• Very important reminder for this chapter: Fiona doesn't know all the facts in this chapter yet, so she blames it on what she thinks is the cause of their hatred towards him. The true reasons will become clear in the next chapter, which is why Adam says what he says. Proceed with caution. •

Fiona had ridden the ambulance with Adam, watching while the paramedics worked on him, checking his vitals and hooking him up to all sorts of equipment. It took a little while, but eventually Adam came to, just as they arrived at the hospital. Fiona followed as he was driven into the ER, her heart still stuck in her throat while her mind was caught in the past.

Much like her father, Adam had looked as pale as he had done as they arrived at the hospital. Of course her father had already long ago passed by the time the ambulance picked them up, whereas Adam kept his good eye open, if not looking a little distant. He had lost a lot of blood, not to mention the harsh bruising that contrasted his pale skin in a grisly manner.

Fiona held back her tears as the doctors and nurses hooked him up to a station in the ER. They started by asking him his name and social security number. Thankfully Adam was lucid enough to give them the answers they needed, but he still looked faded. Exhausted. When a nurse then came to palpate his chest and abdominal regions, he winced out loudly in pain.

Fiona then listened to the doctors exchange words. Fractured ribs, possibly broken. A broken nose and a busted ear drum. Possible concussion. A few minor cuts and bruises. Possible blood in the lungs and stomach from choking on the blood from his broken nose. His one good eye that could still open responded well to the flashlight, but the other one was swollen shut.

Fiona felt herself hyperventilate as everyone around her started working on Adam, cleaning up his blood and applying ointment to his bruised eye. When a nurse then finally came up to him with a vial and a bag filled with some liquid, Adam groaned out hoarsely. 

"Is there something fun in there?" He rasped, causing Fiona to flip her eyes up and look at his face. He winced shortly as the nurse pricked his arm with the needle and laid a drip. "—Ahh, it better be fun, because that really wasn't."

The nurse smiled softly and wrapped a bandage around the drip to keep it put. "It'll work in a few minutes. It'll help with the pain before we take you up to X-rays."

"Great. If I start singing before, please record it. I've never been high before," He weakly spoke to the nurse who smiled again and took off her gloves. "Promise me?" His lips turned up in the faintest smile. Fiona couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Alright," The nurse spoke. "You just relax, and don't bother the nurses while they work, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright. Now things might sting a little, too," She warned, turning to Adam's bruised and scraped stomach as she picked out an antiseptic wipe.

"Wait wait, is there alcohol in that?" He slurred tiredly at the nurse, just as she hovered the wipe over his stomach with a raised brow. "Because I can't have that. My grams told me... not to mix alcohol with drugs," He said, cracking a little smile. The nurse let out a chuckle. "She'll kill me if she finds out."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you just this once," The nurse admonished and then started to clean his wounds where the shoes of those assholes had scraped his skin clean off.

Adam winced a little, but didn't let out another peep. It was right then he turned his eyes towards Fiona who was caught in a stiff trance of surreal shock. His smile instantly faded. "Fee? Fee, come here, please."

Standing just outside of his reach, mostly so the nurses could work, Fiona's eyes met Adam's between the blur of her tears. He beckoned her closer with his good eye, and with wobbly legs, Fiona shuffled closer.

Adam extended one hand and didn't hesitate to grabs hers the second she was within his reach. He lifted it to his lip and then kissed her knuckles deeply with his cut lip, closing his eyes and lingering there before finally opening them again. Fiona couldn't help but let out a sob when he  looked up at her, so deep with remorse. "Fiona..."

"Adam," She cried. She didn't want to cry in front of him, didn't want to be weak now when he needed her to be strong. She tried to keep them at bay, but it seemed her shock was still in effect; she couldn't control them as they rushed down her cheeks. "Adam..."

Adam pulled her a bit closer and looked up at her with anguish, squeezing her hand a little. "Fee, please don't cry. I'm okay. It's over now. It's alright."

It was over now? How could he even say that? Shit, she was scared shitless and she wasn't even the one who had been jumped. She was afraid to step out onto the street, but much more so, she was scared of him ever doing the same as long as those sick assholes were around.

"No, it's not," She fought, sobbing frustratedly when Adam's brows furrowed with concern. "Nothing is okay and I don't understand how you can sit here and smile and act like all you got was a lovetap!"

"Well... I wouldn't call it a mild lovetap..."

"Adam, I'm serious!" She looked him in the eyes to sober him up. "How can you even want to be near me? They beat you up because you were out with me, because—"

"Hey," He said, and now his eyes hardened. "It had nothing to do with you, Fiona. They already hate me. They just needed one more reason."

