Can't handle the silence

The two walked back home silently.

Alice was lost in thought and Noah watched her think.

Back at home, Noah spoke first, "Alice, can you listen to what I have to say for a moment?"

Alice looked at Noah and walked to the kitchen. Noah followed her. She picked up the knife and slashed at slashed towards her wrist.

Noah sprang forward and grabbed her hand, he took the knife and threw it away.

"Let me go, I told you not to speak to me."

Noah held on to her even more, he hugged her trying to stop her.

"Noah, let me go right now, you can't stop me forever, if you don't let go I'll do even worst."

Noah felt his body chill from her words but he didn't let go. He carried her up as she struggled and brought her to the couch and pushed her down on it. His body on top pressing down.

"Alice, why are you pushing me away? What happened during the 4 years I couldn't talk to you? Can't you just tell me?"

Noah's winter blue eyes glowed as they looked at her. Alice looked back and almost lost herself in them. She looked to the side closing her eyes.

"Alice, look at me," Noah said.

Alice didn't respond, she knew how good Noah was at reading faces, she wouldn't be able to hide anything from him if she looked him in the eyes right now.

"I gave you the chance to talk since you won't say anything, just listen to me."

"Alice, four years ago, I remember the days quite clearly. Your number went out of service, you didn't reply to my messages, emails or letters. I even tried to contact your parents and didn't that didn't work either."

Noah loosened his hold when he saw Alice was listening and pulled back, sitting up. Alice sat as well.

"I remember going to my father and asking him about what happened. He told me that your family suddenly had moved to a different country and wouldn't be able to contact us for a while. At the time I had believed him."

Alice looked sceptical.

"A week or two later, I remember getting a letter from you explaining the situation, and that you moved to your mother's house in the countryside, and didn't have service or internet since your grandmother banned all electronics."

"I didn't send a letter like that," Alice said.

"I found that out later, but at the time I didn't know. I believed it. Around 2 months passed I got your third letter. As I was writing my own letter, I went to ask my parents something where I overheard them talking. That's how I found out the letters I had been getting were fake."

"I didn't confront my parents since I knew they wouldn't tell me why, so I asked them more and more about you and how I wanted to see you. While I did this I had my friends uncle who worked for the government in country S to confirm that you hadn't left the country. After I was given the confirmation the first thing I did was run away from home to the airport."

Alice was surprised.

"Really? why did you do that?"

"I felt something was wrong, it was already hard being so far from you, now I couldn't contact you either, I wanted to see you immediately. But my father found out and had me dragged back home."

"However I never stopped trying, I tried over and over again, I tried posting messages on social media, I tried having my friends take me out of the country with them. None of them worked. I had a legion of bodyguards watching my every move. As I started using more extreme methods things got even worse. All my electronics were tapped and tracked at all times. I was basically watched from all angles everywhere I went 24/7."

"I then changed strategies, since he could hack my accounts and lock me in the country I would become famous enough that It wouldn't be possible to repress my voice."

"I was naive. Money could do much more than imagined. All the times I had to leave the country were somehow changed, all live shows were cut off. Everyone I met had been paid to stop me from speaking out."

"I was only able to send extremely subtle messages through code hoping you would catch it. But it looks like you didn't get them."

"In the end, I was able to successfully leave the country after quitting acting and participating in the Olympics. But after the award ceremony, when I wanted to escape, I was gassed and dragged home."

"The only reason I was able to make it to Country S was that I had joined a type of emergency relief service. It was set up to bring immediate disaster relief all around the world. It used private planes to take trained helpers to disaster zones. This meant that I would be able to leave the country at a random and sudden notice. Even my dad wouldn't be able to stop me."

"Two months ago I was finally able to leave for Country C when the 9.4 magnitude earthquake happened. Only after doing my finishing my time, I immediately set out for Country S."

Noah set his head on Alice's shoulder and said, "For the past four years, there hasn't been a day where I didn't think about you. I was worried about you every day and hoped nothing happened to you that my worries were needless."

"This past four years, I didn't know about your parents or the engagement breaking, if I did I would have done anything to come back to you."

Alice listened in silence.

Noah moved back and looked her in the eyes.

"Alice since the day I met you, you have been my sole source of happiness. It doesn't matter how you've changed you're you and I'll still love you. You will always be the most beautiful in my eyes. So don't pull away from me, you know that there is no one else who you can trust more than me. I've sworn to be your life partner and I will never break that."

Alice started to tear up, she was already emotional now hearing words that she had always wanted to hear made her burst.

"I missed you so much, I know it's impossible you didn't feel the same," Noah said as he embraced her.

Alice didn't say anything and released the pent up emotions.

"I missed you. I missed you so much. Why weren't you by my side?! Why weren't you at my parents funeral?! When I was being bullied and was all alone you weren't there! You liar! You said you would protect me but you didn't!"

"I'm sorry, I'll never let that happened again, I'll always be with you."

"You better never leave my side again from now on. "

"I won't."

"Even If you don't love me you can't leave."

"I will always love you, even then I will absolutely not leave you."

Alice calmed down after a while, her eyes red and puffy, nose sniffling

"Do you really love me?"

"I do."

"Prove it."

"How do I prove it?"

"Kiss me."

Noah happily complied. This time, different than before their lips touched softly as the rekindled love between the two was conveyed by their transfer of breath and racing hearts.

The couple pulled back and took heavy breaths as they looked at each other.

"Was that enough proof?"

"Not enough," Alice said as she pounced on to Noah again.

Her lips linked with his again. She wanted to kiss him till she suffocated. Finally, when she felt light-headed she pulled back.

She rested her head on Noah's chest listening to Noah's heart. Noah hugged her.

Alice who was just planing on resting fell asleep unknowingly.

Noah laid back with her on the couch and closed his eyes to sleep as well.