The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Life of the Party

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

Adam scowled at his reflection in the mirror. Eric had invaded his bathroom to talk him out of going to bed instead of Summer's party. The more thought Adam gave it, the more he wanted to give into exhaustion instead. He was struggling more with mental fatigue than physical, but he was worn out all the same.

On the other hand, a party was a distraction. A distraction from his nightmares.

He wasn't sure it would be distracting enough, though.

Adam had only been half-listening to Eric talk about the party, but he immediately noticed when his brother stopped speaking, finished with his spiel about becoming friends with the other altered.

"I don't know," Adam said. "I thought we were just going to finish our online classes and go home." Well, not home, but back to Mom. That was the closest they were going to get to 'home' at this point. Adam didn't want to spend his last few months before college at sea.

Eric took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. "Since when did you become the anti-social one?" He was dressed nicer than usual, having swapped his jeans and red hoodie for black pants and a blazer.

"None of my friends are here." Adam ran a hand through his hair, still not quite used to the length his former undercut had reached.

Eric shrugged. "Dude, you're more than welcome to hang out with the rest of us. And you can leave the party whenever, if you really hate it that much."

"It's not that I think it won't be fun," Adam started slowly. He'd dropped into a few of Summer's little get-togethers before. She was outgoing enough to make any group of people have fun. "I'm just...exhausted." He glanced at Eric.

"Me too," Eric admitted. "I just thought we should try getting to know the other altered more. Especially if they're going into battle against Scorpion with us."

Adam felt a twinge of guilt. All he wanted was for this to be over with so he could get back to his old life. Or at the very least, recreate it as closely as he could.

"I'll come with you and hang out for a little while," Adam told Eric. He turned away from the counter. "There's not a dress code, is there?"

"Nah. Summer wanted an excuse to dress fancy, so I did my best to match her."

Adam doubted Eric's outfit came close to whatever Summer had planned, but he nodded.

Eric studied Adam's face for a moment. "Is everything...okay?" he asked. "You do look really tired."

"I keep having nightmares about the collapse," Adam admitted.

Eric responded with a slow nod. "Yeah. I think a lot of us are."

"It's not just that." Adam sighed. His eyes moved up to the ceiling. "It's my fault."

"It's not your fault."

"I broke the energy field—"

"We had to," Eric said. "And you were the only person who actually had the guts."

"I was the only one dumb enough to trust Willow." Adam lowered his gaze and tried to read his brother's expression. Did Eric actually believe what he was saying? "What if I was wrong?"

"I don't think you were," Eric said quietly. He stood up. "I know it probably won't stop the nightmares, but I still trust your decision. Even though I tried to stop you when it happened." He glanced at the floor. "It was hard to accept."

Adam nodded. Stop the nightmares. That would be nice.

An idea popped into Adam's head.

No. Bad idea.