Sunday afternoon, 3:36 P.M.
It had taken all morning for Adam to get Tommy to go back to sleep for some more rest. It had taken all of his strength not to curl up beside the blond and rest with him, to try and sleep off the horror of what he'd seen in Tommy's mind. Watching his own death through his lover's eyes was almost more than he could bear, but seeing Joshua there, too? When he was almost sure that Tommy had never met Joshua?
He hadn't wanted to concern Tommy with the knowledge of Joshua. Not right now, anyway. Tommy was shaken up enough as it was, and he didn't need the added stress that the person he dreamed of trying to kill Adam was someone that Adam knew of from before. Someone that he used to be incredibly close with. Sighing heavily, Adam closed the bedroom door. He'd checked on Tommy to see if the blond had stirred or if he seemed to be in discomfort. He wasn't.
Adam crossed the hallway towards the living room of the condo, staring out at the city of Los Angeles from the window. The streets weren't very crowded and the sky, itself, was rather dark. Clouds were rolling over the sunlight and making the day gloomy, not that Adam was complaining in the least. Sometimes he regretted his choice to live here in Los Angeles.
Shaking his head, Adam looked away from the window, staring down at the hardwood floors of the condo. He couldn't shake the image of watching himself burning. All those cracks, the blood, hearing himself screaming in pain and writhing in a pool of sunlight… Unconsciously, Adam scratched at his left forearm with his nails, staring hard at the floor. It was almost like he could feel the cracks in his skin, cutting deep…
Adam's phone buzzed in his pocket and he jumped, gasping softly before dropping his hand from his arm to fumble for his phone. Repeatedly, the device buzzed and buzzed until he pulled it free, tapping the screen before holding it to his ear. If his heart wasn't frozen in his chest, it would be thrashing right now, "Lynn," he muttered softly, turning away from the window.
"Adam," she acknowledged back. They hadn't spoken since he left the Rabbit Hole a few weeks ago, and Adam could tell that the tension was still thick between them. He sighed heavily, running his fingers through his hair for a moment before shoving his free hand into his pocket. "It's been a while," Lynn muttered after a moment.
"It has, yeah," Adam agreed, trying to keep himself from just hanging up on her. The last time they spoke, she'd barely acknowledged his romance with Tommy as anything serious, and that had really hurt him.
"How're you doing?" Lynn asked, no doubt trying to keep herself in check. Adam bit down on his bottom lip, glancing across the hall to the closed bedroom door, where Tommy was sleeping on the other side. He licked at his lip for a moment before tearing his gaze away, mindlessly walking from the living room to the dining room of the condo.
"I'm alright… But.. Something's come up," Adam said. He might've still been on bitter terms with Lynn, but the woman was like his mother, and there were things that he just couldn't keep from her. There would always be a time when he would have to set aside the differences and issues that he had with her and confide in her about the things that he didn't understand.
"Such as?" Lynn inquired, and Adam dragged his fingers through his hair.
"Tommy had a dream last night where he saw me burning in sunlight… And Joshua was there, too," he admitted, inhaling slowly through his mouth. Lynn was silent on the other end of the line for the longest moment in time, and Adam almost wondered if she'd either hung up or if he'd lost the call. But once the moment had passed, he realized that she was still with him, for she let out a heavy breath.
"How in depth was this dream?" She asked.
"He visualized the way vampires burn in sunlight completely. The cracks, the bleeding, the coughing up of venom, the flaking skin.. Lynn, I'd never told him anything about how the light affects us. Not a word. I'm not sure that this was just a dream…" Adam trailed off, clenching his jaw tightly. If he were to clench it anymore, he was sure that he would start breaking his teeth.
"You're suggesting he had a vision?" Adam swallowed the lump that had formed in the back of his throat.
"Is it not possible?" He retaliated gently, a touch of fear lacing itself over his tongue. If Tommy was having visions in his sleep as a human, just how great would the power be if he were a vampire— no. He couldn't think like that. Adam refused… perhaps the beast within him wanted to drain Tommy and change him, but Adam, himself, refused. He would not subject Tommy to this life… To this sickness.
"It is.. Has he had any other dreams like this, before?" Adam shook his head without really thinking about it, despite the fact that he knew Lynn would not be able to see it.
