D U S K ✔

Chapter Twenty-Four

{UNEDITED}

"Jimmy!" I yelled, burying my hands into fists, unconsciously digging my nails into my palms. My frustration only grew when I looked back to Adam, only to see him wandering away.

I groaned, rushing after him. Latching onto his hand, I dragged him with me to to the only possible exit Jimmy could've taken, "Jimmy!" I repeated, feeling my hand being lifted.

I stopped walking, as Adam bumped into my back. Bewildered, I looked at him. He had lifted my hand up to his face and was staring at it in absolute amazement. "This is nice." He clarified, quietly. Still examining my hand in his.

My eyes widened, and I wasted no time in walking again to find Jimmy. I had better things to do than to babysit Adam, it was his own life, his own choice and I wasn't going to waste my time on him. Not again.

As we rounded another corridor, I spotted a shadow move from the corner of my eye. Without hesitation, I dragged a helpless Adam towards the shadow.

But it certainly wasn't Jimmy.

Just behind the corner, shielded away from view a ball of fluff scuttled behind what looked to be a very expensive, small table which held an exquisite vase only meant to please the eye. The golden ball of fluff ran in circles around the table, making my heart flutter and pound.

Out of nowhere, it bounded over to us. The dog was rather large, with doe-like brown eyes that could manipulate even the most wilful of humans, it was undoubtedly, the most gorgeous dog I had ever seen, but what could I expect from a family like the Valentino's.

Adam's face split into joy; I took a lengthy second to soak up the sight. I hadn't ever seen him like this. It certainly wasn't the intimidating Adam that followed me to a bus stop, or the scary Adam that got sent to Juvie, or broke Jayden's nose that one time and it wasn't the Adam that screamed at me to leave a few days ago. So I concluded that it couldn't have been Adam at all.

I pondered the likeliness of a twin, maybe multiple personality disorder, or, more likely than all. He must have been bitten by a radioactive spider.

It was just that simple.

But what shocked me most was Adam falling to his knees, his arms open wide as the dog sprinted to him, shoving past me in the daze of excitement, and shouting, "Bailey!"

The air was knocked out of my lungs, it could've been the excited dog, or it could've been that the dog's name was Bailey.

"He loves that dog." A voice sounded from behind me, I swivelled around seeing Jimmy leaning, nonchalant, against the corner of the wall.

My eyes burned with an uncontrollable anger, "You brought me here because he was high." I stated.

Jimmy nodded, looking past me and at Adam, "He doesn't usually do it this close to home, I've had to pick him up a couple of times from the Underground. I assume he's shown you?"

I nodded wordlessly and waited for him to continue, but I couldn't help but notice the glimmer of surprise in his eyes. I remember the Underground and all the irreversible trouble it had caused me, in all honesty, I really didn't want to remember the Underground at all.

"His parents will come back from work any minute now, and if they see him like this they'll send him to a rehab centre, and God knows Adam will spiral downhill from there, if not the rehab centre then it will be Juvie and Adam can't go back--"

"What did he take?" I asked, looking back to the boy on the floor, laid like an angel with his arms spread like wings, completely immobile, the only aspect of life was the deep chuckle resonating from his chest as Bailey licked his face.