Still Alive - Adam Stanheight

Chapter 5

Lawrence makes his way into the room, walking stick to support him. He looks just as he did before. Proper, calm, deceitful.

Adam stares at him in full disbelief. He is completely numb with terror. Brielle taps him on the shoulder gently. "Is that...him?"

Adam's breathing is now rapidly becoming more unsteady the closer Lawrence comes. He nods at Brielle and then stares at Adam, guilt evident in his expression. "Adam..." he says, looking at the clearly broken boy.

Adam begins to tremble violently. His fists clench tightly. "Adam?" Lawrence repeats.

Adam leaps up from his bed and attempts to tackle Lawrence to the ground despite his injuries and medical attachments. He then begins to push Lawrence out of the room, although he's not strong enough due to his weakness.

"You lied to me you fucking asshole!" he screams in agony, taking all of that held-back anger out now that Lawrence is right there in front of him. Lawrence doesn't even defend himself. He's looking at Adam as if he's egging him to keep going. He knows he deserves this.

Brielle sprints up to Adam from behind and tugs her arms around his shoulders to restrain him. He tries to break free but it's no use. "What the fuck, Brielle? Let me go!" Adam cries but she doesn't resist. "Hey, it's okay. Just calm down," she whispers to him.

Adam drops weakly to his knees, beginning to bawl his eyes out.

Brielle relaxes her grip on him and begins to hug Adam again as he cries into her shoulder. She strokes his hair as he cries, making him feel as comfortable as possible. "It's okay, it's okay," she whispers over and over.

"God, I'm so pathetic," Adam weeps in return.

Lawrence just stares at this scene with empathy, aware that he is fully responsible for Adam's turmoil. A tear slides down his cheek as he comes to this realisation.

A minute later, Brielle looks up and glares at him. "Wait outside," she says coldly. "I'll be out in a minute."

Lawrence doesn't react and follows her instruction. Brielle helps Adam up and he hops back into his bed. She props up his pillows for him so he's as comfortable as possible. She then sits on the side of his bed and places her hand on his which is still shaking.

"I never wanna see his fucking face again," Adam says, looking out the door to see his shadowy figure and then looking away again.

"I'll take care of him, okay?" Brielle assures him, squeezing his hand tight which calms him down. He nods slowly, his bloodshot eyes shedding a few excess tears.

Brielle cannot stand to see him like this, even though she only knows him a couple of days. Regardless, she impulsively leans close to him and gives him a quick kiss on the temple. She then paces out of the room before she can notice Adam's reaction.

His cheeks are flushed a bright red, meaning he didn't mind that...

***

Lawrence is sitting in the nearest waiting room, his head hidden in his hand. Once Brielle approaches him, she taps him on the shoulder and sits in the chair opposite him. Lawrence looks up at her, confusion wiped across his face. "Excuse me but, who are you?"

Brielle gives him a cold look. "You can call me Detective Mason. I'm working with Adam. Tell me, why are you here?"

"I...I came to see him," Lawrence stammers. "I wanted to apologise."

"I think it's a little late for that, man," Brielle responds harshly. "Being in that bathroom was traumatising enough, but you leaving him there is what really destroyed him."

"I'm sorry," Lawrence says on the verge of breaking down. "I swear I would've come back for him. I passed out from blood loss and when I woke up, I was told he had already died."

"And you believed them?" Brielle argues. "Also, you didn't get that leg attached to you in this hospital. Who the hell gave it to you?"

Lawrence shakes his head, refusing to answer. Brielle sighs. "Well, now that you've been found, I'm gonna report you to the station. They need you for questioning. I don't care what you say to them. Put on that innocent act for all I care but don't ever come near Adam again. Not now. If you're lucky, he might consider talking to you in the future."

Lawrence carefully stands up using his walking stick. He grabs a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to Brielle.

"Can you just give him this? It's the least you could do." He then limps away, where two detectives are now waiting for him.

Brielle bumps into Evelyn on her way out. "I called them here," the nurse says, a little shaken. "That man seemed to be causing Adam harm."

Brielle smiles at her. "Thank you, Evelyn. We're gonna take care of him now. Do you mind giving this to Adam for me?" She hands the nurse the supposed letter.

A few minutes later, a weak Adam is holding the letter, opening it slowly with anticipation of what it might read. He closes his eyes tight and takes a deep breath with anticipation. He then opens his eyes. The letter reads;

*Dear Adam,

After what I've done to you, you must hate me, and I understand that. Feel free to never talk to me again after you read this letter. I deserve it. I just wanted to tell you that I am so sorry. If I could reverse time and do things differently, I would in a heartbeat. It's just the person who saved me told me you were already dead, and I was too weak to think beyond that. I also had no idea where exactly the bathroom was after I was saved. Then again, I never tried to look. The person who rescued me said that they had it all under control. I would tell you who saved me, but I can't risk lying to you. Not again. I hope that you take care of yourself, Adam. I truly am sorry for what I did. Don't let my wrong-doings ruin the bright future that's ahead of you.

From Lawrence.*

Adam sighs sadly as he folds up the letter and leaves it on his bedside desk. It's reassuring to know that he's aware of the impact of his actions, but it will take a lot more than just a letter for Adam to fully trust him again.