Chapter Thirty-Seven
Adam (One month later)
“Yo, Adam!” Fred, one of the older, much cooler boys who constantly had a skateboard tucked under his arms yelled loudly. “Whatcha ya cooking?”
“A traditional English breakfast,” I said with a smirk. “Sound good?”
He screwed up his nose in disgust. “What’s that, like cucumber sandwiches and stuff?”
“Yeah, that’s all the English eat,” I deadpanned back. “Sound’s good, doesn’t it?” When he looked at me with sheer horror, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Nah, it’s bacon, sausages, fried egg, toast, hash browns…that sort of thing.”
“Oh thank God.” Fred rolled his eyes to the back of his head. “Sounds awesome.”
“Well, it’s almost done, so do you want to get the others at the table?”
As he walked off, I focused on getting everything spread out on the right plates equally. I liked to have something to throw myself into, something to take my mind off losing my mom, and the orphanage with all the amazing kids was the perfect place to do that. They always reminded me that I didn’t have it as bad as them, and that I had something to keep on going for. They needed me, and right now I needed them.
Ever since my mom’s funeral a week after her death, I’d been trying my hardest to just focus on the positive things I had going for me. Her death had come from seemingly nowhere, but that didn’t mean I had to die, as well. Lindsey continued to remind me of that. She had survived something much worse, just like all these kids. I could keep on going for them.
“Where’s Lindsey?” Rose whined as I made my way out to the dining table. “You promised she was coming today.”
“I know, but she’s filming her big movie role today, isn’t she? She’s becoming a super star. I’m sure she’ll be here once she’s done.”
I was so damn proud of Lindsey for just going for it. I knew that she wasn’t sure about it at first, and the idea of a bit of nudity didn’t help, but once I read through the script myself and I reassured her that it really was tasteful and actually part of the plot, she decided to just go for it. It was fantastic for her, she’d really blossomed as a person, I loved seeing her coming out of her shell and gaining some confidence. She needed that. Acting was clearly what she needed to do in life, and I was glad that she’d just gone for it.
“Knock, knock!”
“Oh, listen.” I pressed my free hand against my ear. “That sounds like Lindsey.”
“Yay!”
Pretty much all the children jumped up from the table and raced into the hallway to see Lindsey. It was safe to say that they loved her, she fit right in, and thankfully because she understood them, she could relate to the children well. I laughed and continued putting out the plates of food while I listened to them all babbling around her.
Once Lindsey came into the room, I could see why the children were so excited. She’d come in her costume from the set, a Victorian girl. They tossed questions about filming at her, like she truly was going to be a Hollywood star despite the fact that it was just a small time thing to start with, and she answered them in the best way that she could.
“Oh my God, that food smells delicious,” she groaned as she smelled the fried food. “I hope you’ve saved some for me.”
As she took a plate from me and scoffed the food down like there was no tomorrow, I smiled with sheer happiness. One of the things I was worried about when she started acting in this movie, because of the comment that her agent made to her once and because of the nudity, I feared that she might go one some crazy diet to lose weight, despite the fact that she really didn’t need to. Luckily, that hadn’t happened. Luckily, Lindsey was confident in herself.
“How was filming today?” I asked as I sidled over to her. I bumped my hip against hers and watched her face break out into a bright and beautiful grin. Her face lit up in an amazing shining ray of light. “I missed you here.”
She leaned across and gave me a little kiss, causing a whooping to burst out from the children. “It was good, but I missed you, too. Next week I should have a few more days off so I’ll be able to come and help you guys out here.”
“That sounds amazing, you know how much the kids all love you, and even more so now they think you’re famous.”
“Maybe I will be soon enough, who knows.” She blushed as she spoke. “Maybe I’ll be a super star.”
“I bet you will.”
But that was all the time that I got with Lindsey because the kids wanted her. They finished eating and pulled her into some game instead leaving me to do all the clearing up. I didn’t care though.
“She’s great, your girl,” Jo, one of the other volunteers commented beside me as she grabbed some plates. “They all ask for her when she isn’t here.”
“I remember the days when they all used to ask for me,” I teased. “But yeah, she’s great. Really great.”
“I hope you’re going to keep her around forever.” She winked at me as she walked into the kitchen. “Or you’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”
That left me thoughtful as she walked away. I really did want to keep Lindsey around forever. Not just for the kids, but for me, too. Mom had been right about her: Lindsey was the perfect one for me and I needed to find a way to keep her around. I wanted her in my home, in my life, in my heart forever. I felt like Lindsey probably felt the same way, but I needed to find out for sure.
