Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me. Nor does 50/50. After all the lovely reviews I got to the last chapter, I didn't feel I could leave this hanging!
Adam blinked. Time seemed to have frozen, and he was left, looking at the intruder. Whose face - that smugly gorgeous, healthy face - didn't twitch a muscle.
"I um," Adam paused, his mind racing, in time with the sickening, lurching feeling in his stomach. "I'm just leaving." Leaning over, he plucked his jacket off the couch, and started to slip it on. "I'll see you around," he mumbled to Ariadne. "I'd better get going."
Ariadne blinked, startled. Arthur moved aside, and turned his head to watch him go. Ariadne opened her mouth and took a step forward. "Adam-" she swallowed, trying to marshall her suddenly jumbled thoughts. "Adam, please-"
He stopped. Every word she said felt like a fresh knife through his heart. "Save it," he said, curtly. "Take one look at him, and one look at me. I think there's no comparison." Trying to hold back his tears, he pulled the door open, and headed for the stairs.
"Adam!" Ariadne hurried after him, and put her arms round his waist. He blinked, shocked slightly at the boldness. "Don't just walk out! We can talk about this!"
Adam bit his lip. The hurt, longing, and feelings of impotence he'd felt when he discovered Rachel's betrayal roared through him like an express train. He turned, his face quivering.
"Talk about what?" he asked, anger roughening his voice. "Talk about how pathetic I am compared to him? Look at him!" Adam turned and faced Arthur, despair etched deeply on his face. The Point Man blinked, slightly stunned. He cleared his throat. "Look, I think we do need to discuss this like civilised adults-"
Adam shook his head. "No. I've had enough humiliation for six months. Thanks. Good night."
Opening the door again, he walked out, slamming it shut. As he headed for the stairs, he realised that tears were blurring his eyes, obstructing his vision. Swallowing hard, he wiped his eyes, and started down the stairs.
Ariadne turned to Arthur, feeling shocked. The other man took a step forward, his tone placating. "Look, Ari-"
She swallowed. "Don't Ari me," she said, anger spiking her words. "Where have you been for the last six months?"
Arthur took a deep breath. "Please, let me explain," he said, softly, reaching out to gently stroke her cheek. "I couldn't tell you where I'd gone, I would have put you at risk. You, and the others."
She shook her head. "Save it," she said, with disgust. "You disappear, and now you return, and you just walk right in when I'm-"
"I noticed," Arthur said, his tone puzzled, and angry. "You were with someone else. Who was that?"
She took a deep breath. "He's...more than a friend," she admitted. She looked at Arthur, her eyes turning from molten honey to hardened cinnamon. "He and I - well, we've-"
The Point Man nodded. "I see." His features slackened, and she noticed that genuine surprise was beginning to flicker across his face. He looked at her. "How long?"
She swallowed. "Only a few weeks." She blinked. "I didn't know where you were, what you were doing..." a touch of anger began to spike her voice. "You couldn't expect me to put my life on hold!"
He shook his head. "I guess not." Ariadne scrutinised his face: for once, the usually perfectly composed Point Man looked ruffled, and upset. Trying to compose his emotions, he reached down, and picked up his bag. "I should go." The words came out more curtly than he'd clearly intended, and he winced slightly. "I'll see you at work."
She looked at him. "I need to find him. You can let yourself out."
Walking straight past the startled Point Man, she hurried to the hallway, grabbed her jacket, and then opened the door. Hoping that she would find him quickly, she ran down the stairs.
Adam felt sick, numb, dazed. He couldn't believe it. She had seemed so sweet, so genuine...in fact, he thought bitterly, it would be illogical for her not to have a boyfriend. But that guy...
...he swallowed, remembering him. It wasn't just that he was healthy, and obviously had money to spare. He was so confident, almost arrogant. He'd walked in, as though he owned her. He'd looked at Adam the way someone looks at a bug. And those clothes - the suit he wore fitted him perfectly. Suddenly, Adam felt shrunken, minute. He didn't look like a man in this shirt - he looked like a child.
He reached for his iPhone, pulled it out, and pressed a number. After a few rings, a slightly slurred voice answered. "Yo?"
"Kyle?" Adam tried to keep his voice from shaking. "Are you there?"
"Hey!" Kyle's voice suddenly sounded more alert. "You ok, dude?"
"I, um..." Adam's voice trailed off; he suddenly felt vulnerable and more insecure than he ever had before. "I'm, um, -"
"Where are you?"
"I'm at the corner of fifty-fourth street," he replied.
"Stay right there." Kyle's tone was gentle. "I'll come and get you."
Arthur picked up his bag, feeling dazed. He'd expected a frosty reception when he returned from Columbia, but to find Ariadne with someone else-
He stopped, and swallowed, his throat dry. There was definitely something odd about the other guy. He looked frail, vulnerable. In fact, Arthur thought, something about him-
The Point Man bit his lip as he hoisted his bag up. He needed to talk to her, but by the way she'd looked at his rival, he ruminated sadly, it was a conversation they would never have. Sighing with loss and regret, and he opened the door, and walked out into the night.
"Oh, shit, man." Kyle's brow furrowed in consternation. "Here, this should help."
Adam dumbly, and gratefully, accepted the bottle of beer. Kyle had driven to find him, taken one look at his face, and not asked any questions. As Adam silently sat next to him, Kyle had babbled a stream of deliberately cheerful small talk, noting with concern how his friend had huddled up, seemingly becoming smaller and paler. When they'd arrived at the small one-storey house, he'd turned, only to hear Adam choking back sobs. Calmly, Kyle had helped him out of the car, and into the living room, before distributing the beers.
"I just thought-" Adam choked out, taking a swig of the amber liquid, "that she was different. That she liked me, y'know?"
Kyle nodded. "I know you did." Bitch, he thought angrily. He clutched his own bottle more tightly, wishing he could see her face to face. "I'm sorry."
"I'm so..." Adam said, his voice sounding small, and weak. "I'm so ugly. So ugly, right now. And as for him..."
Kyle put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Don't think about it, man. Really. Waste of your energy."
Adam nodded. "Yeah." He took another swallow of beer. Suddenly, his face twisted, and he gulped. "Oh, Christ-" before Kyle could move, he'd got up, and disappeared to the bathroom.
Kyle sank back, hearing the sound of retching. He felt angry, but also helpless. He'd seen his best friend turn in the last few months from a relaxed, healthy young man into a pale, skelatised one, who seemed increasingly helpless in the face of his bad fortune. Kyle took a swig of beer, his anger growing. First Rachel. Now Ariadne. What did these women want from him?
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kyle got up, and wrenched the door open.
On the doorstep, stood Ariadne. Her face, which had been wearing a hopeful expression, rapidly started changing to one of concern. "Hi," she said, her voice sounding weak. "May I see Adam?"
Kyle looked at her. "He's indisposed," he said, tonelessly, and she flinched. "But thanks for dropping by. When the poor guy's finished puking his guts up, because of what the chemo does to him, I'll pass on your concern."
She flinched. "Kyle, please, I can explain-"
"No!" Kyle snapped, his anger showing. "I've had it with you women! All you do is tease the poor guy - he's got cancer, for God's sake! He's sick! He can't eat properly, can't sleep, and all you do is mess around with him! Just leave him alone! Please!"
As the door slammed in her face, Ariadne sank onto the front steps, and dissolved into tears.
Thank you for reading, reviews appreciated!