(Adam Wylde Above)

Carson's POV

The first thing on my mind when I woke up was that the sun that was shining through a gap in my curtains into my eyes was my new enemy. I squinted and drew the covers over my head, basically begging the sun for mercy by doing so. I sighed and tried to get back to sleeping so soundly, but when my phone rang I knew I'd never get back. I groaned and threw the covers off of my head, only to be blinded by the light once again. "Ah...damn." I cursed and squinted, covering my eyes. I reached over to the night stand where my phone was and saw that it was Rachel calling me. I cocked an eyebrow at the phone then answered. "Why are you calling me when we live in the same house?" I asked her. I heard her laughing. "Good morning to you too, sleepy head." she teased. I groaned. "I think we can both gather that I'm not a morning person." I said and laid back down and shielded my eyes from the harsh and merciless light. "Anyway, what are you doing right now?" she asked. I rolled my eyes. "What are you doing right now, what like – four metres away from me in your room?" I asked, trying my very best to annoy her for waking me up at seven in the morning. I heard her sigh and then I heard a thump.

"Seriously, what are you doing right now?" she asked. I laughed. "If you must know, I'm naked in the bathroom." I said. "And I'm about to use the toilet. Satisfied?" I asked her, trying not to laugh at my own humour. "Ugh, disgusting! Just put some clothes on and get downstairs." she said then hung up. I laughed and put my phone down. I walked towards my dresser and grabbed a shirt and put it on. I quickly brushed my teeth then made my way down to the living room, where I gathered she'd be, since her room was empty. I jogged down the stairs and arrived in the living room, only to be startled like never before. Luke jumped off of the table and onto my back, which made me topple over onto the sofa. "Whoa, what's going on?" I asked, shocked and slightly confused. Everyone was laughing and coming up to hug me and congratulate me. After all the hugs they only answered me. "We're just welcoming the new member in the family in Christ." Samuel said, with a huge smile. I smiled back and hugged him. "Thanks for taking me in, it's all because of you." I said. He patted my back. "No problem, Carson. Come over here," he said and pulled me over to the dining room table. He picked up a wrapped gift and gave it to Rachel, who walked up to me and handed it to me saying, "Welcome to the family."

I smiled and pulled on the wrapping paper, slowly tearing it apart. It was a book, from what I could tell. I tore more of the wrapping paper off and saw the three words that made me grin madly. The Holy Bible. I smiled and looked up at Rachel. She grinned at me. I threw my arms around her. I knew it was her idea, I heard her speaking to her parents last night when I went downstairs to get a glass of water from the kitchen. I hugged her tightly and she returned the gesture. I pulled back and went in to hug Kyle, then Lisa, Samuel and finally little Luke. "Thanks guys, it means a lot." I said and opened the gift completely. It was a beautiful bible. It had a leather cover and it smelt great. I opened it up and saw words and verses; I knew I was going to love it. I never had one of these before, but I also doubted whether I'd ever be as committed as Rachel and her family. They smiled back at me and embraced me once again.

After that, we ate breakfast. I then went back upstairs to wash and dress. I felt good today, which was still new to me, but I liked it; I loved it. I grabbed my fully charged phone off my night stand, made my bed and rushed out of my room. I jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen. I saw Rachel washing the dishes. I smiled. She looked beautiful this morning. She was wearing a white shirt with patterned shorts and sandals. Her blonde hair was down and straight today. She looked so comfortable and happy. I walked up to her and grabbed a drying up cloth. I picked up a wet bowl and started drying it. She looked at me and smiled. "Thanks, I could use some help." she said. I smiled and moved closer to her, but carefully so she wouldn't notice. "I'm always here to help, just ask." I said. She smiled and nodded. "I'll keep you to that." she said. We stayed silent for a while after that, washing and drying the dishes until we were done. I was busy packing the dishes away when Rachel spoke up. "I think you, Kyle and I should go out, like to the mall or something. To hang out, of course." she suggested. I turned around and looked at her from the other side of the island and smiled. "That's sounds great! I haven't gone out much since I arrived here." I said. She nodded. "I'll go tell Kyle to hurry up in the shower and then we can go." she said and jogged out of the kitchen.

I smiled. My life seemed to be getting better and better. I had new friends, a new family, a girl that makes my day seem brighter and most importantly – I had a new hope. I think my mother would be proud to see that I am moving on. I also secretly hoped she knew the Lord, otherwise she'd be in hell, and that's something I can't bear the thought of. Soon after that thought, Rachel arrived back in the kitchen while talking with Lisa. "I think it's a good idea. It's time you kids have some fun." Lisa said. "Yes!" Rachel said, jumping around in the kitchen. I looked at her and laughed. "How often does she get out?" I asked Lisa. She laughed. "Not enough," I laughed and looked at Rachel. She was now sitting on the counter with a big smile. Lisa laughed another time then left the kitchen. I packed the last of the dishes away and closed the cupboard door. I turned around and pulled Rachel toward me, so I was sitting in between her legs. "You need to get out more," I said. She smiled and nodded. I laughed and moved away. She jumped off the counter. "I'll grab Kyle and my bag and then we'll leave, okay?" she said. I nodded and watched her jog out of the kitchen once again.

