Saving Adam

Chap. 17

Sarah Campbell

I knocked on Joel's door for the sixteenth time, my knuckles starting to crack.

I'd been standing at his door for nearly ten minutes, and neither Joel nor his roommate had come to acknowledge my presence.

As I lifted my hand to knock again, the door flung open, revealing Joel's roommate.

"Do you know the time?" he demanded. "It's 7:00 in the morning, Campbell sibling. Learn some decency and get the fuck off of my doormat."

I pushed past him, letting myself in. "If your roommate had answered his phone, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

He peered out into the hallway. "How did you even get up here?"

A lot persuasion. And a chocolate chip cookie bribe.

"Did what I could." I flashed him a smile. "And I'm off your doormat. You're welcome."

He flipped me off as I shoved open Joel's door.

Joel was asleep, sprawled out across his bed. He was in his boxers, shirtless.

"Joel!"

His head snapped up. "Holy fuck."

"Good morning. We need to talk."

He didn't answer me, instead grabbing a shirt from his floor and yanking it over his head. "You can't just barge in here, Sarah. For fuck's sake." He grabbed a pair of shorts, pulling them up around his waist. "I could've been naked."

"We're siblings. I've seen it all."

He flipped me off, making his way into the bathroom. "How did you even get in here?"

"Your wonderful, loving roommate."

Joel groaned. "He hates so much already."

"Oops?"

He closed his bedroom door behind me before groaning. "You're great, Sarah. Love you and all, but can you please not come to my apartment before 10?"

"Has dad talked to you?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Dad?"

I nodded.

"No, why?"

Dammit.

I sat down on his bed, letting out a long sigh. "Shit is going down, Joel. And everybody knows but us."

He sat down next to me, his eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean everybody knows?"

Tears started to build in my eyes as I tried to condense the last 24 hours into a single thought.

Joel reached around the back of me and started rubbing my back, a concerned look on his face. "Sarah, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?"

"Xavier is here."

Silence stretched between us for a few seconds as Joel stared at me. "Our brother?"

I nodded.

Joel's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "First Aiden and now Xavier? What the fuck is going on?"

I leaned my forehead into Joel's shoulder, choking back a sob.

He didn't press me, instead just continuing to rub my back in a circular motion.

"It's dad, Joel," I said, quietly. "He's sick."

Joel immediately stiffened, his hand pausing on my back. "Dad? What's wrong with dad?"