Tonight would be the night when I finally told her that I loved her…
***
“So how are you?” I asked Lindsey with a smile as we walked into my home. “I haven’t had much time to talk to you today really.”
“No, I know. I thought that might happen when I came in wearing my costume. Sorry about that.” She gave me a one-shouldered shrug. “I wasn’t thinking about you then, I was thinking about the kids and the kick that they’d get out of it.”
“Well, it worked. They loved it alright.” I moved into the kitchen and grabbed two wine glasses. “Would you like me to sort out some drinks? I’m sure you’re keen to get changed out of that now?”
“Oh yeah, I would. Do I still have some stuff here?”
“Actually.” I smiled to myself. “I cleared out a drawer for all your stuff because it was scattered everywhere. I hope that’s okay.”
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Really? That’s…serious. Are you sure?”
I grabbed her and spun her round before bringing my lips down to hers hard. “Of course,” I murmured against her mouth. “I don’t mind. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I would’ve just boxed it all up and told you to take it away.”
“Mm, yeah, I suppose you’re right.” She squeezed my butt playfully before moving away, showing her true comfort with me now. It felt like all the confusion with our feelings for one another was long gone. We were just yet to vocalize it. “Right, I’ll go and get changed, you get the wine ready.”
As she moved away from me and stalked towards the stairs, I couldn’t help watching her leave. Even in that heavy outfit that almost drowned her, she looked incredible. She was gorgeous and I was lucky to have her, especially since I hadn’t always treated her right. That was something that I wanted to fix now. I wanted to spend every day for the rest of my life, or for at least as long as she would have me, making up for what I’d done. I knew that I was lucky for this second chance, I didn’t want to fuck it up.
“Wow, you look even better,” I declared as she came back down the stairs in a flowing night dress, one that was black with a Chinese-style design across it that hung just below her knees. “I did like the Victorian look, but this is better.”
Lindsey didn’t answer me, she simply sat across from me with a thoughtful look on her face. As she took a sip of her wine, I could tell that she was trying to work out how to say whatever needed to be said.
“Erm, Adam?” She couldn’t even look at me, her eyes fixed on the floor below her. “Do you mind if I say something? I don’t want to upset you, or interfere, I just want to ask you something.”
It was going to be something related to my family, I could just tell. I breathed deeply and tried to steel myself, although actually I found that I didn’t mind as much as I once did. “Yeah sure, what is it?”
“I was just wondering, what’s happening with you father and brother now?”
I clasped my hands together and furrowed my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I thought that…” She breathed deeply, it looked like panic might be floating through her. “That things might be looking up. Like, things looked much better with your father, and I even saw you talking nicely to Brandon, too. I just wondered if that was something you wanted to work on. I’m not jumping in the middle of anything. I just wanted to know…”
That was what Mom wanted. I hadn’t forgotten her last request to me, and to be honest, I wanted it, too. The petty rivalry with Brandon didn’t seem anywhere near as important as it did before… But I was a bit overwhelmed and I didn’t know where to begin. A month had passed now, and we’d all sort of drifted apart.
“I want to,” I admitted. “I do, I just don’t know what I should do.”
Lindsey rested her hand over mine and smiled warmly at me. “You just need to call them. Contact your father and arrange a meeting with all of you. Hash things out and be honest – that means you be honest, too. Tell them how they’ve made you feel and also tell them that you volunteer at the orphanage. Let them get to know you, you know?”
“How do you make things sound so simple?” I asked her with a weak smile. “In my head, everything gets so complicated and messed up, and you make it seem so easy. I don’t understand it.”
“I’ve got an outsider perspective, that’s all. And, I know for a fact that you can make this right. It might not be an easy journey and there will probably be some bumps along the road, but you’ll get there. Together.”
I leaned across and kissed her gently, losing myself in the plumpness of her lips for just a moment. “You know I couldn’t have done any of this without you. You’re like an angel.”
“I’m just glad I can do anything.” Her hands worked their way up into my hair and the feel of her fingers brushing against my scalp was heavenly. “Sometimes I feel so useless.”
“That’s the last thing you are. You’re the opposite of useless.” I bit down on my bottom lip, pausing for just a second before the words finally flew out of my mouth, setting my emotions free. “Lindsey, I love you, I really do.”