Vince Garcia | Kurt Wagner (pointytailtrick) wrote in thereincarnates, @ 2014-10-16 22:03:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | adam malloy, vince garcia |
Who: Vince Garcia and Adam Malloy
When: Septemmber 29th 2014 Immediately following this
Where: Adam's apartment
What: Time to admit it.
Rating: PG for angst, boy on boy kisses.
When he'd called Vince, Adam hadn't really been sure what he was looking for. The cure had become one more secret in a long line of them, one that he couldn't share with anybody in his life. With Connor in a coma, Quinn safely distracted by Connor being in a coma, Colby busy with her new official team, and his relationship with Q not the sort of thing that included personal conversation, Adam could tell himself that it was fine, that no one would miss him if he just disappeared. A couple of counseling sessions with the doctor, and then the pills, and day after day Rictor's voice had gotten quieter and quieter. He thought it would be peaceful.
Then, he was gone, and Adam was alone with all his mistakes and realizing that getting rid of Rictor didn't make his life go back to the way it was supposed to be. It didn't make those people any more alive, and he didn't wake up back in the Navy. The truth was, he was stuck in the same miserable position, with the same crushing guilt, and no one to share the burden or break the silence. He couldn't get to work at the Agency, anymore, so he was technically unemployed. When Connor had woken up and Adam realized that he couldn't go see him, maybe wouldn't see any of the only friends he had, ever again... that was when it had finally sunk in how much of a mistake he'd made.
He hadn't known he was going to call Vince until the phone was ringing. He still didn't know why he'd called Vince - maybe it was that he'd had less to lose with Vince, that if Vince hated him for the choice at least he wasn't losing someone that he'd started really thinking of as a friend. Hell, maybe it was that Vince was the only person in his life who'd noticed his damn birthday - not that he'd expected anyone else to. More important things going on, and he didn't really tell anybody it was coming (and how did Vince find out, anyway?). Maybe, deep down, he'd done it because he knew that Vince, friendly guy that he was, friendly enough to not even seem phased by a grumpy ass like Adam, would care, would drop everything and come. Selfish of him, yeah, but he looked at that as the least of his sins.
The echo of Vince's voice, first from his living room and then through the phone, drew Adam out of his silence. He cleared his throat and called out, "Bedroom." Then, since Vince should have no problems following the sound of his voice, he hung up the phone.
Vince heard his voice and turned toward it. He'd never really been in Adam's place before, but it was very..him. He followed the voice to the bedroom and found Adam sitting on the foot of the bed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He looked like shit and it hurt Vince's heart to see him like that. It would hurt to see anyone in that state, but for some reason, it was worse with Adam.
"Hey." He walked in and sat down next to him, not too close because the last thing he needed to do was freak Adam out by thinking he was hitting on him rather than just being friendly. It was hard not to touch him though, everything in Vince told him to offer some sort of physical comfort. "How you doing?" It was a stupid question, but it broke the ice and gave him some idea of what to do next. At least Adam hadn't gotten upset about him just showing up.
Adam shrugged. He should have been doing great. Ever since Rictor had first shown up, he'd been wishing him gone. Now that he was, now that there were no smartass comments or complaints about their locked away power, he should have been happy.
He wasn't. That fucking figured. Maybe he just didn't get to be happy anymore, maybe that was something he didn't get to have. "I'm... here." That was about all he had going for him. He was still here. He wasn't trying to jump off any buildings yet.
That answer was enough to give him chills and this time Adam didn't resist the urge to rest a hand on his shoulder gently then let it run slowly down his back . "Well. That's something." He offered a small smile, "I have to say that I at least am glad you're still here." Adam had never seemed happy to be a reincarnate, but he seemed very much less happy now that he wasn't. That too made his chest ache. "You want to talk about it?" It seemed like he did...why else would he have called?
Yeah, Adam knew that there were people who cared whether he was alive or dead. It was strangely nice to hear it, though, now that he felt so damn alone (he'd thought he wanted to be alone). "Don't know what there is to talk about." He'd taken the cure. There was no going back. He couldn't go back to the doctor and tell him 'sorry, fucked up, I was wrong, can you give him back to me now?' Rictor was gone, maybe even reincarnated into someone else already, someone who wouldn't block his power, who would be okay with Rictor being gay, who'd wish for Shatterstar to show up just as much as Adam was afraid of it. Maybe he was glad.
