64 Hours

14 H0urs

~the fourteenth hour~

I woke up from two iron-gripping hands that seized my shoulders and shook me to my senses. I still felt hazy as I peered at my summoner under two, thick and heavy eyelids. I could just make out my sister through the exhaustion and blurriness. 

"Adam!" She growled furiously. Aria was still shaking me. "Are you bloody drunk?" 

"Huh?" I moaned, swiping a hand across my face and rubbed my eyes. My hands came back sticky, with some liquid trailing in between my palm. "What the-" 

"Adam!" Aria stopped me again with exasperation, and she looked over at the second figure. Bella. 

"Ad, where have you been yesterday?" My niece asked me in her small, girly voice. Where was I? I couldn't remember. I must've slept for about an hour. 

"Yes, Adam, where have you been yesterday?" Aria's voice was dripping with rage, then it all made sense. I was tired, there was booze on my face for some reason, and Aria was more than mad. I obviously got wasted, and was now suffering the consequences, which I probably didn't think of before heading over to a bar. 

Through the brain-splitting headache, I managed to wail Lucas's name. "Lucas, buddy, I miss you!"

"He's obviously still drunk," Aria hissed in disapproval. But being my sister, she slid a pillow under my heavy head and went over to the kitchen to get some Aspirin. That left Bella and me, trying to avoid each other's eyes. 

"Were you sad yesterday?" She asked out of the blue, sitting down on that small space of couch beside my arm. 

"No," I mumbled, putting a palm on my sticky forehead. Did I really go head-first into a bucket of alcohol or something? "I think I was mortified." The word 'mortified' sounded strange on my tongue, and it was slurred. However, I liked how it slid on my mouth, so I repeated it happily like an idiot until Aria came with a few pills and a glass of water. 

"Ari?" I called out, and another wave of painful electricity streamed in my head.

"What?"

"I don't like my phone." 

I saw her frown, and she didn't seem to take notice of my words. She forced the water into my hands and held out the pills which were flat on her palms. I pouted, but then grabbed them and shoved them down my throat. 

"Drink the water!" Aria gabled, holding the cup to my mouth. I gagged as the pills got stuck in my windpipe, and the water was dribbling past my lips and onto my chin. I took hold of the cup and drank it, and the pills got washed away with the liquid. I just panted, while my sister and Bella wore terrified expressions. 

"I hate donuts. I hate messages. Why do we have a clock in this stupid house? I want Olivia!" I weeped, and I couldn't stop an emotional turmoil now as I rambled on. "I miss Lucas so so so so so mu-" 

Aria put a firm hand on my chest and pressed it down, so that my back thumped back onto the couch. I sobbed into the pillow, my tears soaking through the fabric. I jerked when Aria's soft hands patted my back, but then relaxed. I began to howl so loudly that our neighbours probably heard us. 

"Why are you so upset lately?" Aria murmured, but mostly to herself as I continued to caterwaul. 

"I hate life!" I screamed. Who would've thought a grown man cried when drunk? I got myself into the stupor to get rid of my feelings, not get back to them. But my crying wasn't pain - it wasn't there. It was just memories. "I hate Unknown!"

Aria threaded a hand through my hair, trying to comfort me, but I was oblivious to her touch. Bella was crouched beside me, but I wasn't focused on her. 

"Go to hell Unknown!" I roared, suddenly sitting up, surprising my sister. "Stay away from my family you dissgussssting monster!" I slurred to no one in particular that was in the room.

"Adam! Who are you talking about? How much did you drink?" My sister forced me to lie down again, and I could do nothing but let myself be pushed back. 

I stopped shouting now. All I did for the next half-hour was stare blankly at the clock that hung beside my television. I was wasting time, but at the moment I couldn't care less. I caught Bella returning the gesture a few times, but when she saw me looking, she snapped her head away fearfully. I hated my state, and my niece seemed to be afraid of it. 

"I think I'm going to send you to a therapist," Aria told me somewhere in between. With my bloodshot eyes I gave her a ferocious glare to where she was in the kitchen. Aria simply looked away, and I had a feeling that the 'suggestion' died down. 

"I'm going out." I shakily rose to my feet, my pale hands gripping the couch to support my weak limbs. I felt blood rush into my head immediately, and felt like falling back down into the couch, but I held my ground. 

"Are you crazy?" Aria scurried over to me like a worried maid, and tried to set me back down. I shook my head violently, shoving her away. 

"Just leave me alone!" I shouted, backing away to the door. I was acting like a crestfallen, angry teenager, but all I wanted was to continue my quest. Lucas was all I could think of, and the last thing I wanted was to lose my sister and niece who cared for me. 

I tried to ignore Aria's hurt and confused look as I turned the doorknob. "I'm sober, okay? I'm going to be fine," I muttered, loud enough for them to hear without looking back. But as I swung the door open, I caught a glimpse of Aria holding onto her daughter's hand as the both looked at me gloomily. Their green eyes were trapped in my head as I shut the door, blocking them out. They were scared of me. 

Scared that I was the one that was going to hurt them. 

Thank you SO much for 200 reads! To some people it may seem like a little, but it's a great deal to me! Oh, and I apologise for the slow updates! ;-; 

-Bea