{AN} --- Okay, so this week has been very special for me. Firstly, I've finished my exams so I'm buzzing and I have the longest summer ever meaning I'm hopefully going to actually finish this book.
Secondly, and more importantly, we reached 100,000 reads this week! How did that even happen? I remember writing about having 1,000 reads and being so proud. So, I want to thank you all, everyone has been so supportive and kind, you guys never fail to amaze me or make me happy and for that I want to thank you all. You guys are amazing! I love you all so much!
Here's a super long chapter for you all! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have a great day! XD
[UNEDITED]
"Hello?" I turned away from Rob and began sauntering back into the church.
I heard a stifled cough on the other line, "Is this Gabrielle?"
Halting my footsteps, I stopped in my tracks. Pondering for a moment, "Who's asking?" I returned, cautiously.
"It's Jimmy, from the Diner. Am I speaking to Gabrielle?"
For an odd reason, a sickening taste invaded my mouth; all the air escaped from my lungs, clogging my throat.
"Yeah, it's me. What's happened-"
Hearing a groan on the other side of the phone, I slowly moved back down onto the bench. "It's Adam, I need you to come pick him up."
The bitter taste left my mouth, but a dark cloud suddenly hung above me, placing a dampen on my mood. "Why?" I snapped.
I heard another groan, "His parents can't see him like this, they won't like it."
"Like what?"
I heard shuffling on the other side again, "Just come get him."
"I don't owe him anything, I'm busy, I have plans." I looked longingly back to the place where Rob once stood, sighing at the inconvenience. It wasn't much of a lie, more so that it was just parts of the truth twisted. I did have plans, albeit, they weren't exactly plans, it was more just helping my dad with the church, maybe doing some baking, and then watching reruns of Friends.
A typical Sunday.
"You owe me. If you want to bring up loans," he scoffed, "you never paid me for those milkshakes, Gabrielle."
I shook my head, bewildered. Of course I didn't pay, Adam was basically dying on the floor. "That's unfair."
"That's life."
"I don't even know where he lives." I released a gust of air, rubbing my temple, as Jimmy's excited voice burst through the other end, spurting out a contorted jumble of words, forming an address.
Peering down at my phone after ending the call, I plodded towards the nearest bus stop, with a heavy weight squashing my stomach, I waited.
The journey to Adam's house was definitely one I had never taken before, in fact, it was in the part of town I hadn't even seen nor stepped foot onto in my entire life. For a moment, as I watched as the houses trek past me, blurred with the smudges on the glass, all the while growing in size and wealth, I wondered what it would be like to life a life of luxury. A life like Adam lived.
The roads were paved in a beautiful pattern, grey slabs of concrete brick threaded together to form an exquisite mosaic; each slab seemed to almost expel a unique beam of glittering sunlight. Along the pavement were wooden boxes, all containing a flurry of flowers, bursting with an array of vibrant colours. For a moment, my mind wandered back my my part of town, and the clear contrast they held against one another.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realised what a necessity the church really was to our part of town. On one hand, it didn't earn much income or profit, which had led my father and I to live in the small house we owned, although, we did get it for a bargain because of the abandoned house next door. Despite this, my father brought joy and charity to our town. He helped those who couldn't help themselves and provided a place of safety for those who needed it.
It was a safe haven for many, and I couldn't think of my life without it.
I stepped off the bus at the closest stop to Adam's house. Looking around, I was glad to see the streets, immaculately vacant from all cars and people, I didn't want the stares or their looks. I already knew I stuck out like a sore thumb. My dark hoodie, with ripped jeans and mistreated shoes was nothing compared to their Prada coats, polished Brogues and suits and ties. I could already feel my jealousy spike.
That sickening envy grew in the pit of my stomach as I looked towards the giant gated estates. They weren't houses, you could never go so far to call them houses, they were mansions, or estates. Never houses. Houses was a bleak term for bleak, poor families and these mansions were extravagant.
Everyone who was someone knew that the Valentino family are the richest family in town, from their great-ancestors basically founding our town, their riches and profit only expanded over the years.
