Exciti

Chapter 26 (Adam)

Adam tossed and turned that night. His brain hurling him from one event of the day to another, like a beach ball in a concert.

He got up when he had had enough of his own head. Tam used to drink warm honeyed milk whenever she couldn't sleep. He opened his door, being careful not to make much noise. His mom had come back pretty late from work, and he didn't want to wake her up.

A noise came from the direction of the room that used to be Tamara's. Its door stood ajar, spilling a stick of light onto the hallway's floor. He stared and hesitated. He hadn't been to the room since he came back from the hospital and found every trace of Tam removed from what was now "a guest room all along, honey!" But then, A loud sob propelled him to the room. Why is mom crying?

He raised his hand to push the door open, and stopped when he heard his name, "Ever since Adam got sick, I can't sleep, I can't eat. I can only drown in work. It feels like something is missing." His mom sniffled, obviously on the phone, "Yes, yes. he is fine now. But ... oh, Dana," she started bawling again.

Adam held his breath. Things must be dire if his mom was talking to Dana or,  worse if Dana was listening. His mom's severe assistant was strict to boot and snubbed all his mother's previous attempts to talk about anything unrelated to work. He wondered briefly if both his mom and Dana have gotten too deep into the party spirit tonight.

Hiccups littered his mom's sentences, "I ...hic...can't cope ...hic...There is ...hic...emptiness...hic...in my chest...hic...A gap...hic...in my heart."

The stick of light slid off Adam's body as he backed away then turned to his room. He closed his door against his mom's sobs. He didn't need to hear any more. More than anyone, he knew what an emptiness in the chest and a gap in the heart felt like. He'd felt that way since Tamara disappeared. Eclipser or not, all his problems would all have to wait until he found her.