"No. At least, not that I know of… but I would've known.. when I woke him up, he was still thinking, in great detail, of the dream, and I saw it as if it were through my own eyes," Adam could still hear his own screams from the dream in his head, and it made him cringe slightly, venom pooling like bile on the back of his tongue. If he could be sick, he would…
"I have no reason to suspect that this isn't a vision of sorts.. Are you absolutely sure that Joshua was the one in Tommy's vision?" Lynn questioned, and Adam had to swallow another lump from his throat at the mention of Joshua's name.
"Yes," he whispered softly. He hated to think that Joshua would plan his death and Tommy's capture— what did Tommy even have to do with him, anyway, other than that they were dating?
"Then I'd suggest you keep Tommy with you as often as possible. Take him with you to meetings or whatever if you have to. If there are errands you need to run, suggest that you two go together or something. Whatever you do, do not let Tommy leave your sight for too long without you knowing exactly where he's going to be," Lynn told him, her voice hard and, if he wasn't mistaken, even a touch afraid.
"Why?" Adam asked, biting down on his bottom lip.
"Do you want to risk Joshua, potentially, harming Tommy?" If Adam's heart wasn't frozen in his chest, he would have felt it stop on the spot. Adam swallowed the lump from his throat, speaking softly.
"Never," he admitted, inhaling deeply through his nose, his free hand clenched into a fist at his side.
"I didn't think so," Lynn muttered on her end of the line, "Believe me, Adam, I don't like this anymore than you do. But it has to be done until something can be done about Joshua," she said, and Adam frowned slightly, glancing, again, at the bedroom door, wanting nothing more than to hang up the phone and crawl into bed with his Glitterbaby.
"What do you mean "until something can be done" about him?" Adam questioned gently, feeling the nervousness in his throat beginning to seal him off.
"Adam… Your mortal boyfriend just had a dream that involved Joshua and your death. There's no use in confronting Joshua about it because he will just deny it. However, we can't disregard it, entirely, and let the pieces fall into place because you and Tommy could get seriously hurt. If we're not careful, things can get really ugly really fast," Lynn explained and Adam let out a long and heavy breath.
"Fuck," he hissed, dragging fingers through his hair. Lynn chuckled on her end of the line.
"It's not going to be easy, I know. But I'm sure you'll have no problem staying close to Tommy, right?"
"Of course not," Adam said without hesitation.
"Good. Keep me informed if he has anymore visions, alright?"
"I will," He could almost see Lynn smiling in the back of his mind.
"Good. I'll talk to you later, Adam," the goodbye was quick in its exchange, and Adam set his phone down on the dining room table, letting out another heavy breath. He didn't like any of this. Joshua used to be close enough to him that they were brothers. Why couldn't things be normal again? Like they used to be? Why couldn't he just have his Glitterbaby? Why couldn't he take back murdering Drake? Why, why, why?
Shaking his head, Adam made his way back to the bedroom that Tommy was resting in. He didn't have any intention in disturbing his baby, but after the conversation he'd just had with Lynn, he had a sudden desire to crawl into the bed and hold Tommy to his chest. Biting down on his bottom lip, Adam made his way through the living room and to the bedroom, grabbing the knob delicately in his palm.
Turning the knob, Adam pushed the door open quietly, peeking inside for a moment to see if Tommy was still asleep. In the darkness of the room, he could see Tommy rolled onto his side, facing the wall. He could hear the steadiness of Tommy's breath and he sighed in relief, stepping into the room before shutting the door gently behind him.
Slowly, Adam made his way over to the bed, gently crawling beneath the covers before pulling the sleeping blond into his arms. Tommy's head lolled, falling to rest against Adam's chest. The blond did not budge, nor did he seem to stir from his sleep. Even in the simplest of movements that Adam put him through, he did not wake from his slumber, of which Adam was incredibly grateful for. He pressed a kiss to Tommy's forehead, praying to the Universe that the dream was simply that— a dream. Not a vision like he and Lynn suspected it to be. Not a foreshadowing of the future…
He wanted no reason to suspect Joshua for anything, but this was almost too much now. Between the last time that they spoke to each other and the way that turned out, Adam wasn't really sure of anything anymore involving Joshua. He wanted to believe that his brother— his Joshua— was still in there somewhere, but he wasn't sure. He just wasn't sure.
