Disclaimers: I don't own Saw or any of the characters.
Other: Good afternoon, everyone! Here's chapter seven. Adam's a scaredy-cat when it comes to pain. Yes, he's been shot in the shoulder, but he will still freak out when he has to have a cut cleaned. xD That's just Adam. Apparently, Diana was adored by a few people when I first introduced her into my fanfic, so I brought her back. :) In this chapter, there are a few "AWWWW" moments, so enjoy them. x3 Lawrence talks about his own childhood and family. Will Adam ever speak up about his family? Maybe. BUT, you will learn why he curls up so much. In the next chapter, of course. XD I won't spoil anything else. Go on and read and enjoy! :D Thanks for reading this far!
"What happened?" Lawrence asked. The two men were sitting on the couch. Adam was in his usual curled up position, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, and Lawrence was sitting casually beside him, though they were both turned and facing each other.
"I was going to get a few drinks. And as I'm rounding a corner, some guy carrying a huge wooden crate comes around the corner at the same time. The side of the box hit me in the face," Adam lied quietly, gazing at the carpet. Lawrence reached out and trailed his index finger along Adam's cut, causing Adam to flinch.
"Did you clean this?" Lawrence asked. Adam shook his head, so Lawrence got up and went into the bathroom. He rummaged through the medicine cabinet until he found the brown bottle of peroxide. It wasn't going to be the most pleasant experience, but it had to be done. The doctor sat back down on the couch and put his hand around Adam's neck, gently tugging him closer. He noticed the slight blush that crept up Adam's face, but didn't say anything.
"Is this going to hurt?" Adam asked uneasily, biting at his lower lip. Lawrence spilled some peroxide onto a rag and set the bottle onto the coffee table. He grimaced.
"Sorry, Adam," Lawrence said, pressing the rag to Adam's cut. Adam yelped, shoving Lawrence's hand away.
"What the fuck is that shit?" Adam yelled, bouncing up and down in pain.
"Peroxide," Lawrence replied simply, watching the younger man, amused by Adam's immaturity. Even Diana didn't react like this. She sat there and squealed and cried, but she never pushed Lawrence away, because she knew it was important for her wounds to be cleaned.
"Couldn't you give me something that didn't burn like hell? Like some kind of cream or something? You're a real fucking pal, Lawrence," Adam snapped. Lawrence rolled his eyes.
"Calm down. I need to clean it, unless you want it to get infected. And believe me; you don't want an infection on your face. Just sit there and don't think about it," Lawrence said. Adam fumed for a minute, glaring at him, but finally took a deep breath. His body grew very tense, and he gripped Lawrence's free arm so tight that Lawrence considered asking him to ease up.
"Are you ready?" Lawrence asked. Adam gave a sharp nod. He acts as if I'm about to stab him or something, Lawrence thought, trying not to laugh at him. He cleaned Adam's cut, and after a moment Adam released Lawrence's arm and relaxed a little.
"See? That wasn't so bad," Lawrence said, tossing the rag onto the coffee table. Adam sank into the cushions, continuing to fidget with the hem of his shirt. He seemed very uncomfortable.
"Adam, are you okay?" Lawrence asked. Adam hesitated, and then said,
"After I hit my face on the box, I fell backward, and he tripped over me, and some chick tripped over him and landed on me. I'm just really sore, and I twisted my ankle," he replied. Lawrence took Adam's foot into his hands, nearly tossing him off the couch in the process. Adam quickly adjusted his position, lying on his back, the arm of the couch supporting his aching neck, and allowed Lawrence to examine his ankle.
"You sure know how to attract pain," Lawrence commented with a faint smile. He rubbed Adam's ankle. At first, it hurt, but then the muscles began to loosen up, and it felt kind of good. Lawrence, watching as Adam slowly relaxed against the couch, continued rubbing his ankle, massaging his fingers deeply into the flesh.
Suddenly, the door bell rang. Disappointment crossed Adam's features as Lawrence released his ankle, and Lawrence smiled at him.
