The Unpredictability of You and Me

fifteen - confession

Beep
Beep
Beep

I groan loudly as I smack my phone for the alarm to shut up. It's only Tuesday. Having to do this three more times before the weekend seems impossible.

I trudge to the bathroom, rubbing my eyes. Inside, I realize all of Adrian's things from yesterday are still in the same place they were when we left for school. His hoodie is still hanging on his doorknob and the extra pair of shoes my mom bought are left by the floor of his door, the same as it was yesterday. I always put his toothbrush in the holder in the mornings, because he leaves it on the counter. Today, it's already in the holder from where I left it yesterday.

That's weird. He usually uses the bathroom before me in the mornings. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I knock on his door on his side of the bathroom. There's no answer.

"Adrian?" I call out. Nothing. Should I go inside? If he's asleep, I should wake him. Maybe he forgot to set his alarm. "I'm coming inside. Just. . . say something right now if you don't want me to."

I don't hear anything, so I open the door. The room is completely dark. The blinds are pulled all the way down and all lights are off. I don't see Adrian at first. Then, there's some movement from the bed. I look over at the big pile of blankets. I can't even see his face.

"Are you okay?" I ask, worried. He doesn't move or answer. I walk to the bed.

"I killed her," he finally says from inside the blankets.

He's talking about his mom. My eyes go wide. I move over the pile of blankets to see his face. His face is tearstained and his eyes are bright red. He doesn't look up at me.

"No you didn't," I say softly. "You didn't do anything."

He shakes his head as another tear falls from his eyes. "I killed her," he whispers. "I'm a terrible person. She never wanted me."

I can feel my heart break. He really thinks that he was the reason his mom died. "That's not true. He was saying that to get inside your head."

"He was right."

I sit down on the space that's left over on the side of the bed. "He's wrong and he's messing with you."

He doesn't respond. I reach a hand over and push his hair out of his forehead. Finally, he looks at me in the eyes, and then moves over a little. I lay down on the bed besides him and wrap my arms around his torso in a hug. He immediately wraps his around me and buries his head into my shoulder. I can feel his shaking next to me and the hot tears on my neck.

I have to take deep breaths to keep myself from crying with him.

✘✘✘

An hour later, I finally leave Adrian's room. He finally fell asleep. The house is completely empty and quiet. I walk to the kitchen counter and see a yellow note. I guess everyone was gone before we even woke up.

Got a ride and left for school early with my friend for a project
- Carter

I almost jump up when the front door opens. How to give someone a heart attack quickly. Mom walks in with bags of groceries. She pauses when she sees me.