Somebody That I Used to Know Ch. 05

"But why were you looking me up to begin with."

"I already told you that, my brother recommended you. I know Trent's a junkie piss-up but he's still my brother and still a good judge of character, he liked what he saw with you and that's good enough for me, the rest if all formalities."

Adam sat in stunned silence, not sure what had shocked him more, the fact he was getting a job offer or how he came about it. Joseph understood the look.

"Look Adam, you can turn down the job if you want, this isn't a proper interview, I just wanted you to come in and get a quick look round, if you want to discuss more about it then we can but at the current moment the job's yours if you want it."

"Can I sleep on it, this is a big decision, I'm still trying to get over the fact that you picked me based on practically nothing."

"Sometimes Adam, you just gotta take that leap of faith, I'm taking it with you and I'm sure it'll pay off. But yes you can take a few days to think things over."

Just then Joseph's mobile rang again, Joseph gritted his teeth in frustration. "I'm so sorry, I should've turned it off."

"No problem."

"Ah speak of the devil, it's Trent. Trent what is it, I'm having an interview right now. Yeah he's still here. Ok, here, he wants to talk to you Adam."

Confused, Adam took the phone from Joseph. "Hello?"

"Adam, thank fuck I caught you. Listen I need you to call your cousin, Alex, Lexi, whatever the fuck her name is and get down here."

"Whoa whoa, hold on. Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital, you gotta come down here."

*

Adam stood at the doorway, looking into the cold grey room, he'd always had an idea of what this place would be like but actually being there, feeling that chill against his skin, it was nothing like he thought he would be. In front of him, Lexi stood over the table, tears falling from her eyes, beside her was Trent in his wheelchair, the usually loud addict sat quietly as he watched Lexi cry.

In front of them both, the dead body of Liam Nelson lay across the table.

"How... how did he...?" Lexi tried to ask Trent through her tears.

"Overdose, he shot a ht into his arm and it was too much, I tried to help him but..."

"But what?"

"The bastard hid my OD kit, I keep it around for just this sort of thing but the son-of-a-bitch hid it."

"You mean he, he killed himself?"

"I don't know, I don't fuckin know and I hate him for just going out like that. He said something like Happy Birthday then took the hit, I don't know who it was to."

"Me. It's my birthday today."

Trent's face sunk lower. "Oh shit, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, just, just give me a moment will you."

"Sure."

Trent wheeled himself out the morgue and out the door, passing Adam as he did.

"Look after her won't you, she's not exactly the best right now."

"I will, thanks for calling Trent, and for setting that up with your brother."

"You're welcome, but that was Liam's idea, he told me to set you up with something. I'll see you around Adam."

With that, Trent left and Adam found himself alone with Lexi and Liam's corpse. Walking forward slowly he went to help Lexi anyway he could, from over her shoulder he saw Liam's face, it was not the same person Adam knew in college, this man was far too skinny, his hair too long and dirty, his skin too grey, he wasn't Liam, he was a pale imitation.

"Lexi..."

"Give me a moment Adam, alone please. I need... I need to say goodbye."

Adam simple nodded and backed away, he didn't want to interrupt Lexi during this moment so he decided to head up to the waiting room and find a coffee.

After aimlessly wandering around upstairs Adam finally found a coffee machine, as he put the change needed into the machine he saw a young boy, barely into his 20s, pacing up and down the corridor, Adam recognised the look on his face.

"This your first?"

The young man turned round. "What?"

"I said is this your first? Baby that is?"

"How did you...?"

"You have the look, trust me when you become a father you'll see it easily enough, the first-timers especially. Here, you'll need this."

Adam handed his coffee to the young man, he took it gratefully. "Thank you, didn't realise I was that obvious."

"You never do until it's pointed out to you. You know what it's going to be?"

"Girl, we're calling her Kathy, after my grandmother."

"That's nice."

"I gotta say, it's not everyday when I can say that after becoming a father the most memorable part of my day was talking to a coffee drinking pirate."

"Ha, no I lost this by being a fool, you'd think I'd have learnt beforehand. Besides, I couldn't handle a life at sea, all that water would wreck havoc on me, weak bladder."

