James POV
I sit on the couch, slowly scrolling through my phone. I wish I was still cuddling with Adam, or at least still sleeping, but he's in my bed and Daniel insisted that I don't lay back down with him so we don't have a repeat of this morning.
I don't have work today, so I'm just sitting on the couch next to Daniel and doing ab-so-lutely nothing. Finally, something happens.
I hear a door creak open in front of me, and look up to see Adam peeking out of my room. I smirk and elbow Daniel. He glares at me, but then notices Adam and his gaze softens.
"Good mor- er- evening." He corrects, making Adam jump a little.
"Um... Hi?" He replies nervously, fidgeting a bit.
I give him a soft smile. "Come sit down." I say, patting on the seat beside me.
He slowly makes his way over, clearly tense.
Noah walks over from the kitchen, sitting down on the arm of the couch.
"I'm sure you have some questions right now. We do, too. So let's make a deal." Adam studies his face for a minute before nodding. Noah continues. "We will answer your questions if you will answer ours. Deal?"
Adam pauses. This time, however, he doesn't nod.
"Three."
Noah gives him a questioning look.
"You get three questions." He elaborates, and Noah nods in agreement.
"You can go first." Noah tells him.
He thinks for a moment, before deciding on a question.
"Um... Why was I laying n-next to you?" He asks me, his face flushing red.
I laugh at his adorable expression. "Noah had to talk to the police, so I held you instead. When it was time to lay you down, you wouldn't let go and we were scared you were gonna wake up, so I just laid down next to you."
He blushes more. "O-oh."
He pauses again, thinking of another question.
"Why were you at my apartment?" He asks.
"I told you we were coming over." Noah quickly says as Daniel and I give him annoyed looks.
"Well, I apparently didn't get that message. Besides, couldn't you have given me a bit more warning? What if I wasn't home?"
We hadn't thought about that. Plus, we were scared he would run off if we told him we were about to confront him.
"We were kinda scared you were gonna run off." I say awkwardly.
"Why would I do that?" He asks pointedly.
Daniel sighs. "Because we were going to talk to you... about things."
Adam looks at the ground, knowing what he means.
"I'm out of questions. It's your guys' turn." He says reluctantly.
Noah places his large hand on his shoulder, face now turned serious.
"Who was that?" His tone is dry.
Adam continues looking at the ground, shifting in his seat. "Um..."
"Was he your boyfriend?" He pushes.
Adam remains at a loss for words. "I, um..."
Noah sighs and gently lifts Adam's chin towards him.
"We need you to talk talk to us." He says, his face softening.
"I... I mean yes, he is, but..." Adam's eyes drift back to the ground, his voice trailing off.
I feel Daniel tense beside me as my mind races. 'That FUCKER!' I can't believe he hurt him, can't believe anyone could be so heartless as to hurt him. I already knew someone had hurt hurt him, had been hurting him, but the reality of the situation hadn't really hit me until now. Brimming with rage, I look up at Noah.
His expression is no longer kind. His jaw is clenched, and his normally emotionless eyes are now filled with fury.
I notice Adam squirming uncomfortably as Noah's grip on his jaw subconsciously tightens.
"Babe." I whisper to him, snapping him out of his trance.
He quickly realizes what he's doing and lets go of Adam's face. Adam relaxes a bit, still avoiding our eyes.
Noah turns his head towards him again, making sure not to scare him.
"How long has this been going on?"
Adam again looks away, this time staring at the couch cushion he's leaning against.
"It's... I mean, it's fine. I can handle it."
"Look at me. You're avoiding the question." Noah says.
He doesn't budge.
"Adam."
His gaze on the cushion intensifies. I can almost see it sweating.
"Adam, how long." It's an order, not a question.
Adam mumbles something under his breath, still frozen.
"What?"
He mumbles it again, barely audible.
"Adam, I need you to speak up."
"Two years." His voice is a whisper, but we all hear it.
His words ring in my head. I imagine the last two years of my life, replaced with fear. Pain. Two years. That must have been hell.
Noah pulls him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, dove."