~&~

We walked out of The Gamer's House and decided to go get something to eat. Kyle and I had played so many games I couldn't recall many of them and Rachel and I basically only played the Dance Off game and the Pick A Bear game. It was quite funny actually, because we both have really bad aiming skills, but in the end – I won her a tiny bear with a bow around its neck. "So where to now?" Kyle asked. I hummed as I thought, but I was interrupted by the sight of Eli and Emily exiting a book store. "Hey look," I said to Rachel, who was clinging onto the tiny bear. She looked up and smiled. "Hey Emily!" she yelled out and waved in their direction. They turned around and smiled. They started making their way toward us. "Hey guys, care to join us?" she asked. They nodded. "Yeah sure, what are you guys doing anyway?" Eli asked. I shrugged. "Anything really. We were just at The Gamer's House, but we thought we'd get something to eat." I said. Emily nodded. "I know a place that serves the best pizza ever, we have to go there." she said. Kyle nodded. "Let's get some grub!" he exclaimed, earning himself a laugh or two from us.

Emily and Rachel walked together and Kyle walked alone while on his phone, texting someone. I was walking with Eli. We were walking silently, until Eli started talking to me. His words shocked me a bit though. "I just want to apologize for my attitude towards you yesterday. I judged you too quickly and I definitely regret it." he said. My eyebrows creased in confusion. "What are you talking about?" I asked him. He sighed. "I sort of wondered what you were doing at youth, considering what your background was, and I wasn't sure I wanted you there. But then I realised how wrong I was and that I was doing the exact opposite of what they teach us in church." he explained. I remained silent, nodding once in a while. He looked at me and apologized again sincerely. I smiled and nodded my head. "It's okay, I understand." I said. He smiled, seemingly relieved. He stuck his hand out to me. "So, friends?" he offered. I smiled and took his hand in mine. "No, family." I said. He chuckled and hooked his arm around my neck, running his fingers through my hair, messing it up. I laughed and pulled away from him, trying to neaten my hair.

Soon after that, we arrived at this restaurant named Pizza Belle. Emily started talking about how she knew Belle, the woman whom the restaurant was named after, and how great their pizza was. Emily, Eli, Rachel and I walked into the restaurant, leaving Kyle outside because he said he needed to make a call. We sat down and waited for Kyle, but ordered drinks while we waited. We all sat in a round booth, meaning all of our seats were connected; like a long sofa. I was seated in between Eli and an open space left for Kyle. Emily was sitting next to Eli and Rachel after that, at the end of the one side of the booth. When Kyle finally returned, he had Amy at his side. "I knew there was something up," I whispered to Eli. He laughed and nodded. "Welcome Amy, we were expecting you." he said. I broke into a fit of laughter. Eli joined in. No one understood what was funny about what Eli had said, but laughed along with us; I think they were actually laughing at us, instead of along with us. Kyle sat down next to me and Amy next to him, across from Emily at the end of the booth. We chatted for a while, until the waiter came back for our order.

"Pepperoni!" Emily bellowed out. I laughed. "Okay, so we know what Emily's having." I said. "I have an idea, why don't we all share a pizza between two people. A large one of course." I suggested. "It would be cheaper." Rachel chimed in. "Done deal. Emily and Rachel, Eli and I and Kyle and Amy?" I said. They all nodded. "We'll have a large Greek Pizza," Emily said. "Eli and I will have a large Pepperoni," I said and turned to Kyle and Amy. "What are you guys having?" I asked them. Amy looked at Kyle and he nodded. "One large Vegetarian Pizza, please. Thanks." he said. I was quite shocked because Kyle was known for loving his meats. I whispered to Eli, "Is Amy Vegetarian?" Eli nodded. "Yeah," he answered. I nodded. The waiter wrote down the orders and told us he'd be back soon. Eli started talking to me about how he found out that Amy was a vegetarian, but I was too focused on how I was going to handle being around Rachel, knowing that I could possibly ask her out now. Eventually, Eli realised that I wasn't listening and nudged me. "Hey, where is your head at today?" he asked. I shrugged. "Just thinking. Sorry, I didn't mean to block you out." I said. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it." he said with a smile.

I looked toward Emily and Rachel as they chatted away, occasionally looking my way. Were they talking about me? I mentally slapped myself and scolded myself for thinking that and decided to go to the bathroom. Of course, that meant asking Amy and Kyle to stand up. "Uh Kyle, is it okay if I race to the bathroom quickly?" I asked him. He nodded and Amy got up, Kyle following. I quickly got up and thanked them. I walked around trying to find the bathroom and when I eventually found it, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Adam, accompanied by Ethan. "Nice to see you're not dead." he said with a chuckle. "Means your father has another shot at you. Wait – oh yes, he's in jail, such a pity." I clenched my jaw and willed myself not to explode right here. I looked back to the table where I came from and saw Kyle. He was asking Amy to get up. He then made his way over here. A breath of relief found its way out of my mouth and I looked back to Adam. He was smirking, just like he had on that horrid day. "Ready for round two?" he asked and grabbed my shirt.

