Beginnings (9 page)

After dinner and a family game of cards we headed upstairs to bed.

“Thanks, Haley,” I whispered, standing outside her door. “Sorry about speaking up when you mentioned Charlotte.”

“Why do you think I mentioned her? You've never been able to keep your mouth shut when it comes to her. You're a terrible liar, so I needed you to respond honestly. I was quite impressed with you, actually.”

“You're good.”

“I know.”

I laughed; riding in a car with Jeremy and Haley's over-inflated heads would be interesting.

“Good night, Haley.”

“Good night, Anna.”

I was opening my door when I heard Haley whisper, “Good night, Adam,” at which his face lit up.

“Tell her good night, and how grateful I am.”

“He says good night, and thank you.”

“When this is all over you two will just have to buy
me
a lobster dinner.”

“Deal,” he replied.

“Deal,” I repeated, smiling widely at her.

Chapter 10

“You kids have fun!” Uncle Tom yelled, waving at us from the doorway, arm wrapped around his wife.

I waved back before getting into the back seat of Jeremy's car. I slumped into the seat and let out a huge puff of air. I hadn't slept all night in fear of how Jeremy would be with my uncle. Just getting him to agree to pretending to be taking Haley on a date was like pulling teeth. When he arrived wearing a shirt that showed off his tattoo I almost passed out. I thought for sure my uncle would kick him out and forbid us to ever see him. It turned out that Jeremy was a natural born charmer; he had my aunt and uncle ready to marry Haley off to him by the time we left.

As we were driving off, the roller coasters began in my stomach. In a few hours I would be standing next to Adam's body. My mind was having a hard time believing we were so close.

“I have a new appreciation for you, Jeremy. The way you handled my parents was incredible. You've got to teach me a girl version of that coy, smoldering thing you do. I've never seen my mom melt before,” Haley giggled. “Even my dad was crushing on you.”

“Your mom has some nice legs,” Jeremy said with a cocky grin.

“That's gross, Jeremy.” Disgusted, Haley punched him, “She's my mother!” 

They started bickering back and forth, but I tuned them out. Adam had barely said a word all day and I was worried.

“You okay?” I asked.

He let his head fall back on the headrest and sighed, “Not really.”

“Nervous?”

“Something like that.”

Seeing Adam so nervous made me feel worse. He was always the calm one who made everything not so scary.

“Who's this playing?” Haley's voice distracted me from Adam.

“The Clash,” Jeremy and I answered.

“I like it. I've always enjoyed hearing Anna play this song in her room.”

“Yeah?” Jeremy sounded pleasantly surprised. His hand reached for the stereo and skipped to a different song, “This ones my favorite on this album.”

We spent the next half hour letting Haley hear the awesomeness that is The Clash. I didn't think she'd be rushing out to buy their music, but I felt satisfied knowing we'd broadened her musical tastes to more than just pop.

Haley turned slightly to see me better, “So, like, what kinds of things do you and Adam do together?”

“Everything. There isn't anything we're limited to.”

“One of my favorite things we do together is play pranks on Haley,” Adam said, lifting one eye open to smile at me.

I smirked back at him knowing his mind was remembering all the ways we'd tortured Haley.

“What did he just say?” She bounced; for a split second I panicked that she'd start and never stop the rest of the way.

“It's nothing,” I wasn’t ready for her to know everything.

“Anna, I told you, no more saying that. Now spill.”

“One of our favorite things to do is find ways to torture you,” I held my breath, waiting for the explosion. All she did was stare at me, mouth dropped open. I'd never seen Haley speechless before.

Jeremy began laughing so hard I was afraid he'd swerve off the road, “That's hilarious! What kind of things have you done?”

“Well, the first thing that comes to mind is when we went to Hawaii and Adam had me remove your destination sticker when no one was looking – which isn't easy by the way.”

That sent Jeremy into another wave of hysterics.

