Future Lost

35

After two more minutes, we hurry into the apartment building, Adam leaning heavily on me with his hand against his side, and Max in a barking frenzy. The entire shooting was off screen, and the camera never captured even the slightest glimpse of the attacker. She must have known exactly where the camera was and how to avoid it. Just like at Aether.

With a sigh, I close my laptop and head into the bedroom to check on Adam. Max lifts his head, thumps his tail against the bed once, then relaxes against Adam’s side. I stand beside the bed for a few minutes, watching Adam’s chest rising and falling, listening to the soft sound of his breathing. His glasses are on the table beside us, and he always looks younger without them. Sometimes I forget he’s only nineteen, barely a few months older than me, except when he’s sleeping.

I curl up behind Adam, sliding an arm around his waist, fitting myself against him. He stirs in his sleep, pulling me closer. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep, but if nothing else, I’ll lie here all night and watch over him.

I almost lost him today. A few inches, and he would have been gone forever. It doesn’t matter if he was the target or if I was, because either way, I’m going to find the person who shot him—and make sure they never hurt us again.SUNDAY

The next two days are pure torture.

Look, I’m just not good at waiting. Adam’s the patient one. But me? I like to rush into things. Once I make a decision, I want it done yesterday. Yes, this has gotten me into trouble in the past, and yes, I’m trying to do better. But it’s really freaking hard sometimes.

Unfortunately, all we can do is wait. Wait for Adam to heal. Wait for the accelerator to be finished. Wait for the attacker to strike again. And try to go about our normal lives at the same time.

It’s the weekend, so I’m spared from going to class at least. In between taking care of Adam and working on my English paper, I spend hours going over all the security footage, just in case the shooter walked by our apartment at some point. She didn’t.

Adam and I stay in the apartment as much as possible, and I make sure to walk Max only within sight of the security cameras, just in case. But by Sunday we’re both restless.

“Time to change your bandage,” I tell Adam. Ken did it the last two days, but he can’t make it today, so it’s my turn.

Adam’s sitting in bed with his laptop, his glasses low on his nose. “That’s okay. I can do it myself.”

“I don’t mind.” I sit beside him on the bed. “Shirt off.”

He grins as he lifts his shirt off his head. “Ah, I see. You just want to get me naked.”

“Keep dreaming.” I run my hand along his chest, then lightly push him back into the pillows. He grimaces slightly, and I instantly feel terrible. “Sorry! Did I hurt you?”

His face relaxes and he smiles. “Nah. Besides, I’d never complain about you touching me.”

I brush his hair away from his eyes. “Don’t get any ideas. I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.” But we both know that’s not really true anymore. It’s hard to be upset with the person I love more than anything after watching him get shot.

A large, dark bruise covers his ribs, spreading out beyond the bandage. I gently ease the tape off, trying not to hurt him again, but swallow hard when I see the gunshot wound and bruised skin underneath. “You said this was just a graze.”

He adjusts slightly to give me better access to his side. “It is. Kind of. The bullet took a nice chunk of skin out, but it didn’t hit anything major and didn’t lodge inside my body. I’m lucky, really.”

Lucky is right. Seeing what the bullet did to him up close makes me even more grateful he’s alive and even more determined to keep him that way. I carefully clean the wound with the stuff Ken gave us. Adam hisses but doesn’t flinch away. His skin is hot to the touch, but Ken did a good job with the stitches, and there isn’t any bleeding now.

“You’re going to have a big scar here,” I say as I put the new bandage on.

“Good. It’ll add to my rugged appeal.”

I can’t help but laugh. Rugged is the absolute last thing I would call Adam. Not that I mind or anything. I’ve always loved his sexy geek look. “You don’t need scars to impress me.”

“Good to know.” He closes his eyes, his voice faint.

I take his hand in mine, worried again. Will I ever stop being worried about him? “Are you okay?”

“Just tired. It’s nothing.” Tired is right. He’s barely gotten out of bed for the last two days, but Adam knows more about this stuff than I do. If he says he’s fine, then I have to believe him. I’m sure his body just needs a lot of rest to heal.

My phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket. An unknown number. “Hello?”

“The accelerator is ready,” Vincent says. “Can you come in tonight?”

I glance at Adam. Now that the waiting is over, I’m not sure we’re ready. But what choice do we have?

“We’ll be there.”

Adam insists on coming with me to Aether, even though I’m not sure he should be out of bed yet. If I were in his position, I’d insist on going too, so I eventually cave and let him tag along.

By the time we get there, Ken’s already in the basement, chatting with Vincent. Dr. Walters stands nearby, working on the accelerator.

Ken takes one look at Adam and frowns. “You look like hell, man. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“I’m fine,” Adam says. He’s really not though. His eyes are glazed, his face is pale, and every step seems to pain him.

“He insisted on coming, but I think he needs more time to heal,” I say.