At least he wasn't flinching away, so that was encouraging. "Pretty sure there is quite a bit to talk about. Unless you were hoping I'd show up and give you a ration of shit for taking it. " Vince paused, "Which isn't going to happen in case you were waiting for it." He couldn't' imagine giving up Kurt. Kurt was a part of him, intertwined and connected and feeling him gone would be...like being half alive. Although he knew Adam wasn't fond of Ric, to put it mildly. "Didn't turn out how you'd hoped?"
Maybe Adam should pull away. Maybe it would be safer. What the fuck did he have left to lose, though? He'd fucked up his new life just as badly as Rictor had fucked up his old one. "Not... exactly." Not at all like he'd hoped. Now, instead of losing his dreams, he'd lost... everything, pretty much. He might have felt better if Vince had given him shit for it, had asked him how he could have. He'd figured, of everyone he knew, Vince would be the least likely to, though. Another reason he'd called him, instead of Quinn or Colby or someone else who would have read him the riot act for being so damn stupid.
Vince nodded slowly and fuck he wanted to just..hug him and not let go, but instead he took a slow deep breath. He needed to get Adam talking ,so he switched to more open ended questions. "What were you expecting? Everything involving him to just...stop?"
Adam could have stuck with just a yes or no, but... Vince had a point. If he hadn't wanted to talk about it, he wouldn't have called. "Guess I thought it would just be like he never existed. Like he was never here." But that was stupid. No cure could go back and change the past - there were things that could, but they were probably all reincarnate related, and that world wasn't something he could really touch, anymore.
Vince continued rubbing his back slowly, the touch was at least keeping him from doing anything really dumb that would upset Adam further. He could kind of understand that, a little, given how much Adam had been distressed over Rictor. "Why did you want it to be like he'd never existed?"
"If he'd never existed..." Adam shook his head. "I'd still have a job I love. A purpose. A reason to get up in the morning." But... hadn't he found that again? He'd had the Agency, and X-Factor, jobs where he could help people with the skills he'd gained in the Navy, the skills he'd gained from Rictor. Now... could he even hack? Had he lost those computer skills that Rictor had brought? "Would never have had to fight people who kept telling me that because Ric's gay, it means I have to be." But wouldn't he still be fighting...
Vince listened quietly, looking at the wall or the floor, trying not to make Adam feel too much on the spot. He'd known that Adam had been struggling, but the other man had never let him see how much and now that he knew..well, he felt a little guilty for not pushing harder, but the last part actually made him angry..and anger was a very, very rare emotion for him. "Wait...wait..people told you that you *had* to be gay because Rictor was? Seriously?"
Adam shrugged, shifting restlessly. "Maybe not outright. But they just... assume. Some little shit gave me a hard time about it, first time I posted on the forums." Sure, he was holding on to that long past when it would have made sense to let it go, especially since he hadn't given Adam any shit since then, but things like that? They stuck with him.
"I'm sorry." And he was, that was a horrible way to be greeted. Being straight and having Ric's memories has to be uncomfortable. Fortunately he didn't have that problem as Kurt had very little sexual experience and he was incredibly flexible in his orientation. "That had to make everything a little more uncomfortable, I'm sure. " Vince felt like he was grasping at straws, trying to figure out what to say, how not to freak Adam out, but this wasn't the same man he knew. "But you got rid of him...and you didn't get any of that back...so now you have to find your life again?"
"I already started over once." Adam buried his face in his hands. He'd thought this would be so fucking easy. "Don't know if I can do it again." And he finally registered Vince's touch, and fuck, maybe he should push him away. He knew he should, actually. He wasn't fucking gay, he didn't want some guy touching him, and it hurt to not have Ric's voice in the back of his mind taunting him about being in denial, because without Ric the only one who could tell him that was himself, and now he didn't have anyone else to blame.
Vince wants so, so badly to pulls Adam into a hug and hold onto him but he can feel that tension and resists the urge so hard he's almost trembling. Regretfully he pulled his hand away, but didn't move further away, their shoulders almost touching. "I can't even imagine how hard that has to be for you. Is there anything I can do? Can I help? "
Was there anything that could help? Adam didn't know. Didn't think there was. There was no way to bring Ric back, after all, no way to undo any of his mistakes, might as well just be over... he'd been determined not to take that way out, Ric's failed way out, but now that Ric wasn't there did it matter? No one could claim it was Ric's influence, anymore. Instead, he just shook his head, gritting his teeth. "No. Already fucked it up. No turning back."
