Swell (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Seven (Part One)

"I still have dreams of you at night,
I can't tell the dark from light.
I never thought I'd be,
The one you'd leave behind."

....

"I had a great day, thank you so much." Adora smiled as she grabbed her paper bag from the boot. She skipped up the front steps to the door and waved back to the female Taylors as Marti swapped into the front seat.
They watched her go inside and she heard the stones crunch under the wheels as they left.
She moved towards the kitchen and dropped her bag when she saw the figure sitting on the lounge.
"Will..." She picked the bag up and hid it behind her back. "What are you doing here? I didn't see your bike..."
He looked up and she put her paper bag back on the floor.
"What's wrong?" She whispered as she moved to his side.
His face was pale and she could see streaks from his eyes.
"I parked out back." He said quietly.
She frowned and put a hand on his. For the first time his hand was colder than hers.
"I didn't want Marti to see I was here."
Adora tilted her head. "Will, what happened?"
She knew Marti and Will were the closer siblings, they'd shared Liss and so much time together, they were more similar than Will and Tom, though Marti had streaks of Tom's confidence.
"Liss was killed." He breathed, his hazel eyes locking onto hers as her mouth opened.
"What?"
"She was found by some joggers, her sister called, and I have to tell Marti. I don't know how." His voice broke at the mention of his sister and Adora wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"Oh my gosh... Will, I'm so sorry. What happened?" She rubbed his back as he leaned a little into her. She could feel his hesitations and this time she was sure she understood them. She pulled back and put her hands on his.
"They don't know anymore, if she left willingly or was kidnapped. She was taped up and buried."
Adora felt her face pinching in grief. She could feel his sadness and it was breaking her heart.
"Oh, Will." She bit her bottom lip and wiped at her face. How could he tell Marti something like that? "Do you want me to be there?"
He swallowed and she saw his throat bop with the motion. His breathing wasn't even steady.
She thought about the morning she had woken him up from the hospital, how he'd come to her side when she had told him about Brett.
She put her hands on his cheeks and gently made him look at her. "Do you need me to be there?" She asked again.
His eyes lifted and met hers and she could see the bloodshot lines breaking through the whites. How much had he cried alone before she had gotten home?
She felt his head nodding slightly in her hands. "Please. At least then Marti has you."
"You have me too." She whispered, leaning over and kissing his forehead. She wanted to wrap him in her arms again, comfort him like she had been comforted when she'd heard they'd found her father.
He leaned into her willingly and she closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him again.
"I'm so sorry, Will." She breathed. "I understand if you don't want to go on another date for a while." He had just been given the responsibility of telling his sister her best friend, his ex girlfriend, had been murdered and maybe she had not run away.
She couldn't imagine the pressure, while trying to process the news and deal with his own loss.
"But I'm here for you." She finished.
His head just bobbed beside hers in their embrace.

It was barely daylight when they rode back to town on Will's bike. Adora held tightly to his waist and used his back to help hold the heavier helmet up as she tried not to think about how he must be feeling.
They'd been silent most of the time at her house; before they'd left they'd had a small brainstorm about the best way to let Marti know the news.
Adora wasn't sure if any of the ideas would be what Will was going to use, but she felt the sooner he told his sister, the better.
When they pulled up to the Taylors, she carefully climbed off the bike. She was glad it wasn't one of the big, monstrous motorbikes that frequently roamed the highway on nicer days.
Will stayed on the bike for a few moments, his head trained on the door of his house.
"Come on." She put a hand on his shoulder as she hung the helmet on the bike's handle. She felt his shoulder sag under her touch and his head nodded heavily.
Minutes later they were both standing outside Marti's door. Will had his fist against the wood, ready to knock, but Adora could see the trembling.
She put a hand over his fist and gently rapped on the door.
"Come in." Marti called from the other side. Her tone was still elated from the dress shopping and it broke Adora's heart knowing what news they were about to deliver.
She closed her hand over Will's and opened the door.
"Adora! What are you doing here?" Marti sat upright from her bed; Macbeth fell to the floor with her sudden movement. "Will... Are you alright? You look sick..." She got off the bed and hurried to his side, putting her hand on his forehead.
He pushed her hand off and stepped back. "No. I'm not sick, and I'm not alright." His voice was still thick.
Marti looked from Will to Adora in worried confusion. "What's wrong?" Her voice shook slightly.
Adora took Marti's hand and led them both to the bed, she sat them next to each other and knelt on the floor between them.
"Tarnee called while you were out today. She tried to call you..." Will started, his face looking down at their hands.
"Liss' sister? Why?"
Will took a shuddering breath and swallowed thickly before he forced himself to look from Adora to his younger sister. "Liss was found this morning." His words trembled and Adora felt her eyes swelling up as she looked from him to her new friend.
"That's great news!" Marti smiled. Will's shaking head made her smile drop instantly. "It's not..." She breathed.
Adora felt like she was intruding in a moment that was needed between the siblings, but Marti's hand held tightly onto hers.
"What happened?" The question was barely a breath out of Marti's mouth as her face creased.
Will bit his lip and took a deep breath. "She was murdered." He hurried the three words out as a mess of no breaks.
"What?" Marti took her hand from his, but kept hold of Adora's, Adora could feel her friend starting to shake. "No. She left. She left us the note." The smile on her face was barely able to hide the disbelief.
"She might have, but she might have been lured out, or tricked. They don't know yet." Will took his hand from Adora's and she watched it go to his other free hand and start to squeeze.
She looked up at their faces and felt the hurt of unexpected death strike her all over again. It didn't matter that she didn't know Elissa; she knew Marti and Will and how much they had cared for the girl.
She knew how much a sudden death could shock someone.
"That can't be. They have to be wrong." Marti was visibly shaking now.
Will shook his head. "They don't know all the details yet, but it was definitely not an accident. She was covered in tape."
Adora expected Marti to wrap herself in Will's arms, but when the taller girl fell to the floor beside her she felt herself wrapping her arms around her instead.
She gently stroked the back of Marti's head as she sobbed into her neck.
Adora looked at Will, biting hard on her lip. She was trying to apologise that Marti was crying on her instead of him, but he barely seemed to register her expression.
His face was as still as stone as he watched Marti cry. His skin as grey as ash; he really did look sick.

