There's something odd about him

Like a knife through your heart

James walked down the street. Adam was all that was on his mind. Even though the principal had said it wouldn't take long, Adam hadn't returned the entire day. Dexter was working late today, so James had to walk home. He was carrying both his own bag and Adam's. He wondered where the other boy was. The blonde was considering going to Adam's house to see if his dad had pulled anything. When he was getting closer to his own house, the blonde could make out the figure of somebody sitting on the ground in front of the door.
'ADAM!' He yelled as he came close enough to recognize the figure.
Adam looked up and smiled when he saw the other boy, but his smile dropped almost immediately.
'Where were you? I was so worried! What happened?' James asked as he used his key to open the front door.
'My dad and I got into a fight, but he didn't physically attack me, so I'm fine.' Adam replied as he entered the house and jumped onto the couch. Floof immediately jumped on top of the couch to lay down next to him.
'Why didn't you come back?' James asked.
Adam started to scratch Floof behind her ears, which she really liked.
'I was really angry and also a little scared. I didn't want to talk to my dad anymore so I ran off. I thought that if I would go back to class, the principal would come look for me again and bring me back to my father. I wasn't really thinking straight, I was mad. I just walked around the city for the rest of the day. I'm sorry I made you worry.' He replied.
'It's okay. I brought your bag home for you.' James said as he sat down next to the other boy.
'Thanks.' Adam said before placing a quick kiss on the blonde's lips.

Two days later
Adam woke up in the middle of the night. He yawned and was about to try to go back to sleep when he heard something. A muffled sob. Adam turned to look at the other boys bed. James was tossing and turning in his sleep. He was clearly having a nightmare. Suddenly he opened his eyes.
'FAITH!' He screamed before he started to sob quietly.
'Are you okay, Angel?' Adam asked.
'Adam? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Just a nightmare.' James replied.
'It's okay, I was awake already. Do you want to talk about it.' Adam asked as he got up. He walked over to James's bed and sat down on the edge.
'It was a memory. My last memory of my twin sister, Faith. My memory of her death.' James sobbed.
'I didn't know you where there when she died. That must be rough.' Adam said as he wrapped his arms around the blonde to let him cry against his shoulder.
'It was a shooting in a mall. I barely got out alive myself. But she didn't. If I had been faster, maybe I could've done something.' The blonde sobbed.
'James, this is not your fault. Faith wouldn't want you to blame yourself. I'm sure she'd be very happy that you made it out alive.'
'How could you know that? You don't even know her.'
'Do you think she would've wanted you to die?'
'No, but... I won't stop feeling bad about it.'
'Ofcourse you won't. You care about her. Ofcourse you miss her. But that's okay, because that's how her memory lives on.'
'Adam?'
'Yes?'
'Do you want to stay with me until I fall asleep again?'
'Ofcourse, Angel.'

'Why is math so boring?' Jaiden asked as she yawned.
'Math isn't boring. I think it's fun.' James replied.
'Don't try to hide it, James. You were zoned out for the past ten minutes.' Maaz said.
'That's just because he's repeating everything. I already understood it the first time he said it.' James defended.
'But not everyone is as good at it as you, James. Some people need that extra explanation.' Rebecca replied.
'I understand where James comes from. Math itself isn't to bad, as long as you're actually doing something. If you're just sitting and listening to a load of nonsense about different types of squares for two hours straight, it can get really boring, really fast.' Adam said.
'But you need the theoretical stuff to be able to actually do something.' Maaz pointed out.
'Fair enough.' Adam replied. He'd been getting to know James's friends better and he actually really liked them. They were really nice and in the past days he'd really grown closer to them.

Suddenly the door opened and the principal walked in.
'Can I borrow mister Ortiz again?' He asked.
Adam looked up, fear flickering in his eyes.
'Sure.' The teacher replied.
Adam caught the concerned look James gave him, yet he still got up and followed the principal, leaving the classroom.
'Where are we going?' Adam asked nervously.
'Your father demands to speak with you again. He's waiting for you in the breakroom.' The principal replied. Adam nervously bit his lip. He was scared. What would happen this time?
He entered the breakroom and saw his dad sitting in a chair.
'I'll leave you two alone.' The principal said before closing the door behind him.
'I told you I was expecting you to come back home!' Adam's dad said in a threatening tone.
'And I told you that wasn't going to happen.' Adam replied. His words were confident, but he sounded very small.
'I don't remember giving you a choice!' His father said.
'I don't remember asking for one.'
His dad got up from his chair and got a couple steps closer to Adam. The boy couldn't help but back away a little, even though there was still a lot of distance between them.
'Where are you staying?' His father asked.
'With a friend.'
'Who?'
'None of your business.'
'I AKSED YOU A QUESTION AND YOU WILL ANSWER ME!' His father yelled as he got closer to his son, scaring the crap out of Adam.
'I-I-I can't take the risk of you trying to harm them.' Adam said in a small voice.
'THEN COME BACK HOME!'
'I c-can't.' Adam could smell the strong scent of alcohol as his dad got even closer to him.
'Why not?'
Adam took a deep breath before speaking.
'You're drunk. You hit me when you're drunk. That's why Caleb snitched on you...'
'DON'T SAY THAT TRAITORS NAME IN MY PRESENCE! HE WAS WRONG TO TRY AND GET ME IN TROUBLE AND IF YOU DARE TO DO THE SAME...'
'I won't! Don't worry, I won't. Because I believe he was wrong. He said you didn't love us anymore. You didn't care about us. But I know you do! Even though you're drunk, I know that you do indeed love us and care about us. That's why you want to keep me around.' Adam dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a little, old book. It was a picture album. He quickly flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for and showed it to his father. It was a picture from about two years ago. Adam and Caleb were standing with their dad in front of a truck. They were all smiling.
Adam's dad started laughing. A cold and humorless laugh.
'Is that what you think?' He said. 'Is that what you believe? You think that's why I keep you around? You do realize I get extra money as a lone parent that has to raise a kid? Otherwise I would've thrown you on the streets way sooner. Maybe I would keep you around for some chores, but you actually think I care? Let me break down that stupid little fantasy of yours. I don't love you and I don't care about you! I never have and I never will. So stop dreaming and get your ass back home or I won't be scared to really get violent, ya hear me?'
Adam's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe what his dad was telling him. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be.
'I ASKED YOU IF YOU HEARED ME!' His father screamed before smacking Adam across the face. Adam could feel how his nose started to bleed, but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt in his heart. Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he looked back up to his dad.
'B-b-but I-I thought... you...' he couldn't finish his sentence. He just couldn't.
'Well whatever you were thinking, you were WRONG!'
He raised his hand to hit his son again, when Adam's fight or flight reflexes started working. He threw the door behind him open and ran. He ran and ran, down the stairs and out of the building. He didn't know if anyone was following him, he just knew he couldn't stay there. His vision was blurry from the tears. As he could only feel the pain of his broken heart.

