If Walls Could Talk (Adamtina)

Chapter 6

We need to talk. Can you let me know when you're free? Thanks. - Adam

Christina's hand gripped her lower stomach as if that might stop it from crashing to the floor. She fingered her blackberry in her other hand, reading and re-reading every word of Adam's text like they were the key to some secret code.

Her eyes moved to the top of the tiny screen, her heart thumping fast. 10:15am.

10:15am on Monday morning. Two days after their dinner in Malibu. This was the first she'd heard from Adam since she pulled him aside on a lonely beach and told him through a choked voice and heart that she was still in love with him. She'd begun to think she wasn't going to hear from him at all.

Christina looked at the message again and felt a mixture of relief and anxiety gnaws at her insides. Yesterday had left her with nothing but dread when she eventually climbed into her bed after midnight realizing that he wasn't going to contact her. She'd laid there for hours hanging somewhere between feeling liberated after finally telling him the truth, to wanting to be sick at the thought of what she'd done. She felt so ashamed when she realized the cruelty of confessing something like that a week before his wedding.

Her timing was almost unforgivable.

But what she had told him was the truth. And she knew she just couldn't live with the lie anymore. Plus, she hadn't exactly planned on unloading on him like that; it had just sort of happened. The truth has a way of making itself heard, one way or another.

Christina placed her phone down on her kitchen bench and stared at it as she took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes scrutinized the words again.

We need to talk. Can you let me know when you're free? Thanks. - Adam

The words sounded a bit terse to her, but then again, text messages often do. And why did he want to talk? What did he want to say to her? An eagle suddenly swooped into Christina's stomach and landed there, its wings still flapping, churning everything up.

NO. Don't be a fool, Christina! He's not about to tell you that he made a huge mistake and he's canceling the wedding. This isn't a fucking fairytale.

Christina tried to delete that painful thought from her mind. He was getting married this Saturday. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She still didn't even know if she was going to the wedding; they'd never finished their conversation. Shamefully, deep down she knew she'd probably rather watch a 10 hours long horror movie than see Adam kiss his new wife for the first time, but she hadn't forgotten her promise to him on the beach: if he really wanted her to go she'd be there.

Christina's eyes clung to his words again before she picked up her phone to type a reply. Today, her call-time wasn't until 3pm, and she knew Adam wasn't due to start his new tour for another month so he was probably just kicking around.

A question suddenly blew through Christina's mind about whether he'd deliberately booked his wedding this week so he'd have time off afterwards to spend some time with his wife. Christina felt tears stab the backs of her eyes.

His wife.

Adam's wife. Claire.

She felt her forehead and heart crease in unison.

Of course he planned it that way, Christina. They've probably got some decadent honeymoon planned in Barbados or Caribbean.

Christina stifled the feeling of despair that pressed against her chest and picked up her phone, her fingers finding the keys.

Sure... I'm actually free today if you are. - X

She slid onto one of her kitchen stools and stalked her phone before lurching in her seat when the vibrate function suddenly buzzed to life.