Truth be told, reunions like this bore her. But she didn’t have a good excuse not to attend, especially when the one who informed him was a former beloved teacher- someone she had looked up to in her youth. Can’t say no to her face. Adra was mulling at the corner after having survived mindless banter with some ex-classmates. She could not remember the story they were telling and was just laughing when everyone did. When they finally moved away from her, the air somehow cleared and her chocolate hues landed on the one person she had least expected to see tonight. She was that young, snobbish younger genius who made everybody felt inferior and Adra was sure that half of the people here hated her guts once. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here," she remarked, canting her head to the side as they made their way over. “I must say that this is probably the only time that I’m actually to glad to see you.”

She never had anyone over at her loft apartment in New York. So when Kit suggested that they were due for a girl's night, she jumped at that opportunity. Adra counted the ingredients on the counter and double checked them against her list. There was already a plate of warm baklavas on the kitchen counter.

Kit had been a huge part of her healing journey and the woman eventually became a close friend - someone whom Adra trusts with her deepest, darkest secrets. And Adra hoped she's the same for Kit. The doorbell rang and Adra got up to open the door with one hand nursing a cigarette. A lazy smirk had hooked onto her lips as she greeted Kit. "I hope you're ready to bake some ass and kick some cookies...." She stopped herself before guffawing. "Bake some cookies and... you know what I mean, come in please!!"

"Sorry, I started without you," Adra held up her cigarette and made a face. She had opened her windows to let the cool air in and ventilate the loft since she's smoking. "I hope my place wasn't too difficult to find? How's your day, Kit?" Adra led the other woman into her kitchen and opened up the fridge. "Feel free to take anything in here! I have beer... Pinot... orange juice if you want to be tame tonight. Coffee if you feel adventurous and tea if you want to indulge in your Britishness."

Nothing like a or several margarita or tequila shots to make her forget about the day. As if it was bad enough no one took her seriously when she was a guest lecturer in Columbia for the morning, Adra came back to her classroom with the substitute teacher bawling his eyes out and using up all her tissues because he got upstaged by some nerd in her AP Calculus class. She had half a mind to return to her empty apartment and throw a pity party for herself.

But a pity party in the nearby pub is better right? Plus she could always eyeball the cute bartender since her love life was an outright joke. Drink after drink was poured for her and she somehow ignored the bartender asking her if she was all right? Or did he ask her if she could pay her tab? It doesn't matter. Her speech was getting a tad too jumbled up with Greek and was she actually spouting out random Latin curse phrases to the guy on the next seat till he moved away?

The music was upbeat but Adra never found herself attracted to the noise playing in establishments like these. She was just here for the alcohol and company - although the latter was glaringly absent. "Toooonnnyyyy," she crooned in an out-of-tune manner across the bar and waved at the said cute bartender. When she caught his attention, Adra waved her empty margarita glass at him. "Hey, hey," she called again when he was near enough. "Is my face doing that weird red splotchy thing?" she asked in a feigned hushed manner. "Because I think I scared that guy over there," Adra waved behind her in a desultory manner. "If I start to look like an angry redfaced witch, you'd be honest with me, right?" she continued, waving her fingers around her face. Her stomach was churning weirdly and Adra had to pause for a moment to remember if she even ate anything before downing the whole pub. "Did I order fries?"

She shuddered slightly against Tyler, still feeling the tremors of her own high. Her staccato breathing had slowed down and so did her rapid heartbeat. If anyone told her she'd end up in bed with Tyler two months ago, she would have laughed and told them they were insane. And yet... here she was, sprawled naked beside him, their limbs still tangled in her studio apartment. "Shit. I'm hungry," Adra whispered, cracking a smile against the crook of his neck before she pulled away. "A cheeseburger sounds so good right now." As much as she didn't want to tear herself away from his warm frame, hunger had really hit her like a ton of bricks. She got up and stretched upwards, tittering towards her small closet.

"Are you just gonna ogle or do you actually want a burger too?" she called out, pulling on a robe from her closet. "I think I have frozen patties and brioche bread." Her apartment was rather small - he could just watch her from the bed as she rummage through the fridge for the ingredients. As Adra got busy prepping, her eyes landed on the Sudoku puzzle they were challenging each other with before Tyler distracted her. "Ah, don't you think for a second I have forgotten about this one," she said teasingly, pointing at the puzzle on the table. "I was about to beat your ass when you seduced me, Mr Dennison. Tsk."

Adra had always thought seeking help was an embarrassment. However, knowing that other people also faced similar problems or go through the same stages as she did gave her some solace. Besides, she rather listen to other people complain or share about their issues before getting to hers rather than having one-to-one sessions with a therapist. That was always a chore because Adra would usually end up staring at her lap, giving monotonous answers. So here she is, in the elevator, heading to the session for the second time. She decided to read a pamphlet on survivor's guilt to pass the time.

“Adra?”

Her heart jumped to her throat as she looked up at the person addressing her. A sense of panic began to rise in the pit of her stomach. It was as if her worst nightmare had come true, to have someone she knew - know her secret.  Her eyes widened in recognition. Insides squirming as her cheeks grew flushed. She quickly stuffed the pamphlet into her bag, hoping the other didn't notice what she was reading. No one was supposed to know that she’s going to this support group. She wished she could have hidden her facial expression. But Adra could not for the life of her, mask herself. The only good thing she could do was sarcasm but that wouldn’t work either.  “Hi.” That was all she could wrangle out of her throat. 

"What you don't think I can hang?" the man's voice echoed around as they started to wander back down the trail, the little cliff he had found on one of his runs was a place he had wanted to take her for a while. The sunrise and coffee had been perfect, everything for once was going according to plan, not a racoon in sight to ruin it. The summer heat was already starting to bake the cool waters of the lake, warming to the perfect temperature in the evening. He was tempted to take the boat out while she went to her appointments a few towns over, not that he needed to know what they were.

