Broken

part ii

Adam's POV

The pile of files on my desk made me feel sick to my throat, but it was my work and I had to do this. I somewhat wanted to be out of this office, somewhere, where I could be at peace with myself and not worry about much.

I had sat at the table for breakfast with Emilia and Ms Rollins, and it was very awkward for me, in a way. I hadn't done this in years, and I saw that my little girl was very happy to see me there, so much so that I decided to always sit there, just to see her smile like that.

I'd look at Ms Rollins every once in a while, wondering what was going on in that head of hers. She didn't look at me, not even once, and that slightly infuriated and hurt me. The idea that it made me feel that way was oddly surprising.

Conversation with a six year old was more exciting than talking to me in her books. She kept on looking at Emilia, talking to her, laughing with her, and kept on acting like I was not in the room with them up to the point that I ended up just studying her, since she didn't want to talk to me.

Black, shiny curly hair framed her round face and I wondered how hair could be that complex and beautiful at the same time. Her dark brown eyes that were alit as she talked animatedly, and the very pleasant smile that made her face brighten each and every time it got the chance to appear, made me wonder-

"Dude!"

Snapped out of my thoughts, I looked up to see James sitting on the chair in front of me, a smirk gracing his face. Frowning, I set the pen down.

"When did you get in here?"

"Just a little while ago. I opened the door to see you smiling at that open file. I wondered what made you smile like that. Perhaps, a woman left an 'x_o' in there again?"

Shaking my head a little, I leaned into my chair, looking at my best friend.

"Nothing much. Just thinking about something unimportant."

His smile grew, making me frown even deeper.

"If it wasn't important, you wouldn't have been smiling like that. That was one of those rare golden moments that I could get to witness. Now, tell me."

Smiling at him now, I shook my head and took the file on the table to read it a little more.

"Well, since we're talking about thoughts, I just remembered something."

The smile disappeared, and a slightly worried expression made itself evident on his face.

"Leila talked to me at church."

My curiosity suddenly reached a higher peak, wanting to know what they talked about.

"It's about Emilia. She said that your daughter asked her that morning why you didn't go to church with them."

I stiffened and closed the file and tossed it onto the table.  Sighing to myself, I swiveled in my chair, looking up.

"Adam, I didn't say anything to her because I believed that it was not my part to tell. And that brings me to this question....... For how long are you going to not attend church? Even your very own daughter is worried about you. She's even asking the nanny about it."

Cringing, I took into thought what he had said. When I had breakfast with them, she didn't even say anything to me, and Ms Rollins wasn't talking to me. I had no idea that not going to church with her was making her feel that way. I loved Emilia and I would never want my troubled life to affect her, for my own personal problems to make her sad.

"Wow.....I didn't know."

He sighed, and looked at me, frowning. When he frowned, I knew that I had deeply upset him. I would be disappointed in me too if I were him. Standing up, he went to the big glass floor to ceiling wall, and looked at the overcast sky.

"Well, you better do something about it."

I stood from my chair as well, and went to his side, looking at the sky. The clouds weren't as dark as they were in the morning. After a moment of silence, James decided to break it.

"What do I buy for brunch?"

I smiled, realizing that it was going to be the first time in a while that I'd not had breakfast at work. Waffles and very very delicious blueberry muffins. I'd actually brought a couple of muffins for James to eat, knowing that he'd devour them like crazy since it was his favourite.

"There's no need for that, today. I had breakfast at home, and don't worry, I brought you a little of something. But, I'd prefer lunch later though."

Wide eyed, he looked at me, obviously shocked. I laughed out loud, loving that I got an expression like that out of him.

"What?! When?! Ok, now you have to tell me what happened!! And what did you bring me?"

I walked to my seat, smiling to myself as I took that same file I'd thrown a while ago. Holding my thumb and index finger together, I made them hold an imaginary zipper to my lips and swiped over them, zipping them shut.

He just rolled his eyes, but I could tell that he was still shocked. We began to talk about work, future plans and what to have for lunch. He was happily munching on his muffins that he ended up not asking what had happened, and I, happily, acted like he hadn't asked for an explanation earlier.

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Another chapter coming up soon!❣️