He shrugged, staring at the ugly grey and green wall.
Chloe bit her lip, looking uncomfortable. “We’ve been feeding your cat.”
He finally met her gaze. “Don’t go into my room.”
She looked startled. “Why would I?’
“Swear.”
I wished I hadn’t come with her.
Chloe’s cheeks flushed pink. “I swear I won’t go into your room.”
He looked miserable. “Good.”
She fidgeted, looking almost as downcast as Adam. “If you want, I’ll take any notes and stuff at school for you.”
“Me, too,” I said hurriedly. “But even the teachers have pretty much given up on work now.”
He finally looked at me. “You were there.” He frantically scratched behind his ear. “I saw you."
“Um, yeah.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I was there.”
“Did you see how it burst into flames?” He sounded dazed. “We were supposed to be inside that fire. The three of us.” He looked away, and I barely heard him murmur, “That’s what he wanted.”
My heart hurt for him. He looked so empty, a shadow of his usual, albeit annoying, self.
“You’re safe now.” Chloe spoke softly, as though to a small child. “It’s over, okay?”
Emma’s laughter came from a nearby hallway. She and the others had gotten predictably distracted by a vending machine.
“Emma came to visit me?” Adam’s voice rose hopefully.
“You shouldn’t talk to her.” Chloe sounded stern. “I mean it.”
Adam wrapped his arms around himself, muttering under his breath. All I caught was the word, ‘soulmate’. Had I heard him correctly? It was somehow startling to hear somebody outside of the pack use the term.
“What did you say?” Chloe asked sharply.
He shook his head. “You should go.”
“Is there anything we can do for you first?” I asked.
He glanced down the corridor. “Just go.” He let himself into his father’s room, leaving the bag of treats behind. A few seconds later, we heard his mother’s raised voice.
“I don’t know how to help him.” Chloe looked ready to throw something. “His dad is going to get away with this, too. He always gets away with it. That’s what drives me mad!”
“What else did he get away with?”
“Lots of things.” She sighed. “When we were little, he used to torment Adam, always thinking up ways to scare him. Like pretending he was leaving Adam home alone and then shutting off the electricity and throwing things at his bedroom window. Making it seem like the place was haunted or somebody was trying to break in. Adam was a nervous wreck.”
“That’s awful.”
“That’s why I was so angry about Halloween. I thought maybe somebody found out and decided to play a joke on him.”
It was no joke, but I felt guilty nonetheless.
“Once, his dad locked him in a shed for a whole night. Emma accidentally set a fire in my backyard the next day, and the firefighters heard Adam crying. His dad said it was an accident, blamed it on Adam.” Her hands closed into fists. “The door was locked from the outside.”