And a reason they had gotten. They had been waiting for another reason to beat him up, and as Adam said, they'd found it. Her.

And that's why Adam had looked so regretful when she had told them she was his girlfriend back at his school.

Because she was half-black.

"I don't give a fuck about them," Adam rasped, squeezing her hand when Fiona tried to think straight. Her mind was in shambles and she had no idea what to think or what to do. "Please, let's just forget about them. I'm gonna be fine, okay?"

But she couldn't and wouldn't forget about them. They wouldn't stop coming after him, would they? And now that they had another reason to pick on him, what more did they need?

Would her being with him make him even more of a target?

Fiona pressed her lips together and looked down, feeling her chin wobble. When tears began to well up in her eyes again, she felt Adam take her hand and squeeze it aglain, braiding his fingers through hers.

"Please stop crying, Fee. You're so fucking beautiful and special to me," He whispered, Fiona pressing her lips together to stop her whimpering. "Now get those lips down here so I can kiss them, please."

When he softly pulled on her arm, Fiona didn't hesitate to lean down and press her lips carefully against his bruised ones. The cut on his lip was bad, but Adam still kissed her back gently and groaned softly when she brushed his hair. The nurses around them looked away, but smiled at their little encounter. Fiona then felt Adam softly peck her lips one last time, before drawing back and suddenly began chuckling.

"What?" She asked, confused when he didn't stop.

"Sorry," He continued to snicker and leaned back, cupping his own head now. "I'm so sorry, that's the drugs. I feel them," He laughed and then blinked twice, looking around in amazement. "Shit, that's good stuff. Hey, can I start singing now? Ask the other patients if they have any requests, because I've got a lot of songs in my head. I'm kinda leaning towards John Legend though," He told and then looked up at Fee with a considerably more wobbly expression than before. "Cuz' aaaaaaaall of me – loves, aaaaaaaall of you..."

Fiona closed her eyes and stepped back as Adam began belting out in the middle of the ER, soaring higher and higher on his drugs as they took a hold of him. He kept singing while nurses worked and tried to shush him down when he was getting too loud. At last, the drugs started to make him sleepy and finally shut him up, making him mumble he was gonna nap now and he'd like a volunteer to cuddle with.

"We're going to take him up to X-ray now," The nurse then announced to Fiona who had stood by and watched Adam finally slump off to sleep, getting some much needed rest. "You should go home or call someone to come get you. It's getting late, and he won't be discharged until the morning. Do you have someone you can call?"

Fiona had already thought that far. While the nurses had called Adam's emergency contact person, which was his grams, Fiona herself knew she eventually had to head home – to her mom, who there would be no escaping from, once she came to pick her up from the emergency room and asked what had happened.