Heading down the little ravine Rick hopped over the creek, he bent down playfully ready to splash her, "I am King of the Racoons," he proclaimed flicking some water her way. Pushing off the rock he had knelt by he heard a few branches snap around them, some deer spooked by their presence. Just another day.

Glancing up the one side of the hill he saw the deer struggling to scamper away, "Shit- that was a six point-" the gun shot was unexpected at best. The boom making all the birds resting in the trees take flight and the rest of herd take off in all directions, Rick was spun around by the force. Toppling over himself he half fell into the water, head glancing the rock was she supposed to use to cross, the cool water was an unpleasant shock to a already haywire system.

It wasn't even a full second before she was turning him over, gasping for air and from the pain he grabbed on to her. They weren't in a forest anymore, "Adra get-" he wheezed for a moment, "get down-" eyes were scanning for a building, a sniper primed to take her down. His hands grabbing her shoulders to shove her back, but she wasn't going, someone was calling to them as they rushed down the hill toward them. The gun was all he saw, as the man ran faster toward them Rick managed to throw himself between them. Shoving the man against the tree he couldn't hear much, his heart pounded in his ear, adrenaline was all that kept him upright as his forearm pushed against the man's throat.

Seeing the man's face Rick started to notice the trees again, the ache in his shoulder of the arm not pressing the man to the bark. Blinking he felt someone trying to tug him back, a hunting rifle laid beside them, someone was yelling his name. With things slowing the pain was spreading and drowning the picture again, he felt dizzy- taking a step back he became uncertain he could keep upright.

Stumbling back he took a knee to keep from tipping right over, "Adra."

The day was going by perfect. It was supposed to be just a casual hike, having coffee while they watched the sunrise. It was undeniably romantic although she knew better than to assume anything. They were still knowing one another’s idiosyncrasies, dropping hints of hope and gentle promises of what could be. “No!” she shot, warning him although she was grinning at his bent position over the water to... Adra giggled, shooting him a playful derisive look as water droplets flew onto her face. “You’re going to pay for that, I assure you,” she feigned scolding him, wagging a finger. 

She heard the branches snapping although she was unfazed. It was the forest, they were not alone obviously. Adra was about to question him when the gunshot exploded. Everything else went silent around the chaos that had short-circuited all of her other senses other than her touch and sight. In that moment, Adra found herself back in her own classroom to that fateful day, scrambling on her feet as she fought through the tears, keeping everyone safe except herself. That memory snapped shut the moment Rick’s eyes widened at her, tipping over. She was moving through the motions as Rick fell into the water. Propelling herself forwards, she made he wouldn’t drown face down.  Adra didn’t know how many times she had to call out his name, shaking his body to make him conscious. When he snapped out of it and came back to her, him shoving her down surprised her no less. 

Adrenaline was drumming wildly in her veins as she heard rushed footsteps behind them. Shock and terror painted over her features as she watched the stranger nearing her. “What the f-” she was pulled away immediately, hitting the ground and when she whipped around, Rick was lunging towards the man. “Rick!” Adra pushed forward, attempting to pull him away from the perpetrator. Not because she didn’t want him to hurt another person, it was because Rick was clearly injured himself. Injured as he was, he managed to suffocate the perpetrator enough to faint.

She held onto him, willing him to using her as support but he was clearly running on diminishing adrenaline. Adra struggled to keep him upright. Her name left his lips in a rasp as fell to one of his knee. “Fuck -” she cursed, worry colouring her expression within a split second. She could tell that his eyes were threatening to close shut. “Don’t you dare close your eyes on me, Rick!” Adra cried out, trying her best to shake him awake. No,no, no.No! She was not going to lose him like this. Not this way.

Hot tears were stinging her eyes as she willed herself to take in the scene, suddenly terrified about the other man regaining his consciousness and ending them with the gun that laid beside them. Her hatred for this weapon raised something feral inside of her. Adra scrambled forwards, grabbing the very thing she vowed to never touch in her life. With a strangled cry, she flung the rifle gun away, out of reach into the bushes. Her breaths were laboured as she turned her attention to the very man who brought them out here. His blood was pooling. “Rick, come on,” she desperately cried out. Fear had sunken its sharp talons into her skin as she applied pressure to his wound. Adra cradled his torso, hand on his cheek, repeatedly tapping to make him conscious.

A scoff left her lips as soon as Natalie's accusation hit home. You're just jealous. Adra's eyes fluttered closed, fingers balled into fists as she felt rage simmering underneath. "Me? Jealous?" She exhaled noisily, meeting Natalie's hues with a steely brace. She let a few beats of silence pass by before turning on the balls of her feet, hands jabbing at the food delivery bag sitting on the counter. "Of course, I am fucking jealous!" Her tone shrill and almost delirious. "Someone not only sent your favourite ice-cream, at 9pm no less.... Right to the door step and left a note with a heart and X Os. And you're telling me nothing's been going on?!" Her eyes had widened, heartbeat thundering against her chest. "Who the fuck is Cade?! And why are they sending ice-cream to you at night?!"

"Who goes there?" She called out, immediately realising that was a dumb move. Fuck. Adra exhaled slowly, reaching out to grasp a baseball bat she had kept near the door. She could hear her own heartbeat against her eardrums. When she spotted a silhouette at the corner of her eyes, Adra swung the bat at them, yelling. In a split second, she recognised who she was trying to hit. The bat was already swinging but missed them just by a millimeter. Shocked and almost scared to death, she let the bat loose and it clattered onto the floor. "Fuck! I almost fucking hurt you!" She gathered herself, still panting. "Are you okay? I didn't get you right?"