Chapter 150
It's been 5 minutes of complete silence. It wasn't unbearable - yet.
What was I thinking when I agreed to this?
Case, you're officially an idiot.
I looked at Adam, feeling bolder for some reason. I stared at how his eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he drove past cars. His eyes flew from the road in front of him to the sideview mirrors just before he switched lanes.
‘I've always envied his eyelashes' I thought as I eyed them from where I was sitting beside him. They were thick and long and they made his green eyes stand out. It's unfair really; I don't think boys pay attention to details such as eyelashes and yet it's like they're gifted with thick and long eyelashes anyways. It's such a waste if you ask me; why don't you just give them to someone who'd appreciate it more.
I watched how his lips were slightly pursed, his cheekbones looking slightly more prominent from being highlighted by the sunlight. I made his face look more angular and his jawline was simply enough to make any girl swoon. Or maybe it was just girls like me.
I was snapped out of my reverie when I heard him clear his throat, his eyes sent a fleeting glance my way before refocusing on the road.
"You do know this can get less awkward if you don't stare at me like that, don't you?" Adam pointed out. Feeling bold, I simply shrugged and continued to stare.
"Why did you sign up for this awkward drive?" I asked curiously.
"No one likes a disgruntled Preston," he trailed off, as if there was more to it. I raised an eyebrow at him whilst tilting my head as a silent encouragement for him to go on.
Adam shifted in his seat uncomfortably before finally uttering what he had to say, "And I felt bad about last night. It was rude of me to walk out on you like that after demanding help."
I stiffened in my seat at the mention of last night, reminded of my decision to let go of all hope regarding the possibility of Adam.
I silently nodded, accepting his explanation. I spoke before I realized what I was saying, "So why did you?"
My voice was so soft, I thought he might have missed the question.
"I guess I didn't want my relationship to be questioned and infiltrated by doubts," Adam said.
I felt my arguments bubble up from within me and I bit my tongue. I would be justifying his actions if I started an argument.
The words swirled inside me, clouding my thoughts. I imagined stuffing it into a glass bottle and trapping it in with a cork.
Instead, I reached out and turned on the radio to fill the silence between us. I settled into my seat, staring out the window as the world whizzed by in a blur. The car slowed to a stop at a red light and I could feel Adam's eyes on me. I resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze as I turned to look at him.
"Well since it's already awkward anyways and since we have about another hour to kill, I want to know about myself before the incident happened," Adam stated aloud. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. He seemed to sense my hesitance when I didn't speak for a few seconds.
"If you don't mind talking about it, of course." He added quietly. I shook my head, trying to stop guessing what he was trying to accomplish here and decided to ask him outright instead.
"Why do you want to know all this?" I asked him. It was then his turn to furrow his eyebrows.
"Well, like I said to you last night; I didn't want to forget about anything. I felt like there's this piece of me missing. I'm convinced that if I somehow got myself to remember who I was before the incident; what kind of person I was, how I was and with other people; then maybe I'll feel better," he explained himself.
"I know I'm asking a lot from you, Case. I know it's probably like reopening an old wound but please." I could feel his desperation to fill the empty void in him and I felt my heart softening a bit.
"Well, you were stubborn, persistent, annoying," I listed off before I got cut off by Adam.
"Tell me more about how I was with you. How did we become close?" Adam asked. I could see how intrigued he was and I eventually caved in.
"To this day I have no idea why you were so hell bent on befriending me. You were the new kid and I was the quiet kid that avoided human contact. Cliché, really." I snorted at how typical this story sounded.
"I had a rough past. I got bullied at school because of it," I continued. "You stood up for me one day and you were so adamant about being my friend. It was annoying."
Adam was quiet the whole time, absorbing every word I uttered.
"You - " I hesitated, not knowing how much I should say up to this Adam.
"You patched me up. You started becoming this pillar I leaned on and somehow you helped me move on from my past."
"You weren't just annoyingly stubborn and persistent, you were kind and patient and you were this beacon of light to me. Most of all, you were loyal." I felt my lips morph into a grimace as I thought back to the time Adam got beat up because of me.
"There was this nasty girl back in high school, she hated my guts. Somehow you got caught in the middle of the crossfire and got beaten up by a bunch of guys. But somehow, you still stuck around." I reminisced. I had fond memories of that Adam although I had close to none with the Adam sitting next to me.
Suddenly, the car skidded to a stop. I was thrown against my seatbelt before getting slammed back to my seat. I looked at Adam in alarm as his eyes widened and he turned to me.
