Saturday
When he wakes again, there's morning light streaming through the small bedroom window. He blinks a few times, indecisive about whether or not he should get up or just stay right here under the warmth of this blanket. He turns his head, his eyes falling upon his angel's sleeping face, and he smiles. Adam looks so pretty when he's asleep; so relaxed and carefree of the world. Tommy leans over slowly, trying to disregard the pains shooting through his body as he moves, and he kisses Adam's freckled lips. The redhead's lower lip twitches, the corner of his mouth pulling into a smile, and Tommy wonders what he's dreaming about.
As much as he hates it, he shifts in Adam's arms again, and the redhead wakes up, blinking slowly before smiling at the blond. He leans over, kissing Tommy gently, before pulling away again, their lips making a soft pop sound. "Good morning, baby." Adam says tiredly, squinting a little as his eyes adjust. Tommy smiles at him, kissing his angel again. Adam tastes nice.
"Good morning." He says back. He feels warm and safe here, and he doesn't want to leave, but he knows that he has to. He has to get home and make sure that Allison's okay. Maybe he'll take up Adam's offer from yesterday. Maybe, if he can arrange it with Monte, he'll bring her here. Then Richard can't hurt them. His heart swells at the idea, but he's not sure of how to tell Allison of that plan without them getting caught. Because he's almost more than certain that Richard's still going to be there if and when he does eventually go back home.
He sighs softly, burying his face into Adam's chest. But for right now, he doesn't want to move. He wants to stay, right here, in Adam's arms for as long as he can before better reason takes the best of him. He smiles to himself, trying to forget that he needs to be somewhere and instead enjoy the fact that he's in his angel's arms and he's safe right now. And Adam knows… Not that he exactly wanted that to happen, but there really wasn't any sort of avoiding that.
Eventually though, reasoning does grab him, along with the need to eat something. When was the last time he ate? Friday afternoon? Right. Lunch with Adam. And then nothing after that. Heh, oops. Sorry, stomach.
Tommy lifts his head and kisses Adam on the cheek, inhaling slowly as he starts to move again. The redhead frowns at him as he sits up slowly, wincing now and then. But at least the pain's tolerable. Adam's arms reach out for Tommy again, his hands sliding over the blonde's hips, and Tommy chuckles. But he would gladly lie back down with his lover again, if he could. Except he has to get up, he has to go. He doesn't want to, but he knows that he has to.
"Adam, I've gotta get up." He says softly, and Adam moans in protest, trying to pull him back down again. He smiles, chuckling, before managing to slip out of the redhead's hands. He turns, leaning down and kissing Adam, his tongue slipping into the ginger's mouth for a few moments before he pulls away, pecking his lover once. "I've gotta go." He whispers against Adam's mouth, and the ginger tenses under him.
"No." Adam says, and it's a bit harsh, but Tommy understands the reasoning behind it. Tommy understands completely, and he doesn't blame Adam in the slightest. But he kisses Adam's cheek, standing straight up and beginning to turn away, to head to the living room.
"I have to." He says, his voice a little flat, and Adam rips the covers off of himself, swinging his legs off the bed and sitting on the edge, his eyes alert and a little angry. His shoulders are tense and Tommy stops, staring at the ginger, gnawing on his bottom lip. He doesn't want to do this, but he has to.
"No, Tommy. I won't let you go." Adam hisses, his usual bright, blue eyes dark. Pooling like clouds before an angry storm, his hands clench the edge of the bed, the knuckles going white.
"I need to make sure my mom's okay." Tommy explains, turning again and starting to head out of the bedroom. Adam sighs and stands up, reaching out and grabbing Tommy by the wrist. The blond whips his head around, and Adam's grip tightens. His heart pounds in his chest at the feeling of Adam's fingers clenching around his thin bones, and he stares into those enraged blue seas.
"I. Won't. Let. You." Each word makes his heart thrash just a little more, and Tommy inhales slowly, relaxing and telling himself that Adam just doesn't want him to get hurt. He can tell in the tone of Adam's voice that the redhead doesn't want to promise he'll be back and then be unable to. He understands that, but he has to go. He exhales that breath just as slowly, blinking once before looking back up at Adam again.
"I'm just gonna go pack some things, grab my school stuff, tell my mom, and I'll be back before you know it. I'm not going to stay there." The blond explains, pulling his wrist out of Adam's hold and turning away again, leaving Adam in the bedroom. He walks down the hallway towards the living room. He glances to his left, seeing Monte standing in the kitchen, holding a bowl of cereal in his hands. He looks over at Tommy, nodding once. Good morning.
"Monte, can you do me a favor?" Tommy asks, grabbing his shoes and shoving his feet into them, lacing them loosely, his fingers working nimbly to form simple knots. The excess of the laces are shoved into the insides of his shoes, between the material and his bare feet. Monte raises an eyebrow, but nods once, swallowing his bite of food before setting the bowl down on the counter, wiping his hands on his jeans and crossing into the small living room of the apartment.
