Twenty-One
I was still on a high from the night before. It didn’t matter that it was nearly two a.m. when we finally fell asleep. It was hard to come home from the game as if it had been any other game. Instead, we’d stayed up talking, amongst other things.
I was running on four hours of sleep, but I didn’t think I’d stopped smiling since I woke up.
“Your boy delivered last night.” Frank hadn’t said anything to me when he first walked in. He’d come in late and I had busied myself with my project. I didn’t want to talk to him. I was feeling too good to be brought down by his negativity.
Now though, Sean and Brett had stepped out and it was just us. I had been content ignoring each other, but for whatever reason, Frank was not.
“Yes, he did,” I answered, continuing to stare at the screen as I worked.
“I wasn’t expecting a no hitter,” Frank went on and I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me.
“I don’t think he was either,” I said curtly and I heard the creak of Frank’s chair as he leaned back.
“Look,” he said, but I didn’t turn around. I could see his reflection in the screen of my monitor though. “I might’ve been a little out of line with my comments yesterday.”
“Maybe just a tad,” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm as I continued to work. I don’t know if Frank was waiting for me to say anything else, but I wasn’t going to. The man hadn’t apologized for his words and so I decided to continue what I was doing.
The cold shoulder seemed to work because a few seconds later, Frank was wheeling himself back to his cubicle. It was quiet in the room aside from the sounds of our fingers hitting our keyboards and I easily got lost in the program I was working on. It kept me busy and it kept Frank’s mouth shut.
“Caroline.”
A gentle voice pulled my eyes from the screen and my mind from the program. I turned to find Sean behind me. He looked strange, his mouth curled down into a frown and the way he was looking at me didn’t seem right either.
“Can you…can you come with me for a second?” His voice sounded hesitant and I found myself looking more deeply at him. He couldn’t seem to make eye contact with me though.
“What do you need, Sean?” I asked, but instead of words, I felt a touch on my shoulder.
“You’re needed in the conference room,” he said softly.
“Oh…kay,” I said, stretching out the word and slowly standing up. Sean started leading me down the hall and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was being so cryptic about. I didn’t ask him though. I simply kept walking with him until he opened the doors to one of the conference rooms and I was stunned to find Adam standing there.
“Adam,” I said softly. He’d never been to my office. I’d always told him it would cause too much commotion, but here he stood anyway and I instantly noticed his red eyes. Usually I would have greeted him with a smile and a hug, but something told me now was not the time for either of those things.
“Caroline,” he answered gently and I heard the door close behind us, the sound echoing through the empty room now that Sean had left.
“Wh…what are you doing here?” I stammered and he took a step towards me, holding out his hand to me as he approached cautiously. Finally, our hands touched and he laced our fingers together. I could sense his nerves. I could hear the sounds of his breaths coming faster than they should. I could feel the coolness of his skin on my hands when it was usually so warm.
“I…I need to talk to you, Care,” he said quietly. The tone of his voice caused my heart to start pounding in my chest.
“What is it?” I managed to get out.
“Let’s sit down,” he said, trying to lead me to the chairs surrounding the conference table.
“No,” I said quickly. “Tell me what’s going, Adam.” My voice was calm, but it was adamant and he knew that.
“It’s…” he began and then hesitated as he stopped and swallowed hard. I could see his eyes weren’t just red now, but watery.
“Adam, please,” I begged gently.
“It’s your dad,” he said.
My heart started thundering in my chest and my stomach was instantly sick. His grip on my hand grew tighter and I closed my eyes, not wanting to open them and face what I knew was coming next. If I kept them closed, Adam wouldn’t utter the words I knew were coming. Words that hadn’t even been spoken yet, but words that had already destroyed me.
“He’s dead.”
Adam’s words barreled through me like a bullet to the heart and I found myself reaching for him, afraid I might fall if I didn’t hold onto him. My eyes started burning with tears as my chest heaved, trying to find my breath. I couldn’t breathe as my entire body started to shake as the sobs came uncontrollably. His arms were around me then, pulling me into him and holding me tight as the pain poured out like a flood. I’d always felt safe in Adam’s arms. It was the place nothing could ever hurt me, but as his words kept ringing in my ears, I knew there was nothing that could save me from this.