9- Loneliness

Gene ran toward the house as fast as he could.

He wasn't supposed to be out of bed. He was supposed to rest after his last fit. But Gene could tell his brother had gone downstairs and touched something. He could still feel his skin tingle from the shock he received when he had pushed their mental connection. It had happened, again, and Noll's mind was now a mess of painful jumbled thoughts.

Gene finally reached the front door of the house and burst through it, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Noll? Noll!"

The lack of response was expected, but it scared him nonetheless. Things must have been bad if Noll had lost consciousness. If only he hadn't been out at the time...

"Mum! Dad!" he shouted in desperation while frantically searching for his twin.

He found him, still clad in his pajamas, slumped on the living room's floor, unmoving among the small pebbles which were littering the room. Gene's heart stopped for a second at the sight, and terrible images flashed before his eyes.

Nuptadi. Kazuko.

They had all shared the same frightening immobility when...

Gene stood still, frozen. He wanted to check on Noll, but he didn't dare try touching him. The fear of feeling a cold skin under his fingers paralyzed him.

His parents then came rushing behind him, alerted by his shouting.

"Oh no, Oliver!" they cried in unison before crouching before their son.

Luella checked his pulse and sighed in relief.

"He's all right, he just passed out. I believe this is the reason why he lost control," she noticed while picking several envelopes up the floor. "He must have collected the letters and one of them triggered his sensitivity."

Noll wasn't dead. Gene knew he wasn't. But he had believed he was for the smallest moment, and the thought had left him shivering in a cold sweat.

"I'll carry him to bed," offered Martin. "And I'll make sure to collect the mail before he does from now on."

They couldn't be separated. They only had each other. If something were to happen to Noll...

Luella stroking his back woke Gene from his stupor. She was giving him her most reassuring smile, the one she wore when Noll had his nightmares, and was gently leading him toward the couch. He followed mechanically.

"He's okay, you don't have to worry," she soothed. "He's okay."

Gene let his fears and worries dissolve into Luella's comforting embrace. Noll was alright, their parents would make sure he would be.

They had a family now. There was nothing to fear, he wasn't alone anymore.