Athazagoraphobia | Adam Banks (3)

Ellie Cruise

Alex, Adam, and Lexi skated around the ice rink in Edina, it was freezing cold but that didnt seem to bother the group as they slowly moved around the ice.

 It was 6am on the 12th of June and the blonde girl couldn't sleep, it was Elliot Cruise's death anniversary, her heart was aching and she knew there was only two people in the world who would understand the hurt she was feeling. 

So she woke Adam up and then called her friend Alex just so he could meet the couple at the rink and skate with them. 

 They skated in silence, the boys in either side of her with all their gloved hands connected. "Thanks for coming with me." She told them quietly, her voice wavering ever so slightly. 

The girl had tears in her eyes and she could admit her heart felt a little heavier that day. 

 "No problem, Cutie... she was important to all of us," Adam told his girlfriend quietly as he stopped skating and pulled her into his arms. 

 Alex soon joined their hug, leaving enough room for a small fourth person to squeeze in, they all knew why he did it. 

"She would have been fifteen in August and Ad and I would have teased her about taking so long to have her birthday..." Alex whispered, his eyes brimming with tears. 

 Lexi let out a quiet sob, Lio had only been 4 months older than her, the two girls often teased for being so young.

"She would have dragged us to Mickey's and gotten a chocolate milkshake with-" "extra whipped cream." The group finished together, laughing as they looked up to the trees that started to blow. 

 "Man, I miss her," Adam mumbled, thinking back to the memories he had with the girl and his friends. "We all do, gorgeous.. she was definitely the light of all our lives," Lexi spoke quietly.

A three year old Lexi sat on the swings at the park, Adam behind her pushing her.  Lexi had attempted to push the boy first but she found her small body struggling to push both Adam and the swing.

The pair had been here for about an hour, Ann Banks was sitting on a chair in conversation with Lexi's mom Isabelle.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the park Isabelle Summer would not live till the end of the week. 

The giggle of Lexi was heard as Adam pushed her higher and higher, the tiny girl holding on tight.

"Be careful Addy" the girl giggled out, causing the boy to smile "if you push me harder I might fly to the moon!".

"Can I come to the moon too" he asked excitedly, causing the girl to nod.

"Of course, I don't want to go anywhere without you, we will be together forever, I promise" the girl said softly. 

Adam went to speak but was interrupted as a girl a little bigger than Lexi sat herself down on the swing beside them.

The pair said nothing for a while and Adam simply continued to push his friend.

Lexi had looked over and noticed the girl trying to swing and decided to speak to her, maybe she could make a new friend.

"Hi!" she spoke, causing the small brunette to look over at her and send her a smile. "I'm Lexi and this is my bestest friend Adam" the girl said happily as she motioned to Adam.

Adam briefly let go of the swing to send the girl a smile and a wave. "Hi, Im Elliot" she said softly. 

Lexi giggled at the shyness of the girl, "I'm going to call you Ellie, I like to give my friends nicknames" she stated simply causing Elliot to grin at the prospect of a new friend. 

The small girl noticed Ellie sitting on the swing and turned to Adam "Addy, can you push Ellie for a while too, she has no one to push her" she stated, the boy nodded eagerly at the girls request moving back and forward to push both girls.

Adam continued his mission for a while but soon became tired of moving back and forth, the giggles the girls made though motivating him to keep pushing.

It was only a few moments after Adam stopped pushing, pulling both of the girls to a stop, he quickly picked up his water bottle and had a drink.

Ellie noticed he was tired and sent him a smile informing him it was okay just to push Lexi and she would just watch.

It only took a few moments for a boy to approach, he was bigger than Lexi and Ellie but smaller than Adam.

"Do you need a push?" he asked Ellie, causing her to look at him shyly and smile. The boy taking that as a yes moved behind the swings and gently grabbing the swing and beginning to push the girl.

"I'm Alex" he spoke as he looked around the group of 3 children, his heart stopping when he looked at the small brunette he was pushing.

Lexi was once again the first one to speak, the normally shy girl excited to make new friends. "I'm Lexi" she said sending the boy a big smile. Alex couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was.

"This is Addy" she said as she motioned towards the taller boy beside Alex, "And that's Ellie" she said as she pointed at Ellie who was seemingly blushing as she turned to the boy and sent him a small wave.

The boys continued to push the girls before they hopped off, all deciding to head to the sandpit and play together. 

Lexi used her water bottle and wet some sand, rolling it up into a ball before throwing it at Adam, the girl giggled as it hit him in the chest.

Adam quickly did the same, and created his own ball, throwing it towards Alex who was laughing at him.

Quickly all four children began throwing sand balls at each other, getting up and chasing each other around the playground.

The parents of the four children had formed together, watching as their children played, exchanging phone numbers as they realised how happy their kids were together.

The children played until their parents informed them all it was time to go home, Lexi turning towards her new friends and throwing herself at them in a hug.

"I'm super happy I got to meet you guys! I hope we can play together again!" she said with a grin as she hugged Alex and then Elliot.

They both nodded in agreement, causing Lexi to clap her hands together excitedly before waving bye, grabbing Adams hand and walking with him back towards their mothers.

Little did the four know a few weeks later they would be attending the same daycare and would form a life long friendship.