I sipped on the hot chocolate, staring on the bottom part of the wall, letting my eye muscles relax and focus on nothing in particular. The heat of the drink seeped through the ceramic glass and onto my fingers and I sighed in exhaustion, untangling one hand from the mug and raised it to my face to try and rub all traces of the worry lines away.

After the two last sleepless nights I had, sleep was catching up on me but I promised Adam that I'll go accompany him to meet up with Carla who's still in the hospital since her vitals weren't showing any signs of improvements and doctors suggested the Jones family to let her stay for some nights to be supervised.

Sleep wasn't an option after what happened three days ago. It didn't help that I have another fight coming up tomorrow. I looked at the clock that was hung on top of the wall across of me and watched the seconds pass by, letting the light tick of it soothe my nerves.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

I saw black dots cloud my vision, my eyelids felt heavier and heavier with every tick and tock. It was the lullaby, luring me into the darkness and convincing my senses to succumb to the drowsiness I felt.

I immediately rested my head on my crossed arms and sighed. My life is so messed up. I can't believe I led them to Adam. God, I'm so stupid.

What does baldy want anyway? He wouldn't be there that night if it was just to fund scowl-face. He has a bigger role in this play and I'm not sure if I want to know.

I scrunched up my face, my head spinning whilst thinking about the odds. Dom's face popped up and it was as if my brain was rewinding what he said.

It was true. Bryant would probably do anything to keep me safe. Could baldy be the person he was keeping me safe from?

This is so messed up.

I groaned audibly when my head starts throbbing and I rubbed my temples with my forefinger. When that didn't work, I gave up and dropped my head on the table. Hard.

"Whoa, careful, you might have a concussion. Didn't your parents tell you that it's not good to bang your head anywhere without a good reason?" Adam exclaimed in surprise once he entered the kitchen. I looked up, my forehead tingling with a pinch of pain and is probably a raw shade of red.

"Sorry, I'm just stressed," I huffed out a breath before feeling an itch in my throat and a cough forced its way out. Adam turned to look at me properly this time and my self-consciousness resurfaced as his eyes roamed my face and eyed my from head to toe before exclaiming, "That's it. We're not going anywhere."

I furrowed my eyebrow, "What? But why? We have to visit your mom, she would want you to visit." I protested without skipping a beat. "And risk you passing out halfway to the hospital? No thank you." He shuffled towards me and helped me out of the stool before I could even object and hauled me onto the couch into the living room.

"Here, I'll be back with some porridge." He didn't even give me time to utter a word before whirling away back to the kitchen.

Wait what?

"You can cook?" I had to raise my voice and there wasn't anyone in the house anyway, I heard a bark of laugh from the kitchen and I huffed under my breath. Well, look at the bright side, at least one of us knows our way in the kitchen.

It sure as hell isn't me though.

Half a minute later, a bowl of steaming porridge was sitting in front of me on the coffee table and Adam was plopped beside me, rubbing my shoulders in a soothing way.

I leaned more into him and rested my heavy head on his chest, making sure to keep my hands on my lap. He kissed the crown of my head and I felt my whole body heat up. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

"Come on, you gotta eat, you look like you've been dead for a day and just got resurrected." He mumbled into my hair and I glared at the air.

"You would say that to the girl you professed your love to just three days ago," I muttered in feigned annoyance.

He immediately got defensive and from the humorous tone under his voice, I let out a laugh, feeling all the exhaustion escaping my system and I slid off the couch onto the carpeted floor. I felt my butt hit the floor with a soft thud and crossed my legs before taking the spoon into my hands and playing with the porridge for a bit.

I dipped the spoon and raised its contents to inspect it. Hey, I might be in love with the dude but the fighter in me wouldn't let any food in my mouth without making sure it's not poisoned.

Something immediately stood out in the lump of white gooey substance. It was brown and looked to be something like a shredded piece of bread. I turned to Adam, "Are you trying to kill me?" I asked him with all seriousness.

What? I have a right to be wary. I'm an illegal street fighter, for God's sake.

"Maybe," He joked with a cheeky smile, teasing me but my pointed look made him pout that even though I'm suspecting him for a possible food poisoning case, I can't help but melt the second that pout made itself known.

He sighed in disappointment and shook his head like he was scolding a kid, "You're no fun." He pointed out and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"It's called cakwe. How the hell have you been living without tasting that piece of goodness?" His voice held a genuine bewilderment to it, making me believe that he actually couldn't believe I've never tasted this so called 'cakwe'.

I shrugged, turning back to the porridge and took the spoon that I dropped into the bowl earlier, scooping up one of the cakwe along with a spoonful of porridge. On three..

I closed my eyes, I can only hope that he's a better cook than I am. I felt the spoon enter my mouth as the taste of something wet grazed my lips.

The pinch of saltiness of the porridge hit my taste buds and my eyes popped open in surprise in the surprisingly good taste of the porridge. He wasn't wrong, the cakwe mixed well with the whole porridge taste sensation going on. I chewed on it in complete wonder, Adam's question circling my head.

How did I live without tasting this?

I knew I fell in love with this food the second I couldn't suppress my hands from shoving another mouthful into my mouth. God, this is one good food. "I can hug you right now," I said through a mouthful and although it must have looked beyond disgusting, the burst of laughter behind me doesn't seem to think so.

"I'll make you more if you kiss me," I snorted at that. Of course he'll ask for that. Typical guys. I rolled my eyes and although he couldn't see me, I'm pretty sure he knows I'm rolling my eyes.

I shoved another mouthful and soon enough, I was licking the bowl clean. Damn, I have got to get my hands on more of those food.

I heard Adam chuckle and when  finished it, I climbed back on the couch and got back to my previous position, now content and with a satisfied stomach.

"Thank you," I murmured and my eyelids drooped but before I can close my eyes, Adam got out that 4 words that always sets off an alarm on anyone's head if it was directed to them. My eyes immediately shot open and I was wide awake with the sinking feeling of my heart.

I squeezed my eyes shut and relished the feeling of being in his arms.

"We have to talk, Case." He said softly and I nodded slowly.

"I know, just.. Give me a minute here." I said in a tight voice.

"You alright?" I sighed out a breath before straightening up, escaping his warm embrace.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I breathed out and completed the sentence I know I'm going to regret. One look into those pair of eyes and I know this is going to be a sensitive topic.

Adam's eyes roamed my face, searching for any signs of anything out of the usual before opening his mouth to say the words I dread.

"We gotta talk about it, Case."

And I knew he was addressing the night that we were cornered and the night I almost got him killed.

With that feeling of my heart plunging into my stomach, all thoughts of being content flew out the window and instead, a feeling of horrid dread entered my system.

God help me.