Swell (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Three (Part One)

"Anything I can try and help with?" Marti unpacked her Macbeth book from her bag and gave Adora a supportive smile.
Adora looked at Marti for a few moments, biting the inside of her cheek. Could Marti help her decide what to do? Was it a good idea to talk to Marti about things she hadn't figured out yet? Marti had helped her with her decision about Tom, but they hadn't quite been friends then, and there hadn't been anyone else taking her feelings from him.
Marti waited expectantly for a few moments, their eyes locked.
Adora sighed and shook her head. "No, not yet." She turned and pulled her own books out of her bag. She heard Marti sigh and when she gave Marti a small smile, she caught the tail end of a few nods.
"Well, you know I'm here for you, anytime, if you need to talk about anything. You've become my closest friend ever, and I'm kind of surprised at how fast it's been, but it's been amazing." Marti smiled warmly as the teacher cleared her throat.
Adora felt her heart grow in her rib cage and bit her lip as she smiled affectionately back at Marti. "You too."

Monday ended with a text from Adora agreeing to meet Will in the music room for pre-class run throughs with their guitars and her voice.
Tuesday he was waiting in one of the smaller rooms with the door open. He'd messaged her which room he was in and she had said she was on her way, but that was five minutes ago.
She'd been near silent in psychology the morning before, and he thought she looked a bit paler than normal. He'd asked Marti at the end of the day if Adora was alright, because he knew they had a class together.
Marti had agreed that the local had been quiet, but believed it was because of Gus trying to rekindle their summer romance.

Will started to pluck away at his guitar strings, it was one of his Dad's favourite songs, one of the first songs Will had learned completely.
"Hey, I know that song." Adora's voice made him look up and smile. "Is its something about a river?" She closed the door behind her and started to take her guitar out of it's case.

Will chuckled. "Yea, it tells a story about a river, it's called Hazard, and its by Richard Marx, one of my Dad's favourite songs."
"That's his name! My Mum adores him." Adora's smile seemed a little different today, almost shy.
"Well, we should do it."
Adora's laugh was loud. "Um, no, his voice is mostly way below my skill set. Pretty sure I can only hit the notes in the bridge of that song. It's been a while since I've heard it."
Will shrugged. "Alright." He watched her pulled her music folder out and put it on a music stand. Her movements seemed less fluid; there was definitely something off with her. He started to frown with concern as she finished getting ready, he smiled immediately when she looked up to him.
"Adora, are you alright?" He asked.
She scoffed and nodded. "Yea, why wouldn't I be?"
"Marti told me about Gus on Sunday, and well, you barely said a word yesterday in psych."
Her smile faltered and she looked at the music book before her. "Well, I was tired yesterday, and Gus isn't a problem." There was a tremble in her voice, and he tilted his head.
"Look, you already know you can trust me, you called me when Brett was attacked... You don't have to tell me anything, but I'm here if you want to." Will reminded her.
Adora looked at the floor, not just away from him and the music equipment between them, but right down to her feet. "I know." Her voice was thick and low now and he knew something was wrong.
"What happened?"
"I got another card yesterday." She whispered.
His mouth opened and he felt a strange anger rising up inside him. "Did you take it to the police?"
"No, I threw it away. I should have kept it for the police, but I just..." She was shaking her head and he watched as her hands moved to her face and wiped at it.
He moved closer and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. I can't imagine how you're feeling."
"Will, I don't know how I'm feeling. I'm scared and angry, and... and I'm terrified. I mean look what they did to Brett, my best friend." Her watery eyes finally looked up into his face.
He felt his heart drop with sadness. "Do you want to tell me what it said?" He asked gently.
"It's not so much what it said, but what it showed."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
She bit her lip. "When dad died, I got really depressed, I even hurt myself. Yesterday's card had a picture of a blade and a Band-Aid covered arm." Her voice nearly broke when she spoke.
Will didn't know what to say. The thought of Adora being so sad she would hurt herself took the air from his lungs.
"Wow." He finally breathed; his hand had left her shoulder by now. "Do you have any idea who it might be yet?"
She shook her head. "No."
Her voice sounded so vulnerable it stung.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "Is there anything I can do?"

She looked away and shook her head. "I don't think so. I mean..." She looked back into his eyes and sucked her bottom lip. "Tom really is with Debbie, right?"
"Yea. They spent all of Sunday out together somewhere. Does he know you used to hurt yourself though? Do you still do it?" For a brief moment, the thought made his heart stop. He hadn't met anyone who had ever felt so low they had hurt themselves, the thought that he was present in somebody's life while they might feel so bad to hurt themselves was alarming.
"No. I haven't for a while." Adora gave him a small smile before she looked at the music book again. "I can't remember if we talked about how bad I got on our day together."
Will remembered that he only knew about her father's death initially because of Tom's date with Adora.
She had told him when he'd seen her at the cemetery the day before Dodge's birthday dinner, he remembered seeing how gracefully sad she had been at the gravestones of her father and brother. He looked down at his shoes this time.
"Do many people know?" He frowned slightly at his laces.
"I don't know, honestly. I mean, that part of life is somewhere between fog and vivid things I'm not sure if they're memories or just nightmares. I had kept it a secret really well for a while, but, I passed out at school once."
"What?" Will's eyes widened in horror.
"I hadn't eaten properly, or slept." Adora tried to laugh his reaction off, but he couldn't stop staring at her.
She really had lost herself, worse than he had when Liss had left.
"I'm so sorry you felt so bad." He hissed, shaking his head.
"I woke up in the hospital, so I don't know how many people actually saw or found out, but you know... Small town. So... I really don't know." She had a sad smile as she shrugged.
He felt guilty for not being there for her, even though they hadn't even been in the same world back then. "Look, I didn't know you then, but you don't deserve this now, and please don't let this creep upset you so much that you go back to not looking after yourself."
Her lips parted and her brow pinched. "Thanks." She whispered.
Will shook his head. "Adora, I'm serious, you have my number, I'd rather you call me and wake me up at stupid hours then find out you went back to that."
Adora's upset face broke into a soft smile. She nodded and reached out to her music folder.
"I mean it. I know Marti would say the same." He watched her carefully.
"I will, thank you." She breathed out and shook her shoulders out a little. "Alright, let's warm your strings up before the others come thundering in." She tried to laugh off the sombre conversation and he could see there was still something deep in her mind.
"You pick the first one." He forced a smile for her and strummed a chord.