"No," he agreed quietly, "You can't turn back." Which was true of everything in life, once you moved forward you couldn't go back or undo things. Wallowing in the past didn't help anything. "But you also don't have to go forward alone. I'm still here. I wasn't friends with Ric, I'm friends with you. Whether you have him or not...you're still my friend."
Adam hadn't known how badly he needed to hear that. He turned to face Vince a little more. "I..." He didn't know how to say what that meant to him. Didn't know the right words at all. "Last time, I lost everyone. Everything." Now, though, he could admit it was through nobody's fault but his own. He'd been the one to cut them out. He could cut Vince out now, or... or he could let him be his friend.
Vince smiled gently, "Yeah..well, I'm kind of stubborn and I like you. So you're pretty stuck with me." And just like that it hit him, just how fucked he was. He'd gone and fallen for a straight guy. Again. Man..one day you'd think he'd learn his damn lesson on that. At least this time he knew better than to admit it.
Liked him? Adam didn't see much to like. He was a stubborn ass who kept fucking things up for himself and everyone around him. Now, he was too much of a coward to even let his bosses know that he couldn't work for them anymore because he'd cut out this vital piece of him. What the hell could Vince possibly like about him? Did he want to question it, in case that made Vince change his mind? Stuck, Adam just stared at him, eyes wide and surprised.
Smiling a bit more he nudged Adam's shoulder with his own. "I know. It's a shock. You think you're too much of an asshole and too much of a jerk and no one could possible want to be around you. But...I know there's some stuff going on under there. And you don't have to tell me if you don't want. I still know. So.."
Adam couldn't take looking at him. It made him feel... stupid. He closed his eyes to escape Vince's smile, gritting his teeth. "I... can't." He sounded at least a little apologetic, though he had no fucking clue what he was apologizing for. Not being able to talk? Not being able to... to... to be a normal fucking person about the fact that a nice guy was offering him friendship and saying he'd stick around even when Adam was being a fucking idiot.
Vince swore silently to himself. Too much too fast. "You can't..what?" he asked the question softly, more than a little afraid Adam would say he couldn't be friends. If he did, things were going to get awkward real fast since there was no way in hell Vince was leaving him alone in this state of mind.
"...talk about it." There were a lot more things that Adam couldn't do, but talking about them? That was going to leave him alone, and his feelings on being alone right now were pretty damn similar to Vince's on leaving him that way.
Vince nodded, "It's okay. I just said you didn't have to." He felt like he needed to get Adam moving so he nudged him again. "C'mon. Bet you haven't eaten in a while and I happen to know a really great chef. Let's so see what I can make out of what's i your fridge. We can have some lunch, have a few beers...you can show me what you do for fun. See if we can't at least find something worth a smile."
Who the hell was this guy? Adam opened his eyes and looked over at him, then groaned and started pushing himself to his feet. "Don't know what I have. I haven't been shopping in a while." Couldn't remember, actually, the last time he'd gone. Before or after Ric's voice started fading?
"We'll see. I just feel like some sort of bad snooper or something if I just go poking around in there on my own." He nudged Adam again then got up and followed him into the kitchen. "Well..you have a seat and it'll be kinda like he first time you came over and I made you tacos. Except your place." He looked in the fridge and found some eggs a little onion that was a bit past it's prime but still okay and some bacon that wasn't opened. Perfect. He found a pan and a bowl hen looked and found a little dill. "Awesome. Well...looks like some fancy scrambled eggs it is then."
"...huh. I, uh, didn't know I had any of that." It was a little weird, seeing someone else in his kitchen. Adam didn't really have guests over, even now that he had friends (had friends, before he fucked it all up again, would he have any aside from Vince left?). Weird, but... not bad. Not as bad as he'd expected. "It's all still good? Seriously? Huh."
"Well eggs take a while to go bad. So does bacon." Vince pulled out a knife that was in some serious need of sharpening, but it would work and diced up the somewhat old onion then put it and some butter in a pan to soften while he get everything else ready. It was easier while he was cooking to really scrutinize Adam without staring. "So...how long ago?"
