Redwood Diary: Book One

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Gotcha!

Joshua returned to his apartment after his last lecture. He had made plans with Sydney for later so he went home to complete some of his assignments. When he got to his floor, he saw someone sitting by his doorstep. He was unsure who the person was because of the distance, but as he got closer he realized that it was Adam.

"Adam?" He called out.

Adam looked across and saw Joshua approaching.

"Hey," he replied before getting up.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

Adam sighed, "I have nowhere else to go. I don't know what to do Josh."

Joshua sensed how frustrated he was. "OK. Let's get you inside."

Adam nodded. Joshua then got his keys out of his jacket pocket and approached the door before opening it. He got in and Adam followed.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving," Adam responded.

With that, Joshua went into the kitchen and approached the fridge. He had leftovers from last night's meal so he took it out and heated it in the microwave. A few minutes later, Joshua returned to the living room where Adam was and handed him the food and a bottle of water.

"Thanks."

Joshua nodded. He then sat down in the other couch available and Adam immediately started eating.

"Has anything happened since you left here the other day?"

"I saw Miley," he replied, looking up at Josh, who was taken aback.

"Oh. Did she see you?"

He shook his head, "No. I don't want her to."

"Well, she knows you're alive."

"What? Did you tell her?"

"I did. But she already knew before that," Josh explained. "I had dinner with her and your parents the other day, and she told me that she knew--said she saw you in a picture."

Adam scoffed.

"She wants to find you Adam, and she won't stop until she does."

"That's the thing. I don't want her to. I don't want her to get caught up in this."

"I think she already is."

Adam placed his meal on the table before wiping his hands across his face. "What do I do?"

"There's only one person she'll listen to."

Adam knew exactly who he was referring to. "OK. But I'll need your help."

🔪

Sunday approached; the day of Lana Banks' funeral. Everyone was attending, but they were uncertain if Jason was going to be there.

Paige was home getting dressed, as the service was to begin at 10a.m.

"Jason?" She called out, knocking on his door. There was no response. "I know you're up," She then slowly opened the door, and saw him in bed on his phone. "You're not dressed?"

"I'm not going."

Paige sighed. "Jason--"

"You should go," he interrupted. "You're going to be late."

She waited by the door awhile, feeling defeated. "OK," she finally said before closing it.

🔪