Whispers that Scream

Chapter Four

Adam

Adam stood inside his living room, discreetly peering through the wooden blinds at the visitor next door. She had just walked down her steps and was now heading towards the dock. At least, he hoped it was a visitor and not someone who was planning on moving in. He dropped the blinds before rushing to another window trying to get a better angle.

She appeared to be quite tall, probably just an inch or two shorter than himself. Platinum hair was shorn into a rough pixie cut atop her head, and he could even see a tattoo peeking out just below her shorts line on her thigh. She looked too skinny for her height to be considered beautiful, almost as if she was sickly or something, but he could tell that she had been gorgeous before whatever ailed her had marred her beauty.

He let the blinds slip before stepping back from the window and running his hands through his hair. Dammit. He was led to believe when he moved in that the camp next door was abandoned. He had asked the realtor five times just to be sure that he wouldn't have neighbors showing up next door every weekend. He paced back and forth on the shaggy brown rug that his sister had bought for him a few months ago. His toes pleasantly disappeared into the wool strings of the rug, but the soothing sensation failed to calm him.

He could picture it now. The woman would come over to borrow a tool, ask if he had this spice or that ingredient, want to drink on the deck, and god forbid, even want to watch sports with him. He pictured every awkward future encounter, the energy and focus it would demand from him to get through it, and the eventual outcome of him messing up which would ruin the rest of his day at the very least.

His thoughts started to race at a hyperactive pace, imagining every scenario, every variable, and everything that could go wrong that would out him as being different. So many situations ran through his mind, and he would have to be perfect every single time, lest she notice something off with him. This was the exact reason he had moved to the end of the world. He didn't want to have to mask or waste energy on trying to perfect every social situation he came across. Now, he would have to be on guard constantly. It was all ruined.

"Wait! She may only be here for a short vacation. Yes, that's right, stop jumping to worst-case scenarios Adam," he admonished himself. 

He unknowingly had meandered his way over to his dark blue rocking recliner, taking comfort in the soothing motion of the gentle rocking. Maybe, she would only come once every few months for a few days. He shook his head back and forth causing his hair to fall over his face. No. He wasn't that lucky, not by a long shot. At some point, his shirt had ended up in his mouth, and he gnawed on it without noticing. His rocking started to get faster and more violent, until suddenly, he spit out his shirt and pulled his phone out in one quick motion.

Adam froze for a split second trying to decide which of his two siblings would be the best option to call in this time of disaster. He scoffed at the idea that he was even considering calling his sister. She would be trying to set him up with the stranger next door within a minute of the call. He settled on his brother, the oldest, and tapped the name Max connecting the call. Ring... Ring... Ring...

"Fucking answer Max," Adam urged, resuming the gnawing of his shirt. His brother lived and worked in New Orleans as a dentist with his wife Rebecca and their son Daniel. Completely ignoring the fact that it was a workday and Max might be with a patient, Adam became more and more agitated the longer the ringing went on. Finally, the ringing stopped as his brother answered.

"Hey Adam, everything okay? I'm about to go in to see a patient."

Adam jumped up from his recliner to resume his pacing and frantically started his tirade. "Max, you and the realtor told me when I moved down here that the camp next door was empty. You told me no one had been there for years, and that I wouldn't have any neighbors. Some woman just showed up and she had multiple bags. More than she would have for just a weekend getaway."

"Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, Adam. Which camp is she at?"

"The camp to the left of us if you are facing the canal," Adam answered in a hurry. 

He waited with bated breath for his brother's response. Now his brother would understand that this wasn't some overreaction and was a serious situation. He calmed slightly knowing that they were all on the same page now and could now figure out a solution together. His pacing slowed until he paused in the middle of his living room with a thoughtful look on his face. He nodded. They'd figure this out together, just like they always had.

"Okay, so what?" Max lethargically replied.

Adam was stunned into silence, and his mind actually went blank for once. "So what? So what?" he questioned in disbelief at the unbothered tone of his brother.

Max cut him off before the rant could commence. "Now Adam, don't make this a bigger deal than it is. Take a deep breath. You will adjust to this, just give it some time."

Adam took a deep breath one after another, calming himself down and letting his rationality return to him. In much better control of himself, he rejoined the conversation. "Max, the whole reason I moved here was to not have to mask and to not have to pretend I'm normal for the first time in my life."

"I know Adam, I know. But, I'd rather you have one person to deal with than be completely isolated down there. If you followed those fears in your head, you'd slowly fade away from the world Adam, and I won't let that happen."

Max paused for a second, and Adam could picture his brother stroking his chin deep in thought. "I tell you what. I know this weekend is too soon to come, but how about I come down there next weekend to visit? We can discuss this and formulate a plan for how to handle this moving forward. I can even help you meet the neighbor to help start things off smoothly."

Adam had found his way back to his recliner and was rocking violently with his shirt in his mouth. He was thinking a little more clearly at this point. The worst of his panic tampering down into slight anxiety. His shirt fell out of his mouth and he slowed his rocking, considering every angle of the situation, and if there was any way to get out of this. His shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh.

"I can't change this can I?"

"No, Adam. You can't," Max answered, firmly denying him any wiggle room.

Adam let that fact sink in, acceptance slowly spreading across his face. He once again ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes in imaginary pain. "Okay, I will see you next weekend. Friday at 6:00 pm." 

A thought occurred to him, and he popped out of his chair, eyes widened. "Do not bring Abby! Don't even tell her about this!"

"You sure? She's extremely friendly and outgoing. She'd be perfect for helping introduce you to the neighbor," Max chuckled as he painted a nightmarish picture in Adam's head.

"Max!"

"Okay, okay, I won't tell our sister about this. You have my word. Can I go see my patients now, or is Mr. Herbert's debilitating pain from his impacted tooth not high enough on our list of priorities? " Max asked sarcastically. Adam gave his permission at the same time that he hung up the call.

"Yes." Click.

He walked back to the window parting the blinds just a crack. His eyes were drawn to the woman who was sitting on the end of her dock with her long legs dangling off the edge and her toes just barely reaching the water. She stood up and gazed out towards the marsh for a minute before grabbing her flip-flops and starting the walk back down the dock. She stumbled, dropping her flip-flops and hopping around on one leg. He spied a wooden plank warped by the elements sticking out haphazardly. The woman rounded on the wooden plank and brought all of her anger and pain down on it, berating it with a finger pointed in its face. The plank had thrown in the towel and had had enough, but the woman wouldn't stop her onslaught. It was hard to watch, and he wondered if there was an opportunity to ally with the wood against this crazy woman.

Adam nodded to himself as if he was validated for jumping to the worst-case scenario. He could tell that the past few months of peace and quiet he had enjoyed was over now. This woman wasn't someone that he could handle. That was almost assured at this point. Yep, not only had someone moved in, but that someone was bold, extroverted, and would expect social interactions that he would have to try his hardest to weather. He sighed before letting the blinds flicker shut and lightly resting his forehead against the window.