In the following weeks Jesse began to see Adam regularly. At first, they exchanged quiet greetings in passing. Sometimes Jesse could feel Adam’s intense stare on his back. Eventually, they began to walk home together, sharing stories and small talk; well, it was mostly Jesse doing the talking, but Adam seemed to listen intently. That was enough.
It was the times that Adam did speak that were rather unsettling. What little he said was cryptic, almost like he was speaking a code that Jesse barely understood, but Jesse got the sense it was rather important information he was being trusted with.
His thoughts were interrupted by a tapping from his window.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Jesse jolted into a sitting position, his heart leaping into his throat.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He slowly pulled back the blankets and stood to approach the window. A chill permeated the soles of his feet as he padded barefoot to the other side of the room. Taking a deep breathe, he jerked the curtain back and looked out. Adam was standing underneath his window, hands in his jacket pockets, staring up at him.
Jesse sighed.
He unlatched the rusty lock, struggling to open the window when it caught in the swollen frame. Jesse was hit with a blast of humid air, and the screaming of cicadas. He flinched at the intrusive sound but looked back down at his neighbor, who hadn’t moved.
Jesse hesitated before calling down to him.
The teen didn’t respond, but beckoned Jesse with a wave of his hand.
“You want me to come down?”, Jesse asked, slightly exasperated.
Again, the boy didn’t respond verbally, but nodded his head and waved his hand again.
Groaning, Jesse exited his room and tiptoed down the stairs towards the front door. Shoving his feet into his slides, he silently unlocked the door and stepped out.
Jesse turned and collided with something solid. Stumbling back slightly, he looked up. Adam was standing mere inches away from him, and while it was too dark to see his face properly, he could feel his eyes on him. Jesse averted his.
“Follow me.”, Adam’s voice, deep, even at a whisper, almost seemed hoarse.
Adam halted at the edge of the woods, just outside their small neighborhood. Jesse paused behind him, unsure of whether he should continue to follow Adam. He hated the woods. He hated how dark they were; the sounds he could hear coming from them; the constant screams of the cicadas and calls of the katydids.
“Um, Adam? What are we doin’ out here? Should we be out here this late?”, Jesse whispered to Adam’s back nervously.
Adam glanced back at Jesse and pressed a finger to his lips before pointing into the forest.
‘Listen.’, Adam mouthed silently.
Jesse scrunched up his brow, turning to face the trees. Cicadas. So many damn cicadas; their screaming was so loud. Jesse opened his mouth to speak when he noticed it. Rather than the cicadas screaming, didn’t that sound more…human?
Jesse’s eyes grew wide, and he looked up at Adam. Adam just looked back at him, a flicker of some unknown emotion shining in his blue eyes before they returned to the cold ones that Jesse expected to see.
“What is that?”, Jesse quietly questioned Adam.
Adam shook his head, shuffling from foot to foot.
Jesse frowned, slightly taken aback by Adam’s sudden timidness. Adam knows more than he’s letting on; he must. There must be a reason that he’s showing him this.
Jesse rubbed his palms together vigorously, a million thoughts racing through his mind.
He groaned, running a hand over his face, before looking at Adam again.
Adam was still standing at the edge of the woods, lost in thought. He stared into the darkness, hands shoved in his jean pockets, his body rigid. It’s clear that this area made him uncomfortable.
Jesse slowly moved closer to Adam, a sudden chill in the air causing the hair on his arms to rise. He stopped inches from Adam and waited with bated breath. Adam continued to stare into the woods stiffly for several moments, before suddenly grabbing Jesse’s wrist, jerking him forward. Adam’s eyes were trained on Jesse’s, but they were no longer frozen, vacant orbs. Rather, Jesse was overwhelmed by intense feeling of being crushed, almost like something trapped between a wall and an angry ocean tide.
Jesse’s breath hitched, his heartrate increasing. He wanted to pull his arm out of Adam’s grasp, but he was frozen, as if he was trapped between the spaces of time.
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