Through the Screen

Chapter 98

abel sits alone on the dewy wooden bench in the park across from their--noah's apartment, a half

empty tupperware container being the only thing that accompanies him, his feet scruffing against the

multiple blades of grass that carpet the small area.

the air is comforting in a strange way, it's chilly yet soft, twirling the curly strands of his hair each time

the sky decides to breathe, rolling over his cheeks swiftly and painting them a brittle shade of rose that

can hardly be seen at this time of the night. the atmosphere above his head is swirling with dark

shades, similar to abel 's emotional state but a lot more calmer, a lot more scattered.

abel takes another bite of his favourite cookies in the world, mentally appreciating mrs. lester's cooking

skills and just like every other time, he tries to figure out what the hell she puts in them to make them

this irresistible. he knows he's avoiding the situation, avoiding the fact how noah completely broke

down on the line but he doesn't want to think about it too much.

he knows exactly what noah was thinking when he called him, it heals his heart in a strange way to

know that noah still cares, and then breaks it all over again when he thinks of the fact that his actual

death would be one of the only things to get out any emotion from noah.

he shakes the irrational thought out of his head and bites into his half eaten cookie.

he tries to focus his attention elsewhere--that was the reason he stormed out of the apartment in the

first place--his eyes raking across the small biosphere around him; unaccompanied and rusty swing

sets, random patches of tall grass shielding random poles scattered in the garden, trees whispering to

the cloudless land above and stars struggling to shine through the thin layer of fog in the air. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

abel settles on the stars, squinting harshly at the sky as if to make the fog suddenly disappear, but

obviously, it doesn't work, so he gives up too soon, pushing the last piece of the crumbly biscuit in his

mouth and dusting off his hands, his eyes moving from his shoes to his phone that rested next to him.

it had been only seven minutes since noah last called him but the short time period felt impossibly long

when your fingertips were freezing and your tears were creating stalactites on your cheeks. he picked

up his phone hesitantly and bit his lip before dialling noah's number.

surprisingly, he answered on the very first ring.

"you okay?" was the first thing noah asked when he answered, an undertone of panic lacing his voice

and abel could feel himself shrink smaller with the guilt of making noah feel this way.

"um, y-yeah, i was just asking where you were--" abel trailed off, resting his elbows on his knees

nervously as he awaited a response and noah only sighed.

"i'll reach in another five minutes? are you home?" despite of the harsh weather, abel could feel a

sudden warmth flush down his chest when noah actually called the apartment their home. he was

already struggling to accept the idea that it was no longer his, but noah saying that made an irrelevant

little hope rise in him.

"no, i'm at the park,"

"you-you were at the fucking park while i was driving around like a madman searching for you?" noah

didn't sound mad, just surprised, but abel felt the need to apologise to him. really, he couldn't apologise

to him enough for all the shit he has done.

"i'm sorry i had no idea you would get this worried,"

"you're my husband--i mean was--i mean," noah bit his lip nervously before speaking, and abel just

held his breath, his eyes widening slightly at noah's words. "i mean i still care about you,"

although the words were better than anything noah had said earlier, it was still a painful jab to his heart.

"you don't love me anymore, do you?" abel whispered, a strange, ironical humour slipping in his tone

as he laughed dishearteningly and noah just didn't have it in himself to lie so he simply dismissed the

conversation.

"i can't answer that abel,"