In one night, everything had fallen apart. 

~~~

Her mom had screamed her off, the second she had showed up at the hospital to pick her up. Fiona had been forced to tell her the truth about what happened... and why it happened.

"A criminal!" Her mom still yelled as they stepped through the front door to their house. "You neglected to tell me your new friend was an ex-gang member and now you expect me to act calm after what just happened?! God, Fiona!"

Fiona who had stayed quiet the whole ride home, took off her shoes and jacket. Her mom kept ranting hopelessly on about how she could've kept this from her. Deep down, she knew she was just shocked and scared about the fact of what had happened tonight. How close it had been... to her being on that gurney.

"Now you see what I mean?!" Fiona's mom kept yelling as Fiona continued to walk through the house until she made it to the bathroom. "You can never trust boys that age, they're always up to no good! And clearly he's had a bad influence on you since you've started lying—"

Fiona had barely fallen to her knees before she felt the bile in her throat. She hurled into the toilet and then felt as all of the adrenaline that had kept her going until now finally wore off. All of tonight's events came rushing over her, and she vomited into the toilet once more.

"Fiona!" Her mom gasped and immediately fell to her side and helped her hold her hair as broken, uncontrolled sobs started falling from Fiona's throat. Everything kept coming back to her, the crunching sound of Adam's face, the horrible cries he had expelled as they had beaten him to near death... his face as he had collapsed on the ground, spitting up blood...

Fiona retched over and over, until her stomach refused to expel any more. She didn't even need to stick her fingers down her throat – the shock did all the work for her, her body shaking uncontrollably and tears welling down over her cheeks.

A guy she loved nearly died tonight and for the second time in her life, it was all her fault.

She stayed by the toilet for hours while her mom brushed her hair and tried to calm her down. It took a long time before she finally managed to coax her into the bed to lie down. She wasn't yelling anymore, but rather seemed to have grown mute as Fiona closed her eyes, hiding her pain.

How could everything have fallen apart so fast? One second everything perfect... and then everything just... collided.

"I love him, mom," Fiona whispered brokenly, sobbing quietly into her hands. Her mom brushed her hair, and for the first time in a long time, she heard a crack in her mom's voice.

"I know, baby," She whispered back. She leaned down and gave her a long kiss on her cheek before pulling back and stroking her hair. "Oh, baby... I'm so sorry..."

"Mommy," She whispered when she started to pull away. More tears welled down her cheeks and she pulled her mom closer again. "Don't leave me, p-please."

"Okay," She whispered soothingly, while keeping her hand gliding over her matted hair. "Alright, sweetheart. I'm right here. I won't leave."

And that's how Fiona managed to catch some sleep. It took hours and she kept waking up and remembering everything all over again, which caused her to start crying and having to start over with her sleep. Her mom stayed with her in her room, sleeping beside her and holding her whenever she woke up.

The last time they had done this was when her father died.

The next morning, Fiona woke up feeling like she had been the one to get beat up. Her body felt sore all over, her eyes felt swollen and there was a hollow feeling right where her heart used to be. The first thought that struck her as she awakened was that Adam was being discharged today.

After a long candid talk with her mom about everything, Fiona managed to convince her that Adam wasn't some common criminal. Deep down, Fiona knew that she had known yesterday as well – she had just been too upset and frightened about the fact that she had called from the hospital. She had feared for her daughter's safety.

Now, though, after having calmed down and seen what it had done to Fiona, her mom knew there was no escaping the fact that Fiona had to see him again. She wouldn't rest until she saw that he was doing better – that he wasn't on the brink of death any longer and had been stitched up.

And that's why, as Fiona left the house that afternoon, after having promised to call her mom if anything at all happened, Fiona now stepped onto the bus that would take her to Adam's place. He had texted her about an hour ago that he was home again, discharged and ready to be nursed.

Half an hour later, she reached Adam's place. Jumping off the bus, she walked the last mile while her heart caught in her throat, unsure of what would meet her. He would still be severely bruised, but maybe at least the pain wouldn't be so bad. He had put on a brave face last night, but the second that nurse had examined him, it had been obvious; they had gotten him good.

Now, though, no longer being in a hospital had to mean he was well enough to be home. So perhaps it wouldn't be that bad...?

Fiona kept lying to herself as she stepped up and hesitantly knocked on the door. She knew deep down he would be every bit as messed up as last night, but every time she thought about it, she wanted to throw up all over again.

All her fault...

The door finally got opened. It was Adam's grandma who gave her a warm smile as she came inside. She thanked Fiona immensely for having been there for him last night and for calling that ambulance, and Fiona had done nothing but smile silently back. If only she knew it was because of her they had attacked him...

"He's in his room," His grandma then finally said, whereafter Fiona nodded shakily and then began walking towards it. Breathe, breathe...

Knocking quietly on his door, Fiona stepped in, not prepared for what would meet her.

Laying on his bed, head plopped against a few pillows and a pack of ice over his chest, Adam turned his eyes the second she stopped up in the door. His face looked every bit as grim as yesterday – if anything, the colors had deepened and his swollen eye was still glued shut. His broken nose had a metal plate on it, but his torn lip was patched up though, and with a little crooked smile, he met her with a tired gaze.

"Hey," He hoarsely spoke, just as Fiona's chest caved in. "There's my nurse."

She couldn't stop it. The tears welled up the second he spoke, and shutting the door, Fiona came towards him and saw his smile fall and turn into a pained frown as she dropped down beside him. He didn't hesitate to reach for her hand, clutching it tightly. "A-Adam..."

"Hey," He whispered, lifting her hand like he had done yesterday and pressing it to his lips. "Shit, Fee. No more tears. I'm in enough pain as is and watching you cry is making it worse. Please..."

