World Of Fur: Not my world

Whirlpool

"I'm at the door." Adam says into his ear piece.

"Go ahead and knock." Cora replies.

"Oh and Adam. Be careful in there." Cora says just as he raises his fist to knock on the door.

"I will." He replies.

Taking a deep breath he knocks on the door.

A few seconds later the door opens. Him and Stella stare at each other, the latter looking bewildered.

"What are you doing here?" She asks looking and sounding nervous.

"I'm here to come get you. Mira says she misses you." Adam explains.

"Come with me." Stella says as she pushes him aside.

Adam waits for her to lock the door before he follows her through the street. He notices that she has a slight limp when she walks.

Along the way they come across some of his former classmates. They look at him and Stella with confused expressions on their faces.

Before long they reach an abandoned playground where Stella sits down on one of the old swings.

Adam sits down on the swing next to her.

"How is she doing?" Stella asks.

"She's doing well. She spent these last three months taking care of her mother. Unfortunately I was with her father training." He replies.

"I see you don't call him Dad anymore. What's with that?" She asks him.

"I don't know. I guess I've just started feeling disconnected from my family. Ever since I found out where I'm from anyway." He explains.

"Do you want me to come with you." She asks, her voice barely audible.

"Of course I do. You're family." He says.

"How can you say that when we barely talk to each other. Do you have any idea how much I've been avoiding you?" Stella asks. She sounds a little annoyed.

"I do. But I don't care. We've known each other for a very long time. Plus, you're Mira's best friend. That makes you family." Adam explains to her.

"You dumbass. You don't get it do you?" She comments with a hopeless laugh.

"I won't get it if you don't talk to me about it. I want to understand but you're not letting me." He says.

Five minutes of heavy silence passed between them before they speak again.

"I'm confused. Part of me distrusts you and wants to hate you. But another part really likes you and wants to be around you. All I feel is a whirlpool of conflicting emotions." Stella explains while clutching at her head.

Adam stays quiet and waits for her to go on.

"And I'm worried that these feelings are nothing more than overactive hormones brought on by your intoxicating scent." She adds.

"Can I take you somewhere?" He asks her after some more silence.

"Where?" She replies with a confused question.

"Somewhere you'll be able to understand your emotions." He explains, standing up and holding his hand out to her.

After some hesitation she takes his hand and stands up.

After a short cab ride they get off at the edge of a small forest.

Adam then leads her through the trees until they find a clearing filled with flowers and buzzing insects.

"What is this place?" Stella asks, amazed at everything around here.

"After I got rescued I would constantly get panic attacks. So Sakura's mom would bring me here to relax." Adam responds.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asks him.

"It's here that you're going to dive into that whirlpool of emotions you have to find something solid." Adam explains as he sits down against a fallen tree.

"But why here?" She asks.

"Because you won't be able to smell me here." He says, tapping his nose.

Only then does Stella realise how everything around her is overpowering her sense of smell.

She's about to say something when she sees that Adam has fallen asleep.

With a sigh she sits down against a still standing tree, directly opposite him.

Like a diver she jumps right into that whirlpool. She tries desperately to grasp hold of something solid among her many emotions but it's as if everything she touches crumbles and gets swept away in the current.

But then she sees something. She notices how innocent Adam looks as he sleeps against the log.

Like a curious kitten she crawls up to him.

Slowly she lifts her hand to his cheek and touches it.

And then like a train bursting out of a dark tunnel a bright light envelopes her whirlpool, calming it.

What she's left with is a small, glowing pebble that's more solid than anything she'd ever felt in her life.

Deciding to embrace that pebble she sits down next to Adam, leans her head on his shoulder and falls asleep.

When she wakes up she finds herself being carried on Adam's back.

"Where are you taking me?" She asks, making sure not to let go of his shoulders.

"Home." He replies.

"If my dad sees you he might try to kill you. He blames you for my mom's death." She says.

"Does he take it out on you?" He asks her.

"What would make you think that?" She responds, sounding shocked.

"Call it a hunch." He says.

"No he doesn't. Only sometimes he gets really drunk and does things he regrets afterwards. But he is improving. He's been sober for two weeks now." Stella explains.

Adam doesn't say anything.

"I think when I left to stay with all of you it scared him. He's been trying hard to improve ever since." She adds.

"Truth is I saw you limping and suspected the worst." Adam confesses.

Suddenly Stella starts laughing.

"I got that when I tripped and fell down the stairs. It turns out I'm not made for heels." She explains.

When they get to her home she asks Adam to wait outside while she speaks to her father. Adam decides to call a cab in the meantime.

Half an hour she walks outside with a small suitcase in her hand. Her father is behind her carrying a much larger suitcase. He seems to be on the verge of tears.

"You take care of my daughter ya hear! Don't let her meet the same as her mother." Her father says after putting her suitcase in the trunk of the cab.

Afterwards he shuffles inside.

"I was expecting worse." Adam comments.

"A week ago and he'd probably have tried to kill you. Goes to show how much he's grown." Stella says, sounding proud. Her hand subconsciously moves to the spot where he had hit her the night she left those months ago.

"Come on. Let's go home." She adds as she gets into the cab.

With a smirk Adam obeys.