Disclaimers: I do not own Saw or any of the characters.

Other: Hey. (: So here's the ninth chapter. I promise you'll like the ending of this one. :D I know I did. Thanks for reading this far, and thank you for the sweet reviews! They really do motivate me, so keep them coming. XD Enjoy the chapter!

Lawrence watched as Adam's eyes grew wide. There was a long silence in which Adam stared at Lawrence. The doctor wondered if anyone had ever spoken like this to him. The boy seemed so shocked, flustered, and…sad. Lawrence scooted next to him and put his arm around Adam's shoulders, pulling him close. At first, Adam remained tense, and Lawrence thought he was going to pull away. But he didn't; he relaxed against him with a shaky sigh, his eyes closing, and a tear falling down his cheek.

The two remained silent for what seemed like forever but couldn't have been more than ten minutes. Adam broke the silence. His voice was low and quiet.

"I've lived in New York my whole life. My family didn't have a lot of money, so we lived in a really shitty apartment. If you think my apartment now is bad, you should've seen what I grew up in. My dad was an alcoholic, and an angry drunk. He used to hit my mom whenever she was home; which wasn't a lot, so I was his punching bag. He'd beat me until I was unconscious. I've been in the hospital more times than I can count with both hands, and each time my dad had a perfect excuse for the doctors," Adam mumbled.

Lawrence closed his eyes, his heart skipping a beat before clenching. He could imagine Adam as a child; small, thin, and weak, like a baby bird, getting abused by his father. His throat closed up, and he swallowed hard.

"I didn't go to school a lot, because I was always either too sick or in too much pain to get out of bed. My parents would forget to buy food, and I was malnourished and sick almost all the time. If I wasn't sick, I was beaten so badly that it hurt to even breathe. My mom wasn't much of a help. She was bipolar…And a hooker. She'd bring her 'clients' home nearly every night. It was fucking horrible, having to hear them get at it," he continued.

"My mom would hit me, too. Not beat me like my father would, but the occasional smack in the face, or a shove to the floor. That sort of thing. When I was a kid, I didn't even resist. I would only cry and beg for them to stop. I was an accident; a mistake. My mom made that clear one night."

Adam, curled up tightly in a corner of his dark bedroom, peered up at his mother through his dark bangs. His hair was an absolute mess. His skin was as pale as the moon, but covered completely with severe, dark bruises and deep cuts. The eight year old was insanely thin, and his eyes were huge, wide, and full of tears. He trembled all over, swallowing sobs as he hugged himself.

"Did you honestly think I wanted a fucking pathetic piece of shit like you? Because if you did, you've been living a fucking lie. You were a mistake. An accident, for God's sake! I never wanted you! You were the result of drunk sex without a condom. I could never look you in the eye and call you my fucking son. You aren't a son to me. You're just a piece of shit that I unfortunately brought into this world." His mother shrieked, borderline hysteric.

By now, tears were streaming down Lawrence's cheeks. How could anyone say something like that to their son? Especially a son so young? He didn't say anything, though, because he didn't want Adam to change his mind about the story.

"It was impossible to please them. They never spoke to me as a human being. They only screamed at me, belittled me, and beat me. I often had to steal food in order to provide for myself. I had no friends, because I didn't like people looking at me or touching me. Finally, when I was eighteen, I moved out and lived on the streets until I managed to scrape enough money to get myself into the apartment I currently live in," Adam finished.

His short story on his childhood was much unexpected. It also didn't cover more than half of what he had to live through. It would take a long time for Adam to tell Lawrence everything. It was obvious by the look on his face that it had taken a lot of work for Adam to tell this much. When he was ready to talk again, he would. Lawrence would wait patiently.

"Come home with me," Lawrence said softly, stroking Adam's hair. The boy shook his head. Adam ignored Lawrence when Lawrence asked why, and stood up.

"I'm walking you home," Lawrence said. It wasn't a request or a question. It was a statement; it was what he was going to do. Adam only nodded. They found the car and got inside. Diana was still sound asleep, even after Lawrence dropped Adam off at the run-down, cheap apartment.

"Goodnight, Adam," Lawrence said. Adam gave him a half-smile, his eyes looking haunted, and went inside. That was the last time Lawrence saw him for three and a half weeks.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"What the fuck is this shit?" Adam exclaimed, holding a bar of Godiva chocolate. Lawrence glanced at him. He had finally got the kid to get out of his apartment. They were shopping at a grocery store; now that Diana was staying with him for a while, they needed food. Alison was staying with her father for the rest of the year, so that meant that Diana would be with Lawrence in that time. After Adam had told Lawrence a bit of his childhood, he hadn't left his apartment or talked to Lawrence. That is, until today. Lawrence had bribed him with dinner and beer. Plus, Diana had begged. And apparently Adam didn't like seeing children cry.

"What are you talking about?" Lawrence asked, examining the calories of a box of noodles. Adam scowled.

"Who the fuck ruins chocolate by putting nuts in? This is so fucking gross and annoying. They don't have any milk chocolate left! They're all contaminated by nuts!" Adam yelled. About six people had looked over, and Lawrence was getting embarrassed.

"Adam, quiet down. Just find a different brand," he said quietly. Adam shook his head.

