EXISTENCE

CHAPTER 9: Winners And Losers

Hawa opened her eyes, which gazed upon the smiling face of Rym.

"Oh thank goodness! She's awake!"

Standing behind Rym were Adam, Juan, Gabriel and Nadia. Hawa turned her head to face them and immediately noticed Adam's smile.

"Well, we knew you weren't gonna die!"

Gabriel bonked him on the head. "If you had moved any slower, she might have."

Adam looked to his boss. "But, but, everything worked out, didn't it? Besides, I'm the fastest one here!"

Juan nestled his arm on Adam's shoulder. "Not in the rain, short stuff."

Hawa smiled. Watching these people bicker in front of her, seeing that there were people who actually cared enough to see how she was doing; it felt nice.

She remembered the blonde-haired man.

"Wait, what happened? How long have I been asleep for?"

Rym held up three fingers. "Three days. We were getting pretty worried."

Adam smirked. "I told you she'd be fine, didn't I?" He looked over at Hawa. "Thanks to you though, I've missed my first varsity match and a whole day of classes. So you need to return the favor by getting me the notes I missed, 'kay?"

Rym raised an eyebrow. "I told you though, you could've gone to class and your game and just let me keep watch."

Adam looked away. "I have to keep my promises."

Hawa looked for a minute before giggling softly. She looked up to the two of them. "Thank you, Rym and Adam. I'm glad I have friends who care about me." She stopped for a second, then said, "and thank you for trusting me."

Adam rubbed his head. "Well, I mean, things happened, you know? Just make sure you don't do something crazy again."

Nadia shook her head. "Is no one going to talk about how Hawa's sleeping in Adam's bed right now?"

All eyes were on Adam. Hawa blushed slightly. Juan burst out laughing.

Adam glowered. "Now do you see why I have to keep an eye on her?"

"W-w-wait, so this is... A-Adam's bed?" Hawa stuttered. She clutched the quilt that wrapped around her. "I-I see... Thank you, Adam. I suppose in reality, you are really nice."

Nadia whispered in Rym's ear. "I bet you wish YOU could've been in her place right now, hmm?"

Rym turned all kinds of red. "Wh-wh-why would you even say something like that, Nadia?!" Nadia merely laughed in response.

Gabriel walked closer to Hawa. "I hate to be the one to ruin the mood, but we're forgetting the elephant in the room here." He faced Hawa. "The guy who attacked you and fought us...I think it's already clear enough that he knows you. But don't you know anything about him?"

Hawa's smile vanished. She looked down at her quilt. "I honestly cannot remember. But I feel like... like I may well have seen him before." She closed her eyes. "But those memories...they belong to a different person, not to me."

"Eve." Juan said. "I suppose that's what he meant. If there were two sets of memories in one body, this would make sense. But I've never heard of such a thing." He looked to Gabriel. "Man, I have no idea what we've gotten ourselves into."

Adam looked off into the distance. "That guy said something about my dad."

Rym and Nadia immediately glanced at Adam. "But, isn't 3amo Tarek..." Nadia began.