Gypsy

Chapter 24

·Zara·

After convincing Adam to drop me off a few blocks away, I make my steady trek to The Lock Box. I scramble over the fence after checking to make sure the camera is still blind, then I hurry to unit number ten. I slide up the door then close it again quickly after darting inside. It's late, so I had fully expected both Andre and Maddox to be sleeping.

They're not. Instead, they are both lounging on their pallets while a candle flickers in the draft I've created by my entrance. Their conversation abruptly stops and they look up at me with expectant smiles on their faces.

I cross to my own pallet then sit down, putting off the inevitable as long as I can. I'm feeling just a little selfish tonight, wanting to keep my evening to myself. It had been fun and funny, enlightening and special. And I just don't feel like sharing it with anyone else. 

This night had been different somehow than any of the other times I've spent time with Adam. For one, we were completely alone, which had surprisingly only felt awkward for a little while. For two, we had both shared personal stuff with each other. Granted, his was a little more private than mine, but that hadn't made mine any easier to share.

As I pull off my boots, I can feel my friends watching me. I try not to frown but I do anyway.

"So, Gypsy, how was your date?"

My gaze immediately flies to Andre's and I pin him with a murderous glare. He grins back at me playfully, which only irritates me more.

"It wasn't a date."

For a long moment we just stare at one another, until he finally concedes with a laugh and a nod of his head.

"Okay, so not a date. How was your evening with Adam?"

Maddox chuckles softly then claps Andre lightly on his back. "I'd quit while I was ahead, if I were you."

They both laugh and I just shake my head.

"Idiots," I grumble under my breath. I reach for my guitar, hoping to distract myself from my irritation. I pluck out a few notes and my aggravation begins to ease.

"Seriously, how'd it go tonight?" Maddox finally asks. 

I shrug my shoulders as I bend my fingers over the frets and into a complicated chord. I strum the note, then hold it for a moment before transitioning into another chord.

"It went fine."

"He's still alive though, right?" Maddox presses.

I can't help but to laugh at his question. I lay my fingers across the neck of my guitar to quiet it before I look up at my friend.

"Yes, he's still alive. I didn't push him off the tower, if that's what you're worried about."

"Good." Maddox smiles at me before he continues. "I kind of like the guy. I'd hate to have to go to his funeral."

"Yeah, me too." 

I think about that for a moment. It's strange to think of Adam now, and how I no longer dislike him. That had been a slow transition, and one I'd never thought possible. But there's no denying my feelings have changed. I still give him hell, just as much as he gives me, but it's different now. It's more about two friends teasing each other than trying to piss the other one off. If nothing else, it makes for interesting conversation. And the laugh factor isn't bad either.

As I think about that I find it kind of bothers me a little. "Hey, Doc?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I've been too hard on Adam? I mean, do you think I should trust him more than I do?"