Reaching Out for You (17 page)

“Kyle confronted
her at the library,”
Erin
answers while stroking my back. “He is
going to do something stupid Connor, you need to tell Adam.”

I grip Connor’s
shoulders and vehemently shake my head. “No please no! I don’t want him to
worry!”

Connor holds me
tighter.
“
Babygirl
,
shhhhh
.
You need to get some sleep ok?
Erin
, can you take her to Adam’s room?”

“Yeah, no
problem, come on sweetie, let’s get you some sleep.”

My trembling
body goes to
Erin
and we head to Adam’s room. She puts me
to bed and looks at me, “I love you Sophia and I want you to be safe.”

“I know.” My
voice is so weak and I feel tired.

Erin
hugs me and looks at me. “Get some sleep
girl. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

I close my eyes
and drift into a deep sleep. It seems like hours have went by when I get up.
The room is dark and quiet. I look around and I don’t see any lights on. Maybe
they went out to eat or something. I walk out of the room and feel eyes on me.
I turn around but there is no one around. I continue to walk down the hall and
into the kitchen. The hallway is dark but when I flick the light on, nothing
happens. Panic sets in as I clench my chest. Something doesn’t feel right. I
run to the kitchen but I don’t feel my feet moving. I look down and see the
floor but can’t move my feet. I try to scream but nothing comes out. The sweat
drips from my face and my heart is beating uncontrollably. I feel dizzy and out
of breath.

“Sophia.”

That dark voice
consumes me. His shadow overtakes me and I fall to the floor. My head hits the
floor and the sting runs through me. I see Kyle standing above me with blood on
his hands. I try to scream again but nothing comes out. “I told you you’d never
be able to leave me. Now you’re mine!”

“
ADAM
!” I wake up and am frantic. Adam comes
bursting through the door and runs to me. He takes me in his arms and tells me
everything is ok. “Adam, he is in my dreams now!” I sob into his shoulder. “Why
can’t he leave me alone? Why!”

“Baby it is ok.
Shhhh
.”
He holds me tight and I calm down a little. This isn’t going to be easy but as
long as I have Adam, I will be safe.

I’m dying in my
bed. I’ve been up all night and morning throwing up and sweating. I hardly get
sick but when I do, it is like World War
III
in my body.
Erin
came by earlier to bring me soup and to
check on me, but even the smell of chicken noodle soup makes my stomach jump
and does flips. I’m miserable. I feel so weak. I slowly start to fall asleep
when I hear someone coming in the room. Adam comes in and sits on the bed. I
see my favorite flowers, lilies, in his hands. “Adam?”

“Hey baby, how
are you feeling?” He kisses me on the forehead and pushes my hair out of my
eyes. “I hope these flowers make you feel better. I didn’t bring you food,
since I know you aren’t up for eating yet.”

“Adam, you don’t
have to do this, I’m fine.” He gets up to put down his messenger bag and places
the flowers on the dresser. I slowly sit up on the bed. “Don’t you have
practice?”

“I quit the
team.” Adam leaves the room and when he comes back he is holding a vase with
water.

“WHAT? WHY!” I
can’t believe he did that. Basketball is his life. I don’t know why he would
throw it all away.

“Whoa, chill out
speedy.”

“Well aren’t you
going to answer me?”

He takes out his
laptop and some folders and gets comfortable on the floor in the work space he
has made. He eyes the picture of us at the beach that I have on my nightstand
and smiles, “That was a great day. I think I wanted to tell you I love you, but
for some reason I didn’t.”

“That was a good
day.” I pull the covers over my body and lay on my side, “So why’d you quit?” I
wonder why he is not sitting on the bed with me but remember how sick I am.

“Personal
reasons, plus seeing Kyle and knowing what he did to you doesn’t sit well with
me. Baby you need to get a restraining order or something.” Things have been
shaky since the incident with Kyle in the library. I know everyone is trying to
protect me, but, I hate that I’m making people worry.

“It is a piece
of paper.” I roll over on my back and sigh. “It won’t do any good, Adam.”
Feeling a little dizzy, I sit back up and look at Adam. He looks amazingly
beautiful. His dark hair is in a messy do and he is wearing a green sweater
with dark jeans. I start imagining him without any clothes on and stroking his
rock hard abs and kissing him. I just want to straddle him and make him mine.
 
I need to stop
I think to myself. “Adam if
you have to work to do, don’t let me keep you.”

“Pretty girl,
stop, it is my choice to be here so why don’t you let me take care of you and
stop being so stubborn.”

Suddenly my
stomach starts grumbling, “Oh no!” I push the covers off and sprint to the
bathroom. I start dry heaving since there wasn’t anything in me to throw up. I
feel gross. I hear footsteps coming close, “Go away Adam. I don’t want you to
see me like this.”

He starts to
pull my hair back and rub my back, “
Soph
...Um…Are you
pregnant?” I hear how soft his voice is and almost freak out on him. Why would
he think I’m pregnant? Ugh!

“What?” I start
gagging again. “Ha, you’re funny and no! I still the big V thing going on.”
Oh
God I can’t believe I said that out loud!
I start mentally hitting myself.
This was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

“Oh.”

“Why are you asking
anyway?” I take a nearby towel and wipe off the sweat off my face.

“Well I mean
you’re throwing up and you were with Kyle.” His voice sounds so hurt and
nervous.

