Adam's Pulse

Part 1

Chapter 1

Adam stood behind her, watching as she laughed at her children.  Was it odd to love someone, but still dislike them at times?  He didn’t blame her for his situation, didn’t want to be angry with her.  It was how he felt though.  Anger towards her for saving him when he should have died.  Resentment for binding him to her when he wanted nothing more than to leave.  He couldn’t leave though.  Many times, he had tried to leave the cabin, had tried to run away from the pain.  He could only go so far before he was pulled back.  By what force, he didn’t have a clue, but if he stepped further than a hundred feet from her, pain would hit him hard.

The first time it had happened, he had bared through it, had thought of it as a small punishment.  When he realized he was not the only one that felt the pain, that Ally could feel it too, he stopped.  No matter how much he wanted to blame her for what was happening, he couldn’t.  Sure, a part of him resented her for what she did, but a bigger part of him loved her.  She was part of his family, like the long lost sister he had never had.  He didn’t feel more towards her than brotherly love; he wasn’t even sure if he was capable of feeling more.

There were times though, times like these that he was happy that she did what she did.  He felt selfish, thinking this way.  It didn’t stop the thoughts from flying through his mind.  He was happy that she saved him, grateful that Blake chose to let him live.  Did it make him a bad person?  Did it make him cruel that he felt relieved that it was him still alive, and no matter how much he hated his situation, he wouldn’t change it?  He shook his head to clear the negative thoughts as more laughter flew through the room. 

He wouldn’t let his mind make him sad.  For days after Blake’s death, he had stayed silent, refusing to speak to anyone.  He had thought that Ally would hate him, that Amaya and even Korbin would shun him.  None of them did though.  They all smiled at him with a saddened expression in their eyes.  It was Korbin who had pulled Adam from his mood.  The boy had walked up to him, his eyes red from crying.  Adam can still remember the way Korbin stood taller, making him look just like Blake.  “Don’t let my brother’s death kill you too.” 

Those simple words had changed Adam’s outlook on the entire situation.  Instead of dwelling on who the victim should have been, Adam accepted the outcome, accepted that he was the one living.  And he would live; he would live for Blake and everyone else who loved him.  He would not let his past bring him down, would not let fate bring him to his knees.  He would live on happy, knowing that he was lucky.  Lucky to have friends that cared for him, he was lucky to have a life.

“Adam,” Ally laughed from the floor.  “Help me.”

He looked at her, smiling at the picture all five of them made.  Sebastian was tickling her while the babies surrounded her as if they were in on the attack too.  Laughter escaped his own mouth when she let out a small scream. 

“Sorry,” he said with a shrug.  “As much as I’d like to pin you to the ground, I don’t think Seb would enjoy that.”

Sebastian’s head snapped out, and a growl echoed through the room.  With a smile, the King glanced towards his son.  “That’s my boy,” he said with a proud expression on his face.

With Seb’s attention elsewhere, Ally carefully flipped him on his back.  With her hands holding his arms down, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips.  “He’s our boy.”

“And he’s watching you.  Good God, if you’re going to do that, get a room,” Adam joked.

Ally glanced towards him with a smile and a small blush on her face.  Jumping to her feet, she bent down and grabbed Jesse when the little girl squealed.  “Sorry,” Ally mumbled while pressing a kiss to her daughter’s cheek.