With You

Adam and I went to an art gallery for a few hours, chilling out and enjoying each other's company. He'd finally slipped his hand through mine and we walked through most of the gallery that way. After that we went to the park, still holding hands and still talking. We both confessed that was a place where we did a lot of our work. Even though I didn't want to be, I was still guarded a little with him, even though being with him made me grin like an idiot sometimes. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to understand.

"Jen, if you don't want to...do whatever we're doing, that's fine," he told me as we sat beneath one of the trees.

I bit my lip and did my trademark nervous habit--running a hand through my hair. "I do want us to...be a thing, but..." I paused. "I don't know! My life's just a crazy mesh of stupid emotions right now."

"When are your and your husband's divorce final?"

I shrugged. "Not sure. It'll be finalized pretty soon though."

"I can wait that long."

"Oh, Adam. I don't want you to wait. You make me feel...loved and I don't want to miss this chance with you. I felt so alone before and then when you showed up it was like POOF, I didn't feel totally alone anymore."

"Jen, as long as you have me, you're never going to be alone."

That seemed like a large statement to make since we'd only been 'dating' for a few weeks. But the sincerity in his voice and in his face made it hard not to believe. This strong feeling suddenly built inside me and I grabbed his face and kissed him. Oh my God, it was great! He kissed me back just before I pulled away.

"I-I'm so sorry," I said, turning my face away when I felt it heat up. Stupid, stupid, stupid! "I'm not usually quite that forward."

Adam chuckled. "Its okay. You beat me to it. That makes me feel better."

I had to chuckle along with him. "Glad I didn't scare you off then."

He pulled me closer. "No, I don't think you could."

A thought suddenly shot into my head and my eyes widened. "Don't speak too soon...Did you know I...tried to...kill myself?"

</3

I put the key in the lock, smiling to myself as I thought about my day with Adam. Admitting my mental issues to him really helped relax me. Another wall between us had been taken down.

When I opened the door, there were three silent figures standing in my living room. Jessi, Brad, and Chester.

"Hello..."

"Do you even think--"

"Jessi..." Chester shot her a glare, making her shut her mouth. He looked at me. "We need you to fix Rob."

"I'm thinking the way you want me to fix him isn't the same as the way I would like to fix him."

"We need you to talk to him," Chester clarified.

I rolled my eyes, groaning in exasperation. "Why? I got a divorce so I wouldn't have to talk to him anymore."

"Yeah, but this is serious. If you don't, we're screwed," Brad said.

"Define 'we're screwed'," I said.

"The band," Chester answered. "Mike's got his whole thing with Anna to get over with and Rob...Rob's not good."

"What do you mean he's not good?" I asked, failing to hide the worry in my voice.

"Remember like he was in high school?" Brad asked and I nodded resentfully. "He's worse now than he was then."

A bolt of fear went through me, as memories of Rob's high school crack days came back to me. "Can't you guys figure out something? I shouldn't have to worry about it."

"He won't talk to any of us," said Chester. "Trust me. We've tried and you're our last chance."