She walked up to the door and took out her set of keys, hopefully the locks hadn’t been changed since she’d left, but luck was on her side and the door unlocked to allow her entrance. The room she entered was dark and dust coated everything, in fact she almost missed the person sitting in the chair staring blankly at the wall.
“What has happened to you?” She whispered as she walked closer to him.
The man flinched as he heard her voice and slowly turned to look at her, confusion crossing his face. “…Jaylyn, is that really you?”
“Adam, you look terrible. What happened?”
Instead of responding he stood up shakily, allowing Jaylyn to see how gaunt he really looked, like a living personification of death. She backed away slightly; unsure whether or not he would be mad at her for staying away for so long, though part of it wasn’t entirely her fault. To her slight surprise though he merely brushed his hand against her face as a dazed expression crossed his face, as if he couldn’t decide if what was happening was a dream dug up from his own delusions or if it were actually real.
“Adam, when was the last time you ate… or slept?” Jaylyn asked as she took in his features, in all honesty she had never seen him look this terrible.
“A month or so ago… perhaps…” His voice was rough from lack of use. “I can’t remember.”
Jaylyn frowned. “Are you trying to kill yourself? I thought you were smarter than this.”
Adam shook his head to clear it a bit. “This isn’t a memory… I must be having another nightmare. So pathetic of me.”
Jaylyn could tell he was mentally insulting himself worse than what he was saying out loud, the way his eyes clouded over, his one tell tale sign of it. “Come on, let’s get you some rest before you go crazy or something.”
“Jaylyn… what is it like to truly die?” Adam asked as she guided him to his room.
“Painful… then… I felt absolutely nothing. Nothing but peace, in all honesty I hated it. I missed this, I’m glad I finally came back.”
“Will you visit me often in my sleep?” Adam questioned as he glanced at her. “Are you here to guide me?”
Jaylyn shook her head. “Adam, you are awake. This isn’t a dream.”
“You didn’t come back… It has been two months.” Adam collapsed on the bed and Jaylyn watched his eyes flutter closed as his lack of sleep caught up to him.
“I had things to take care of.” Jaylyn opened a desk drawer and took out a gun. “And it looks like I have something else to take care of now too.”
Adam’s eyes flashed with realization as Jaylyn pointed the gun at him, though he still questioned her motive. “What… what are you doing?”
“You’re not in your right state of mind at the moment, I’m going to heal you faster than time can. Then we can have a real talk.” Jaylyn didn’t wait for his response as she pulled the trigger and watched him disappear a moment later. Now all she had to do was wait for him to return.
It took an hour before Jaylyn registered the door opening and Adam’s footsteps walking towards the bedroom where she was currently standing by the window and watching the night slip away. When she heard him stop, she finally turned around to face him, fully prepared to be lectured about what she’d just did and to fully explain herself.
“Jaylyn…” Adam trailed off for a moment before regaining his thoughts. “You cut your hair.”
“Everything you could have said to me and that’s what you say?” Jaylyn couldn’t help they grin that crossed her face.
“Oh, I’ll get to everything else.” Adam growled, as he got closer. “Like how you just left and never came back or told anyone you were even still immortal and alive.”
“I haven’t been back for long… it took a month to come back this time.” She looked down at the ground like an ashamed child. “Then I had some business to take care of, I swear I came back as soon as I could.”
Adam lifted her head back up so she was looking him in the eyes. “That sounds interesting… why would it take you that long to come back?”
“It took you longer than it should have when you had your blood pumped out too.” Jaylyn reminded him. “I want you to explain something to me though.”
“And what is that?” She saw a glint of, happiness, perhaps, flash in his eyes.
“Why you were a living skeleton when I returned.”
Adam stiffened up slightly. “I wish you hadn’t seen me like that but I have just been very busy with work among other things lately.”
“I think you’re lying Adam.” Jaylyn accused lightly.
“Enlighten me on why you believe that.”
“I saw you at the grave, twice… in the same day, within the same hour.”
Adam turned his head to the side. “And it didn’t occur to you to come say hello?”
“I couldn’t yet. I didn’t know what to do, staying dead for so long… it freaked me out.” Jaylyn could feel her memory slipping back to that time but was pulled out of it as Adam spoke again.
“Does anyone else know yet, that you’re alive?”
“No, your place was closest so I stopped by here first.” Jaylyn shifted a bit. “Though Jack Sladen may or may not have seen me as I was walking here.”
“Ripper is back?” Adam asked in with a hint of anger.
“Yes… I didn’t speak to him as to why he was though. Otherwise I might have just tried to kill him.” Jaylyn felt a yawn coming on but shook herself awake and forced it away.
“That simpleton is just going to kill people, he doesn’t have any real life to turn to like everyone else with our condition.” Adam guided her away from the window to sit down. “But tell me, what was the business you had to take care of?”
“Can’t, that would ruin the surprise.” Jaylyn smirked. “But I think you’ll see soon enough. Within the week possibly.”
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with killing a certain someone would it?” Adam gave her a look that said he knew he was right.
Jaylyn shook her head in denial. “Nope, haven’t you heard? Lucas disappeared without a trace. I can’t even track him down, that’s why I gave up and came back here… I wasn’t even sure if you hadn’t killed him already.”
“I haven’t… I went to kill him, he wasn’t there, like you said, he left without a trace.”
“Did he die in the fire?”
“No one found his body.” Adam changed the subject again. “Are you going down to the NYPD to find your friends and get back to work?”
“I can’t just walk in there.” Jaylyn looked at him, was he trying to reveal their secret? “Jo, Hanson, and Reece think I’m dead.”
“No, Henry convinced them you escaped… you’re just missing in action.”
“Well, at least I won’t have to completely change my appearance, name, and job again.”
“Are you going to stay here again?” Adam asked after a lull in the conversation. “Or stay with Abe and Henry?”
“I’m not sure yet. Tonight I plan on staying here though, it’s too late to be going anywhere else.”
Adam nodded in response while Jaylyn got up and started to go to her own room, before she could leave the room however, Adam was at her side again. “I wouldn’t go in there.”
“Why not?”
Jaylyn saw indecision cross his face before he relaxed. “It may or may not be covered in some unlucky citizen’s blood.”
“You murdered someone in my room?” Disbelief was clear in her voice.
“I wasn’t thinking straight at the time, anger beyond reason, though apparently there was enough reason left to think to kill them off the streets so no one would see.”
“And to think, your job is to give people therapy.” A small grin appeared. “A therapist who is in need of therapy.”
“Very funny.” Adam said without even a hint of a smile. “Anyway, you can stay in here for now… I’m going to go get some new furniture for your room.”
Jaylyn watched as he left, he was hiding something behind that mask of his, she could tell. But what it was exactly was harder to figure out despite all the years they’d been working together. She was half tempted to follow him to see where he was really going, unfortunately though it was almost morning and she was starting to feel her weariness settling in. So Jaylyn decided next time she saw Adam she could confront him, in the mean time though she was more concerned with getting some rest before she had to get up again, which would be in about three hours, to go down to the police department and weave out a tale about why she’d been gone and out of contact for two months.