My dad didn't come home that night. He probably was at work with Ray, and he was most likely lying on the couch in the breakroom, passed out. Adam seemed a bit nervous about it, but he stayed with me all night.
I woke up the next morning, my head on Adam's shoulder. The rain had stopped, and the sun was shining beautifully.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." I said to Adam's sleeping form. I was glad that he had actually slept the whole night. It's not good for him to stay up that late.
He mumbled something in his sleep. I smiled. I laid there next to him for a few more minutes, and then I shook his shoulder.
"Adam? It's time to get up. I'm taking you out on the boat today. It's really nice out."
No response.
"Are you even awake?"
"Nope." He said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Good morning, Hadley." He opened his chocolate brown eyes.
"Good morning, Adam."
I sat up on the couch and stood up, my sweatshirt and sweatpants sticking to me. Adam stretched and yawned, then sat up.
"I'm going upstairs to change. I'll be right back." I said.
"Actually, I should go back to the cabin and change too," He said. "I'll be back soon."
He left, and I ran upstairs. I hit the play button on my CD player and the sound of Adam's voice fills the air.
Where was I when the rockets came to life,
And carried you away into the Alligator Sky?
Even though I'll never know what's up ahead,
I'm never letting go, I'm never letting go!
I sang along with CD Adam, as I thought of the Adam I knew. I wondered if the docks would be patrolled today, because if they were, there was no way we would be getting into the lake. And I highly doubed that my dad would be able to drive a boat in his condition, so we might have to do it my way.
I hoped Adam would like the lake.
Sometimes I had to wonder if he was just doing this because he felt bad for me. I mean, he has probably a million better things to do than hang out with a fourteen-year-old loner. So, why does he?
Because he likes you, Hadley, I thought. Duh.
But I didn't really think that anyone did. Not that the people around here weren't friendly, they just didn't always seem...there. They would talk to me, but only if I came up to them first. It's like being in a crowded room, jam-packed full of people, but feeling so utterly alone.
Do you know the feeling?
But Adam erased that feeling; he was a friend. We were alone together.
I hurried to get dressed, and pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a yellow tanktop. I grabbed my Twins cap, afraid that someone would see the bruise. When I brushed my teeth and hair, I grabbed two towels in case one of us falls in the lake (it's happened before). I flicked off the lightswitch upstairs, and ran downstairs two at a time. I ran to the garage, and grabbed the keys to the boat from its hook. We kept the boat at Ray's, because we didn't have enough room in the garage.
A knock on the door startled me. I hopped outside to join Adam.
"We need to stop in the town to get our boat."
"Alright then. Let's head out."
We were rolling down the street when Adam pulled over and stopped the car. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Hadley, I can't stay quiet about what happened to you. I need to tell someone."
"Adam, you can't."
"I don't want anything to happen to you. I'm just worried that something awful is on the horizon."
"You have to trust me. I'll be fine, Adam. I'll stay safe. I promise."
My eyes pleaded for him to believe me. He sighed, and took my hand. "If anything else happens like this, I need to know. Alright?"
I nodded, and he started down the road again. To break the awkward silence between us, he said: "Besides singing, do you play any instruments?"
"I can play one song on the piano."
"What song?"
"The Pianoman by Billy Joel. My dad wanted me to learn it. I know some finger exercises, but that's it."
Adam starting singing that song, and I joined him. We made it into town, and I told him to park at Ray's. I pulled the bill of my baseball cap farther down to hide my cheek. We hopped out of the car, and headed into the main building next to the garage. My dad wasn't inside the breakroom, to my surprise. But Ray came in right when we were heading out.
"Well, if it ain't Miss Hadley!" He said, smiling. "I haven't seen you in awhile."
I still was holding Adam's hand, and he noticed. "I don't believe we've met before," Ray said, extending his hand. "Ray Finch."
Adam accepted his hand. "Adam Young."
"Where's Thomas?" I asked.
"He went to get some lunch for us at Angelo's." Almost every shop in this town is named after the owner; people around here aren't very original. "Should I go and get him?"
"Actually, we wanted to grab the boat and head out to the lake."
He smiled. "Well, I can help you with that. You're going to need a car with a hitch on it though."
"We could use my dad's truck." I said. My dad owns two cars and the boat. He keeps the truck and the boat here so he can take the boat to the lake. "I'll go get the keys."
I headed into the garage, and towards one of Ray's cabinets. Inside one of them are all of the keys for the auto shop. I grabbed the keys and walked back to the breakroom. Adam and Ray were talking.
"It's driving me crazy, but I feel like I've seen your face before."
"I get that a lot," Adam said, knowing I was listening. "I guess I have one of those faces."
I smiled as I came back in. I tossed him the keys. Ray headed for the garage to hook up the boat. Adam and I just smiled at each other. A few minutes later, he came back in. "Everything's all set up. Now get going you two!"
We both thanked him, and backed the boat out of the garage.
"Let's go to the beach." We both said at the same time.
Hi! Sorry this ended a bit abruptly, but I'll be updating soon. Make sure to vote and comment
Luna out!
