Chapter 11.

Unexpected Nasty Surprises.

XxX

APOV

Honestly, the meeting Jill called couldn't have come a moment too soon. It was impossible to get Seth out of my head, but at least the hustle and bustle of other people made sure that I didn't devote 100 percent of my brain power to him. More like 95 percent.

I had other things to distract me, too. Homeward Bound might- rightfully- be overprotective when it came to its' patients, but sometimes that led to some pretty cool stuff. I'd never thought I'd see the day when I'd be glad to go the gym, but what with everything that was going on, taking on a punching bag suddenly seemed like the best idea. Never mind the fact that I had put on a little weight since my arrival here.

We'd all gathered in the meeting room earlier that day (well, everyone else had –I'd already been there), and Jill had announced that as part of their new program, we were headed to Homeward Bound's gym to exercise, and, hopefully, let out some frustration. We'd be escorted by a couple of security guards, but still, I thought the whole idea was still pretty cool. I'd get to talk to Mallick some more, and apologize for missing the birthday celebrations yesterday.

We all left a little later, and trudged down a new set of hallways that was exactly like the rest. I looked around for Mallick, wanting to talk to him, but I couldn't see him around. I hoped he wasn't too offended by my missing the celebrations yesterday. The last thing I needed right now was another person pissed at me.

As we walked the hallways, my thoughts turned to Seth once again. What would be do? Because I knew he'd do something. He never left a threat unattended- that was why the two of us had gotten into so much trouble when we were kids.

"You're going to regret this, Adam. You really are."

I shook my head, wanting to be rid of the voice that had taunted me constantly since the phone call yesterday. I'd tried to sleep, but vivid images of Seth pointing a bloodied blade at me and whispering, "You're going to regret this, Adam," over and over, before the face I knew so well transformed- melted seemed like a better word to use here- into the face of the Jigsaw Killer, whom I had seen only once but remembered vividly as well.

I'd woken up from this dream with a scream just behind my lips.

"Are you all right, Adam?" Thank God for small favours. Bobby Dagen had somehow ended up beside me in the confusion the throng provided, and he was looking at me now with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said, a shade too late. My mind didn't seem to be working properly, what with Seth and all.

"Are you sure?" Bobby asked, frowning.

"Yes."

"Okay." He let the matter drop, although I could tell he still didn't believe me. He smiled. "You're going to enjoy this, Adam. It's going to be a real treat."

XxX

And it was.

I tried to keep reminding myself that we were here because we were addicted, that we were messed up in one way or another. No one else seemed to remember that, though, and I had to admit, I was having a difficult time myself.

Much like the rest of Homeward Bound, the gym was light and open; extraordinarily modern when one considered what Homeward Bound actually was. There was just the one room, but it was so enormous that it hardly mattered. Even with all sorts of exercise equipment strewn everywhere, there was still so much room. The windows were huge and open; sunlight danced through, making the whole place that much more appealing.

I did get to take a spin on the punching bag, for which I was grateful. Completely ignoring everyone else around me, I began punching the crap out of it. I wasn't pushing it as far as some guys were, but I was enjoying myself nevertheless. Never mind the fact that I was pretending that it was Crazy Drunk Rapist Bitch's head- hence why I was hitting it so hard.

"Adam."

Startled, I turned around, and found myself face-to-face with Mallick. "Hey," I said, surprised. Mallick didn't seem upset that I'd missed the celebrations last night. That was weird, but if he wasn't upset, then hell, I wasn't complaining.

Mallick smiled. "Hey yourself." His eyes swept over my face, taking in the layer of sweat, my flushed cheeks. "You look like you've been enjoying yourself," he said.

I grinned. "Yeah. I've been pretending its Crazy Drunk Rapist Bitch's head."

His smile faded slightly. "Heaps of people I'd like to punch out," he said, sounding kind of sad and angry at the same time. I stood aside and let him have a go at it, since I could tell he really wanted to let out some frustration. Besides, I was kind of knackered at that point, anyway.

We were silent for a while after that, but it wasn't all that uncomfortable. I was still wondering why Mallick hadn't brought up the skipping of the birthday celebrations when he finally gave up on the punching bag. He doubled over, panting heavily, his face as flushed as mine had been. Once he had caught his breath, we both made our way to one of the lounges that wasn't being used- yet another bonus.

I stared at my feet rather absently, fighting to keep Seth out of my head. I wasn't doing too good a job, and I hoped Mallick wouldn't bring up the birthday celebrations just yet, because this was something I had to concentrate on. Like the real Seth Baxter, this imaginary Seth was persistent, and didn't want to go without a fight.

"Hey, Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you come over last night?" Mallick sounded hurt. Shit. I breathed in sharply, hoping Mallick wouldn't notice my sudden anxiety. I'd been planning to make some sort of excuse, but what with Seth and all, the ones I had come up with were instantly forgotten in my panic. Any excuse that came to mind right now sounded feeble and weak, and Mallick wouldn't believe bullshit like that, anyway. It also wouldn't feel right to outright lie to him, not when he had been so open with me.

I'd have to tell the truth, and pray that he'd forgive me. He would, though, right? Because, if he didn't…

I sighed. I didn't want to think about that. If I did, I might just go crazy- and I already had too many problems stressing me at the moment. My parents had disowned me, so I got no financial help from them anymore. My friendship with Seth was in shambles. And then, of course, there was Lawrence…

"I'm really sorry," I blurted out.

