Adam Last October
Adam
Last October
“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear.”
—Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
As he left Henry in the auto shop, Adam continued to hear the voice whisper in his ear.
Bram had never returned down the path, which meant he and Mariana were up at the house doing God knows what.
A gust of fury tore through Adam then. He glanced back at the auto shop; he should’ve felt bad about making Henry work on the car alone.
But the voice and the fury grew louder, drowning out everything else.
He had to go through with his plan today.
That’s what the voice kept repeating. It insisted.
He got out his phone and typed a text. Need to speak with you. It’s urgent. Don’t tell Bram. Meet me at Creek Bridge. He sent it, nerves crackling as he waited. A moment later, he saw that the text had been marked read.
So he’d done it. He’d obeyed, setting the plan into motion. Surely, he’d be rewarded for it.
The response came then. What’s this about?
Please just come, Adam typed out, his fingers starting to feel sticky, either from the nerves or the afternoon heat. I’ll explain everything
The wait for a response this time was excruciating. I’ll head over
Adam felt a victorious jolt, followed by a swell of terror.
He took off, out the gate and down the road, up the path to the creek.
When he reached the long rickety wooden bridge ten minutes later, he paced, hoping she’d really come.
He wondered what excuse she’d used to get away from Bram.
He wondered if she even had it in her to lie.
But sure enough, he saw her coming down the path. Dread filled his stomach then.
He thought suddenly only of Bram, and doubts flooded his head. He couldn’t do this, not to his own brother.
But the voice whispered, He did it to you first. Stick to the plan.
Mariana approached the bridge, and as the wind whipped through her curls, she reached up to tuck a ringlet behind her ear. Adam thought she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He’d longed to touch those dark curls, the smooth skin of her cheek.
She pouted, her pink lips forming a perfect heart. “What’s going on, Adam? What is it you couldn’t tell me up at the house?”
“It’s about Bram,” Adam said gravely.
Mariana’s brown eyes widened. “Is he okay?”
Adam was both hurt by the way she reacted over Bram and guilt-stricken; he hadn’t meant to cause panic.
He’d meant to cause a very different sort of feeling.
“Yes, he’s fine. But Mariana…” He thought about taking her hand then, as a gesture of support to help her through the news.
Only it wasn’t the right time. It would be soon, but not yet.
“This is hard to tell you. But it wouldn’t be right keeping it from you either. ”
“What is it, Adam?” Mariana asked, her skin blanching.
“I saw Bram in the woods on our property last week, and he was…” Adam licked his lips. Once it was out, there’d be no going back. “He was kissing someone.”
“Kissing someone?” Mariana’s brow furrowed.
Adam nodded. “Another girl.”
She looked stunned. Those dark eyes went wide, long lashes still.
She took a step back, her foot hitting a gnarled tree root.
When she teetered, Adam had no choice but to reach out and take her by the waist. But she looked disoriented as he righted her.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I, uh… Are you sure it was Bram?”
“Yes, I’m sure. He was there on our property.”
She blinked as though she’d just woken up. “Who was it?” When Adam failed to respond, she asked again. “Who was Bram kissing in the woods, Adam?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “The sun was going down.”
That evening, between the blinding rage at finding his brother with a girl who was not Mariana and his poor view of the couple between the trees, he couldn’t tell.
His brother’s head had been covering her face.
He’d seen her hair though, a ponytail draped over one shoulder.
In the fading light, he saw that it was light in color, long and straight.
Mariana’s hair was dark. It was short and curly, never tied back but always untamed and free.
When a branch had cracked under Adam’s foot, he’d spooked and returned to the house. On the way back, he’d doubted himself. Maybe it had been Mariana he’d seen in the woods with Bram. Girls changed their hair all the time.
But when he’d come inside, there was Mariana, waiting for Bram on the couch.
The rage doubled its force then. Adam had thought to confront Bram immediately. But before he did, the first inkling of the plan crawled its way into his brain. If he could be patient, everything would work out. For him and for Mariana.
Now, Mariana looked anything but pleased.
“I think I can guess who it was,” she said as tears streamed down those perfect soft cheeks, dripping onto her rosy lips.
Adam wanted to ask who, but as the tears continued to mar her lovely face, he reached out to wipe them.
And when he offered her a hug, to his surprise and delight, she fell into his embrace.
“I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed into his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said, stroking her back. He allowed his fingers to move up into her curls the way he’d daydreamed. “It’s an impossible decision. But it’s the only decision, really. Deep down, you know that.”
“You mean break up with him?”
“Of course.” Adam frowned. “He’s my brother, Mariana. I love him with everything in me, but I can’t stand by and watch him mistreat you. He isn’t valuing you the way you deserve.”
Mariana was close enough that he could hear the sound of her swallow. “You’re right.”
“I wish I weren’t.” He held his breath now, waiting for her to say it, allowing his hopes to rise.
“I’m going up to the house,” she said, glancing behind her at the path. “I’m going to break up with him.”
“I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul.”
—Dracula by Bram Stoker