"I took the pills... about three weeks ago." Had it really been so recent? Adam felt like he'd been listening to Ric slowly fade for far longer. "I stopped hearing him at all... on my birthday. Should have been a great birthday present, right? Getting some peace and quiet around here?" He sat, for lack of anything better to do, and gripped the table until his knuckles turned white. "Since then, it's just... been me."
So it hadn't been that long ago, but the fading process seemed to take a while. Part of Vince wanted to tell him what a fucking idiot he was, but he was pretty sure that his friend knew that. His gaze went to the white knuckled grip on the table. "Does anyone else know?"
Adam tried to speak, but he couldn't, not around the knot forming in his throat. Instead, he just shook his head. No, he hadn't been brave enough to tell anyone, to face their reactions, even though there wasn't any escaping it, in the end.
With the eggs beaten, he took the onions out and put the bacon in then moved next to Adam, one hand resting on his shoulder before he sat down. "You want me to all anyone? or Tell anyone?"
Adam started to shake his head again, then shrugged. "I'll... I'll need to let work know. Somehow. Not sure..." Work, both works, would take care of pretty much everyone who would care, and it was a little less terrifying than telling them on a personal level.
"Do you want me to post it on the journals to them? I can do that...if you don't want to." Right now, anything he could do to make this easier on Adam, he was going to do. "What about your sister?"
He hadn't even thought about his sister. Fuck, he was such a shit brother. "No. No, not on the boards. Just. Can you... fuck, I don't know, take in a letter of resignation to the Agency for me? And... and to Quinn?" Adam couldn't handle it being out there for everyone to see.
Vince nodded slowly, "Yeah. I can do that. I work there, so...shouldn't be too hard." He squeezed Adam's shoulder gently then got up to flip the bacon. "Is there anyone else you want to know..and are you going to tell them why you're resigning?"
"It'll all be in the letter." Adam thought he could draft a letter that would get everything relevant in as few words as possible. Maybe then he'd move, so that none of them could find him. And then he'd change his phone number so they couldn't call him. Just disappear completely.
Vince came back and sat down again, looking at him. "Hey man...don't. I know you don't believe it..but there are people here that care about you....don't go checking out on us okay?"
"How much are they going to care when they realize I ripped the reason we met out of my head? Really?" Adam shook his head. "They're going to be pissed."
"Yeah. They probably will be pissed. Because you lost something that they treasured...but that doesn't mean they want to write you off. " Vince looked at him seriously, "Doesn't mean I'm willing to write you off. Adam, you're still my friend and I still care about you. You know..let them be mad. Let them grieve that loss. But you're not just some vessel for Ric."
Adam couldn't keep eye contact. "Yeah. I guess." But he was wrong. What other good was Adam, other than Ric's hacking skills and the fact that he'd been part of a team? That was why Connor, and Quinn, and Colby, that was why they'd all cared.
"No...no. There's no you guess. You are a great guy. You're a good man. I know you don't fucking believe it..but you are...so none of this guess bullshit. You can't fucking shove people away forever. Some time man, some time you're going to have to let someone in."
Vince's passion leaks into his voice, no one is unimportant. No one. Adam just needs to start to believe that he has some value to people aside from Ric and why he doesn't believe that, Vince has no idea.
"How the fuck can you say these things?" Adam shook his head, raising his hands to his face and pressing hard. "You don't know me. You don't know the shit I've done. How can you pretend like you know I'm something worthwhile?"
Vince watched them him, then reached up and gripped his wrist, pulling it down gently so he could see him. "Because I'm sitting here...seeing you."
Adam resisted, but it was like the strength had gone out of him, so Vince was able to tug his hands away with little problem. "You aren't. You don't. Not really. If you really saw me..."
"If I really saw you, what exactly do you think I'd see?"
All Adam could do was shake his head. If Vince could really see him, he wouldn't be sitting here across from him trying to help him.
Vince looked t him again, "I'm serious, Adam. What is it you think I'm going to see that'll send me running away?"
"You just would. Okay?" And Adam needed Vince to shut up before he told him, before he drove away the last person that gave a damn about whether he was dead or alive. Or... or maybe he should drive him away. Maybe it would be easier...
With a soft breath he gets up and goes to get the eggs finished, giving Adam some time to pull himself together then returns and puts the plate in front of him with a fork before sitting down again. "Why do you hate yourself so fucking much, Adam?"
Adam just bowed his head again, focusing on his food. He took a bite, to give himself an excuse not to talk for a moment. "This is good."