Haley's eyes went wide, “You did that! I can't believe you did that! That was horrible. I had no makeup, the only shampoo I could use was the crappy hotel's, and I had to wear the same clothes for almost the whole trip.” She sharply turned back around to sulk. “I'm not so sure I want to help you guys anymore. You two are just cruel. I know I wasn't always the nicest, but come on!” She flipped back around and pointed a finger at me, “It was you who switched the salt and sugar last year when I tried baking cookies for Nathan, wasn't it?” She was fired up, and I squirmed in my seat from her accusing stare.

“Yes,” I squeaked, ashamed. I was a little frighted by her.

Jeremy was using one hand to clutch his stomach he was laughing so hard.

Haley turned her anger on him, “Stop it! You're going to get us killed. It's not funny what they did, it's mean.”

“You're right, it's not funny,” his face turned serious, “It's down right hysterical!”

I was afraid Haley was going to sock him.

“If it makes you feel better, we were the ones who made Charlotte have that god awful hair that one week at school by mixing liquid dish washing soap in with her anti-frizz shampoo when she spent the night.”

Haley's mouth twitched as she tried to hold back a smile. “That does make me feel a little better, but no more pranks! At least not on me.”

“Yes, ma'am,” I said cheerfully, glad to see I was forgiven.

“Hey, I've got a question. What does Adam do at night while you sleep? Or does he sleep too?” To my relief Jeremy had raked in his laughter and was focusing on the road.

“No, he doesn't get tired. At night I always have music playing for him, and I'll leave open various poetry books since he can't turn pages.”

“That would be weird to never need to eat or sleep.”

“He desperately wants to be able to taste food,” I slouched back when it dawned on me, “I just realized that you'll finally get to try food. That is going to be a blast.”

Adam chuckled, “We're going to gain fifty pounds from all the foods I want to try!”

Haley rolled down her window and stuck her feet out, happily bouncing them. I swear, at least one part of her body had to be continually moving.

“This trip is taking forever. All this talk about Adam has me super excited to meet him.”

“I know a game we could play to pass the time. It's one Adam and I love.”

“Okay,” Haley excitedly clapped her hands.

“I'll say a scenario and you have to say the first response that comes to mind.” Once they both nodded in understanding I started. “Haley, you're walking home from school when a truck crashes, spilling a weird green gooey substance on you. What super power do you gain?”

“Invisibility.”

“Invisibility?” Jeremy had the same look Adam gave me when he thought my answer was lame.

Haley didn't skip a beat with her answer, “Yeah, I'm intrigued. You could get away with a lot of stuff if no one can see you. I'm also curious to see what life has been like for Adam, coming and going without anyone noticing. I could think of some instances that could come in handy.”

I admired how she didn't allow other people to make her second guess herself. I wondered what the world would be like if all women had her self-assurance.

“I guess it could be fun. You could use it to get better grades.” Leave it to Jeremy to try and find a way to steal information.

“Not necessary. I have a four point one GPA.”

The car went dead with silence.

“How's that possible?” Jeremy turned his head to look at her to see if she was lying.

“Eyes on the road, and just because I'm blond doesn’t mean I'm not smart.”

“How have I lived with you for so long and not known this?” Shock was an understatement to how I felt.

“You never asked.”

“Who would have guessed blondie over here gave a crap about her grades.” It was evident Jeremy was in disbelief.

“Seriously,” Adam responded, clearly astounded as well.

“Like I told Anna the other day, I have big plans for my future. Besides, school comes really easy to me. I pretty much remember everything I hear or see,” she said as she smacked on gum and picked at her nail polish.

I was too stunned to speak.

“I think I underestimated you,” Jeremy spoke up in awe of her.

“Most people do. That's all part of my evil plan,” she smiled mischievously. “So, Jeremy, you ready to go next?”

“Bring it, Haley.”

“A twister comes and picks up your house, where does it land?”

“A world made of pizza and topless women.”

“Nice, I'd like to go there,” Adam nodded in approval while I rolled my eyes.