"Don't worry. I'll continue in a minute," he said. He walked over to the door and unlocked it, swinging it open. Alison stood there, her hands resting on Diana's shoulders. She looked irritated and grim, her blonde hair thrown into a sloppy bun, her face clear of any make up. Diana was quite the opposite. Her hair had been put up into pigtails, tied with large, pink bows, and she wore a matching pink dress and white stockings. Her baby doll was in its carriage beside Diana, and the little girl held a huge duffel bag. On her back was a large and obviously stuffed backpack.
"Hi, daddy!" Diana cried, grinning happily. Lawrence returned the grin, taking the duffel bag from her.
"Hello, sweet heart. Go and put your stuff in your room, okay? Make sure you say hi to Adam; he's resting on the couch," he said, kissing her cheek. Diana nodded and rolled her baby carriage into the apartment. Lawrence and Alison watched their daughter greet Adam cheerfully before entering her lovely bedroom. Lawrence then turned to Alison.
"It's Thursday," Lawrence said, the smile gone. Alison scowled at her ex-husband.
"I am quite aware, Lawrence. I need you to take care of Diana for a few weeks. My father had a heart attack, and I am going home to take care of him," Alison said coldly. 'Home' meant California to Alison. It was where she had been born and raised. When she was twenty, she moved to New York, where she met and married Lawrence.
"I hope he recovers well," Lawrence said honestly. He liked Alison's father. They got along well. Alison nodded, turned, and left without another word. Lawrence shut and locked the door. He walked into Diana's room and unpacked her duffel, neatly folding her clothes into her dresser. Already Diana was sitting on the floor, surrounded with her boxes of craft supplies. She looked up patiently at her father.
"Daddy, you need to go away, please. I'm making something for you and Adam. It's a surprise! You can't look at it!" she said, throwing her body across her work. Lawrence chuckled.
"Alright, darling. If you need anything, Adam and I will be in the living room. I'm going to be making lunch soon," he said. He left the room, leaving the door open a crack, and joined Adam on the couch, once again taking the young man's foot. Adam didn't ask any questions. He simply watched Lawrence with a content look on his face.
"Adam...What's your family like? I didn't see them at the hospital," he said. During their stay at the hospital, Adam's family never came to visit in the week he had stayed. Or, if they had, Lawrence hadn't seen them. Did he have any siblings? Were his parents deceased?
Adam ignored this question, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes. Lawrence got the hint; the kid didn't want to talk about it. So Lawrence talked about his own family.
"Well, I grew up in Washington with my sister and parents. My sister was younger than me by about a year, but I didn't see her a lot. She had leukemia, you see, and was almost always in the hospital. She was a very weak, sickly girl, and my parents didn't let me come see her. The only times I got to talk and play with her was when she was home for a few days. When I was ten years old, she died, and my parents were heartbroken. They had her buried beneath a cherry tree near our house, right by a lake. We visited her grave all the time," Lawrence told him.
He wasn't sure if Adam was even listening, but he continued talking.
"My parents didn't let her death ruin their lives. We were always a close family, and after our grieving process ended, we were a bunch of happy people again. We traveled a lot, and did many family things such as camping and move nights. Vacations were always important. We'd spend months planning something. Sometimes my parents would let me bring a few of my closest friends. Other times it was just my parents and I," he continued, smiling at his memories. Adam's eyes were open now. The young man was watching him with an expression Lawrence couldn't read.
"They didn't have to pay for me to go to college. I had earned enough scholarships to pay for everything. And, as you know, I became a doctor. I moved to New York after graduating from college. My parents still live in Washington in the same house I grew up in. They absolutely adore Diana. They spoil her rotten. I guess I do, too. But she's such a precious child. She loves my parents so much. Which makes me happy," Lawrence said, his smile growing. He looked at Adam.
"I want you to meet my parents. I think you'd like them. They're very kind people," he said. Adam only looked back at him, that unreadable expression still on his face. Lawrence felt a sudden urge to hug him. The boy simply looked very…huggable right now. But Lawrence held back, and continued massaging Adam's injured ankle, which he'd probably wrap up later.