Vince didn't say anything at first, he just sat quietly and watched him eat, "Thanks." The compliment was nice, but he was more worried about what was hiding behind that silence as Adam ate. He stretched his legs out under the table and leaned back in his chair.
It should be so damn easy. If Adam was someone else, having dinner with.... a guy. An attractive guy. If he was someone who was interested in guys, it would be so easy to stretch out his legs, to press against Vince's. But he was him. And he didn't like guys. Didn't. And who'd want the fucking mess he was now, anyway. "Welcome."
Once Adam finishes eating, Vince leans forward again, "Adam," starts quietly, "Look, I know we don't know each other that well. But I can tell there's something you're holding back...and just, you know. If you want to tell me, I'll listen. Cause I think you need to get some of this shit out...and deal with it."
"I..." Yeah. Maybe he did. But the likelihood of Adam actually talking about it... that was slim. But... what the fuck else did he have to lose? Unable to decide either way, he sat in silence a little longer.
Vince just sat quietly and waited, watching his face and trying to figure out what he was holding back.
"I can't." Fuck. He'd kept his silence so long that Adam didn't even know how to start to break it, even if he wanted to. No matter how much it fucking hurt to hold it in. His hands trembled with it, so he dropped his fork and clasped them tightly together, trying to hide it.
Reaching out, Vince covered Adam's hand with his own, "Whatever it is...you're going ot feel better not trying to hold into it so tight it chokes you. "
The breath that escaped was almost a sob. "Vince. I fuck up everything I touch." Adam couldn't pull away, though. He released his hold on his own hand, turned it palm up to grip Vince's, instead, holding on like it was his only fucking lifeline. Maybe it was.
Vince was surprised by that, but didn't let go and didn't let it show, "Why do you think that?" He was fairly sure that wasn't the case, but it was Adam's perspective that mattered in this case.
At least Vince hadn't immediately rejected that. Adam had figured he'd do that thing where everyone waves off your concerns after they say they want to know what's wrong, trying to brush over it quickly instead of making everything uncomfortable. "I fucked up in the Navy, I fucked up trying to live under the radar as a reincarnate, and now I've fucked up this."
Okay, so Adam still hadn't pulled away, that was a plus and he was getting more than two or three words, so that was also good. "How'd you fuck up in the Navy?"
That one... that one was hard to explain. Adam shrugged. "Freaked out when I became a reincarnate." That was close enough to the truth. It just wasn't the whole truth. He kept on holding Vince's hand, because maybe he needed someone to hear at least this. "Made some... bad choices."
"We all make bad choices sometimes. And..being a reincarnate can be pretty damn terrifying at first. So...freaking out isn't really all that unheard of. I'd hardly call that fucking up." Desperately wants to run his thumb over Adam's skin, but sort of half afraid he'll remind him he's holding a man's hand.
Adam hasn't forgotten he's holding a man's hand, and it's the one fucked up thing in this whole fucked up night that doesn't feel totally fucking awful. Maybe... maybe this will be enough. Maybe he can give himself this and that will make the rest of that thing he doesn't want to be just... go away. "I made some really bad choices. The kind you can't undo."
Vince nodded slowly, "So...you're going to beat yourself up for them for an enternity?"
Okay, yeah, putting it that way... but Adam couldn't tell him why. He couldn't tell him why he could never, ever be forgiven. "Guess so, yeah."
"Doesn't that seem a little extreme? I mean...it was a bad decision..not the end of the world."
Adam squeezed his eyes closed, let some of the despair show on his face. "It was the end of my world. Nothing's been right since."
He can't not respond to that, he can't, Vince wraps an arm around his shoulders and squeezes gently, "What was so bad that your world ended, Adam?"
Oh. Fuck. Adam gulped in a breath, trying to hold himself still, to be a fucking rock. "I just. I fucked up. I fucked up so bad."
"So...you've said, but what did you fuck up so badly that you can't forgive yourself?" Something was insisting that he continue pushing, asking, that he was so close and that Adam needed this so badly and even if after this, Adam couldn't even stand to see him, something needed to be done, the pain he was holding onto needed to be released. It was the only way he was ever, ever going to heal.
He was so close, and he was so warm, and Adam was so fucking tired of feeling cold and alone. With a low whine in the back of his throat, he wrapped his arms around Vince's neck and held on tightly, pressing their cheeks together, breath harsh against Vince's ear.
