A/N: November 7th, 2021

Erm, how did the last chapter get +550 votes in two days 💀 I didn't think we'd get there but you guys have proven me wrong. Never underestimate the Homie gang 😔👌

P.s: some exciting news! Your author has finally made their grand debut on YOUTUBE!

I don't really know what I'm going to post. Maybe some vlogs, book reviews, giveaways, and writing advice/tips?? If you guys have any ideas, let me know :)

Youtube channel: letsgohomehidee (obviously 😂)

If you can't find it, the link is in my Wattpad bio! Hope you enjoy my first video:)

P.p.s: if you guys comment "Eric is Axis" in the comments, I'll comment back 👀 I'll know you guys are from TRS 💪

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"What are you doing by the window, Eric?" asked a caretaker. I was back in the orphanage. The room was as dull as the weather and the walls were as gray as the clouds. I had been sitting at the window ledge for a week now, staring at the gates where the orphans either came or left. When you walked past those gates, you were either taken to Hell or to Paradise. 

I was brought to Hell. 

Adam was taken to Paradise. 

"I'm waiting for someone," I said, my eyes moving towards the empty roads, hoping that a car would stop in front of the orphanage. It'd been seven days since Adam had left with his new family, and he still hadn't come back.

"You can't skip lunch," she scolded. 

I pointed at the stale piece of bread sitting on the napkin beside me and answered, "Lunch", paying little attention to her presence. 

I heard her sigh. "Eric," she said with a bit of despair in her voice. "He's not coming back."

"He is." 

"Adam is with a new family now," she said softly, putting her hand on my shoulder. I pushed it away. 

"He doesn't need a new family! He has me," I argued. 

"Oh, Eric..." She frowned with pity in her eyes. "I know it's hard for you..."

I stopped listening. She didn't know how I felt. She didn't know anything. 

I stared out the window, fighting the tears in my eyes. The orphanage was sad and depressing without Adam. It felt empty. I didn't know how I was going to live this way, every day, without him. Being abandoned by parents I'd never met, I could live with that. Being abandoned by someone I loved and cherished? How was I going to live on? 

Whenever I was sad, I'd usually fight my problems. Sitting and moping around wasn't in my nature, but right now, I couldn't get off the window ledge. I couldn't stop looking for the kid who used to follow me everywhere. 

Used to. 

The words made my fists tighten. 

I couldn't help but selfishly want him to come back to me. I couldn't get over the fact that he'd left me. 

I waited a year for him on that window ledge. Winter, spring, summer, fall; I watched the seasons change every month, but the empty feeling never left my chest. The big, black hole he had punched in my heart never vanished. 

Eventually, I ran away from the orphanage. A few weeks later, I heard that there had been a terrible accident in the orphanage kitchen. One of the kids got his hands on a lighter and burned the building. They said it was an accident, but we all knew the truth. The building went down in flames, along with the caretakers and the orphans, and there were very few survivors. 

It scared me how I didn't feel anything. Even when I stood in front of the burnt remains of the place I'd spent years living in, I was completely numb. The most I felt was pity. The kids who'd died deserved a better life. They deserved a better death. No one would remember them. It would be as if they'd never existed. 

We were nobodies, rejects of societies. If I had stayed in the orphanage, I would have burned with the rest of them. Someone would say my name and people would reply, "who?"

When the orphanage disappeared, so did Eric. I decided to build a new life for myself. I gave myself a new name and kept living. Because somewhere out there, I knew there was one person who would remember my name, and for some reason, that was enough for me to keep going. 

***

It was hot and cold. I wrapped my arms around something warm and pressed my face against it. It felt nice and safe, something I hadn't felt in a while. What was I even hugging? My eyelids slowly cracked open and the first thing I saw was skin. 

A corpse?

No, the body was still warm and I could hear a heartbeat. I looked up, and my eyes widened. Adam was lying beside me, shirtless. He had one arm secured around me, his chest rising and falling in an even rhythm.

My eyes sprung open and I yanked away from him so quickly I fell off the bed, landing on the floor with a loud crash. I groaned in pain. 

Adam slowly sat up, running a large hand through his messy bed hair. Damn, he looked good. 

The blanket fell off his chest, flashing his strong chest and defined abs. I looked away, feeling my cheeks turn hot. How did I get in his bed? And why were we sleeping together?