He gave me a sidelong look. "Why didn't you come?"

"I had some…problems…to deal with." Technically, that was the truth. Seth was a problem- a big problem.

"Problems?" Mallick inquired lightly.

Screw it. He deserved to know. After all, he'd confided in me, and to not do so now would be wrong. "I got to call one of my friends yesterday. Because it was my birthday. I thought I'd call one of my close friends, you know, and I thought everything would be all right…" I was suddenly too choked up to continue.

Mallick put a hand on my arm, and I was suddenly reminded of yesterday, when Hoffman had saved me from falling. Like yesterday, the hand on my arm was warm. "What happened?" he asked. I searched his face for any sign that he was pissed with me, and found none.

Sucking in a deep breath, I began to tell him everything. He was silent during it, for which I was grateful. If he'd been asking questions, he'd have broken me out of my train of thought. It was weird to say, but with Mallick there, the fear and hurt that Seth had invoked in me went away; I felt kind of numb to it all right now. It was a good feeling, one that no amount of drugs could accomplish.

"That's terrible," he said when I was finished, "I get why you would have wanted some alone time yesterday."

Now it was my turn to give him a sidelong look. "You're not pissed at me?"

MPOV

Of course I wasn't pissed at him. I had absolutely no idea why he would think that, since we had both made an agreement that we would only skip the 'buddy program' if something real shitty came up. And what Adam had been through in the past twenty-four hours definitely qualified as shitty. Beyond shitty, really.

"Of course not," I said sharply. "I've just been worried, that's all."

And I had been. When he didn't show up last night, I had even more trouble than usual trying to get to sleep, stressing about what may or may not have happened to him. When I had managed to get to sleep, I'd had nightmares about Adam being zipped into a body bag.

Of course, I didn't end up sleeping very well at all that night.

I didn't say that to Adam, though. I didn't want him to think I was more of a wuss than I already was.

It was silent for a bit after that. I could tell Adam felt relieved, and actually, I was kind of relieved myself. When I had seen him earlier that morning, he had been staring off into space while Jill chattered on and on about this new gym. Now, if anyone else had seen him, they wouldn't have thought twice about him, but I knew that something had been seriously wrong.

I was glad I knew what was upsetting Adam, and while I couldn't do anything to solve that one, I could distract him with something else. I hunched away from the passing security guard (there were a lot of them floating around, probably to make sure we didn't do anything drastic, like throw handfuls of razor blades or shards of glass around, although I had no clue where we'd even get that stuff), and dug into my pocket. "Since I can't exactly get you a huge birthday cake," I said, pulling out the wrapped doughnut from the depths of my jeans pocket, "I got you something else I know you like."

I offered him the wrapped chocolate glazed doughnut.

APOV

The look Mallick gave me just then wasn't cheesy or deceitful, or anything like that. It was just nice. Like he really cared.

Sitting next to him there, I marvelled at the warm and happy emotions springing up inside of me. There was something about being around him that felt good, that moved me in a way that Seth never could have managed. This is what it felt like to have someone like you, I realized. When I'd been around Seth, I'd been constantly trying to prove that I was worthy of his attentions, by doing the stupidest and most reckless things imaginable. Like getting into drugs. It was different with Mallick. He got me.

"Thanks," I said, taking the doughnut gratefully. Yeah. Mallick did get me. I ate the doughnut quickly, knowing that food was strictly prohibited in the gym. Luckily, I didn't get caught, and, as I licked the last of the chocolate icing off of my fingers, Mallick stood up. Puzzled, I followed him, only to find myself back at the punching bag. No-one was there, thank God, so we went for another round, pretending that it was people we really hated. Jigsaw. Crazy Drunk Rapist Bitch. Justin Bieber.

There's a reason why people say 'time flies when you're having fun', because, when Mallick and I were taking out our anger on the punching bag, time really did seem to fly by. Before too long, Jill was telling us we had to leave. I sighed and wiped my forehead. I wasn't surprised to see that I was dripping with sweat again. That punching bag really took it out of me.

Mallick and I were jostled as we made our way through the hallways, but for once, neither of us snapped at the offenders like we usually would. We were way too exhausted for that.

I was feeling pretty good about life when we headed for the second meeting room. Mallick had told me that he had a birthday present for me back up in his room, and as soon as we were dismissed, we'd head up to his room and he'd give it to me. I was curious what he'd gotten me; I hadn't received a birthday gift in years.

But, as soon as we reached the second meeting room, I knew something was seriously wrong. I could see police cars parked outside through the windows. Their sirens weren't going off or anything, but their lights were flashing, and, as someone who has had experience with getting arrested, I knew someone here was in serious trouble.

So you can imagine my shock when Eric appeared next to Jill, his face grave. Jill called us all to order and stood aside to let Eric speak. He waited a few moments for complete silence. The next words he spoke astonished me: "Where is Adam Faulkner?"

I felt Mallick stiffen beside me. Everyone in front of me swerved, to leave me in the spotlight. Feeling uncontrolled panic seize hold of me, I stepped forward, shaking slightly. "What did I do?"

Eric glared at me. "We have a few questions for you regarding the violent rape and murder of Angelina Hoffman."

I just sort of stared, too shocked to really do anything else.

Seth, what the hell did you do?