"Hello, is your mom there?" Adam looked around nervously in the dark room, waiting, "Hi, Mrs. Germaine?"
"Is that you Adam?" the voice over the phone was faded.
"Yea, Guy's back."
"Oh thank God," she breathed, "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. More than fine. He was right when he told you there was no reason to worry."
"Is he with you?"
"Yea."
"Can I speak with him?"
"He's sleeping."
"Oh," she was hurt.
"I'm gonna try to get him out of the house. I think it's best if he stays here, but I will, and I promise that I will, try to get him over there. Are you going to be home for the rest of the day?"
"We will, we'll all be here, I'll make sure of it."
"I'll try to get him over there for dinner."
"Please Adam, do try."
"I will Mrs. Germaine, I promise."
"Thank you."
"No problem," Adam said, his lips parting from their straight line. He closed his cell phone, ending the call, and placed it on the dresser.
He sat carefully on the end of the bed, and just watched as Guy slept peacefully. His long sleeved shirt covered his bandages, and you couldn't tell anything was amiss.
"How long have you been sitting there?" Guy murmured, opening his eyes, crushing them closed, and rolling over.
"You don't wanna know," Adam said playfully.
"Come here and go back to sleep."
"No Guy, come on, you need to wake up. You can't sleep forever," Adam stood and walked to the side of the bed.
Guy opened one eye and glared at Adam with it, "No."
"You need a shower. You stink. Come on, we'll go play hockey or something. Or we can catch a movie."
"Can't we just stay here? And just hang out? Watch T.V., like old times?"
Adam looked down at him, "Guy, I promised your parents we'd meet them for dinner."
Guy visibly paled.
"I - I," he couldn't find the words, "I'm, I don't think I'm ready to face them."
Adam rested his body on the edge of the bed, "You have to face them someday, they're your parents."
"They think..."
"It doesn't matter what they think," Adam rubbed at Guy's arm lovingly, "You're gonna tell them it was an accident. If you want, I'll tell them."
"Will you?"
"If that's what you want," he bent down and his lips glided over Guy's forehead.
Guy shifted his weight from foot to foot as he waited for Adam to get out of the car.
"What are you so nervous about?" Adam asked, as he pulled Guy's luggage from the trunk. He, by no means, was going to leave Guy at his parents tonight, but they had already gone through what he would keep at Adam's, and now they were returning the rest of Guy's clothes back to his bedroom.
"I don't know," Guy said, moving to pick up one of his bags.
Adam shut the trunk, and grabbed the last two. Satisfied that the car was locked and they had everything they needed, Adam carried both bags with one hand, and snaked the other around Guy's waist, leading him to the door.
Dinner was relatively quiet, Guy's parents eyeing him warily. Guy was beginning to feel uncomfortable, and asked Adam to tell his parents about the scouts that were coming to see him later in the week, successfully gearing the conversation to a brighter topic, and the stares off of him.
Guy, content that his parents were no longer staring him down for the time being, them being enthralled by Adam's good news, used this time to really watch Adam.
Before, when Adam had told Guy about the scouts, they were driving home from the mall. Adam was paying attention to the road and Guy couldn't get a good look at his face.
Now, as Guy sat across from him, there was nothing in his way, and he forgot about his meal, as Adam's face lit up with excitement.
"... and so the scouts are bringing a few of the actual Rangers for me to play with, and if I do well, I'll make it to minors, only because their roster is full. If someone gets injured I'll take their spot, and by next year, I'll have a permanent position on the team!" Adam finished, his eyes now locked with his boyfriend's across the table.
"Adam, that's incredible!" Guy's mom explained.
"We're proud of you," Guy's dad added, "How does your father feel?"
"He's thrilled. But he's nervous. I don't blame him," Adam chuckled, as he subconsciously flexed his wrist a bit.
Conversation shifted from Adam to Guy's younger sister speaking happily about the school play she was in, and how she had the lead. After dinner, Adam and Guy told the Germaine's to relax and they would clean up.
"When do you want me to say something?" Adam asked, once he was sure they were alone in the kitchen.
"When we're done, I'm going upstairs, to put my clothes away. You can tell my parents. I'll come down, we'll all talk about it, and then we can leave."
Oh Guy, if it were only that simple, "What if they want you to stay?"
"I'm twenty years old, they can't make me stay," Guy smirked.
Sure enough, when they were finished, Guy headed up the back stairs, leaving Adam to face the parents.
"Uh, Mr Germaine? Mrs. Germaine?" he asked tentatively as he stood in the doorway to the living room.
"Adam! Come sit down," Mr Germaine pointed to the chair next to him.
As he crossed the room, Guy's mother asked where he went.
"He's upstairs, putting his clothes away. He uhh," Adam sat down on the edge of the chair, folding his hands in his land, "He wanted me to tell you something."
Guy's father put his paper down, Guy's mother, her book.
Adam took a deep breath, telling himself he was doing this for Guy.
"He wanted me to tell you that what happened back in L.A. wasn't a suicide attempt. It was an accident."
The room was silent.
He waited for a few minutes for the Germaine's reactions, and when he perceived to be getting none, he opened his mouth.
But he quickly shut it as Mr Germaine spoke up.
"Tell me Adam, what do you think? Do you think it was an accident?"
Adam's lower jaw dropped, his mouth gaping, as he stared at nothing in particular.
"I, uhh," he found his voice, "I'm not sure," he finished up quietly.
Mr Germaine nodded.
"I mean," Adam went on, "I want to believe that it was an accident. And when he told me about it, he truly sounded as if it were an accident. He said it just went too deep and he immediately tried to stop the bleeding. I talked to the psychologist that evaluated him in the hospital, and he didn't think Guy meant it."
"Do you know why he didn't want us to come out there?" Mrs. Germaine asked. She sounded hurt.
Adam nodded, swallowed, and spoke, "He told me that it was because nothing had happened, that it was just an accident, and he didn't want you guys to worry. I don't think he realized that by you not seeing him, it would make you all worry more."
"I'm just glad he's back and he's safe," Mrs. Germaine breathed, "And I trust that you're taking excellent care of him."
Adam blushed. Yes, he was taking care of him alright.
The Germaines were taking this better than he thought they would've.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Guy bounded into the living room. He sat down next to his mom, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Adam, sitting back in his chair, noticed that Guy's shirt was a size too big, and allowed him to stretch his limbs without his wrists showing.
Guy tossed a little smile towards Adam, knowing what he was looking at.
Guy chatted with his mom about little things, such as how the rest of the family was doing, and asking about school for his younger siblings.
Adam smiled, watching, as Guy's father joined the conversation.
Adam didn't mind not being a part of it. He liked just sitting back, observing, taking it all in.
He smiled to himself, thinking that things were getting back to normal. That all it needed was time.
"What are you smiling about Banksie?" Guy said playfully.
Adam shook his head, "Nothing."