"Sure, what's up?" He asks, and Tommy stands up straight after getting his shoes tied. Adam's standing in the archway of the hall, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes, burning, locked on Tommy. Tommy doesn't look at him, not yet anyway. He doesn't want to face that burning wrath in Adam's eyes. Not when he can avoid it. He can't get sidetracked. He hast to get home, to tell Allison. To grab some things.
"I need you to take me home so I can grab some stuff, let my mom know what's going on." Monte's eyes narrow a little, and he looks at Adam. Tommy doesn't want to look over, but he does anyway, his heart cracking at Adam's expression. The ginger isn't at all pleased with this plan. He looks extremely angry, and, if Tommy's not mistaken, borderline sadness too. Tommy crosses over to Adam, placing his hand on his angels' cheek.
"Baby, I'll be fine and back before you know it." He says. But the pounding in his heart isn't convincing him really that everything's going to go as smoothly as he's trying to convince Adam that it will. Adam's eyes flick over to Tommy's face, and the blond is almost certain he can see tears beginning to form in them.
"Please, Tommy… We'll lend you some clothes and we'll call your mom, but please…" Tommy's heart is breaking little by little at the sight of Adam. The ginger really, really doesn't want him to go. And he doesn't blame him. But Tommy has to. There's something back home that he needs. He can't live without it.
"I'm sorry." Tommy says, leaning in and kissing Adam gently, before turning and crossing to the front door, pulling it open and stepping out. Monte's not far behind him, the older male pulling the door shut before walking with Tommy down a small path towards where Monte's car is sitting, parked. Tommy pulls the passenger door open, slipping inside as Monte climbs into the driver's seat, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking space, heading out to the street.
There's no talking between them as Monte drives, and Tommy's watching other cars and buildings blur by; his head's a mess. He's hoping, with every fiber in his being that it's going to run smoothly. Maybe his dad won't be awake. Hell, maybe his dad won't even be home. He hopes for it, but he figures it's asking too much. His main prayer is that Allison's still alive, that's she's okay. That, while he was gone, she isn't… God. He can't think about that right now.
Mental check list; few days worth of clothes, school supplies, at least a pack of cigarettes, maybe two or three. Does Adam smoke? He doubts it. Adam's a singer. Fuck, his head's all over the place right now. What else? Hmm, CD's that he likes, if he can manage them. Maybe pictures of his mom. No, he's not going to have time to look for those. But the number one item above all; his bass that he got for his birthday when he was ten, before everything was really bad. Beautiful blue, he loves it. He's going to get it. He needs it.
'Maybe this isn't such a good idea. Maybe… Maybe Adam's right. You should tell Monte to turn around, to go back. You don't need it…' But he does. It's the only thing his father got him that he still treasures dearly. It's the one thing that reminds him that his father used to be a good person.
'Just be careful. Adam needs you. If you go back and you're anything less than exactly as you were when you left, he's going to hunt your father down. And you know this.' He does know. He just has to hope that everything goes smoothly, and that he won't have to worry. He's crossing his fingers and praying that his dad isn't home. Because then he can get Allison out without a problem too.
"Here we are," Monte says, pulling up between the Lambert and Ratliff residencies. Tommy sighs, staring at the dead lawn and the shitty state his house is in. He has to go in there. He's here now, he has to go. At the very least to grab his bass and tell his mother he loves her and that he'll get her out one way or another. Whether it's today or tomorrow, he's not sure yet. Maybe it won't be for a week or a month. But he'll do it.
"Thank you, Monte." Tommy says, starting to get out of the car when Monte grabs his arm, stopping him again. Tommy turns to face the older man, and he sees nothing but concern and a little bit of fear.
"Look, I don't like this anymore than Adam does. But I swear to God, Tommy, if I hear anything that sounds… off, I'm coming in there." Monte says, and Tommy nods once. He's not sure when Adam told him, but quite frankly, he doesn't give a shit. He just needs to get in and get back out before it's too late.
"I'll be fine, Monte." Tommy says, but even he's not sure of this entire plan. He slips out of the car, closing the door quietly and rushing across the lawn. He's hoping with every breath and every fiber in his being that, if his dad is home, he's at the very least passed out. He can't go in there when his dad's still awake, otherwise he's never getting out and Adam… Adam would probably be unable to live with himself.
He shivers, climbing the porch quietly. He stops by the door, inhaling slowly. He can do this. He has to do this. For himself, for his mother, for Adam. He can do this. He grips the door knob, turning it slowly and pushing the door open. His heart is pounding in his chest and he feels sweat on the back of his neck. He can do this. He steps inside, leaving the door open just a little— in case he needs a quick get-a-way.