"Hey, pervert stalker," he said, his morning voice rough and raspy. "How are you feeling?"

I sucked in my cheeks and looked down at my hands. My knuckles were bandaged. Did Adam tend to my injuries after the fight? 

"I feel great," I lied. My head hurt, and every muscle in my body felt sore. I clenched and unclenched my clammy hands, feeling both cold and hot all at once. I was soaked in sweat, and the room felt narrower than it should. I hadn't had this bad of a fever since I was a kid. 

Adam noticed the uneasiness on my face and said, "You should get back in bed" but it wasn't a suggestion. He stood up and my eyes widened at the sight of his strong thighs. He was wearing nothing but black boxers. My eyes lingered long enough to notice the strong V line that disappeared down the thick band that hung around his waist.

Flustered, I looked away again. I was in bed with him when he was half-naked?! I felt my dick twitch and scolded myself silently.  

This isn't the time to get hard, Axis! 

I needed to think of something disturbing enough to distract me, so I tried to think of my mom in her underwear but then remembered that I didn't have a mom. 

"Bed," Adam repeated. 

"I will," I said, still unable to look at him. "Once I get back to my dorms."

"You can hardly stand, let alone fight. If you leave now, people will take advantage of you." When I didn't answer he added, "You're a Rankless now."

I blinked in surprise and then remembered that I had given my dog tags back to Peter and Clyde. What happened to them anyway? I wanted to argue with Adam, but he was right. Leaving his room injured and rankless was no better than jumping into a tank full of hungry sharks. 

"So?" Adam prompted.

"I don't trust you. What if you do something weird to me?"

A curve of a smile lifted his lips. "Weird? You really are a perv."

I reddened. 

"I won't do anything weird," he reassured me, picking up the shirt hanging on the chair and pulling it over his head. 

I climbed onto his bed and pulled the covers over my chest. The entire bed was stained with Adam's addicting scent and I had to stop myself from pressing the covers against my nose. This fever really was messing with my head. 

Adam put on his pants and I felt strangely disappointed when he buckled his belt. He walked over to me and stretched out his hand, but I quickly pulled away. He stared at my alarmed face, confused at first, then said, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Too late. 

"I'm only checking to see if you have a fever." I let him touch my forehead, and he frowned. "You're heating up."

Adam stripped the covers off me and I yelped. "It's cold!" But when I reached for the covers, he gently pressed me back. 

"You have a fever," he said, his hand now on my feverish cheek. I flinched when his fingers brushed the back of my ears and bit my lip at the tingling sensation it provoked. He must have noticed because he raised an amused brow. 

"I have sensitive ears," I grumbled.  

He was quiet for a moment, then looked away. "You should get some rest."

"Stay."

He looked at me in surprise. I dropped my gaze, feeling hot again. It was probably the fever. It had to be. Adam stared at me but didn't speak.

"Don't go. It's cold," I mumbled feebly. "I don't want to be alone."

When he still didn't speak, I let go of his shirt. 

"Or go. Whatever. I don't care."

I lay in bed and turned my back to him, facing the wall so he wouldn't see the redness in my face. My heart was pounding furiously against my chest. What was I thinking?! How could I say something so embarrassing?! I thought Adam would leave, but I stiffened when he climbed into bed beside me. 

"What—" 

My breath hitched when Adam wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer. My back pressed against his chest and his strong arm rested on me protectively. I could feel his hard muscles and feel his heartbeat, the warmth of his touch, and the slow rise and falls of his steady breaths. Strangely, it calmed me, and his presence made me feel safe. Adam rested his chin on my head, holding me a little tighter, but loose enough for me to pull away if I wanted to. 

I didn't. 

The simple gesture was enough to make me dismantle my arms and shed my armor.  

"Get some rest, Axis," he murmured, his voice soft like a lullaby. My eyelids felt heavy, and his embrace felt like a warm blanket on a cold, winter evening. "I won't leave this time, I promise." 

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Please don't forget to leave a vote ❤ I'm setting the bar to 650 this time, so you'll probably have the next chapter in two days 😂 not underestimating you guys no more 🤧

Oh, and I'm thinking of doing a Q/A for my YouTube channel, so if you guys have any questions (personal, writing, books, anything) leave a comment and I'll write it down :)

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P.p.s: did you guys do anything or dressed up for Halloween this year?