Instead of hugging back, though, Adam pushes him away. "I-It's fine. It's not that big of a deal."
Noah grabs his hand. "It's a huge deal. Don't act like it doesn't matter."
Adam pulls his hand away. "Y-you're overreacting. It's not that bad, r-really." He scoots back a bit, bumping into me.
I turn his head towards me, and he jumps at the touch.
"Adam, he hurt you. He hurt you a lot. That's unforgivable, and I simply can't understand how you can just brush it off like nothing."
He opens his mouth to make another excuse, but I cut him off. "How much did he hurt you? Every month? Every week? Every night? Was that not horrible? Did you not hate every second of it?"
He sits there for a second, staring up at me. A tear slips down his cheek, and he shoves me away from him, desperately wiping at his eyes.
"Stop it! Stop it! This- this isn't right! Stop it!"
I reach over to comfort him, but he kicks me away, still wiping at the tears in his eyes.
"This is stupid! You're wrong! I deserve it!"
I pull him onto my lap, still kicking and pushing me away.
"Adam, no one deserves that. Nothing you could have done would have justified what you have gone through. I need you to understand that."
He slowly stops struggling, giving into the tears. I wrap my arms around him, holding him close. Noah has a supportive hand on his shoulder as Daniel comforts him from the left.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Adam sobs miserably, curling into a ball.
"Don't be, darling. You have nothing to be sorry for. You are the victim here." Daniel tells him in a sad, calming voice.
Noah ends up having to leave, realizing he's late for his worst class. Adam eventually stops crying and moves onto the seat next to me.
"S-Sorry..."
"It's perfectly fine, cutie." I tell him. His face turns pink and he sticks his tongue out at me, making me chuckle.
Daniel picks up the remote. "Wanna watch a movie?"
Adam instantly sits up straighter. He reminds me a bit of a puppy when he's happy, so talkative and excitable.
"Do you have Disney? I've been dying to see that new movie!"
Daniel laughs at his quick mood change. "We do, in fact, have Disney."
Pretty soon we're listening to 'The Family Madrigal' and arguing over who would be who.
"Well, we can all agree that I'm Camilo." Adam interrupts .
I laugh. "No way. I'm clearly Camilo."
Daniel rolls his eyes. "Adam, you're obviously Isabella. James, you're Felix. I'm Julieta, and Noah's Luisa."
Adam and I both give him appalled looks. I speak first.
"Me? Felix? You've gotta be kidding me."
He just rolls his eyes again. "Yes, you. Keep this up, though, and you can be the dead Grampa."
I gasp, shocked that he has the audacity to go there. Before I can respond, though, Adam speaks up.
"You did not just say that I'm Isabella. I mean, Isabella's totally iconic, but do I really scream 'flower princess' to you?"
"First of all, It's the principle of the thing. Second of all, yes."
I snicker as Adam huffs. "You guys are the worst."
I laugh, laying on top of him. "You love us, though."
"In your dreams, fatty." He grunts, trying to push me off. I don't budge.
"It's all muscle." I tell him, casually placing my arms behind my head.
He continues trying to move me, even though I'm clearly twice his size.
"Daniel! Help!" He calls out.
"Hm... What's in it for me?" He asks, smirking.
"I'll do anything! Save me!"
"Anything?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Please! He's crushing my lungs!" Adam cries with a cough, making me laugh.
Daniel quickly grabs my arm, spinning me around and pulling me off of Adam. I hate to admit it, but Dan is definitely stronger than me. Not by much, of course, but the point still stands.
"No fair!" I tell him, beginning to sit up before being shoved down.
I look up to see Adam happily sitting on my stomach.
I face the screen with a huff.
We then go back to watching the movie, mostly staying quiet except for a few gasps from Adam. I may or may not have cried at the big fight with Abuela.
Afterwards, Daniel picks up Adam and sets him onto his feet. Curious, I sit up.
Adam opens his mouth to speak, but Daniel cuts him off.
"You said you'd do anything, right?"
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Fun Fact: They were originally going to find Adam drowning in a bathtub with a knife sticking out of his arm, no Martin in sight. ⌯' ▾ '⌯
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