Page 14 of A Really Gay Book
The hard way.
There was a town petition about it, but it turned out it wasn’t legal to issue a restraining order against someone in order to keep them away from every vehicle in town. Especially when they hadn’t done anything.
Those cars fell apart all on their own, Your Honor. Honest.
Once we reached the duck pond, I had to slow down because I was afraid if I got too close to Apple, I’d do something crazy. Like the pants-stealing thing.
Fortunately, I was able to catch up to him because two professors were causing a scene and forced Apple to make a detour that slowed him down. I was able to avoid the area entirely by cutting between two buildings, which was a good thing for me. For some reason, there was a sword involved in the dispute. If I’d gotten near it, I would have been skewered on the spot.
Apple stopped just past the bike rack, and I dove behind a tree. Not only did I not break a bone, but the tree didn’t crack in half and keel over on top of me. It was awesome.
I watched as Apple spoke quietly into his phone. His face grew tense during the conversation, and he hung up the phone. Then he dialed another number. This continued for a while—Apple having a heated conversation I couldn’t quite hear, hanging up, and trying another number.
An Uber pulled up to him, and he waved the guy off, then turned around and missed seeing me by inches.
I could have reached out and touched him if I’d wanted to.
It didn’t escape me that the Uber driver watched Apple as he walked away.
I swore if I saw even a hint of calculation on any of Apple’s gawkers rather than the blind adoration he usually got, that person would go missing forever.
I trailed after Apple, keeping him in sight as he returned to the building where my current class was being held. Then he did something inexplicable. He looked into the window of my class and went dead white.
Apple ran inside the building, and thenIgot to be the one watching through the window as Apple barged into the classroom and dragged my teacher into the hallway. There was some yelling I couldn’t make out, and then Apple stormed back into the classroom and dragged another person out. There was more yelling.
I was pretty sure Apple had just lost his goddamn mind.
It was disturbingly hot for some reason. Like everything Apple did.
I plastered myself by the door to the building so I could peek through the window into the hallway to watch as Apple interrogated the entire floor. Finally, someone pointed in my direction, and I fell over backward to keep out of sight.
Because I was me, I went right over the railing and landed in a bush. No thorns. No stabby knife-like branches. It was like I’d fallen onto a pillow made of rabbit fur.
Apple tore ass past me and my rabbit fur bush and streaked back down the path, heading in the direction we’d just come from.
So, of course, I streaked after him.
ChapterSeven
APPLE
Where was he? Where the flying, fucking hell did Adam go? I was gone for fifteen minutes, max. I didn’t even make it to my lawyer’s office because a few phone calls told me I didn’t have a chance in hell of buying Adam’s house.
It was owned by a collective. One that was created by people who were impossible to find. They had offshore bank accounts and fake names. If I wasn’t freaking out right now, I’d be on that puzzle like white on rice.
But I had to find Adam right now before he got scratched by a kitten and exploded.
He would, too. I’d make a rule in our house as soon as I moved in. NO KITTENS. I’d have it lasered into the front door.
Right along with Adam Belongs To Apple, No Touching Adam, and No Pointy Objects Past The Front Door.
I’d make a list.
I wondered if I could hire someone to make me an Adam tracker. Because any more scares like this would give me a heart attack.
He’d gone to his class. I freaking saw him do it myself, but according to a witness, he went right back out again a few minutes later.
Why would he do that? Didn’t he know the world was full of dangerous things? There were airplanes in the sky just waiting to swoop down on unsuspecting people and drop engines on them. One time I watched a show about a girl who got killed by a toilet seat from space. It was a fictional show, but for Adam, it could turn into a documentary.
