Twenty Four Seven || Adam Park

twelve

I heard my grandmother's footsteps climbing the stairs quickly and my heart started to race all over again. I looked at Adam in panic because if she caught him in here, I'd be done for... literally. He used his finger to signal for me to be quiet as he laid flat on the floor and rolled underneath my bed. I quickly jumped on my bed and stuffed my face in my pillows to pretend that I was sleeping when she slung the door open.

"Who's in here?" she demanded to know.

I rolled over and pretended to wake up when she slung the door open.

"What?" I asked, pretending to rub the sleep from my eyes.

"I heard someone else in here. Who's in here?" she demanded to know.

"No one... I was sleeping... I'm not even allowed to have guests." I sat up.

I watched as she walked over towards the closer and opened it, pulling clothes off the hanger as she looked for someone in there. I rolled my eyes at her immature behavior. I would just have to clean all of that up, so it really was annoying me. She wasn't wrong – there was someone in here that would get me in trouble, but if she wasn't so strict and hateful towards me, then I wouldn't have to be hiding Adam right now.

"I know that I heard someone else in here." She looked around the room, tapping the toe of her shoe she was wearing, "Under the bed – that's where they must be!"

I really was in for it now. I held my breath as she got down on the ground and looked right underneath my bed. I was expecting her to start yelling and for Adam to scramble out from underneath, but she got back up and just glared at me. Then the thought of him teleporting out of there ran across and settled my mind.

"I better find somewhere for you to stay. I have to go out of town tonight for the weekend and I surely don't trust you being here by yourself. You're already in enough trouble... I don't need you getting into more." She crossed her arms.

"What about Aisha's?" I suggested.

"No. This won't be a place where you can have fun." She rolled her eyes.

I didn't say anything back to her because I knew I would just get shot down again. I was looking forward to the break that I was going to be getting from her – though, I could only imagine the ridiculous amount of rules she was going to tell whoever I stayed with that I was going to have.

When she left my room, she left the door wide open – so Adam couldn't sneak back in even if he wanted too. She would really hear him then but I figured I'd just talk about it with him later... My head and feelings were still a jumbled mess right now. I laid back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling as I felt numb. I needed to apologize to everyone for the way I treated them today. I shouldn't have taken it out on them. They didn't know what was going on with me... and even if they had, it still didn't give me the right to take it out on them. I was an idiot... and I was never going to have friends if that was the way I treated them.

I folded my arms over my chest and closed my eyes. My chest still felt like it was going to explode and all I wanted in that moment was for my own mother to hug me... but I was never going to get that feeling again. She was never going to be able to wrap her arms around me again and tell me that everything was going to be okay... and it was all my fault. She would still be here today if it weren't for me.

I don't know if I was ever going to be able to be okay with any of it. I didn't know if I was ever going to be okay in general again... My heart had been shattered and I don't think there is glue strong enough to piece it back together.

I laid on my bed for the rest of the day. My grandmother came up at some point and declared that I would be staying home alone – which was honestly a shock to me. I didn't think she would actually let me do that, not after her comments about it earlier. A whole weekend and a house to myself? I honestly couldn't believe it. It felt like some huge test but I honestly didn't care. I wasn't even a bad kid... she just made me so frustrated that I did act out towards her. There had always been a reason why my parents said we were estranged from her, and I think I'm starting to understand why.