Still Alive - Adam Stanheight

Chapter 11

Brielle wakes up at eight AM, cuddled up next to Adam. He is silently sleeping and she notices that he didn't get any nightmares for the first time in weeks.

Brielle glides her palm off his cheek and gives it a quick kiss. She then decides that she might make him breakfast, but then his eyes tiredly flutter open.

Adam yawns quietly and tiredly rubs his eyes. He then turns to face Brielle. "Morning," she says beaming. "Hey," Adam responds, leaning in to kiss her. Brielle then wraps her arms around his waist closely, their temples and noses touching.

"I noticed that you had no bad dreams last night," Brielle mentions. Adam responds with a relieved smile. "Yeah. We might have to do this every night from now on."

Brielle giggles at his joke as he places a strand of hair behind her ear. "God, last night went from shit to amazing pretty quickly," he then remarks.

"I'm glad I made that happen," Brielle replies, winking at him which causes them both to laugh more.

"I actually have a confession to make to you," Brielle then says. "God this is so embarrassing."

"I won't judge," Adam says sweetly.

"Before last night.... I was a virgin. Say what you want."

Adam laughs but not in a condescending way. "So what? You don't have to be embarrassed about that."

"Why? Were you one too?" Brielle asks feeling better about herself.

"Eh...no," Adam responds. "But it didn't really count, to be honest. About a year ago, I was dating this girl with a cool punk-goth style. Looking back I don't think I loved her, just her attention. Anyway, she wanted to do it while I was visiting one day and I let her take control. It only lasted five minutes because after shoving her tongue in my mouth she began screaming at me as she claimed she could taste meat. Oh, I forgot to mention that she was a hardcore vegan. It was so fucking embarrassing."

"Yeah, I don't think that counts," Brielle snickers. "Did you even eat meat that day?"

"I had a ham sandwich for lunch, that was it!" Adam complains humorously. "From then on, she'd give me a lecture on how bad it is to eat animals. Yeah I get it, but she acted as if I was a cannibal or some shit. I got so sick of her that I was glad when she finally broke up with me."

"She sounds like a bitch," Brielle says honestly.

"You're the only girl I've met who isn't," Adam responds as he kisses Brielle again on the lips.

Later on in the day, the two are chilling out, Adam only wearing some sweatpants and Brielle wearing one of Adam's over-sized shirts. They are also working on their revenge plan some more, mainly so they'll be prepared for any surprises Jigsaw throws at them.

Adam smokes a cigarette as he flicks through some files of past Jigsaw victims. "You sure I shouldn't take this outside?" he asks Brielle before exhaling some more. Brielle shakes her head. "It's fine, I promise. Not gonna lie, it's really hot."

Adam sighs happily as he finishes the cigarette off. "Now I'll never be able to quit."

"You will when the time comes, but it's unrealistic to expect that of you now after what happened," Brielle tells him, leaning her head against his shoulder and rubbing her hand off his chest for comfort. Adam shows her the files he is reading so she can get a better look.

"Lawrence told me about this girl, Amanda Young," he says pointing to the picture of the woman. "She was put in a reverse bear trap for being a drug addict and survived. She claimed to be grateful for this trap as it gave her a better perspective on life." Adam looks up from the sheet and rolls his eyes. "It did more than that. She went fucking insane and tried to mercy kill me. She's gotta be working for him."

"Yeah, Jigsaw often has a couple of apprentices," Brielle mentions. "We've questioned multiple people back at the office about potentially being an accomplice in his brutal work. There has been no evidence on any of our suspects yet. Whoever is guilty has definitely been given a script to follow."

"I think I've come up with an idea to potentially figure these people out with evidence," Adam says. "I've had this voice recorder thing since I was in school. I can secretly record all my interactions with the killer, Amanda and any other asshole apprentice."

"And if they check your pockets?" Brielle asks, thinking forward.

"It'll fit inside my shoe," Adam replies smartly having already figured it all out. "And if they check them, my pants are gonna have to work. I promise it'll be hidden at all times."

"Great," Brielle responds. She would've taken a note of that, but she's too comfortable snuggling against Adam's body. "Also bring your phone. I'll be on the other end at all times if you need to call."

Adam nods in agreement. "Oh yeah, definitely. If they get annoyed at work just tell them your boyfriend's gone a little mental." Adam then stops himself, his cheeks flushing a bright red. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. We haven't exactly made that clear between us yet. We can totally just be friends with benefits if..."

"Stop talking," Brielle interrupts. She then sits up and shifts her lips closer to him. "I'd love you to be my boyfriend."

Adam beams. "Thank God. Didn't want to sound like a creep."

"A creep? Oh please," Brielle scoffs before happily kissing him.

It still felt incredibly surreal to Adam that he finally had someone in this life that actually loves him. He sometimes thinks that although he didn't deserve to be put in the trap, it happened for a reason because it led him right to Brielle. When things get bad at Jigsaw's place, he can try to think back to that.

***

It is a week or so later. Adam and Brielle have been inseparable since making their relationship official. Adam hated waiting for her to come home from work every day, but it also motivated him to get some of his own stuff done after a long time, mainly because he now had something to look forward to.

Brielle enters her apartment to see an extra cheerful Adam hiding something behind his back. "Hey, Ad. What'cha got there huh?"

It takes a lot for Adam to not spill the news straight away. "You know when I said that I wanted to be a vet?" Brielle nods, anticipating what might've happened.

Adam reveals the slip of paper from behind his back. Brielle scans through it, gasping in delight. "I got in!" Adam then cries in excitement. "I got into fucking college! I'm starting a veterinary course in September!"

Brielle jumps into Adam's arms as they both laugh in exhilaration. "Holy shit!" Brielle pipes up in excitement. "This is amazing Adam! I'm thrilled for you!" She pulls him into an excited kiss. "When'd you fill out your application?" she then asks.

"Only a few weeks ago," Adam responds, clearly proud of himself. "I felt ready, ya know? Whether Jigsaw is behind bars or not by then, I'm not gonna let him stop my life regardless."

"Speaking of Jigsaw, you sure you're ready to go tomorrow?" Brielle then questions, knowing that plans may change due to this great news.

"Absolutely," Adam responds a little more seriously. "I'm not just doing it for my own revenge story or whatever. He's gonna just keep kidnapping more helpless victims and I can't have what happened to me happen to anyone else."

Brielle cups her hands on his face, beaming. "You're a hero, Ad. I love you so much."

Adam blushes, still finding it hard to believe that someone sincerely loves him that much. "I love you too, Brie."

"Why don't we do something to celebrate your news?" Brielle then suggests. "We could go to a nightclub or get drinks, something like that?"

"I think being around you is the best celebration I could ask for," Adam says, a glint of desire in his eyes. Brielle chuckles, knowing exactly what this means. "Okay, sex it is."

Adam kisses her longingly without hesitation and they then fall back on the bed, ready to have a fun, romantic night. Adam realises that he may enjoy this while it lasts, as tomorrow will no doubt be darker especially because he is going to meet his captor properly for the very first time...