~Ian~

Books are a great way to escape your tired self from the cruelties of the real world.

Once you begin reading, the mind transports you to the realm the writer has created for you to explore.

It's true that a reader lives a thousand lives before they die. Books are their mode of transport to another world, or their mode of transformation to a new individual.

I flipped roughly through the pages of the book in my hands, it was probably the only time I couldn't concentrate on what I was reading as the nervousness ate all my senses away.

~Noah~

I groaned at the discomfort and shifted around to a better position on the couch. I had fallen asleep on it watching movies late night.

I was definitely spoiling myself with all the lazing around during this leave of mine.

It had been four days since I decided to lock myself up in the house and so far it had been great. I had thought about Ian, yes, but I hadn't cried over him any more and I was proud of myself.

He was another one of those chapters of my life that were closed and I had to leave behind.

I managed to sit upright and rubbed the sleep off my eyes.

Today's schedule was to jog a couple of rounds of the local park and do some exercises. Then in the evening, I would drive to the mall. It had been a while since I had bought something for myself so I decided that I would go to the mall nearby and loosen my pocket a little as I had some savings of a few months. I always spent wisely but I had different plans for today.

I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and put on my track suit. Then plugging my earphones in and wearing my shoes, I left the house for the jog.

As luck would have it, I tripped over my shoelace and fell face first on the road. I hissed in pain as I felt blood flowing from my scratched cheek and wondered angrily why things like these happen to me. I got up with the support of my palms and dusted the dirt off my clothes. Then letting some sounds of frustrations out of my mouth, I turned back towards home.

My shoulders slumped in defeat as I walked back home, after tying my laces of course.

I opened the door of the house with a frown in place which nobody was going to see, then made my way over to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. I cleaned the wounds with some antiseptic and bandaged my knee, which I then noticed, was bleeding profusely.

Whenever I start to become even a bit satisfied with my life, something or the other always happens to make me feel otherwise.

Having to live a life as hopeless as mine, was very tiring and a life like that can take a toll on anybody.

I went to the bedroom, ditching my plans of shopping and took a book out of my bookshelf.
It was a fantasy with a very attractive cover that I had stopped reading a long time ago.

I threw myself on the bed and began reading the book from the beginning since I had forgotten even the basics.

I forgot about my torn lowers, my empty stomach, my stinking armpits, the burning pain and just delved into the book. It took me to the place it had described so meticulously and I let myself feel whatever it served on the silver platter of its realm.

I was very comfortable with my own self and the book, within the four walls of my room when a much surprising and confusing bell rung in my house.

I frowned. There was no one who came to my house.

That's what you always think when someone comes to your house and more often than not, it turns out to be catastrophic. A voice spoke in my head.

I rolled eyes at my own self and went down the stairs, hissing a bit as the pain came back.
I was sure that it would be Trevor.

I reached the door and opened it.

There stood a woman in brown trousers and a beige coloured top.
She had brown hair and blue eyes and her cherry lips seemed to be trembling.

It felt like I had seen this woman before.

It was when a tear dropped from her eye which I had been staring for so long, did I realise that it was the woman who gave birth to me.

The whole world froze for me right then. My feet got glued to the floor and my hand to the edge of the door.

Was it some mocking dream?

This couldn't be her!
This couldn't be my mother!

"Noah," a whisper came from her mouth before she broke down completely right in front of me at the door, and I stood there paralysed, still trying to process the whole scene.

"What-What are you doing here?" Came a cold voice from my mouth. I was so lost that I did not know what and how I was speaking.

She took out a handkerchief from her bag and wiped her nose. I stood staring at her like an idiot.

I noticed that she now had wrinkles on her face and her hair seemed to have gotten thinner. The redness of her wet eyes symbolized the tiredness she had been going through and I felt a pang of hurt in my chest.

My mother.

She had come to see me.

I broke down myself and as if someone pushed her from behind, she almost fell on me and engulfed me in a hug. She felt so weak and fragile in my arms and that made me hold onto her tighter and cry louder.

It had been six years since I had seen her. It felt like she was a whole new person altogether. But the warmth in her hug and the smell of her hair made me visit the good old days of my teenage, where everyone of us was happy.

I couldn't believe I had her right now. I had been longing for her love ever since the day she began thinking that I wasn't worth it. Nevertheless, I continued to embrace her and cherished the moment.

We continued to cry till it reduced to sobs.

She rubbed my back and withdrew from my arms.
I looked at her beautiful face in overwhelming delight as she cupped my face and kissed my forehead.

"I'm so sorry my baby," she said looking into my eyes with nothing but sincerity.

Before she could start crying again, I pulled her inside the house and led her to the living room.

We sat next to each other on the couch as she looked around herself.

"Such a neat house you have," she commented and I smiled for it was one thing I had inherited from her. Well that, and the blue eyes.

I squeezed her hand which was still in mine and she turned back to me.

"How are you mom?" I managed to ask as the tears started gushing back in at the sound of the word 'mom'.

She wiped my tears with the pad of her thumbs while her own lips quivered.

"I'm good. How has my big boy been doing?" She asked and managed to keep her tears at bay like the strong woman that she was.

"I'm okay." I replied as the thought of Ian quickly crossed my head. My life wasn't about him anymore.

"I'm so sorry Noah," she said, shaking her head slowly.

"It's okay, mom." I replied honestly. I was more than ready to forget whatever she and dad made me go through if I could just have her here with me like the old days.

"It's not! I'm a terrible mother! God I'm going to rot in hell" she cried and I rubbed her back, reminiscing how she said the same thing to me.

'You're a disgrace of a son. You're going to rot in hell!'

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts, which I thought didn't matter anymore if she was regretting saying them and wanted to take it back.

"Let's not talk about that, please," I pleaded. I didn't want to get upset, I was so happy to finally see her!

"Right, right. I just wanted you to know that I have hated myself as soon as you had walked out of the house" she confessed and I smiled a sad small smile.

"How's dad? How's-how's Annie?" I asked excitedly and nostalgically at the same time.

"You can see for yourself," Said a deep voice that I hadn't forgotten.

I turned around in a flash and my heart stopped at what I saw.

It was Anne, my little seven year old sister in the arms of Ian, the man who had stolen my heart.

A/N: If you like the story, please leave a vote/comment and share it with others! It would mean a lot to me. (: