We stood outside Mr. Brown's office, waiting for one of them to come out. Angry, muffled voices could be heard from the inside but nothing too loud to be perceived by my ear. Both Noah and I exchanged some awkward looks but neither of us dared to speak any word.
Almost ten minutes have passed when the door shot open and Adam stormed out from inside. His face looked all puffy, his jaw tightened because of anger. His hands were balled into fists as he dashed out.
My inner voice suggested me to follow him so I did but quietly. With silent steps, I hurried behind him, noticing his every movement as he struggled to start his bike. But when his fifth attempt failed, he kicked the bike away and let out a deep grunt. Leaving his bike, he walked out of the parking lot towards the school's main gate.
I contemplated whether to follow him or not. I didn't want to miss the school but what if Adam hurt himself again like all the times I witnessed the wounds on his body. I didn't want to believe that the rumors about him were true and now was the time to figure the reality out.
I walked behind him, using the hood of my black jacket to blend in the crowd. He was quicker than me so I had to take unusually bigger steps in order to keep my pace with him. At the corner of the school road, he turned to the left, the side opposite to the direction of our houses.
Looking around in confusion, I kept following him quietly though I was growing paranoid with each turn. The area was getting more deserted. There were very few people around, even that time of the day.
What if he really is involved in some dark stuff?
I stopped in my tracks when I observed him stopping in front of a building. Looking around, he barged inside and shut the door behind him. I squinted my eyes to take a better look at the name written above its front door.
Paraplegics rehabilitation centre.
Paraplegic? Where have I heard this word before?
I stood there, stressing on my brain, forcing it to remember what it meant. Thankfully, my brain didn't prove to be an utter failure and it reminded me that it was the same disability from which Franklin D. Roosevelt suffered, in which he couldn't feel or move anything below his waist.
But what is Adam doing here?
To curb my curiosity, I took some steps until I reached the greyish door and walked through it. The first person I saw was a blonde receptionist, writing something down on a register. She stopped when I reached her and asked me what I was doing here.
"Umm.. I.." I looked at her in confusion, not knowing what to do.
Another visitor came to us and she diverted her attention to the bald man. Taking advantage of it, I looked down at the register and struggled to find Adam's name in it. I furrowed my brows when I found his name in the visitor's list against another name.
Patient no. 47: Adaline
Adaline?
"Sorry ma'am but you have to register yourself first if you want to meet any patient." the woman said to me when she found me peeking inside the register.
"Uh.. Yeah. I was going anyways. I'll be back for registration some other day." I lied to get myself out of the situation. Though I wanted to see who this Adaline was, the smart step would be going straight back to my house and never mention this to Adam again.
Looking around once again, I smiled at the receptionist and made my way out of the place.
...
Who is Adaline?
What if she is his mother?
Or maybe a friend or relative?
Girlfriend?
From the last three hours, I was trying to complete my Literature assignment but I couldn't even write a whole page because Adam was occupying my thoughts. I didn't understand why he would go to meet a girl named Adaline right after his argument with Mr. Brown.
"Care to share your thoughts?" Dad asked me, swaying his hand in front of me and I jumped in surprise.
"Um.. Dad.. I.." I didn't know what to tell him.
"Boy problem?" he raised his eyebrows and asked.
I shook my head in negative.
He plopped down on the bed beside me and put his hand over mine. "The day before your mother died, she made me promise that I would solve your boys issue like an understanding mom, not like a raging father. So you don't have to hesitate before telling me."
I smiled at his words. I knew how difficult it would be for him not to strangle the guy. But one thing I was sure about was that he would never break his promise with Mom.
"There is a boy." I started and I didn't miss the ticking of his jaw. "Um.. I don't like him in a boy girl way. But I just... I want to know what's going on in his mind. He is just so confusing, like a closed lock with no key to open it."
The corner of Dad's lips turned upwards at my words, "Are you sure you don't like him?" he asked.
I blushed at Dad's words and used my dark hair to hide my face from him.
"Sweetheart, the first step of a true relationship is to accept someone the way they are. Even if they are so naive that it can irritate you sometimes. Even if they have scars, not physical but the emotional ones. Even if they are like closed shells and are not opening up. Because that's who they are and if you can't accept that way, maybe you aren't right for them." dad said.
Dad's words left a huge impact on my mind. "You are right." I whispered and rested my head on his shoulder. I straightened up when we heard the buzzing sound of our bell. Dad excused himself to check the main gate while I engrossed myself in the work again.
"May I come in?" a familiar voice reached my ears after a moment and I lifted my head to look at the intruder.
"No. You may not." I said, smirking.
"Aww. Look at you trying to be funny." Noah laughed and came inside anyways.
"What do you want Noah?" I asked, looking at his direction.
"You." he winked, earning a snort from me. "What? I meant, as a friend."
Yeah right." I said sarcastically and watched as he made himself comfortable on my bed.
"What are you doing?" he leaned down against me and tried to take a peek of my work.
"Nothing you should be concerned about." I answered and put my notebook away. "Now seriously, what are you doing here?" I asked again.
"I wanted to apologize." he said innocently and my eyes widened with surprise.
"Apologize? And you?" I inquired, trying my best not to laugh.
"Yup." he said. "You had to suffer Dad's wrath even though you weren't even involved in the fight."
"Well. You should be apologizing for that." I pondered. "Don't worry, I forgive you."
"Great." he said and winked again, earning another eyeroll from me.
"You can take your ass out of my room now." I proposed even though I knew he won't be leaving anytime soon.
"You have an unhealthy obsession with my ass Alicia." he chuckled, picking up the can of Sprite from the side table.
"Noah!" I screeched at both his words and his action.
"Keep on practicing screaming my name and one day, you can bring it to use." he made a dirty joke again and my cheeks warmed up.
Stupid.
"Try harder Noah. I have learnt how to ignore you." I said, shifting my attention to my mobile screen.
"Have you?" he scooted closer to me until our arms were touching.
I kept my face straight, pretending to be engrossed in the game, ignoring his constant attempts at irritating me.
"Still?" he asked again, bringing his face closer to me until I felt his breath on my cheeks.
To say I was not affected by his presence would be a lie because let me be honest, being this close to anyone makes me dizzy. Plus the fact that he smelled really good didn't help at all.
"What about now?" he teased as his gaze created holes in my cheeks.
"Noah." I finally surrendered, throwing my mobile away and jerking myself away from him. He pouted at my action, his blue-green eyes glistening in the light of my room.
"What can I do to make you leave?" I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
"Food?" he replied and I shook my head.
"Fine. Come on." I led him to our kitchen and pulled out the leftover lasagna from the fridge. The whole time I was reheating it, he kept on checking all the drawers around, ignoring my efforts of stopping him.
After gulping the lasagna down his throat until he couldn't eat anymore, he finally left and I could work in silence.
Even though he was maddening and exasperating, his actions and words brought a smile to my face when I lay down to sleep at night.
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