Not Falling Apart

Chapter 5

Blake’s POV

Adam hung up on him. Oh well, the conversation was pretty much over anyway. Blake hated being so tough on him, but he had been acting too strange—not answering his calls, not showing up at work. Honestly, Blake was really worried about him, but he used frustration to try to hide it. And if he was going to come to work, surely he was feeling better. Maybe that doctor was right, maybe all he needed was some rest. A lot of it, apparently. Maybe he shouldn’t be so worried.

He tried to push those thoughts from his mind as Shakira came walking towards him. They couldn’t start without Adam, so they all had been just hanging around, until Blake told them that Adam was on his way, so they started making their way back to the big red chairs.

“Hey,” she said with a smile. “Ready?”

“Ready to get the best singers on my team, if that’s what you mean.”

“Oh no way, Blake, not today.”

Usher came strolling in not long after, with a breakfast burrito in one hand and a drink in the other. It smelled good, even from where Blake was standing.

“You are gonna share that, right?” Blake asked him.

Usher grinned. “Hell no. Finders keepers.”

Blake was about to ask where exactly Usher had ‘found’ the burrito when he spotted Adam walk through the door. Something about him looked different, then Blake noticed that instead of his usual jeans, he was wearing grey sweatpants. He also wore a light blue t-shirt and tennis shoes.  

Before the others could see Adam, Blake walked over to him and pulled him aside.

“Forget to get dressed this morning?”

Adam took a breath before he said, “No, nothing else fit.”

“What do ya mean nothing else…,” then he stopped short, and the realization of Adam’s illness came crashing down upon him.

That was it. Blake didn’t care about being too pushy, or thinking about Adam too much. He wanted answers. Now.

“Okay, tell me exactly what happened this weekend. And don’t lie to me and tell me you’re fine, or that you didn’t sleep through all my calls, or that you’re not worried about what’s happening to you.”

He hoped Adam would be honest with him. He needed him to be. His friend needed help.

Adam looked so tired. Tired of all of it. He told everything to Blake. From the vomiting after eating something that one night, to the sleeping for hour after hour, to the night sweats, and to the even greater weight loss. This morning he had gone to get dressed, when he found that not one pair of his jeans would stay on him. So he had to resort to wearing an old pair of sweatpants, which normally wouldn’t fit him too well.

Blake was shocked. He didn’t realize it had been that rough of a weekend for him. Here he was, supposed to be getting well, when it seemed like he was getting worse. He felt terrible for making him get out of bed this morning. He looked like he could crumple to the ground any minute.

“So,” Adam sighed. “That’s the truth. All of it.”

“Adam, you’ve GOT to go back to the doctor. I don’t care what he said, he was wrong.” Blake knew that much.

“I will, later, but I’m here now, so let’s start…”

“No way. You can’t do your job like this! You can’t see people like this and be on television!”

“It’ll be on T.V. months from now, they can crop out the bad parts or my clothes or whatever.”

“I can’t let you do this.”

“But I’m going to anyway.”

Why was Adam acting like this?! Blake was angry now. But he realized he couldn’t stop him. Adam had made up his mind.

He watched as Adam took his seat. He was in obvious distress, but he hid it well. He pretended to write something on his pad of paper. Shakira and Usher gave him a couple looks, but Adam ignored them. They then looked to Blake. He mouthed, “I’ll explain later” and they nodded.

Adam’s POV

He could tell the others were looking at him, but he didn’t feel like talking, explaining. He still didn’t want them to know how sick he was. He would just get through today, then go back to the doctor.

Suddenly he smelled something that made him want to vomit. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw Usher eating a burrito. Right now, that kind of food would not sit well on his stomach, and the sight and smell were even worse. He turned back around and bit his lip, trying to get it out of his mind. He heard Blake say something about wanting a bite, and Shakira squealing. It was making him so nauseous. His stomach was cramping, and his head began to hurt and he was a bit dizzy. All of this at just the sight of food. That’s how bad off he was, he realized. What the hell was happening to him?

He tried to concentrate on the paper and pen in front of him, but all he could smell was the food. He kept feeling sicker and sicker. He couldn’t take it. He got up, and started to walk away. Thankfully, he didn’t feel like he would actually be sick, he just needed some fresh air. He hadn’t walked more than three steps when the slight dizziness he felt before became full-on spinning. He fell to his knees, and his vision went black.