Page 30 of Echoes of Us

He smiled, but it was tight and didn’t reach his eyes. The weight of whatever was bothering him was evident in the set of his shoulders and the tension in his jaw.

“Hey,” he said. The smile fell, and he looked serious. I could tell he was trying to push whatever he felt back in, but it wasn’t working as well as usual.

“Are you okay?”

He gave a halfhearted nod. “Yeah, I’m fine, Atty. I think I’m going to go shower.”

He walked past me towards his room. I scowled at his retreating form. Something didn’t feel right. The usual sparkle in his eyes was missing, replaced by a haunted look. I tried to ask Holly about it, but she was dismissive, as always.

After a while, I left and waited for him to come and find me.

I waited for a week.

I had gotten so used to him that this time, it didn’t feel like before. I wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t see it coming. I tried calling and texting him, but he never answered. I was worried, but Colin kept telling me he would show up again, probably after a week of parties. I didn’t want to point out that he should have quit those, at least the ones that took a week.

Spoting Holly walking around campus, I ran towards her.

“Hey, Holly,” I called.

She turned to smile at me. “Atticus King.”

“Is Noah doing okay?”

Her eyebrows drew together. “I thought he was with you,” she replied.

My stomach dropped. “What? No, he’s not. I haven’t talked to him since that day at his apartment,” I told her.

“Yeah, me neither. That’s why I figured he was with you.”

“You haven’t talked to him in a week? Has anybody?”

She shook her head. Fear gripped my chest.

“No, but don’t worry. He does this sometimes. He’ll turn up.”

This didn’t feel right.

I went to his apartment. I tried calling him first, but he didn’t answer. I asked the doorman to let me through. He had seen me enough to trust me. He told me Noah was up there as far as he knew, which scared me even more.

The elevator doors opened, and I looked around. The place was a mess. He had had people over, but a while ago. It smelled like stale beer, and the floor was sticky under my shoes. The noise from the TV traveled towards me, and I walked to his room, following it. I peeked inside and saw him lying in bed, looking at it absently. He was watching infomercials.

I knocked on the door quietly, but he didn’t move. Walking in, I sat on the bed next to him. Bags of chips were scattered around the bed, and beer bottles were on the nightstand.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Noah, it’s me,” I said, seeing his eyes close and taking a deep breath.

“Hey, Atty,” he droned after a few minutes.

“How long have you been here?”

“A couple of days.”

I reached for his face and turned him to look at me. His green eyes, usually so bright and full of life, looked dull and unfocused. His stubble was more prominent on his face, and his cheeks were slightly hollowed.

“You look nice,” he said with a small smile that warmed me. It wasn’t just the house that smelled bad. He probably hadn’t showered in days. I could see the exhaustion etched into his features, making him appear fragile and worn out.

“I’m going to get the bath going for you. I’ll order some food, is that okay?” I asked, and he nodded.

I got up and started doing that. He returned to watching TV. As I helped him up and towards the bath, I couldn’t helpbut notice how his body seemed weaker. I tried not to look too closely as I helped him out of his clothes and into the warm water.

---