Everything had taken on a surreal kind of sheen in the moments immediately following her phone call with Kelsie. It was terrifying– she was terrified– but she was taking back her life, damn it. She was tired of fighting, tired of hiding, tired of running. It was time to face up to all the things she’d been running away from.
And she decided to start with Adam.
She stopped in front of her tiny little mirror in the bathroom as she pulled on her leather jacket. Her hair, that had been little more than a glorified rat’s nest the last time he’d seen her, had finally been tamed, though it would always be a little unruly. But then again– what part of her wasn’t?
Since it was a Monday afternoon, she knew the place to find him would be like her own personal hell. But like the Great Value brand, not the real thing. Kids were nasty little things and they dripped and oozed and they were always sticky, usually smelly, and constantly asking dumb ass questions that made her want to strangle them. They also, apparently, hadn’t learned that it was rude to stare. Though, if she was being fair, her Slayer shirt covered in various holes and slashes, maroon leggings, and clunky Doc Martens were probably something to gawk at. She was pretty sure her type didn’t regularly walk the halls with an armful of vending machine junk food.
The visitor pass stuck to the bottom corner of her jacket crinkled as she bent over the door knob, using her elbow to push it down. The door gave way with a groan and she nudged it open with her hip, swallowing her pride as he came into view, framed by the doorway. Her breath caught and she clenched her jaw, urging one foot forward and then the other. She ignored the desperate need to turn and flee when his eyes met hers. Instead, her lips pulled into a half smirk and she nodded down at the junk in her arms. Another few strides and she was at his desk, dropping her assortment of chips, pepperoni sticks, candy bars, and gummies in a messy heap.
She looked up, trying to gauge his reaction to her abrupt re-entrance into his life after she’d gone out of her way to avoid him. “Hungry?”
The days seemed to be getting harder. Disappearances were at an all time high, papers were piling on his desk, and his increase in stress meant a decrease in self-care. Adam hadn’t been taking the time he usually needed to relax after work so the stress of working with kids with high needs was getting to him this week. Headaches, stomachaches...His stomach was in knots with worry. Maybe a good part of it had to do with his last encounter with Astrid. Seeing her eyes wild, her psyche fragile, the only thing he could think to do was hold her until she slept. They lay on that futon in each others arms, Adam petting her hair until her muscles relaxed even a little.
He was a nurturer by nature and something about Astrid called to him. He wanted her to be safe, to be okay. She put up a tough façade, and he didn’t doubt she could handle herself. But the world around them seemed to be on fire and seeing her struggle to put out the flames within her made him ache. He wanted to fix things for her. But that wasn’t something he could do. Not even with all the junk food in the world.
Fingers tapping on keys, he was writing up an incident report about a child with severe behavioral problems who bit a teacher’s aide when he was interrupted by the groan of the door and the clunking of boots. The interruption was followed with a mountain of junk food being poured on his desk and he didn’t even need to look up to know who it was. His shoulders instantly relaxed. She was okay. At least right now.
“You have no idea,” he said gratefully, smiling up at her and snagging the small bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos. He popped the bag open and gestured to one of the chairs nearby. “Have a seat. You traveled far and wide to end up here,” he teased, his eyes falling to her visitor’s pass. This was the last place he would expect to see Astrid, but it wasn’t an unwelcome surprise by any means. “Which I guess leads me to ask: what’s with the surprise delivery? I’m not complaining but I’m pretty sure you’re not here to ask me about joining the PTA.” He said, popping a chip into his mouth. He had so many unanswered and unasked questions, but he knew with Astrid he couldn’t come in too hot. Their last shared moment was intimate and intimacy was not a word that existed in her comfort zone, from what he assumed. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t eventually pry, but he didn’t want to chase her off, either.
