Who: Adrian Where: Seaview When: Friday noon 12/29 Status: Complete
The fog had been terrifying and destructive, leaving Point Pleasant in shambles and yet Adrian had started feeling weirdly good while it was there. Being trapped in the hospital wasn't anyone's idea of a good time but he'd been with people he cared about - who cared about him - and once he was sure they were safe inside, he'd started relaxing into it. He'd spent so much time with Mila and he felt important; keeping her safe, looking out for her and Aaron. When the fog lifted he knew he should feel relieved but he didn't. It was normalcy returning and he felt it keenly how he didn't belong in it. He belonged in the fog or the woods, or the tunnels.
He stuck around for a little while after the fog lifted but then had to leave when their parents showed up. It tore him apart, hearing their voices as he slipped away down the hall, hood up, low profile, like a criminal. Coming home to Point Pleasant had not been a mistake but maybe staying here for too long was. Yet he couldn't bring himself to leave, even as it broke his heart.
He walked back to Aaron's place, even if he probably should have asked Aaron for a ride. It was bitterly cold out still and there was blood in the snow in some places that stirred different sorts of feelings inside of him, feelings he did his best to ignore. At least it didn't take him long to walk it this time since he could see where he was going, unlike his trek toward the hospital a couple of days ago.
He had taken advantage of the chaos at the hospital and swiped a new pager from somebody's office. Those couldn't be tracked so it would be a good way to let Mila reach out to him if she needed him. Once he'd settled in at Aaron's little place in Seaview he unwrapped it and wrote down the number, sticking it on the fridge before gathering his things. Logically? He should stay. He should stay right there and wait until Aaron fixed his car but there were feelings growing inside of him that were stronger than logic. Fear, anxiety, shame. Feeling like a sitting duck just waiting to be captured, cornered there without a working car. It was safer to stay away, he just needed to find somewhere to lay low, somewhere that wasn't connected to his family in any way.
He went through the money he had left, counting crumpled bills from his stash and some of the money he had shamelessly stolen from the hospital. People had been careless with their coats and there had been bigger things to worry about than wallets. It wasn't a lot, especially not if he wanted to pay Aaron for the repairs and he just wasn't sure how he was supposed to make it last. It reminded him yet again that he couldn't stay in Point Pleasant for very long. He needed to go somewhere bigger, somewhere he could blend in and stay under the radar, somewhere he didn't risk running into someone he knew every damn day. The thought of Aaron and Mila dishing out money to keep him alive just made that sinking feeling in his stomach worse.
Aaron would come looking for him at some point, if only to fix the car, so Adrian knew he'd find the note. The more he thought about it the more he realized the fridge was a bad place for it. Aaron was a good guy, but it had become obvious that he was a little slow on the uptake sometimes and a small note on the fridge could easily go unnoticed. So Adrian cleared the kitchen table and wrote a more noticeable note. He even weighed it down with a glass so it wouldn't go flying off if it was windy when Aaron came in. It was a simple note, just a 'if you need to reach me, page me' with the pager number neatly written underneath. Maybe he owed the man an explanation for why he left but if someone else came looking for him, less was better. Safer.
He left Aaron's place only after borrowing some of his winter clothes. 'Stealing' was probably a more accurate term for it but he would still return them if he could. It was fucking cold out there and he needed all the protection he could get. At least this curse that made his life this much harder gave him something to work with as the cold wouldn't kill him as easily as it would have before. It didn't exactly make any of this easier but it would allow him to stay alive longer if things got tough. He gave his car a rueful look, like that chunk of metal had betrayed him, then headed on toward the woods.