brush off all my concerning thoughts, convincing myself that the man I saw previously will be ok and that I would have looked like a creepy guy if I had had the opportunity to comfort him.
"We're do we go then?"
He shows the map on his phone's screen. "My mom used to work there a while ago. It's not far away, it has great security and we know the owner."
"Alright"
- Writer