“I'd want mine to land on a place where clothes are free and ice cream has no calories,” Haley sighed, seeming sad no such place exists.

The game continued for the rest of the ride. By the time we arrived at the hospital we were all uncontrollably laughing. I could tell Adam was starting to like Jeremy, even if he'd never admit it. I could also tell that Jeremy was falling for my cousin, even though he'd never admit that.

I looked over at Adam to find him staring at me with love pouring out of his eyes and a huge smile on his face.

“What?” I asked, cheeks slightly flushing.

“I'm just enjoying watching you interact with people your age. You're finally letting others see how fun you are.”

The car came to a complete stop and Adam's smile vanished.

“We're here,” even Jeremy's voice sounded nervous.

My adrenaline was at an all time high; at any second my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

“I wish I could hold your hand right now for comfort,” Adam said meekly.

“Soon, Adam,” my voice cracked as I realized how close we were. I pulled the door handle and got out. My legs felt weak and I balanced myself against the car.

“Ready, Annie?”

I walked around the car to meet Adam on the sidewalk. As we started to walk toward the hospital, Haley rolled down the window and stuck her head out.

“Good luck guys, see you soon!” She giggled at her cleverness.

I would have laughed if I wasn't concentrating so hard on breathing. We had all agreed it was best if Jeremy and Haley waited in the car. It would seem less suspicious if only one person was roaming around.

Once inside, we went straight to the directory to find what floor the recovery wing was on.

“Third floor,” Adam barely spoke before heading for the elevators.

A few people followed us in, causing Adam to back up into a corner. He hated going through people and avoided it at all costs. It wasn't that it did anything strange to him, he just didn't like the extra reminder that he wasn't quite human. I rocked on my heels as we ascended. I was afraid to look at Adam for fear my anxiety would skyrocket. The elevator opened and we stepped out.

At this point my mind had detached from my body. It didn't feel like me walking the long hallway to the entrance. We walked past the nurse's station, and I reminded myself to be calm and not the fidgeting mess I had become. I knew his room number by heart, so when we arrived at room three-fourteen my stomach dropped to the ground. The area around his room was empty and I prayed no one was inside as my shaky hand reached for the door knob.

“Wait, Annie. I need a second before we go in there,” Adam's face was free of any expression, but his eyes dilated to show his fear. “What if this doesn't work?”

“It will.” It just had to.

“Annie, I need you to know that no matter what happens, I love you. I will always love you. Nothing can ever break the bond we share.”

“I love you too, Adam. Now let's go in there so we can begin our lives together,” I smiled as reassuringly as I could. He instantly relaxed and gave me
my
smile.

“Yeah, lets go in there so I can finally kiss my girl.” He didn't wait for me, he walked right through the wall.

Opening the door, I was surprised to see the room full of sunshine. I was expecting some dark depressing room with no warmth. It was still a hospital room, but light poured in from the windows and fresh flowers had been placed on the window sill and by his bed. I closed the door behind me and slowly went over to the bed were Adam was staring down at himself.

When I reached the bed my eyes filled up and my throat tightened. There was Adam, flesh and blood. It was strange staring down at his body. It looked just like him, but it didn’t feel like that was him. I suppose it was because the best part of him was standing next to me.

“Now what?”

I shrugged, having no clue what to do, “Maybe try lying in your body?”
That's something I never thought I would say.

“Good idea,” he crawled onto the bed and flattened out, letting himself sink into his body. “This is creepy. Do you have any idea how weird it is to see my body lying here like this with me laying in it?” He was moving around trying to lay exactly as his body was. Minutes ticked by and nothing happened. He sat up and looked around the room. I giggled at the way he looked. “What's so funny?”

“You look like a ghost who just popped up from his dead body like you see in the movies.”

He frowned, “You're not helping.”

“Sorry,” I tried making my face stay serious.

He hopped off the bed and stood in front of the window. Light washed over him and he looked like an angel. It was breathtaking. He squeezed his eyes tightly together, and after a long time he opened them.