“Trust me, I am
not pregnant.” Thank goodness I never slept with him. The thought of being
intimate with Kyle makes me sick. I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact
that he changed so much.

I get up from
the bathroom floor and Adam has his arm around my waist to help me up. I lean
against his chest and feel his heart beating. “Thanks for taking care of me,” I
whisper. He strokes my back and his touch makes me feel better. I squirm out of
his arms and go to the bathroom sink to splash water on my face. The cold water
feels nice. I take in some deep breaths and make sure I don’t have to throw up
again before leaving the bathroom. I head back to bed and lay down. My whole
body is burning up and I start to shiver. Adam comes to the bed and sits down
next to me. He pulls the blanket over me and sits on the edge of the bed, “I
like taking care of you baby.”

I smile, “Even
though I look like shit?”

“Pretty girl,
you look beautiful.” He leans in to kiss my forehead. “Go to sleep sweetheart.
If you need me I’ll be right over here.”

Sleep sounds
amazing right now. My eyes start to close and my mind starts wandering. I think
about my life before Adam coming back and how it is now. I really don’t want to
push him away or not make him feel needed. I’m learning how to let him in and
be better around him but it is still hard. A part of me is scared that he is
going to leave like before. Even though he tells me all the time he is not
going anywhere. I try and find the confidence I need to make us work. I am
trying and I hope he notices.

I haven’t had a
dream about Kyle for the past few weeks. It is as though when Adam is around,
things are great. I can sleep better with him. He is the last thing I see and
the first thing I see every day. Nothing will get in the way of our happiness,
not even Kyle.

I open my eyes
and notice its night. I’m feeling a little better. I slowly get up and watch
Adam work. I want to go up to him and wrap my arms around his neck. I can sit
here for hours just watching him. I love watching the crinkles in his forehead
when he is confused or that ‘aha’ expression when he has figured out the
problem. The dimples in his smile are genuine and oh so sexy. “What are working
on?” He cocks his head slightly, looking at me with such desire. I’m wondering
why he is looking at me like that. I look down and notice my tank stop was
slightly down revealing my black lace bra. I quickly pull up my tank and look
away.

“Um, I’m sorry.”
He stares at his computer again but I can see a small smile on his face. “Just
some reports.”

I quietly laugh
to myself. “Sounds like fun. Need help?”

“Sure actually,”
He turns around and faces me with his laptop on his lap. “Alright so we’re
trying to launch a new product which will allow people to press an alert button
on their bracelet which will send the signal right to the proper authorities.
The thing is, the company I’m working for doesn’t deal with health and wellness
and I’m not sure how they’ll take it.”

The crinkles in
his forehead start to show and I can see the dark circle underneath his eyes.
“Well what do you have so far?”

He clicks around
looking for the file I’m assuming. “I found some stats on people over 50 who
have to go to the hospital and why. Then I compared those stats to those who
live on their own. The numbers are interesting but like I said, the company is
solely based on one thing but I think expanding it will bring in more profit.”

I see the
information start rolling in his mind. “Well use those stats in the
presentation but present it in a way that will touch their lives. Make it
personal. You have to prove to them that they need this product to better the
lives of society.”

“Hmm…good
approach,” I feel his gaze on me, and I start to feel shy. Adam is usually the
smart one when it comes to anything that deals with business. I don’t want to
give him the wrong answer and say something dumb. I start feeling regret that I
asked him about what he is working on. I look at him and see that he is still
waiting for an answer. “What about art?” I softly say.

“I wouldn’t
primarily focus on that but more of a video to show what could happen and how
this product will benefit your clients and company. I would do a price analysis
and show them the growth. Thanks sweetheart. I like that you’re interested with
my work.” He turns back to his computer and starts working.

It feels good
that he can listen to my opinion and thoughts. I get up from the bed and give
him a kiss on his head. “I’m going to grab something to drink. Want anything?”

“Just water,
thanks baby.” I give him another kiss on the head and walk to the kitchen.
Everyone is gone and it is just Adam and me. I think about doing dirty things
to him and having him have his way with me on the island. I stand there for a
moment and imagine his lips all over me and his hands touching me. I feel
myself getting hot and wet between my thighs. I want him bad, but not when I
look like snot nose the ugly beast.

I go back to the
room but stop when I hear Adam’s voice.

“Listen, do
something to make this right. I need her safe, do you understand me?” There was
a pause as he listens to what the other person is telling him. “I don’t care
what it costs but she is to have protection 24/7, do you understand me? Fine
just get it done.”

Adam lets out a
sigh and puts his hands to his face. I wonder what that is all about. Whom was
he keeping safe and why is it bothering him. “Adam who were you just talking
to?”

He turns around
to look at me. “Don’t worry baby, it is nothing.”

I walk over to
him and cradle his face. “It sounds important. Is everything ok?”

He rests his
head on mine and I feel his hands making their way down my ass. The tension
between us is strong but I want our first time to be special. I simply smile
and pull him away. “I want to watch a movie! Why don’t you clean up everything
while I shower?”

“Sounds good, do
you want me to get anything? Are you feeling up for some dinner, maybe soup?”

I shake my head.
I am still not hungry and do not want to risk getting sick again. “No it is ok.
Hopefully this shower will make me feel better.” I give him a quick kiss and go
to the bathroom.