Eve

Chapter 19

"Adam Hale."

"Here," Adam spoke, his eyes drifting over the worksheet, many of which of he already knew.

"Trevor Ibarra."

"Present."

"Francisca Juanez."

"Aqui."

"Eve Kent."

Adam expected Eve's soft voice to announce his presence but there was silence.

"Hm. Skipping class," the teacher murmured, checking him off before continuing down the list.

Adam glanced behind him, the seat completely abandoned. And as the class continued, Adam grew worried, Eve's empty seat haunting him.

It was when Evan entered the class with a bandage wrapped around his knuckles that resonated alarm bells.

He excused himself, much to the teacher's annoyance. He didn't know what urged him towards the boy's bathroom. Perhaps common sense or maybe instinct.

But when he opened the door, his nightmares became reality.

******

Eve trembled in the bathroom floor, the pain sending agonizing pulses through his body, a more specific one pulsed behind his head. 

The taste of blood coated his bruised lips, the sound of the faucet dripping mingling with his soft groans of pain. He could barely see, his vision a complete blur, slowly fading in and out of the darkness. 

The squeak of the door opening nearly made Eve curl up in himself, a large burly silhouette appearing. Eve let out a soft whimper, the thought of more blows colliding against him providing no comfort. But it was his voice, the deep purr laced with fear that made him sigh in relief.

"Adam," he whispered before fading into unconsciousness. 

******

Adam could barely understand what was going on. Everything seemed unreal, but at this moment, with antiseptic from the hospital clearing his senses, he could look back at the memory that would haunt him forever.

It was the quiet cough from within, followed by a soft whimper that had urged Adam to open the door to the bathroom, confirming his deepest fears.

Eve laid in a crumpled heat in the bathroom, his right eye had swollen shut, blood seeping from his nose and coating his pale lips. His black shirt had been torn open, exposing the the massive bruise on his ribs. His pants had been cast away, his underwear resting at his knees, and in between his barely parted legs, he could see a white substance laced with red swirls seeping between them.

He had felt the fear and the hatred in his heart burn a hole inside his chest, but it was rationality that urged him to call for help. 

Adam clenched his teeth, his hands curling into fists. He knew who dared to violate Eve and the urge to kill never felt so strong, but underneath all that was guilt. Guilt that he had allowed this to happen again. The fact that he couldn't protect Eve, especially when he swore it upon himself to keep him away from that son of a bitch.

"You must be Adam," a soft voice said above him, the woman's voice raspy from crying. The woman seemed young, perhaps in her late thirties with brown hair and blue eyes that reminded him of Eve's, however they were slightly puffy, her mascara smudged. The woman wore blue scrubs, an badge clinging to her shirt. "I'm Lenora Ken, Eve's mother," the woman murmured, taking a seat next to him and patting away her tears with a tissue.

"Is he alright?" Adam said, his voice hoarse.

Lenora rested against the chair, resting her head against the wall. The woman looked exhausted, almost as if she hadn't slept in days. Now that he thought about it, he remembered that Eve mentioned about his mother working a weekend shift.

"He's fractured some ribs and suffered a concussion but his body should be alright," she said, in an almost too professional tone, perhaps a way to cope with what had happened to her son. "There was evidence of sexual assault." 

Adam clenched his jaw, "I know. I saw the aftermath."

The woman was quiet, her fingers wringing the tissue, "Tell me Adam, what was going on at school?"

Adam bit the inside of his lip, debating whether or not to tell Eve's mother of his exploits. 

"It is not place to tell you," Adam murmured, "I think it's best for you to ask hi-"

"Mrs. Ken?" a doctor said, his white coat contrasting his black hair, his dark locks streaked with gray, his silvery blue eyes showing an odd amount of kindness for the woman who sat next to Adam. 

Lenora stood, tucking her tissue inside the pocket of her nurse's uniform, "Dr. Shepherd."

The man's kind eyes followed the woman, "You're son, he's awake." Lenora began to make her way towards her son's room, "Lenora," the doctor began and for a brief moment Adam felt he was intruding in a private moment, "I'm sorry."

Lenora stayed still, her eyes meeting the doctor's, "Thank you Derek."

"Can I go in as well?" Adam said, impatient to see Eve.

The Dr. Shepherd glanced at him and at Lenora, who nodded, "Very well then."

*******

It was the monitor the measure his heartbeat that woke him from his medically induced slumber. His whole body felt blissfully numb, the fluorescent lights above him bringing out the coldness of the room. 

Eve reached out, tugging the oxygen mask away from his face just as his mother came in.

She was beautiful as always, despite the wrinkled scrubs that he was sure that she'd worn for the past three days, the dark circles beneath her cerulean blue eyes, "Oh sweetie," she whispered, her voice providing a soothing balm to his wounded heart, the nightmarish memories rushing forth, leaving cold trails down his cheeks.

"Mama," he sobbed, his mother's arms enveloping him for the first time since his father's death.