"Goodbye...Goodbye...Goodbye...."
Noah woke up the next morning with the goodbye word ringing in his ear. He opened his hazy eyes to see who was saying goodbye to him and why the voice was so familiar.
Moving his sight from the ceiling to here and there in the room, he tried to sit and held his head as it was hurting badly.
’What’s with this goodbye, and why is it ringing in my ears?’ He thought and cursed himself for the hangover.
’Ahhh, it feels like will explode soon,’ he whined.
Getting out of the bed, Noah went to the washroom and straightaway stood under the shower.
It was not enough, so he soaked himself in the bathtub to get rid of the stench of alcohol after emptying the bottle of the bodywash into it.
Lying in the bathtub, when he closed his eyes and relaxed, he again heard the voice, ’Goodbye.’
Noah opened his eyes in a shock and mumbled, "Jake."
He finally understood it was Jake’s voice that was ringing in his ears for long and felt heavy in his chest. His throat felt choked suddenly as he thought, ’Did he leave?’
Closing his eyes back, Noah drowned himself inside the bathtub and held the breath for a long. Many things flashed in front of his eyes that hurt him and suffocated him for long, and he wished to be under the water till he got rid of them.
In the end, when he was unable to breathe, instead of getting rid of those suffocating and hurting thoughts, he would have gotten rid of his life.
Giving up on his failed attempt, he came above the water and breathed while panting heavily as he almost suffocated himself under the water and continued sitting silently.
Noah came out of his room in a while, getting ready in new clothes and ruffling his slightly damp hair. An Tian was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when he saw Noah.
"Morning, Noah."
"Morning, brother Tian."
Greeting back, Noah looked around, but Jake was not there. An Tian noticed it but didn’t say anything about Jake.
Noah went to the kitchen, "Let me help you."
"It’s fine, Noah. Go have a seat," An Tian replied calmly and noticed how unusually silent Noah was.
"I love to cook; that’s why I didn’t hire a cook, so don’t feel bad about not helping me," An Tian added, trying to change his mood.
Noah pulled out the water bottler from the fridge, "But someone else might feel bad that I am making his brother work."
"Don’t worry, that person is not here, so you can relax," An Tian replied, waiting to get the obvious reaction from the guy.
Noah stopped drinking water as he clenched the bottle tightly and asked, "Did he go back?"
An Tian nodded casually as he was busy with his work, "Hmm."
"When did he leave?"
"Late in the night," An Tian replied.
"He should have at least said bye," Noah mumbled, but An Tian heard it.
"There is something for you," An Tian signaled him to look at the center table in front of the sofa.
Noah went there and saw one square-shaped small gift box which had the note written on it.
Picking it up, Noah read the note.
"All the best."
Only three words were written there, but Noah understood what it was about. It was the first day of Noah’s job, and Jake wished him all the best. Noah didn’t know what to feel about it and opened the gift.
There was a branded watch inside the box which Noah wished to buy a month before when they were in England, but later, he forgot about it.
Noah’s eyes turned moist, and he continued staring at the gift, not knowing what to do.
’Idiot left just like that,’ Noah cursed.
"Breakfast is ready, Noah," An Tian informed that snapped him out of his thoughts.
Carrying a box, Noah went to the dining table and sat silently.
"Why are you silent?" An Tian asked, serving breakfast and sitting opposite Noah.
"Huh?" he was startled with a sudden question, but the next moment got back to his senses, "Hangover."
Both started eating and An Tian asked again, "Why did you drink so much when you never cross your limit of drinking and that too even a night before your job’s first day. That’s so unlike you."
Noah cleared his throat and replied with his head lowered down, "I can’t say no to pretty girls."
Getting the usual response from Noah, An Tian smirked and commented, "I believe you."
Noah didn’t look at An Tian and continued eating quietly with his head lowered down.
"You can take my other car," An Tian broke the silence.
Finally, Noah looked at him, "Thank You, brother Tian."
An Tian didn’t talk much as he didn’t wish to stress out the guy on the important day of his career.
After breakfast, Noah was about to go to his room to get ready for the office, An Tian called him.
"Wait here."
Noah stopped, and An Tian went to one room that he used for his work. An Tian returned with the suit and passed it to Noah.
"All the best."
Accepting it and saying thank you, Noah went to his room. It was the first day of his work, and he should have felt excited, but he felt nothing as he himself didn’t know what he felt at the moment.
An Tian and Noah stepped out of the home together.
"It’s an important day so just think about it," An Tian instructed, and Noah nodded.
Sitting inside the car to drive it away, Noah inhaled and exhaled deeply and shook his head to get rid of anything that would trouble him and thought it was the start of a new journey of his life, and he should do his best.
Setting the GPS for Lu Corporations head office, Noah drove away.