Chapter3: Stranger
By: Akira006
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gundam Boys! (I do own the gurls!)
The morning went as it usually did, completely hectic and out of order. Josie ran from room to room to room with Adam trying his best to keep up as well. They rushed out of the house as they always did and got in Josie's Honda. They drove to school, dropped Adam off, and Josie drove to work at the mall. Today was slower than usual although Josie ran through it all. This forced her to think most of the time when she wasn't working. That wasn't something she enjoyed too much.
It gave her the time to think about all her problems as well as get past and run into more and more brick walls in her mind. She stood behind the counter pathetically battling her problems and trying to work the store. 'I need help. My friends try, but they're no help. My son can't know about any of this. I barely know any of the people I work with. I don't really trust anybody.' Josie liked to keep to herself ever since she had Adam. He had a major affect on her life. He was her life! She wanted to give him everything. She felt so guilty for having all this going on since he was little. She couldn't imagine what it was like with a part time father, full time working mother, and hardly any friends.
Adam was a very, very sweet boy, but with all that was going on at home, he seemed to kind of take a step back from reality. This not only affected his school work, but also his social life. Josie didn't really understand it, but then again there were so many things Adam really couldn't do that the other kids could. He couldn't have company over often because Josie wasn't there all the time, and she wasn't dumb enough to let some kindergartners alone in a house. God only knows what could happen. Also, Adam never seemed to have very big birthday parties since Josie was constantly working, and Heero was sometimes hard to get a hold of with his job and all.
Josie wished so badly that she could be a stay at home mother with a husband who worked for the family and children who didn't have adult problems on their shoulders. Of course, life never asked Josie what she wanted. Josie looked at the clock and realized it was already time to leave for her other job. Everything seemed to revolve around work in her life. She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the store, clumsily running into someone on the way out.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Josie apologized as she looked at the man before her. He had blonde hair that was parted down the side with long bangs hanging over one side of his face and blue, blue eyes. He was wearing jeans and a black 'Disturbed' T-Shirt. She smiled, embarrassed.
"It's cool. I wasn't looking where I was going." He leaned forward slightly and squinted, reading her name tag. "So . . . Josie, you work here?" He motioned with his head to the music store to their left.
"Uh, yeah, why?" Josie asked, trying to hide her shyness.
"Music store . . . hmmm, not bad," He commented with an approving nod.
"Uh . . . thanks?" The guy once again nodded. "Well, you obviously know who I am. So who are you?" Josie asked awkwardly.
"Quinn," He replied simply. "Kidney Thieves," He observed as he looked at her shirt.
"Yeah, you ever heard of 'em?"
"Only one song," He also lifted one finger.
"Ah, well, they're an awesome band. I strongly recommend their CD," Josie said all professional like.
Quinn chuckled lightly. "You're paid to say that."
"Nah, I'm paid to stand behind the counter and be pretty. Hard job," Josie said sarcastically.
"I bet." Quinn looked around uneasily for a few moments. "So what's your hurry?"
"Ah!" Josie was reminded of her other job. "I gotta go! Job! Um," Josie looked frantically in her purse and pulled out a permanent marker(every girl should always have one in their purse). She grabbed Quinn's hand and wrote her number on it. "Call me later!" She told him before rushing off to her other job. 'Don't be late, don't be late, don't be late,' She repeated over and over to herself as she rushed out to her Honda. She seemed to catch every red light on the way to the restaurant. 'This is so my luck!'
She ran inside only to find her manager waiting for her.
"Your excuse?" He asked the moment he saw her.
"I got behind the longest funeral line! Ugh! I'm so sorry," Josie lied with an exasperated sigh.
Her manager stared at her long and hard. "Fine, just don't let it happen again."
"Yes sir," Josie replied as she rushed off to put on her apron and wait on the people. She got home late as usual and immediately went to the answering machine to see if anyone special left a message. None. She frowned. 'Maybe I had been too forward.' She sighed and began to make dinner for Adam and her.
Adam wandered a little before Josie was done and sat down at the table. "Dad called today," He said casually.
"Oh really? What did he say?" Josie asked as she continued to watch over the food, pretending not to be too interested.
"He said that he wanted to talk to me and see what was going with everything. He asked me about school. I told him that we have 'Parent Day' on Friday, and he might come. He asked me about things at home. I told him that it was the same. You were working like you usually did. He asked me how I was. I told him I was okay." Adam stopped there and idly swung his legs.
"Sounds like you had a good conversation with him," Josie commented as she began to put food onto a plate for Adam. Actually it sounded like a very odd conversation in Josie's opinion. She set the plate of food before Adam and went about to get her own.
"A man called," Adam said out of the blue.
"Really? Was it a salesperson?" Josie asked as she set down her own plate and went about to get their drinks.
"No," Adam answered.
Josie frowned at Adam's short answer. She placed a drink before Adam and sat down in her seat. "Do you know who it was?"
"No, but he said he knew you."
"Really? Did he say his name?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
"He said his name was Quinn," Adam picked up his fork and began to eat slowly, signaling that he had nothing more to say on the matter.