I could see from my first glance that I was most definitely in the right direction to get to Adam's house. That so, I walked a few minutes more, passing some corners whilst mentally noting down the directions back to the bus stop.
I halted my steps as I came to the biggest gates on the street. Steel arches like vines, weaved across the shrubbery moulding together, almost perfectly, to create a stupendous wall of steel undoubtedly, it was intimidating yet beautiful.
For a moment, I pondered on whether to knock or not and found myself feeling utterly useless, even ore so when I finally spotted what looked to be a microphone, buzz in thing.
I had never seen one before in my entire life. Slowly, I dragged myself closer to the mysterious object, looking for any sort of button to press when I heard Jimmy's voice spout out of the speaker.
"Come in."
I looked back at the steel gates expectantly and not a second later, they silently beckoned me in.
The estate began with a lengthy paved driveway, so long that within two minutes of walking, only then could I start to spot parts of his actual mansion.
And it was spectacular.
I gazed at the gorgeous architecture in absolute wonder, my eyes absorbing the view. Two curving, grey, granite stone staircases travelled up to the front entrance, which was a pristine glass double-door framed by the dazzling white stone walls which were untouched by dirt or grime. Along the walls, balconies were situated at every window, some containing exotic ferns or flowers; others containing sets of tables and chairs.
Between the two outdoor staircases, another set of glass doors concealed another room of wonders, before I could even explore the magnificent grounds, I spotted Jimmy through the glass doors near the porch.
Cautiously, with my hands frozen at my sides, I touched nothing as I made my way towards him. A prominent tugging of wonderment settled in my stomach. Every step I took, my tattered shoes released a squeak on the spotless stairs.
Jimmy threw me a gracious smile, pushing on the glass door whilst practically dragging me through.
"Where is he? What's he done?" I clamoured, itching to take my shoes off and not get their white, marble floor tainted with my poverty.
I watched in expectancy as Jimmy rubbed his forehead. Lines of stress appearing out of nowhere. "He's through here."
I had no time to look around at the amazing entrance before Jimmy was yet again dragging me through the estate, I guessed he didn't mind about my dirty shoes on their floors, he wasn't looking at me at all.
"Where are we going?" I questioned after wondering through a maze of corridors with him.
His head turned to the side, "The kitchen."
My eyebrows furrowed at his short answer; I didn't question it any further than needed. As we got closer to the kitchen, a rancid smell intensified. It smelt almost like burning rubber, or burnt leaves. Whatever it was, I knew it was absolutely revolting.
Just as I was about to ask Jimmy about it, we made it to the kitchen.
A hunched figure stood in the corner, their back facing away from me, leaning in towards the fridge. I looked back at Jimmy, expecting him to be next to me. But he was gone.
Silently, I took another step closer to the silhouette, daring my voice to speak out.
"Adam?"
Suddenly, the figure spun around. Startled.
But it was my turn to be startled when his face broke out into a full-blown grin. "Gabby!" He beamed, rushing over to me. In a state of absolute confusion, I held my hands out in an attempt to stop the giant man from crushing me but I acted too late.
Without hesitation he wrapped his bulky arms around my torso, squeezing the life out of my lungs, and replacing all air with confusion, I felt my legs lift off the ground.
Bewildered, I shuffled out of his grasp, receiving a groan of discomfort from his end. "What the-."
As I pulled away, I took the time to examine his face. Everything about him was the same, actually, almost everything. He lacked the smell of his cologne and had replaced it with some disgusting earthy smell, tainting his breath; his eyes were weirdly dilated and he had a dopey smile grazing his face,
The physical aspects of Adam were the same being that the faint scars I had stitched up were still there, I saw no signs of any head trauma indicating his sudden change in attitude. His brown eyes were shielded with dark bags and he had stubble around his jaw.
"I missed you." He cut me off, his voice was still deep and wispy, sending uncontrollable shivers down my spine.
I stepped away from him.
And that's when it suddenly clicked.
Adam was high.