But she couldn't stop. Fiona shook her head and hiccuped through her tears, feeling Adam lift his hand to swipe them away. He gently smoothed his thumb over her cheek, but then cupped her face.

"Fiona," He spoke softly, watching her try and control her sobs.

"I'm so sorry," She finally managed to get out. "Adam, I-I..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," He replied, tugging at the corner of his lip again. "It happened and now we're moving past it. Alright?"

"I can't," Fiona cried, refusing to just let it go. It would never stop haunting her. "Adam... they beat you up. They beat you up b-because... because you were with me."

"What?" Adam slowly asked. She saw his good brow crease into a little line. "No, Fiona. Last night had nothing to do about you, I told you. I promise you that."

"But you heard what they said!" She exclaimed. He couldn't do this. This was not one of those times where he would try and remove the guilt from her shoulders by denying the obvious facts. "They said that stupid shit about you being with me and—"

"Stop," Adam harshly spoke before she could finish her sentence. He removed the ice pack from his chest and winced as he tried to sit up. Fiona immediately tried to make him lay down again, but he pushed her hand away. "No. You need to hear me clearly when I say this now, Fiona; it had nothing to do with you."

"But—"

"It had nothing to do with you," He repeated, looking sternly at her. Fiona pressed her lips together, not believing him; She had heard every word they had spoken.

"Then why did they beat you up?" She whispered back crossly, even though she knew she shouldn't be arguing with him right now. He was in no state to be getting riled up.

"Because they hate me," Adam replied. "And when you hate someone, everything you do becomes another reason for them to hate you."

Fiona's bottom lip wobbled. She fought with his words internally, because... "So what if I hadn't been black?"

"If you hadn't been black, then they would've found some other reason to jump me. They just needed one more reason, Fee. But it had nothing to do with you."

She wanted to believe him. She really did. But even if he was right, then... she would still be the reason they jumped him.

And that was exactly it; She didn't want to be another reason for them to bully him – for him to become a punching bag for their stupid agenda. She wanted to believe what Adam said, but she also knew that if she had been white, they wouldn't have gone off on him like that. It was a backwards mindset and it was a fact she hated, but a fact nonetheless.

– Cultural preference. It existed, and even though she couldn't deny it, it still happened all around them, in all races and cultures. It had even happened in her own damn family. It was that very same reason that she had never known her grandparents.

– Her dad fell in love with her mom, who was white. Her mom had told her many times that his parents didn't like her – that they didn't want him dating a white girl and bringing her back to home to meet them. They didn't trust her and didn't want anything to do with her. Her dad hadn't cared, and the moment her mom fell pregnant with her, she had told Fiona, it hadn't even been a choice for him; he had wanted to stay and raise his daughter, even if it meant he would get disowned.

He loved them that much.

It was many years ago, but even to this day, though, Fiona knew there were still parents who didn't want their kids to date anyone outside their culture or religion—who would also get disowned for bringing home an 'outside' kid. She just never thought that she would be on the receiving end of it, getting discriminated for wanting to be with a white guy. It was insane. For God's sake, it was the 21st century. She was half-black, but she was also half-white, so what was the big fucking deal? Just because her skin was a bit more on the melanin-side, it made it not-okay for her to date someone pasty like Adam? Where was the line?

And as her eyes fell to Adam's, that's when she got her answer.

"Come on," Adam whispered, brushing her cheekbone with his thumb. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want to hold the girl I love in my arms. Fiona?"

Fiona had stilled, but swallowed heavily. She didn't want this to end... but as long as they were out there, he wouldn't be safe if she stayed with him.

"Did you... did you talk to the police?" She finally spoke after a full minute. She heard Adam sigh heavily before giving a curt nod.

"Yes."

"So you told them it was them who assaulted you?"

His jaw clenched, and lowering his hand, he closed his eyes and turned his head away. "No."

Fiona blinked twice and replayed his answer in her mind to make sure she didn't mishear him. He did what? "You didn't tell them?"

"No," He repeated, a little firmer this time. "I told you; you don't rat in these situations."

Fiona sprung up from the bed. She saw Adam turn his head and stare after her as she started backing away. She couldn't believe this. "No..."

"Fiona—"

"No!" She shouted. Angry tears welled up in her eyes and she furiously shook her head. "Are you fucking stupid?! Adam, they b-beat you up! They fucking beat you to near d-death and you won't even press charges!" She shouted, not caring that his grandma could probably hear her. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Fiona, please," Adam pleaded, pressing his lips together, but she was beyond listening to him now. Enough was enough.

"No," She said, hearing her voice break. Everything inside her broke, only because she knew what this meant. "No... I just can't..."

"Fiona, please, come back," Adam begged her and tried to sit up when she backed up against the door, fumbling for the doorknob. He winced loudly and had to lie back down. "Fuck, Fiona, please just stay and let me explain—"

"No," She exclaimed, holding up her hand as the tears rushed down her cheeks. Her whole body was shaking. "I've already lost one person I love. I won't lose another one because you're too fucking stupid not to put these assholes behind bars."

Adam's face dropped. "Fiona..."

But she was already gone.

Ripping the door open, she heard Adam call her name, but she didn't come back. With tears streaming down her face, she ran out of the house and out onto the street, shaking everywhere.

It was one thing to try and be strong for someone you loved who had just survived a brutal beating... but it was another thing to stay by that person, while knowing every wakening moment, it could happen again... all because he refused to give them up.

– And that right there, was the line Fiona couldn't cross.

• • •

We're almost at the end of this, I promise.