"Thank you for telling me," Josie said as calmly as she could. So he did call! 'Yes!' They ate in silence from then on, and Adam left just as quietly as he had come when he had finished his food. Josie had no idea what had gotten into him. She figured it must be some phase he was going through that she didn't know about. 'These are the times when you need a man to go talk to your child and figure out what's wrong.'
Josie finished cleaning up and went to go kiss Adam goodnight. She walked in to find he was already asleep. He didn't wait for her like he usually did. 'He must have just been tired,' Josie told herself as she sat on the edge of his bed. She kissed his forehead. "Night, baby." She watched him as he slept for a while. Her little boy.
She stood up and went on to take her shower and go to bed. She didn't have good dreams that night.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I heard you called yesterday."
"Yeah, you told me to."
"And you listened," Josie teased. Quinn smiled slightly and looked around the store. He pretended to be looking for a CD, and Josie pretended to be helping him. This way they wouldn't be bothered and could talk all they wanted really.
"Was that your brother that answered?" He asked casually as he picked up one of the Kidney Thieves CDs.
"No," Josie looking around, slightly embarrassed. "That was my son."
Quinn didn't say anything for a while. "That's cool."
"Guess so," Josie said with a shrug. She took the CD from him and put it back up, pulling out another one. "I like this one better than the other."
Quinn looked at it and glanced over the songs. He placed it back where it went. "Don't matter. I don't have any money with me at the moment."
Josie nodded in understanding and leaned against the rack of CDs ever so slightly.
"What are you doin tonight?" He asked casually.
"Uh, fixin my son dinner." Josie slightly blushed.
"What about Saturday?"
"What do you wanna do Saturday?"
"Dunno . . . take ya out to eat, maybe a movie or something. What ever happens that day," Quinn looked up at her finally.
"I've got lunch free," Josie offered, unable to contain a smile.
"Alright, 12:30?"
"Alright," Josie agreed. She glanced back at the clock and realized it was time for her to get to her other job. "Gotta jet, see ya," Josie said as she grabbed her purse and headed out of the store. She took her usual route through the mall and out to the parking lot to her car. Once inside the vehicle, she drove to her other job as fast as she could get away with.
It was the usual hour when she arrived home. She was excited and hyper despite her weary body. She smiled and thought giddily, 'Can't wait til Saturday!' Of course day after tomorrow was Saturday which meant a date with Quinn. She giggled to herself and was tempted to call the other girls, but she realized how truly lame she would sound calling at this hour, which was quite a later hour in other places, only to say she had a date Saturday. She shrugged it off and began to make dinner, though she really wasn't there making dinner. She was off day dreaming as she did frequently.
Adam entered quietly and sat himself at the table without saying a word to his joy-filled mother. He also had quite a few thoughts going through his own head. Thoughts that were too complex for six year-old boys to thinking. He missed his dad though he had seen him two days ago. He wanted Heero to be like all the other kids' dads and live his mother and him. Josie had no idea how it hurt Adam to not have Heero around like all the other kids. He felt so unsure of what was going in his home.
Josie jumped when she saw her son at the table. "Well hello Adam, when'd you come in here?" Adam didn't hear her. He was too lost in his own thoughts. Josie frowned and walked over to him, hitting her wooden spoon on the table. Adam jumped to attention and looked at her with fearful eyes for a moment of shock. He soon resumed an emotionless face that he had inherited from his father. Josie put her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with you lately?"
Adam shrugged. He didn't even know what was wrong with him, much less how to put into words all the chaos he felt. "Nothing."
"Have you been getting enough sleep?" Josie asked, her voice turning to concern. Adam shrugged again. Josie sighed in defeat and went back to the pasta she was cooking. They went through the normal ritual of serving dinner before settling down and eating.
Josie was determined to find out what was wrong with Adam. "How was school today?"
"Fine," Adam answered in a soft voice as he took another bite of pasta.
"Really, can ya tell me about it?" Josie tried again.
"You know, stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"School stuff," Adam replied with a hint of annoyance.
Josie gave up the battle, but the war was far from over. They continued to eat their meal in silence. Adam exited as quietly as he had come, and Josie rinsed the dishes after him. She sighed. She felt like she was a million miles away from her child. She just couldn't understand what was wrong. He couldn't want more attention since he already had all of Josie's. She loved him so much. He was her baby.
Wearily, she made her way to Adam's room. He was lying on his side, his back facing the door though he wasn't asleep. Did this mean he didn't want his mother? Josie felt like she would cry. "Good night, baby," She said to him from the doorway to his room. No answer. "Sweet dreams," She added as she closed the door.
Josie made her usual routine of getting ready for bed while she was far away in her mind. What could have happened to her baby boy to make him hate her? Did he hate her? She laid in her bed and found she couldn't sleep, only stare up at the white ceiling and think about all the things she had done wrong with Adam. She needed Heero here. It seemed like everything would be fine once Heero came. 'He'll never come,' She told herself as she turned on her side and forced her eyes closed. She drifted off into a fitful sleep.
A/N: Nother chapter out. Hope you guys are liking it. Please remember to R+R!