"Hey," Kyle called out from behind me and walked up to Adam. "Do you mind letting my friend go, please?" he asked. I hated feeling this weak. I wanted to fight him. I wanted him to feel the pain I did when he left me there on the front lawn of my house, bleeding to death. Adam didn't let go of me. I looked to Ethan. His facial expression was blank and he didn't move to help. He looked as if he didn't know what to do. He was frozen stiff. I looked back to Adam who was smirking at him now. "Oh, this just got better. Does Carson need protection now?" he teased. I clenched my jaw again and wished with all my strength that I could hit him so hard that I'd knock him out. "No," a voice said from behind us all. Adam looked over my shoulder. I could tell it was Rachel. "He just needs backup." another voice said. It was Eli. Adam let me go and I turned around. The whole group had left their table and were standing behind me now, staring at Adam and Ethan is disgrace. Adam scoffed and moved toward me. "You think you're too good for us now that you're hanging with the holy group?" he asked me. I didn't reply, but I did smile. "Not too good, but their definitely a better friend to me than you were. So face it, you've just been out numbered." I said. He scoffed and walked away, pulling Ethan along with him.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked me as she stood in front of me. I nodded, but didn't say anything. She gave me a weak smile and wrapped her arms around my waist. She held on to me, tightly. I finally smiled and relaxed in her embrace. I hugged her back. Soon after that, the single hug became a group hug. We seemed to forget we were in a public restaurant, but it was all right. An old man came over to our table later on that afternoon and told us how he admired the way my friends stood up for me. He said that there weren't many real people left in the world and said that we should stay that way. We thanked him and smiled. Then he looked at me, the one who needed defending. He gave me a small smile and said, "You've got a good group of friends here. Hold onto to 'em." he then left with his wife, who smiled lovingly at him. "He's such a nice gentleman. I wonder if he's a Christian?" Amy asked. Kyle smiled at her. "Yeah, I hope so." he agreed. The group had switched seats for some odd reason, but I was actually really happy about the change. Eli was still sitting on my right, but Rachel was now sitting on my right. Kyle and Amy were sitting across each other at the end of the booth and Emily was beside Eli.

Eli turned to me. "I'm sorry about Adam." he whispered so no others could hear. I gave a weak smile and nodded. "It's okay. I'm slowly getting over it. I just get really mad when I see him. It's like the sight of him reminds me of his existence." I said. He nodded. "It's understandable, what he did was unbelievably cruel." he said. I shook my head. "I don't think I'll ever forgive him, he doesn't deserve it." I said as if it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Eli smiled and shook his head. "Neither did any of us." he said and turned away to face his sister. I sat still, completely confused. What did he mean by 'neither did any of us'? They haven't done anything wrong? I blinked a few times before I shrugged it off. "So, what's up?" Rachel asked from beside me. I smiled at her then shrugged again. "Eli just said something weird, that's all." I said, as if it wasn't important. Her eyebrows creased in confusion as her eyes looked from me to Eli. "What did he say?" she asked, looking back at me concerned. I sighed and started to explain. "He said that neither of you guys deserved forgiveness." I said. She cocked an eyebrow at me, completely shocked. "What were you two talking about?" she asked. "We were talking about forgiving Adam." I said without any enthusiasm what-so-ever.

She smiled widely. "I know what he meant, and it's so true." she said. I squinted at her. "But you guys never did anything to me, why wouldn't you guys deserve forgiveness?" I asked confused. She smiled and waved off my question. "Eli wasn't referring to you, he was referring to God." she said. I nodded and pursed my lips. "And – what does that mean? Like when he died on the cross for us?" I asked. She nodded. "Yes. None of us deserved forgiveness for our sins, but he paid the full price, he took the full blow upon himself, so that we might have eternal life." she explained. I nodded. "I get it, but I'm still a little confused." I said, slightly embarrassed. I was labelled a Christian now, but I had no idea what a Christian did. It just felt so right when Kyle approached me and I felt a voice encouraging me to accept it. Rachel rested her hand on my forearm and smiled at me. "It's understandable. You never knew about Jesus before you came to live with us." she said. I smiled at her. I was glad we were talking like this. It felt good with her. I felt alive, like some part of the old, happy me was reborn. I felt this urge to slip my hand into hers, since her hand was still resting on my forearm. I smirked and took her hand off of my arm. She watched silently as I slid my hand into hers underneath the table. I watched to see her reaction. After a while of staring at our hands, she looked up and smiled.

I think that smile was a promise. A promise of eternal friendship. I smiled back, hoping to reply in that same way.