There was a comfortable silence after Lawrence briefly explained his family. The only sound came from Diana's bedroom. She was apparently working very hard on her crafts. Lawrence heard her toss a pair of scissors into the plastic craft-bin and shuffle around some crayons.
"What was your childhood like?" Adam asked, his voice so quiet Lawrence almost didn't hear him.
"Well, as I said, I was very close to my parents. But I enjoyed school, too. I was a hard worker, always wanting to impress my parents. Of course, they were constantly showering me with praise; I only wanted to keep it up. I was involved in a lot of clubs and activities. But somehow I managed to make plenty of friends. When I wasn't doing chores, homework, studying, or spending time with my parents, I was out with friends. We'd go fishing a lot, and we built a tree-house in my backyard. My dad took all of us on a cruise, once," Lawrence said.
Adam buried himself deeper into the couch, closing his eyes again. He was about to fall asleep when he felt Lawrence's warm, slightly calloused hands rubbing his back. Adam made a sound of gratitude, shifting so that Lawrence could massage him easier.
"Are you really so sore?" Lawrence asked, doing his best. Adam nodded with a sigh of pleasure. Lawrence rubbed his back in deep, warm circles, massaging every knot and kink out. He found that Adam especially liked the small of his back rubbed. His hands moved underneath Adam's shirt, continuing to massage Adam's back. His fingers would occasionally brush across Adam's sides. His back was quite warm from having been pressed against the cushions.
"Do you want me to stop?" Lawrence asked, hearing Adam groan.
"Hell no," Adam mumbled, and Lawrence smiled. His hands moved up Adam's back and began rubbing his neck and shoulders. His shirt kept getting in the way and limiting how far his hands could go, so Lawrence simply removed it. Adam didn't resist – in fact, he moved to help take it off. Lawrence had just gotten back to rubbing Adam's neck when Diana came skipping in.
"I made you something!" she chortled, handing Lawrence a piece of pink construction paper cut into the shape of a heart. It was covered in glitter, and Diana had stuck sparkly stickers along the sides of the heart.
I love you Daddy! Was written in the middle of the heart in large, sloppy, black crayon. She'd drawn a smiley face underneath it.
"Aw, thank you very much, Diana, it's beautiful! I love you too, sweet-pea," he said, his heart ready to burst with the love he felt for his wonderful daughter. He gave her a huge hug and kissed her cheek. She smiled, her dimples simply adorable.
"I have one for you, too, Adam!" she sang, thrusting it into his face. He sat up a little bit, taking the card. It was green construction paper cut into the shape of a circle. She'd traced her hand shakily with dark blue crayon and managed to squeeze the words 'Hi Adam!' inside the small hand. She'd drawn a smiley face on his card as well, and there were Winnie the Pooh stickers covering the rest of the card.
Adam grinned at her.
"Thank you, Diana," he said, giving her a hug. She pecked his cheek and then giggled shyly, burying her face into her father's lap. Lawrence laughed, patting her head.
"What would you like for lunch, darling?" he asked.
"Pizza," Adam and Diana said at the same time. Lawrence grinned at Adam.
"I was talking to Diana, but looks like you'll be getting what you want as well, darling," he said, barely able to conceal his laughter. Adam blushed deeply, and tugged his shirt on. Diana took Adam's hand.
"Adam, I want you to draw pictures with me," she begged. Adam nodded and followed her into her bedroom as Lawrence ordered pizza.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Twenty minutes later, Lawrence stood in the kitchen, watching Adam fill three cups with lemonade and ice. He had to tell him. Right now. Nerves ate away at his stomach, and he felt lightheaded. He cleared his throat, and Adam glanced over at him.
"Adam," Lawrence said. Adam nodded, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
"I love you."
Thank you for reading! Hmmm...What will Adam say or do? :D Guess you'll have to wait and find out. Please review! :)