He cried and cried as he ran, not paying attention to where his feet were taking him. He only stopped running when he reached a small cliff. It was the cliff he and James had sat near when he was high just a couple days ago. The cliff his dad used to take Caleb and him to. Adam stood at the edge. Staring at the beautiful view of the city as his tears kept streaming. He dug his hand back into his pocket to grab the picture album. His grandma had given it to him. Adam clearly remembered what she had said before giving it.
"Your grandfather and I bought this when your father was a really small kid. We put pictures in it from the good times, but also the bad times. We need to remember the bad times to remember how we can help each other through them. The album isn't full yet. I want you to take it and to continue filling it with memories of your family. The good ones and the bad ones."
Adam looked at the picture in front of the truck. It was the most recent picture in the album. It was taken while his mother was in the hospital. Their dad had to do al sorts of little side jobs to pay for the hospital bill. One of them was driving a truck around. He'd be gone for multiple days sometimes and because there was no one to take care of Adam and Caleb, he took his sons with him. His dad always wanted to take care of his family as much as possible. He really loved them. This picture was taken right before the last time their dad drove the truck. The next day their mom passed. As if the drive itself didn't cause enough problems yet. Adam hadn't put any new pictures in the album since. His grandma had said that the pictures of the bad times showed how the family was there for each other, but if the bad times were caused by family...
'He doesn't love me.... he doesn't care... you were right, Caleb...' Adam sobbed as he stared at the city from the top of the cliff. As beautiful as the view was, Adam couldn't enjoy it. Not with the heartbreak he felt.

'ADAM! NO! DON'T DO IT!'
Adam turned around when he heard the screams.
'Jameson?' He asked in surprise. James came running from the woods. He stopped in front of Adam, breathing heavily.
'Don't do it, Adam, please! Don't jump!' The blonde begged.
'Jump?' Adam asked confused. Suddenly it clicked in his brain.
'What? No! Don't worry! I wasn't going to. I just came here for the view and the memories and because this place makes me feel safe. I was never planning to do that.' He said, trying to calme the blonde down.
'Thank God!' James replied in relief. Adam sat down and let his feet dangle over the side of the cliff. James did the same thing and looked at Adam, who was still crying. He didn't even try to hide it.
'What happened?' James asked.
'He doesn't love me, James. He told me he didn't love me and never did. All this time I was defending him. Defending him towards Caleb, towards you. I said "even though he's drunk, he still loves us". But it was all dreams.' Adam wrapped his arms around the blonde and sobbed against his chest. James was a little surprised by the sudden move, but he wrapped his arms around Adam as well, trying to comfort him as much as he could.
'I think, deep down inside, I already knew. I just didn't want to accept it.' Adam said after some time. He let go of James and looked at him. His eyes were red from crying.
'How did you know I was here?' He asked.
'I saw you running outside and I just ignored the teacher and ran after you. The rest of the gang will take our bags with them. I followed you here and when I arrived I saw you standing at the edge of the cliff and assumed the worst.' James explained. Adam slowly nodded. It was quiet for a couple of seconds.
'I'm gonna turn him in.' Adam said.
'What?' James asked.
'I'm gonna turn him in. My dad, I mean. It can't go on like this any longer. I can't go on like this. Caleb was right. Tomorrow, I'm going to the police and I'm gonna tell them everything.' Adam looked James directly in the eyes. He looked a little scared, but also confident.
'This must be a hard decision. That's very brave. I'm proud of you.' James said. Adam looked down at the picture in the album. His dad was smiling so kind in the picture. And so were he and Caleb. Adam missed those smiles.
'There's something familiar about that picture.' James said as he stared at the picture as well.
'Really? What?' Adam asked both confused and curious. James stayed silent as he stared intensely at the picture. Suddenly he gasped.
Ofcourse! He'd never forget that truck. He'd never forget the image of the truck dashing towards him at full speed. He'd never forget that one last thing he saw before the accident.
'That's the truck that killed my family!' James whispered.