Weiss knew something was wrong even before she saw him. The Mine was empty when she arrived. Adam was never late, especially not when she was leaving tomorrow.
She paced back and forth, debating whether to go down and find him when his footsteps crunched toward her. She was about to tackle him into a hug when she saw his eyes. It made her freeze on the spot.
His eyes were puffy and red, and his right arm hung limply beside him. Whatever excitement Weiss had about the night all but vanished.
"Adam, what's wrong?" she asked, afraid to even reach out and hug him. This was the first time she'd ever seen him like this.
"I had a bad day," he murmured, looking down at his feet. "I-I don't want to talk about it…it's really embarrassing."
Whenever she had a bad day, Winter always knew what to say to make her feel better. But Weiss wasn't Winter. She didn't know the magic words to make Adam smile again.
"You brought more cake." He eyed the containers of food in her hands.
"Do you still want to eat?" Weiss said the only thing that came to mind.
"Food sounds good right now."
She sat at the same spot as yesterday, noticing he was taking longer than usual to slide down beside her. He inhaled sharply when his right shoulder blade grazed the sharp wall. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning forward so his back wasn't touching anything.
"You're hurt." A sickening knot twisted in her gut. "What happened–"
"Nothing!"
The storm outside wailed like ghosts, wringing hundreds of snowflakes violently in the air.
"I'm sorry…" Adam said in a softer voice. "I don't think I can play tonight."
"It's okay. I don't mind." She cracked open the plastic lid and handed him the food.
Weiss watched helplessly as he picked away at his dinner. He remained hunched forward to avoid touching his back against the wall. Not even the thick slice of chocolate cake made things any better.
The wind outside grew worse, sending cold drifts to where they were sitting. Weiss shivered despite sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Adam.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" he asked once he finished eating.
"I want to help Winter run the family business."
"...You want to work at the SDC?" His response was so quiet it was almost overshadowed by the blizzard outside.
"It's what Father expects. I don't mind since everyone in my family works there too."
"But what do you want to do?"
"I can't do whatever I want. Father–"
"Pretend your dad doesn't exist. If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?"
In a world where Father didn't exist…was a world like that even possible? Who would run the SDC if Father wasn't there? Mama has no interest in running the business. Would Winter have to take over even though she isn't an adult?
No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to picture a world without him around. That was like imagining Atlas with no snow.
"I can't imagine it, Adam," Weiss confessed with a frustrated huff. "What about you?"
"I want to be a hero," Adam said without missing a beat. "I want to beat up bad guys who like hurting people for no reason."
"I think you'd make a great hero." She smiled.
Superheroes Weiss saw on TV were always so kind. She had no doubts Adam could fit the role perfectly.
"Maybe when I'm a grown-up…I can get out of here and see the world," he added.
"Do you want to go on a bunch of vacations around-"
Heavy footsteps crunched somewhere deep in the cave. Her heart dropped when the crunching grew louder and louder. How did someone figure out they were here? They weren't even talking that loud.
"Go," Adam whispered.
"But what about you?"
"I'll be fine, but you'll get in trouble if they see you."
Footsteps thudded up the sloped pathway leading towards them, silencing her in a split second. She whispered an apology, grabbed her stuff and hurried outside.
Weiss pressed her back against the mouth of the Mine, covering her mouth with her hands to hide her heavy breathing. She peeked out from her hiding spot, her heart racing when a tall man emerged from the throat of the cave.
Everything about the man reminded her of Adam. From his matching pyjama set to his pretty blue eyes, he was like a grown-up version of Adam. The only big difference was his messy blond hair that partially obscured his black horns.
"Hey, sport, your mom was looking for you." The man smiled, sliding down to where Weiss was sitting.
"Sorry, Dad…I-I wanted to be alone," Adam murmured, wincing as he shifted his right arm.
Weiss' heart quickened at the mention of Dad. She didn't know why Adam wasn't trying harder to his pain. Wasn't he scared of his father getting mad?
"You'll catch a cold at this rate," Adam's dad said without raising his voice even once.
Was he trying to trick Adam into confessing the truth? She gnawed on her lip, wondering how to warn Adam about the false sense of security.
"It's not that cold."
Adam's father was about to say something when he paused, sniffing the air curiously.
"Hey, son, do you smell…chocolate?"
"No." Adam looked down at the ground.
Adam's father continued sniffing, eyes darting around the Mine until they landed right on Weiss. She bit her tongue, pulling back behind the wall. For the longest time, all she heard was her heart racing.
"Do you come here a lot, Adam?" His father didn't sound the slightest bit mad.
"Only sometimes. It's nice up here."
"Nice?" There was a pause. "Do you have fun when you're here?"
"Yeah. I have lots of fun…except for tonight."
"I'm guessing your back still hurts?"
"Dad, is it going to burn forever?"
"No. It'll get better in a couple of days. Then you'll be good as new again."
"I wish it'll get better now."
"Me too, sport. Come on, let's get you back to Mom. You'll get better with rest."
Weiss held her breath and poked her head out, catching Adam's father leaving with Adam in his arms. She didn't move even when they were too far into the cave to see anymore.
She stared at the spot where Adam and his father were once sitting, wondering what it would be like to have Father carry her like that.