By the time Marti released her, Will had left the room and it was dark outside Marti's window.
"Thank you for being here." Marti sniffed and ran a hand through her hair.
"I wish I could do more. I'm so sorry, Marti." Adora mumbled, feeling helpless even when Marti was finished crying for now. They sat on the floor opposite each other and Marti struggled to look up at her.
When she finally did, her eyes were red from tears. "Did I ever tell you that I kissed her?"
"Kissed her?" Adora tried to remember if Marti had said anything like that. Did she mean kiss on the cheek or the type of kiss she and Will had shared the night before?
"She was my first girl crush. It was before she and Will went out." Marti's shoulder's slumped, but the smile on her face was soft and nostalgic.
"Are you gay?" Adora asked softly.
"Not quite. I like boys and girls." Marti coughed and let go of a shaky sigh. "After I kissed her, she told me about her feelings for Will. It hurt, but you know, you can't make someone like you if they don't."
Adora just nodded. Had it been even harder for Marti when Will and Elissa started to go out?
"They were so cute together, and they really did try not to leave me out."
Was Marti scared of the same thing happening with Will and Adora?
Adora reached over into Marti's lap and took her hands. "Marti, I promise, if Will starts getting between us, I'll stop it. We were friends first, and that's how I work."
"Hoes before bros, huh?" Marti chuckled slightly and met her gaze.
"Yes, something like that." Adora returned the gentle smile. "If you need me to stay, I can."
"No, I think I want to be alone. I'll message you later." Marti's voice dropped and Adora thought she saw more tears on the way.
"Are you sure?" She whispered, tilting her head.
Marti nodded. "Yea. I might call Tarnee and speak to her."
Adora bit her bottom lip and nodded, knowing Tarnee was Elissa's sister now.
"If you change your mind, call me. I'll get Mum to drop me off."
"Thanks." Marti took her hands back and ran them through her long hair again. "I'll ask Mum to drop you off, seem as it's dark now." Marti got up from the floor and Adora followed her out of the room.

Adora still didn't feel right leaving the Taylors, even when she walked into her own kitchen.
A group of guest were sitting at the booth in the window, and her mum was busying herself with the dishwasher.
Adora sat on a bar stool and let go of a shaky sigh.
"You're cousin is sleeping in the spare room upstairs tonight, so he can get an early start on the weeds." Anne started, she turned around and looked at Adora and stopped. "Are you alright? Did you not find a dress?"
"No, I mean, yes, got a dress." Adora felt as though the time in the store was a totally different day away. "They found out that Marti's best friend from Ritchieville was killed. Will's ex-girlfriend."
"Oh my goodness. What happened?"
Adora closed her eyes and felt them stinging. "She was murdered." She muttered.
Her mother gasped and she felt a gentle weight on her shoulder. "Are they OK?"
"I don't know." Adora shook her head and turned towards her Mum, now standing beside her. "If Brett had died when he'd been attacked..."
She broke into sobs and Anne wrapped her arms around her. "It's OK."
"I wouldn't be OK." Adora cried into her mother's shoulders.
"We're here for them, I'm here for you."
Adora just nodded.