The Adam

God, I wish I was Moira. She would have broken the person's bones in places they didn't know they had them. In fact, she would have probably sensed someone sneak up behind her and caught them first. But instead of having super sharp senses like Moira, I got so shocked that I dropped my keys. The person who'd grabbed me laughed. He spun me around and I saw that it was my friend and neighbour, Adam.

"You scared me half to death!" I yelled furiously.

"Only half way was the aim." He picked up the keys and handed them to me.

"Is this your new job? Scaring people?"

"No," he smiled. "That's just a hobby."

 His smile went right up to his dark brown eyes and lit up his features. His eyes were the inspiration for Moira’s. Slick, dark hair covered his head, neatly parted.

He wore a grey suit and an orange tie with green dots. Somehow, and only God knows, he pulled it off. When he first picked out that tie to wear this morning, I laughed. I bet that even he couldn't make it work without looking like a clown. I was wrong. He managed to look incredibly sophisticated. Adam noticed me analyzing his look.

He gave me an expression that said "And?"

"Great," I mumbled, as I turned the key in the keyhole. The door clicked open and we went inside. The distinct scent of salt filled my lungs. That’s what you get for buying air freshener at an 80% discount store. I was going for the sea-breeze effect. I guess that failed. I wouldn’t have needed air freshener in the first place if that stupid orange cat stopped sneaking trash into my apartment. But the stupid window was broken and my stupid landlord despised me so the cat got his way. More about him later. The landlord, not the cat. Well, maybe the cat, too. I threw my bag on the lone sofa and walked directly to the fridge. There wasn’t much in it. I took out a small piece of chocolate cake that I'd been craving all day. That was the bet and I lost. Ironically, I had won it in a bet I made with him just the other day. I knew I should have eaten it that same day.

"Take it," I said, sliding the plate over to him. He slid it back.

"Adam!"

"Skylar!"

“You won it fair and square. Have it.”

“Okay, how about this,” he grabbed a knife and cut the tiny slice in half. “That piece was too big for me anyway.”

“You're crazy," I laughed. Me calling him crazy was like the pot calling the kettle black. Especially after what happened in the bus.

“Maybe, but you’re not going to refuse a week-old chocolate cake, are you?”

I sure wasn’t. The cake was stale, but I didn’t mind. It wasn’t hard to appreciate everything you had when what you had was almost nothing. Adam was the only friend I had and sometimes I didn't know why he stuck around. I had a dead end job and almost no family. I wasn't that much entertainment and whenever we went out, I was anti-social as hell. Not forgetting, I was dirt poor.

"How was work?" Adam asked, licking his lips. 

"The usual..." I replied. I wasn't even good company! This is how I knew Adam was in it for the long run. 

"Well, my day was fantastic, thanks for asking."

I immediately felt guilty for not showing interest in his life. 

"Sorry," I mumbled. 

"Hey, it's alright," he soothed. "I know you've got ten thousand things on your mind right now."

"So do you! But you still find time for me."

"We find time for each other," Adam corrected. "You're my best friend, Sky. My life would be one dull mess without you."

My cold heart warmed. Adam was the universe's gift to make up for the crappy hand it'd dealt to me. 

I was usually alone with my thoughts most of the time. They weren’t just disturbing on some nights, but pure torture. Sometimes my mind would wander to things it shouldn’t. I tried with all my might to censor it but it never worked. I didn’t have many friends - by choice. I didn’t like sharing these scary parts of myself with anyone and getting emotionally involved. I’m sure I had spared many people the pleasure of my ominous company. But Adam - he was an exception. He didn’t know about my dark secrets, but he would unknowingly help chase the demons away by distracting me. Nothing is without exception, I knew. My mother told me that once before she died. I told her that I hated every single vegetable on the entire planet. She replied, "Nothing is without exception, my sweet child. You'll find one that you like one day."

I hadn't so far. Probably because the cheap ones taste crap and I could only afford those ones.

Once Adam was gone, I took some painkillers. My head felt as if someone had been playing ping pong with it all day. And so when I saw my reflection wink at me from the silver forks while packing the dishes, I didn't think twice. This was usual.

Some sleep is all you need, I persuaded myself. It also wasn’t the first time something like this had happened and it was becoming easier to ignore. It was something quite regular for me. It made me shiver thinking of the implications of it, so I avoided thinking about it altogether. A few hours later when my alarm rang, I was tempted to put it off because it was Sunday, my only off day. But no. I had a session with Carson today.

I huffed and got on my way.