There comes a point in every story where inevitably you find yourself in the very middle of the action. That point where everything gets blown out of proportion and your regular everyday craziness goes from here to here... Wait, I just realized that you can't see the gestures that I am making with my hands.
Okay, let me rephrase that... Where the craziness that you have seen come out of me, hits an all-new level and I either make the smartest or the very stupidest decision possible.
I'll leave it up to you to decide which choice that you feel that I have made by the end of the chapter! Let's go back to the story and travel a few hours ahead through time.
Now, I'm not just talking about the time difference between Los Angeles to New York City. I'm talking about fast-tracking the story to a few hours later from the moment I received Jaime's phone call.
Skipping the time that it took Luis and I to jump out of the bed, inform my parents and board the next flight to NYC. From the airport, we took an Uber straight to the hospital where Adam had been admitted and was still asleep after having received numerous skin graphs and treatments.
Mind you, Luis and I had barely breathed a word to each other in relation to our amazing night together.
As I ran into Adam's hospital room my heart almost crumbled into a million pieces to see the state of my best friend.
"I'll give you two some privacy," Luis said kindly as he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
I stepped up toward Adam's bed where I was tempted to take hold of his hand. But seeing the bandages that covered his entire body from his head to his toe, along with the attached oxygen tubes, I resisted.
"Damn, Adam!" I mumble under my breath. I look over at the chair in the corner where I see a pet cage, and in it, is my Zachary Binks. At least he looks okay. He certainly looks better than Adam does right now.
I look back over at Adam and sit down on the chair beside his bed. On the bedside table sits a bouquet of fresh daisies. I glance at the card and smile as I realize that his parents have already been and gone.
"So... Luis and I slept together!" I say, not expecting Adam to reply. "Yeah... and he was good... you know, for someone who my best friend assured me was gay!" I click my tongue in frustration.
The truth is that while I am very concerned about my best friend, seeing him has brought me to the realization that he lied to me. And now I am very very angry at him, as well as being concerned.
"Why didn't you tell me, Adam?" I ask, not expecting an answer as his eyes are still closed.
But then, I get a response from him. "Because I knew that you wouldn't go through with it if you knew the truth. Luis is perfect for you, but I needed you to see that for yourself," he replies. His sudden words surprise me so much that I almost jump out of the chair in surprise.
His eyes open and he struggles to slowly face me. I reposition my seat so that I am sitting right in front of him.
"You're an asshole!" I say. "So, what two birds one stone? You get to play matchmaker and chicken out of seeing my family at the same time? You're supposed to be my best friend! Do you realize that I even snapped at my mother to defend you? Yeah, right before I found out that she was dying!"
"I'm sorry, Nicky... but I did it for you. You have to know that! You might not think so, but you and Luis..."
"Me and Luis what? You're fucking unbelievable, do you know that! I thought that I could trust you!"
Adam groans as he says: "You don't understand. But I couldn't go with you this time... Let's face it, Nicky. We are too codependent on each other. We are the reason that our relationships with men never work out. We are only holding each other back from true happiness! I can't keep doing it!"
