Wednesday morning arrived cold and gray, the kind of morning where the sky looked like it had forgotten how to be blue.
Kara sat at her desk in math class, her pencil tapping lightly against the page of her notebook. The rhythmic tap… tap… tap echoed softly against the quiet hum of the classroom. Equations were written neatly in front of her, but she hadn't actually solved a single one.
Monday—nothing.
Tuesday—still nothing.
No texts. No calls. Not even a stupid meme.
Kara stared at her phone under the desk for the tenth time that morning.
Still nothing.
Her jaw tightened.
"Idiot," she muttered quietly under her breath.
She told herself she didn't care. People missed school all the time. Maybe he was sick. Maybe football practice wrecked him. Maybe he just felt like skipping.
But the tight knot in her chest kept saying otherwise.
Her mind kept replaying the restaurant.
The fight.
The hospital.
Adam's face when she woke up.
She pressed her fingers against her temple and sighed quietly.
He better not be dead, she thought bitterly. Because I swear to God if he ghosted me after all that shit—
The classroom door opened.
Kara didn't look up immediately.
But the entire room suddenly got quieter.
A few whispers spread through the class.
"…Dude…"
"…Holy shit…"
"…What happened to him?"
Kara slowly lifted her head.
Adam stood in the doorway.
He looked… rough.
Most of the swelling had gone down, but faint yellow bruises still shadowed his jaw and cheekbone. A small cut sat on the bridge of his nose, and there was a dark bruise just under his eye that makeup clearly couldn't hide.
He looked tired too.
Not the normal I stayed up playing video games kind of tired.
The heavy kind.
Like sleep didn't help.
Kara stared at him.
Her stomach twisted.
Adam noticed her almost instantly.
For a moment, his expression softened.
Then he gave his usual crooked half-smile
like nothing was wrong.
And walked to his seat.
Class continued like normal.
But Kara barely heard a single word the teacher said.
The bell rang.
Students flooded out into the hallway in a rush of backpacks, voices, and lockers slamming.
Kara grabbed her bag and immediately turned around.
Adam had barely stood up before she grabbed the front of his hoodie and yanked him toward the hallway wall.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Adam blinked.
"Wow," he said casually. "Nice to see you too."
"Don't fucking dodge the question."
She gestured to his face.
"You look like you lost a fight with a truck."
Adam scratched the back of his neck.
"Eh."
"Eh?"
He shrugged.
"Got into a fight with my dad."
Kara froze.
"…What?"
"Yeah," Adam said like it was nothing. "Shit happens."
Kara stared at him.
Her eyebrows slowly lowered.
"Adam."
"Yeah?"
"You don't 'shit happens' a fight with your dad that leaves you looking like a used punching bag."
Adam sighed.
"It's not a big deal."
"It is a big deal!"
A few students nearby glanced over.
Kara lowered her voice but her glare stayed sharp.
"What the fuck happened?"
Adam hesitated.
Then he looked away.
"Just… stuff."
Kara studied his face.
For once, she didn't push further.
Instead she muttered,
"You're lucky I didn't report you missing."
Adam chuckled.
"You care about me that much?"
She punched his shoulder.
"Shut up."
Later that afternoon, after school ended, they walked the familiar trail through the woods.
Neither of them said much.
The trees rustled softly in the breeze, sunlight filtering through the leaves in golden patches across the dirt path.
Eventually they reached the meadow.
The tall grass swayed gently, flowers nodding lazily in the wind.
The sky was beginning its slow transformation into evening colors.
They sat down on the hillside together.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Just the sound of wind and distant birds.
Kara hugged her knees slightly.
Adam leaned back on his hands, staring at the sky.
Finally Kara spoke.
"…Is it always like this?"
Adam didn't need to ask what she meant.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
The wind brushed through the grass.
Kara kept her eyes on the horizon.
"…Since when?"
Adam sighed.
"Since I was a kid, I guess."
He picked a piece of grass and twirled it between his fingers.
"My dad's whole thing is that men are supposed to be tough."
Kara snorted slightly.
"Yeah I gathered that."
Adam chuckled faintly.
"If I cried when I was younger, he'd get pissed."
Kara's shoulders tensed.
"If I complained about something, he'd say I was acting like a girl."
He shrugged.
"If I lost a game or got hurt and made a big deal about it, he'd call me weak."
Kara looked down at the grass.
Adam continued quietly.
"He never did it in public. Always at home."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I guess he thought he was teaching me something."
Kara muttered,
"Yeah. How to be an asshole."
Adam smirked slightly.
"Probably."
He looked out at the meadow.
"Thing is… he's not always like that."
Kara raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
Adam shrugged.
"He can be… normal."
"Normal how?"
"Like… he'll cook dinner. Watch football with me. Give advice about school."
He paused.
"Then other times he flips a switch."
Kara frowned.
"That's fucked up."
Adam didn't argue.
The wind moved softly through the grass around them.
He continued quietly.
"He said I embarrassed the family."
Kara's head snapped toward him.
"For what?"
Adam shrugged.
"For the restaurant thing."
Her jaw tightened.
"That wasn't even your fault."
"It was," Adam said. "I should have helped you, but instead i was just standing there like some fucking idiot."
Silence settled again.
The sky slowly turned orange.
Kara's mind spun with a hundred angry thoughts.
But none of them came out.
Because she knew that feeling.
The feeling of having parents who were supposed to protect you… but didn't.
After a while Kara slowly leaned sideways.
Her head rested against Adam's shoulder.
Adam blinked in surprise.
She didn't say anything.
Just stayed there.
The warmth of her against him felt strangely comforting.
Adam glanced down at her.
Her expression was thoughtful.
Quiet.
He spoke softly.
"…Hey."
"Yeah?"
"How are you feeling?"
Kara immediately responded.
"I'm fine."
Adam frowned slightly.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"You got knocked out like four days ago."
She shrugged against his shoulder.
"I've had worse."
Adam turned his head slightly.
"That's not comforting."
Kara smirked faintly.
"Well, congratulations to me. I survived Bianca the psycho."
Adam snorted.
"Barely."
They both sat there quietly again.
Then Kara muttered,
"…She punches like a bitch."
Adam burst out laughing.
"Didn't look like it."
"Shut up."
She lightly elbowed him.
Adam leaned his head back, smiling.
The sunset painted the sky in deep shades of orange and purple.
For a moment everything felt calm again.
Like the chaos of the past week had finally slowed down.
Kara sighed softly against his shoulder.
Adam glanced down at her.
"…You really okay?"
She didn't move.
"Yeah."
"You don't have to pretend."
"I'm not pretending."
She paused.
Then added quietly,
"…You don't need to worry about me."
Adam didn't respond immediately.
He just looked at the horizon.
The wind moved gently through the meadow.
He stared into the sun as a wave of guild washed over him like a wave.