"Oh, so now I can't get chocolate by the brand I like? Now I have to go get a fucking Hershey bar because Godiva can't respect the preferences of the people? This is an outrage. I'd love to go kick the ass of whoever thought to put nuts in Godiva chocolate. What a fucking bastard," Adam snapped, still very loud. They now had an audience.

Lawrence sighed and shook his head, tossing a box of Ramen noodles into their shopping cart. Diana skipped over, her baby doll strapped to her back, and a box of Fruit Loops in her arms.

"Daddy, I chose my cereal!" she called. She put it into the cart.

"Did you get Chocolate Pebbles?" Adam asked Diana, throwing the chocolate bar onto the tiled floor. An old man gave him a dirty look, and Adam showed him his middle finger.

"No, they didn't have any. But I got Fruit Loops," Diana replied. Lawrence picked up the bar of chocolate and put it back onto the shelf.

"Adam, can you please act your age?" Lawrence said, pushing the cart towards the bakery aisle. Diana took Adam's hand, and the two followed behind Lawrence.

The rest of the shopping went well. They paid for their groceries and loaded the trunk of Lawrence's van.

"Can we go to the park?" Diana asked once they were all seated in the car. Lawrence looked at his watch.

"Alright, but we have to put away the groceries first, and you need to change out of your dress and into something that could get dirty," he said. Diana whooped in joy.

When they got home, Diana ran off to her room while Adam and Lawrence began putting away the groceries.

"Where do you want me to put the bread?" Adam asked, holding up the loaf of potato bread. Lawrence pointed at the cabinet by the microwave, and Adam put the bread away. Just as they finished up, Diana came running in wearing a pair of denim shorts and a baby blue Winnie the Pooh T-shirt. Her long hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and she wore her sneakers.

"I'm ready to go," Diana announced.

"Alright, then get into the car," Lawrence said. The two men followed the little girl to the van.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Daddy, look how high I can swing!" she screamed. Adam was sitting on the swing next to her, watching with awe. Lawrence looked at Adam.

"C'mon, Adam, let's see how high you can swing," he said playfully. Adam turned a dark red.

"I…I don't know how," he muttered. Lawrence blinked, startled.

"Haven't you ever been on a swing?" he asked. Adam shook his head, so Lawrence stood behind him. He gave Adam's back a hard push, but the boy only fell off the swing. He jumped up, glaring at Lawrence.

"Why'd you push me?" he snapped. Lawrence couldn't help but grin.

"Adam, I was trying to give you a push so that you could begin swinging. Alright, sit on the swing and hold onto the chains," he said. Adam obeyed without a word, surprisingly. Lawrence took the lower ends of the chain and pulled them back. He let go, and Adam slowly swung forward. Lawrence gave him a push, and this time Adam remained seated.

"Adam, when you move forward, push your legs outward. When you move backward, pull your legs in," Lawrence said. He pushed Adam again, and Adam stuck his legs out. Lawrence laughed.

"You have to thrust your hips when you push your legs outward," he told him.

"You're joking," Adam accused.

"No, really, I'm not," Lawrence insisted. So Adam did as he was told, and he slowly began to swing. As ten minutes went by, Adam could swing pretty well by himself. Lawrence had to occasionally push him.

When it was time to leave, both Adam and Diana were pouting.

"But I wanted to swing some more," Adam grumbled.

"Me, too," Diana whined. Lawrence smiled, yanking her up into the air and plopping her onto his shoulders. She shrieked and grasped at his hair, grinning widely.

"What do you say we get some ice cream, Diana?" he asked. Adam grinned beside him.

"I say that would be awesome! What do you say, Adam?" she shouted.

"I say hells to the yeah," Adam replied cheerfully. Lawrence smacked his arm lightly for cussing near Diana, and Adam grinned up at him. His eyes were sparkling happily, and it warmed Lawrence's heart. Adam was never taken out to ice cream or brought to the park. This must be so new to him. Lawrence helped Diana into the car and got in; making sure everyone buckled their seat belts.

XXXXXXXXX

Adam sat there with his chocolate milkshake and looked up at Lawrence, who was eating vanilla ice cream in a cone. Diana sat beside Lawrence with a cup of strawberry ice cream and rainbow sprinkles. Lawrence glanced at Adam.

"What?" he asked. Adam tilted his head to the side.

"You have ice-cream by the corner of your mouth," Adam replied. Lawrence reached up to wipe at it, but Adam caught his wrist tightly. Startled, Lawrence raised his brows. Adam pulled him close and kissed him. The kiss was short, sweet, and cold, but it was still a kiss. Adam withdrew first, of course, and took a sip of his milkshake, his innocent gaze sweeping over his settings. Lawrence, stunned, stared at him. Diana hadn't even noticed. She was watching a butterfly with fascination.

"Did you just…" Lawrence's voice trailed off. Adam glanced up at him.

"Hmmm?" he asked.

"You know…" Lawrence said. He didn't want to say. Because there was a child sitting beside him. Adam blinked.

"Yeah, I did. And?" Adam said, taking another sip of his milkshake. Lawrence stared at him, a grin growing on his face. Adam merely tilted his head back and looked up at the clouds, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

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