Chapter 21
"So..." Adam started while he walked closer towards the couch I was sitting on and I could see the wariness in his eyes as he approached me.
"So..." I trailed off awkwardly as I looked around. "Nice place, you guys got here."
"Yeah," he chuckled. "It's kind of my go to place when I'm upset. No one knew about this place except for Jake and Zac. You guys will be safe here for the mean time." He informed quietly as he scratched the back of his head. He seems to do that often when he's nervous or when he's out of words.
I chuckled silently at the cute habit and he sat next to me. We were sitting on the isolated and depressing couch. It's cushioning was a beige colored leather and it's really comfortable to sit on.
"Are you going to sleep?" I quirked an eyebrow at how random that question had sounded. "No, I'm not really sleepy. Why do you ask?"
His fingers traced the mouth of his mug and I sipped on mine, my eyes still fixated on his face, memorizing every detail.
He has faint freckles on his face and his nose was a bit crooked. His eyes were a lighter green when you see it in a much closer distance and they were almond shaped.
His lips were thin but not that thin that you couldn't see them and they jut out in a slight pout when he's thinking hard. His jaw was chiseled and you could see a subtle scruff as if he hadn't shaved for a couple of days.
Only when he waved his hands in front of my face did I realize that I spaced out on him. I shook my head lightly and flushed scarlet.
"Sorry," I muttered, embarrassed beyond words.
He shook his head, "It's alright. I was just asking if you have any other siblings."
My mood dampened at the statement and I shook my head no and cast my eyes downwards on the tiled floor. He murmured a silent ‘oh'.
After a while, he nudged me with his shoulder and pointed towards the love seat where Monic was fast asleep with Jake beside her, cuddling her from behind and draping an arm over her sleeping body, snoring loudly.
The two looked so cute together that I couldn't suppress my smile and covered my mouth with my fingers lightly as I bit my bottom lip, trying to hold in the loud ‘aw', threatening to come out.
Despite Jake's loud snores, Monic kept on sleeping and didn't even stir. She was always a heavy sleeper.
Talk about a perfect match, huh?
I turned to look at Adam only to find out he was already looking at me.
The blush on my face came back and crawled up my neck, heating up my cheeks.
The night went on and Adam started to tell me about his younger sister, Cali and his younger brother, Pio. I smiled as I listened to him talk about the pranks they played on him and how they would fight for his attention.
Even as my eyelids drooped and my head slid off my arm; the mug of hot chocolate long forgotten, the smile remained and soon, my eyes couldn't stay open and drifted close.
The last thing I heard was Adam murmuring a good night and feeling a soft and feathery touch on my forehead before drifting off to sleep.
I woke up in the middle of the night, gasping for air as I shot up from the couch. I looked around frantically and tried to remember where we were. My heart thudded loudly against my ribs painfully and the blood rushed to my head.
My hands were clutching the shirt covering my chest in a fist, trying to calm my ragingly beating heart.
I finally managed to force myself to focus and reminisced what happened last night. Meanwhile, Adam, who apparently gave me some space to sleep and decided to sleep on the carpet instead, stirred awake and hummed in silence.
After rubbing the sleep off his eyes, he sat and stretched, instantly wincing and held onto his back. He finally caught me staring and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Erm... Hey?" It came out as a question and I can't help but give him a weak smile at the attempt he made.
"Was it another nightmare?" He asked as I shifted and gave him room on the couch. He sat beside me and I laid my head back, leaning on the couch for support before nodding.
The others were still heavily asleep and I was afraid of waking them up. Thank God I didn't shout or scream this time. I don't usually wake up in silence but when I do, I appreciate the calm atmosphere I'm greeted with. It helps calm me after an invasion of the memory flood my mind.
I sighed in exhaustion. Bryant was a soft subject and I know Adam didn't want to pry but he was shifting every 5 seconds and it was starting to get on my nerves. "It's okay, I know what you're about to ask me." I muttered quietly and quite begrudgingly.
"You don't have to tell me," Adam rushed out but I shook my head.
"No, it's fine. It's just a lot to get out." I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my forehead and temples.
"He was the best brother anyone could ask for. He was my rock, he was my world. While other girls would drive every possible topic to their boyfriends, I drove every potential topic to my brother," I started as the tears prick the back of my eyes and my breathing started to get heavy. I gave out a weak laugh when flashes of annoyed faces my old friends would give me whenever I brought my brother up pop into my head.
He was good looking and my friends often call him "drool- worthy" at times but when someone brings the dude up a million times, people were bound to get annoyed.
"It was right after a party some sophomore held. He didn't want to come because he wasn't in good terms with someone in that guy's circle of friends but I insisted that I needed to come. I was challenged by the popular girls in school. They told me that a nerd like me would never blend in and would never dare to step a foot in a party. My stupid ego got in the way and I was dead set on proving them wrong, so I did.
I went to the party and had Bryant drive me there. I used some skimpy ass clothing and attended the party and made sure the girls saw me there." I chuckled humorlessly.
"I was naïve; I wanted to blend in so much. I was an idiot." I spat in disgust. Adam was smart and stayed quiet throughout my story-telling session.
"That night, after the party, I called Bryant to pick me up and he did. Without realizing it, I was luring him to his death. A truck driver crashed into our car that night and took his life."