"Damn I was hoping you could take me on your ship, mum said my dad was an admiral, he drowned at sea before I was born."

Having had too many coincidences occur in his life, Adam's mind focussed on one key word. 'Admiral.'

"An Admiral huh, I knew an admiral once, what's your name son?"

"T.J., T.J. Gallagher."

Another Gallagher, and T.J. was the name Liam gave his son. "T.J., that stand for something?"

"The T is Tyler, but it's been so long I forgot what the J is, John or Jack or something."

"James."

"Could be, I just don't know."

The sound of heels down the corridor took the two men's attention, they turned and Adam saw a familiar face, Maggie Gallagher, Liam's ex and mother to his two children, now noticeably older form last he saw her.

"Tyler, there you are, what are you doing here with...?"

Maggie stopped, she recognized that face, it took her a moments because of the patch but she remember Adam McAlister easily.

"Hey Maggie."

"Adam? What are you doing here?"

"Wait, mum you know this guy?"

"Yeah, we were friends in high school, I haven't seen him since then. Go see Jane, she need you right now."

Puzzled but more concerned with his girlfriend and daughter, Tyler left to fine them, leaving Maggie with Adam.

"Jesus Adam, what happened to you?"

"Oh the eye, long story, I fucked up."

"Why am I not surprised. What are you doing here anyway, is something wrong, is it your mum? I mean I heard about your dad and..."

"It's not her, it's actually something you might want to hear. It's Liam, he died this morning."

Adam could see the punch to the gun Maggie took with that information, she stumbled backwards into chair and sat down, Adam sat with her.

"Oh Jesus, I... I thought he was dead, I hadn't heard from him is so long. I thought... Oh god why now, why today. Adam my son is in there right now watching his daughter be born, how can I tell him that on the very same day his father died, that I lied to him for his whole life."

"You don't need to tell him, just tell him a friend had died and that's why you're sad. I'm sorry, I just figured you'd want to know, y'know, giving the history you two have."

"I do, thank you Adam. Great now I gotta find a bathroom, get cleaned up. You will come visit right, I know we haven't talked much but I'd like to see you again."

"I will, I'll see you around Maggie, go back to your son."

The two old friends hugged and parted ways again, Adam found it incredible that he ran into both of Liam's children - he also noted the lack of Katie with the family. As he was returning to the morgue he spotted a glimpse of Lexi at the front door, leaving the building. Calling out to her, Adam ran after his cousin, she either didn't hear or didn't listen to his calls and had gotten in the car and driven away before he could reach her. Understandably pissed, Adam had an idea of where she would be.

*

He found her on the park bench, the same place she went to after Craig died, overlooking what was once the pond, their pond, now a construction site for new houses. He didn't even say hello, he just sat down next to her, the sound of working down the hill drowned out the silence.

"Sorry." Lexi spoke after a while.

"It's fine."

"How'd you know I was here?"

"I figured you'd come here again, you were here when Craig died, and if I remember right you came to this same place when you ran into Cyril, it was just down there instead of up here."

"Am I that predictable?"

"Not really, I never expected you to leave me at the hospital."

"Sorry, where'd you get to anyway?"

"That's the thing, I ran into Maggie and her son Tyler, his daughter's being born today."

The surge of emotions through Lexi was almost unbearable for her. The knowledge that a boy gains a daughter the very same day he loses a father was too much for her and she cried again, Adam brought her head to his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, it's fine."

"No it's not Adam, this whole thing is fucked. I hate that it's come to this, that we've lost so many people and we're barely into our 40s, my mum, your dad, Craig, now Liam, god Liam didn't have to die."

"It's not your fault Lexi."

"It is Adam, I broke his heart, I lied to him, I took away his chance to be a father again."

"Yes I know but you didn't kill him, Liam was always weak, he's my friend and I love him but he cheated in Maggie, lost his kids, turned to drugs and died from them, he was an emotional wreck and would've died from something eventually."

Lexi took a few deep breaths, letting Adam's words wash over her, amazingly she did feel the guilt life off her slightly. She took Adam's hand in hers and held on.

