Where have you been?

I beg you to listen

Adam was walking down the street. The fresh air felt nice. He knew he shouldn't have pulled an all-nighter for that last video, but he was glad it was done and uploaded. He knew James was still working on his own video and he should be done in a couple days too. They were planning on taking a day off to go to Disneyland together when they were both done. Adam couldn't wait. He was really looking forward to it. Suddenly a young women in a suit walked up to him.
'Can I ask you a couple questions, sir?' She asked politely.
'What for?' Adam asked a little suspicious.
'I'm in my last year of university and I need to do a final project where I need to collect data from American citizens. You can always choose to skip individual questions, but it would really help me out with my project if you participated.' The women explained.
'Sure, I'll help you out. What is it about?'
'Awsome, thank you so much. I study to become a psychiatrist, so it's all about mental health. Okay, so first question. Have you ever been diagnosed with depression?'
'No.'
'Have you ever been diagnosed with bipolar disorder?'
'No.'
'Have you ever had a psychosis?'
'No.'
'If you were to suspect you might have a mental disorder, would you seek out help, or would you try to deal with it yourself to save costs?'
'I mean, I'd definitely check the price, because the healthcare system is a little... you know... not good. But I do think I'd seek out help.'
'Interesting. Are you currently in a relationship?'
'Yes.'
'Is it a healthy relationship?'
'Yes.'
'Are you married?'
'No.'
'Do you have friends you can rely on in times of need?'
'Yes.'
'Do you have family you can rely on in times of need?'
'Yes.'
'How was the relationship with your parents while growing up?'
'Good at first, but then my mother passed away and I got into some trouble with my dad. But that's all fixed now and I get along with my dad just fine.'
Adam decided to not go into any more details about what happened with his dad. He watched a little nervously as the young women wrote down his answers.
'Great. Thank you very much for participating in my experiment. See you again soon.' The women chirped.
'What do you mean?' Adam asked confused, but then he felt something harf hit him in the back of the head, making him lose his balance and fall to the ground. His head was pounding and everything around him seemed to be spinning as he tried to figure out what was going on, but eventually his senses cut away as he blacked out.

Maaz yawned as he walked to the front door to see who rang the doorbell.
'What are you doing here?' He asked when he saw James on the doorstep.
'Please, I really need to talk to Adam.' James begged.
'Adam isn't here.' Maaz lied.
'He has to be! He isn't with his dad, he isn't with Jaiden and he isn't with Becca! He has to be here! I beg you, Maaz, let me talk to him...' James said, failing at his attempt to hold back the emotions in his voice. Yet Maaz seemed unimpressed.
'No! You broke his heart! You're the last thing he needs right now!'
'At least let me explain what happened. It wasn't what it looked like...'
'That's what they all say! Leave it, James! We don't want you here!'
'No! I'm not leaving before you let me talk to Adam!'
'If you don't leave, I'll call the police for stalking!'
James was silent for a moment, surprised at his friend's threat.
'You wouldn't!' He said after a couple seconds.
'You think?' Maaz replied. James knew the Australian boy wasn't bluffing.
'Please, Maaz. I beg you to let me talk to him... please...' James begged.
'No is no! Now get out of here!' Maaz replied before slamming the door shut.

'Who was that?' Adam asked when Maaz entered the livingroom. He was sitting on the couch, a couple empty bottles on the coffee table and a half empty one in his hand.
'Have you been drinking?' Maaz asked surprised when he saw it. He had been in his room animating all day, so he hadn't been able to keep an eye on the other boy.
'Maaaaaaaybe.' Adam giggled before he hiccuped.
'Are you drunk?' Maaz asked more worried this time.
'Pff, no!' Adam replied before giggling again.
'Where did you even get all of this? I don't drink so there's usually no alcohol in my house.' Maaz asked.
'I went out and bought it.'
'Why?'
'It helps...' Adam hiccuped again as his voice turned sad.
'It helps with the pain...' A single tear rolled down Adam's cheek before he brought the bottle in his hand up to his lips and drank some more.
'Adam, don't. It's not good for you...' Maaz said as he took the bottle from Adam.
'Maaaaaz, give it baaaack!' Adam whined.
'No, you've had enough.' Maaz replied.
'Maaz! Give it back!' Suddenly Adam's voice wasn't soft or whiny anymore. Maaz looked at him in surprise, but Adam's eyes seemed cold. It almost frightened the Australian boy.
'It's getting late, Adam. You've had plenty enough. I think it's time to go to bed.' Maaz said, his voice calm and collected.
'Last warning, Maaz! Give it back!' Adam threatened with a very uncharacteristic aggression and coldness.
Maaz didn't react. He just turned around to bring the bottle to the kitchen. Suddenly he felt Adam shove him against the wall. The drunk boy took te bottle and grabbed Maaz by the collar of his shirt, slightly pulling him in the air. Maaz looked into Adam's eyes, which were cold.
'I told you to give it back!' The drunk boy said, his voice filled with venom.
'Adam, you don't need it!' Maaz tried. His voice was calm, yet a little shaky. He never imagined he'd get this frightened of his friend. Especially since Adam was one of the sweetest people he knew.
'I do! I need it to forget!' Adam shouted.
'To forget what?' Maaz asked.
'To forget that James...' Adam stopped in the middle of his sentence, his eyes turning sad and his hold on the other boy loosening up, letting him go.
'See? You didn't forget it...' Maaz said. He was still shaking a little. For a couple seconds there, he had been sure Adam was gonna beat him up.
'It still helps with the pain...' Adam muttered before taking another sip from the bottle.
'Let's get you to bed.' Maaz said. He took the drunk boy's arm and guided him to the guestroom where he slept. He carefully took the bottle from Adam's hand again as he helped the other boy into the bed.
'Why does it hurt so much, Maaz?' Adam asked when he layed down.
'Because you care about him...' Maaz replied.
'How do I make it stop hurting?'
'... I don't know...'
Maaz stayed with Adam until he fell asleep. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't get up and go look for more alcohol. When the drunk boy finally fell asleep, Maaz got up and left the room as quietly as possible. A part of him was glad that Adam was asleep. He hadn't slept much the last two days. Maaz had heard him cry in the middle of the night. It must be really hard for him.
The Australian boy went downstairs to clean up the empty bottles. He'd never seen Adam drunk before and it scared him. He'd never imagined he would be aggressive, yet he was sure that Adam would've beaten him up if his mind hadn't shifted to James.
'Is that the same he went through with his dad for so long?' Maaz wondered out loud.
Adam never told him many details about what happened, but Maaz knew that alcohol was the big thing that made Adam's dad abusive and he knew Mr. Ortiz started drinking after his wife passed away.
The situation didn't seem much different. Drinking to try and cope with heartache. But Maaz wasn't going to let it go that far. He'd do everything he could to keep Adam from drinking. It wasn't a healthy way of dealing with the pain. Yet it was also hard to stand by and not be able to do anything to help with the heartache.
'It's all James's fault!' Maaz muttered to himself.
James was the one that cheated, James was the one that broke Adam's heart. And that after a five year relationship. How long would the cheating have been going on. James had been really close with Caleb while Adam went missing, now that he thought about it.
Yet a part deep inside of the Australian boy couldn't fully blame it on James. Ofcourse it was his fault, but it just didn't really seem right. It wasn't like James to do something like that. But Adam saw it with his own eyes. There just wasn't any other explanation. James just wasn't who they all thought he was. What else could it be?