12. Noec #3
“No,” he interjected, ripping his hand away so fast that it startled her. “No. I destroyed your paintings. I wrecked your room like a wild animal. No, you will not be ‘helping’ me.”
“But Noec, I?—”
“Did you not hear me? When I said I don’t want to be around you?”
Flora blinked, silenced.
Noec leaned away with a rough grumble, trying to relax. But he was unable to hold still, and his body rocked just slightly as he clenched his fists in and out. “Every single thing that happened, it’s all been…” He stopped, biting the words before they could escape his lips.
Catching her reflection in the fractured mirror, Flora continued quietly, “... because of the Sleepwalker.”
Noec’s docile eyes darkened, and his anxious movements ceased.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” he muttered, in words barbed with resentment. “You must think so highly of yourself… to insult… to insinuate…”
A silent warning filled the stale air like a noxious fume, prickling the back of Flora’s neck, whispering of a predator watching from the woods.
There was a strange volatility boiling up beneath Noec’s chilled gaze, and as that smooth, unblinking gaze slithered up to her eyes, Flora felt her stomach twist. Noec stared at her, but he didn’t see Flora.
And in those wild eyes, Flora couldn’t find Noec.
When he spoke, his words came out low and edged, teeming with a fury that he barely held back. “How dare you speak that way about her.”
“Wh-what?” Flora stammered in response. His hand twitched, resisting a thought, an urge. “Noec,” Flora pleaded warily. “You’re scaring me.”
Noec blinked, and after a moment, his eyes widened.
“No. No,” he said urgently, almost to himself.
Barely perceivable, something sharp and erratic in his glare seemed to stabilize, and he swallowed, stricken as though he were seeing her for the first time.
Noec reached an unsteady hand out, and Flora was paralyzed as he wiped the tears from her cheek.
“You’ve never done a thing wrong,” he said, in a voice that seemed so soft, so different from just a moment ago. “You’re perfect.”
Cautiously, Flora pushed his hand away. “Noec…” She furrowed her brow. “You’re acting like you hate me.”
“No. No, no, no.” Noec seethed, wringing his hands through his hair. “I hate them,” he said, pausing as his eyes narrowed upon Feya’s torn handprint on the ground. He looked out at Flora with one eye. “But I don’t… hate… you.” He exhaled a flustered, grumbling hiss. “I just can’t stand you.”
“Oh,” Flora responded, stunned. “Okay.”
“I don’t… want you,” Noec asserted. He straightened himself and took a deep breath.
“I don’t want you near me, I don’t want you talking to me, and I don’t want you ‘helping’ me anymore.
” The bitter virulence stung like poison from his tongue as he added, “I don’t want you around for another fucking moment. ”
After the past day, his words were a sickening, spiteful prick to Flora’s heart.
“Got it.” Flora sniffed and dried her eyes.
“I’ll just… fuck off, then.” She retrieved the torn paper and rose to her feet.
She took a step, then paused. “I almost lost you today,” she muttered, her voice low and frigid.
She narrowed her eyes upon the broken memory between her fingers.
“Want me or not, I’m still going to be here for you when you need me. ”
Noec didn’t respond, and Flora didn’t have it in her to look down—didn’t have it in her to see him broken again. Clenching her teeth, she trudged carefully toward the door.
“Thank you,” she heard him whisper.
Flora placed the fractured imprint of a little hand on the dresser, allowing only a hint of faded grief to pollute her thoughts as she pulled the door open to leave.
“I’m sorry that you suffered in my place,” she said, finally permitting a glance back.
“But don’t pretend for a second that killing yourself was something I asked you to do.
” He had arched into himself, his muscles tensing as though he were holding himself down.
“I’ll check on you again soon, Noec,” Flora muttered.
Flora slipped out of the room, shutting the door tight behind her. She pressed her back against the door, staring at the bathroom across the hall. As the pent-up panic sank through her, her breath unravelled into quiet, shallow gasps.
She jolted as a crash shook the door at her back—a visceral sound challenged only by Davy’s unphased snoring in the other room. Unable to wade in the silence that followed, her resolve broke, and Flora bolted down the stairs.
Her head was spinning as she slowed down, stepping into the kitchen. For a minute, she just stood there, paralyzed with indecision. She should go back, right? Her Noec wouldn’t have left her alone like that. But… that wasn’t her Noec. This was someone else.
“What the hell is going on?” Flora whispered, her voice cracking as she clutched her hands in her hair. She felt like she was losing her mind. She’d never seen Noec like this before.
Maybe yesterday had broken more than just his body.