"You know I did love Liam, I fucked a lot of guys but Liam was only one of two I made love with."

"Who was the other?"

"You."

Adam had expected that answer but it still left him speechless, he simply smiled at Lexi and kissed her forehead.

"You were the first woman I ever made love to, remember."

"Ha, do I? You started this whole thing with the bloody scrapbook."

"Hey I worked hard on that book, I really loved you back then."

"Yeah, you did didn't you? I don't think I'll ever find someone who'll love me like you or Liam did."

"What if you didn't have to find him, what if he's right here?"

Lexi looked at Adam, her light brown eyes gazed at him questioningly, like she couldn't believe what she heard, to be fair Adam couldn't believe he said it either.

"What did you say Adam?"

"I said what if the man who loves you is right here. Look I know we don't have the best history..."

"Little understated Adam."

"...But I know I love you, and not just the idea of you, I love you and you alone Lexi and it's taking me 40 years to figure that out. I've always loved you from the moment I saw you."

Lexi was, what could only be described as, shell-shocked, Adam, her cousin and part-time lover had just declared his love for her, considering what they'd been through it shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did.

"Adam we can't, we're cousins and we tried being together before."

"We didn't, we a had a long distance thing that we never said was a relationship. It hurt us both and that's been fucking us over ever since. Think about it, you said so yourself we spend so long hating each other that we don't see the bigger picture, that it's our own damn faults none of our other relationships work out. But you know what I've noticed?"

"What?" Lexi's voice betrayed her fear.

"Every time we ruin a relationship it's because we've been with each other, you lost Ellis because of me, I lose Kanani, you lost Liam, it's the back and forth between us and we hated each other for so long we never stopped and wondered, what if this is a sign, what if we're meant to be together."

"Don't start all fate talking with me Adam, I can't take that right now."

"I won't, I'm just saying that we'll eliminate the problem of ending up together if we're already together. Know I keep coming back to you because I love you, so I know you love me too."

"Of course I love you Adam, but this, we can't..."

"Just try, that's all I'm asking, we get together, we start a relationship, we try as a couple and see if it works, we have to give it a shot, after all we've been through."

Lexi listened carefully to Adam's words, seeing the sense in them, she still thought he was crazy but her resolve was weakening.

"Nobody would like it."

"Nobody did."

She had to smile at his quick response. "If we do this, we give it our, you me and Nikki make three, we don't half ass it."

"Of course."

"And if it fucks up and we break up we go back to being cousins, nothing more."

"Makes sense."

"Ok, let's try it, let's actually try to be a couple for a change."

Adam smiled before leaning in and kissing Lexi on the lips, it had been a long time since he did that, it was a soft kiss but passionate all the same, he swore he heard a whimper from her as he pulled away.

"Ok, that's a good start."

Adam laughed followed quickly by Lexi's giggles, as they sat closer together, watching their pond get slowly turned into a housing street they both thought about what their future held. Would they stay together? Would they get married? Would they have any more kids? Will they break up? Will they love forever or hate each other by next year?

But as their hands held each other a friendship was reformed between Adam McAllister and Alexandra Buchannan, a friendship that over the years had taken them to the best and worst moments of their lives.

In those first few, innocent seconds neither of them knew this future, they were just happy to be with each other.

*

Thank you for reading, this is the end of the Somebody I Used To Know story. Sorry this last chapter took so long. I hope you all enjoy it.

One thing I want to mention before I go, I never planned this but this story is a sort-of prequel to my other work since all my stories are connected. I never planned for this to happen but when writing Liam and Maggie in chapter 1 I had the idea to make them the parents of T.J. and Katie, two characters who have appeared in other works of mine.

If you read all my other stories you'll see character names pop up from time to time, Cyril is in a few stories, Joseph and Trent have their own series. Please do give them a read and tell me what you think, and also be on the lookout form characters from this story popping up in future series, I think Nicola and/or Kevin might make an appearance in the future.

Thanks again for reading, please vote and/or comment, I appreciate the feedback and will try to respond when and if I can