Vince's breath caught briefly, but he wrapped his arms around Adam and just..held him. "It's okay...I've got you. Promise." He tried very hard not to think about how good Adam felt of the feeling of his breath against his ear.
Vince felt so solid against him, when everything else was crazy, and Adam forgot what he should do and just kept holding on... and then, because nothing mattered anyway, because he didn't have anything left, he turned his face to press his lips against Adam's ear, planting a hard, dry kiss there, and then another on his jaw.
Okay, now that he didn't expect and suddenly so many other pieces fall into place, the self hatred, the issues with Ric, his hypervigilance against even friendly contact with other men. But now, Vince feels like it's taking advantage, but holy fuck does he want this. His hand comes up and cradles the back of Adam's head.
That's it. That's... he can't pretend anymore. Not to himself, because there's no fucking reason to do that other than that he wanted to, that he wanted to kiss a man, even if it wasn't a real kiss, mouth to mouth. It still counted, had to count, because now someone knew. His next breath sounded more like a sob, and he pressed another kiss to Vince's cheek... rougher than a woman's, firmer, definitely not a woman and it still felt... good. Right.
Vince leaned back and looked at him, then very gently brushed his hips over Adam's, the soft spark that seemed to spread over his skin caught him completely off guard. "It's okay," he whispered softly his hand cupped against Adam's jaw.
Adam's breath caught in the back of his throat, and he crushed his lips against Vince's, kissing back far harder than Vince had kissed him... but he'd been holding this back too long to be gentle, now. He raised his hands to grip Vince's face, holding him in place to he could keep kissing him, keep control of the situation.
That was not making it easier because Adam felt so fucking good, Vince slide an arm around his waist, broke the kiss gently and just held him so tightly, "Adam...", he murmured softly against his ear. "God, I want this...so bad. You feel so good and nothing would feel better than to just kiss you breathless and hear more of those gorgeous sounds. But..I. I don't want to be something you regret. I care about you too much for that." His hand cupped the back of Adam's head and he kissed his cheek softly then again, then his jaw. "You are so gorgeous and intelligent and compassionate..everything I could ever ask for, but I won't take advantage of you when you're hurting."
There was only one response to that. Adam pulled back, stared at him, and asked, "What the fuck are you talking about?" Yeah, okay, he knew he wasn't hideous, but intelligent? Not hardly. And compassionate? Where the fuck would Vince come up with that. But... fuck. Fuck he'd actually just... done that. He'd kissed a guy and it was too late to turn back. Fuck.
Vince could feel the tension in Adam and even though he desperately....desperately wanted to pull him in close again. "I'm...talking about the fact that I'm...really attracted to you, but I don't want to...do more than you'll regret...because I'm pretty sure we already crossed that line."
They had, but if they'd just kept going... fuck, he could have had just one night, just one fucking night where it didn't matter, and then... then he could just vanish. Go away. But apparently he couldn't even have that. He pulled away further. "I'll type up the letters." Then he could give them to Vince, and Vince could get the hell out.
Vince reached for his arm, fingers gentle. "Adam...please don't do this." He was trying so hard to do the right thing, but he didn't know how to help him. If Adam would just...let him in.
"Don't write them? I have to resign. I'm not a reincarnate anymore." And fuck, that shouldn't hurt Adam so much. This was what he'd wanted.
"No..well yes..but. I know you have to do that. I meant this, " he gestured between the two of them and sighed. "This...us...kissing. The whole thing where you are rather insistent that you're straight..and. I. Don't shut me out. Please."
"It was a mistake." Adam had known that from the start. "I just wanted to feel close to somebody. It didn't mean anything." It had meant everything.
Vince let that hurt for a moment even though he knew Adam didn't mean it, he closed the distance between them. "It..meant something to me. It meant a lot to me..means a lot to me."
"Not to me." He didn't mean it. It was obvious that he didn't mean it, but Adam said it anyway, because Vince couldn't read his mind. Maybe he'd be deceived. "Back off."
Vince looked at him for a second, then looked at the ground. "Leave the letters under your door mat. I'll pick them up later." His voice shook a little despite his best effort and then he was simply gone with a poof and the smell of brimstone.
Adam clenched his fists, taking a deep breath to calm himself. It was for the best. It was for the fucking best. He sat down and started typing, trying to decide how to end his life, this time.