Adam's Pulse

Part 28

Chapter 28

He pressed the handful of tissues against his nose, cursing the entire time.  How Ally could go through this and still function, Adam didn’t have a clue.  Because at that moment, all he wanted was sleep.  He didn’t want his head to pound or his vision to blur.  He didn’t want blood to flow from his nose, almost too fast for him to catch.  What had Tony said?  Only if the blood was coming from his ears could he go to Ally.  He reached up, touching his ear and let out a sigh when nothing but skin showed on his finger.  Hell, maybe he did want blood coming from his ears; at least he’d be able to be around Ally where there was no pain.

It wasn’t only the pain from their connection that was bothering him.  It was the fact that anytime anyone wanted to do anything in the house, they asked him first.  They asked him if it was safe for them to leave, if they could order pizza, hell, they even asked him what times they should stay inside!  They didn’t care what he was doing, whether he was in the shower or trying to sleep, they had knocked on his door.

“Hey, Adam,” Drew whispered from the doorway.

Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling.  He was kidding himself if he honestly believed he could have taken a nap.  “What?”

His voice was a little snappy, he knew that, but Drew simply chuckled at him.  “They’re messing with you,” Drew said as he walked into Adam’s room and shut the door behind him. 

Glancing over, he stared at Drew as the man leaned against the door with a large smile.  “What?” Adam asked, as he sat up on his bed.  His threw his feet over the side, still while watching Drew’s amused expression.  “What do you mean they’re messing with me?”

“Do you honestly think Ally controls every aspect of their lives?  If they want to order pizza, they have money.  If they want to go outside, they go outside.  They’re testing you, trying to break you because they don’t think you’re ready for this.”

He rubbed a palm across his face, trying to erase the aggravation.  “Do you think that?”

Drew stayed silent, forcing Adam to glance up at him before he said a word.  “You want honesty?”  Adam nodded.  “I’ve been with the group of you for years, we’ve been through a lot together, but during all that time, you’ve never wanted to lead, Adam.  When someone doesn’t want to lead, they usually don’t make a good leader.”

Adam stood from his bed and was happy when the ground didn’t shift beneath him.  “I don’t want the responsibility.  I had it once, and it drove me from my home.”

“Hey,” Drew interrupted with a large smile, “it brought you here.”

“True,” Adam agreed with a small smile of his own.  Walking towards his dresser, he pulled a clean shirt over his head.  “What should I do?”

Drew shrugged when Adam looked towards him.  “Don’t let them push you around.  If they stop to think about it, they’ll realize that Ally wouldn’t have put you in this position unless she thought you were ready.  That alone should be enough for them.”

“They aren’t going to respect me just because Ally put me in this position.  I have to earn that respect.”  With a loud sigh, Adam stretched until his back made several popping noises.  “Now I just have to think of a way to do that.”

Drew opened his mouth, but quickly snapped it shut when another knock sounded on the door.  Adam narrowed his eyes at it as the knocking only got louder.  Walking towards it, he waited until Drew moved before he jerked it open with a glare on his face.  If it was another one of the guards asking him what dinner was going to be, Adam was going to tear their throat open.