There's something odd about him

Anniversary of pain and loss

James stared to the floor. It was pretty cold outside, yet the blonde wasn't wearing a sweater or jacket. The cold didn't really bother him. On the inside he just felt sadness and pain. Not much different from how he'd felt last year on this day. He thought back of how he'd woken up in the hospital and how doctors had to bring the news to him. That none of his family members had survived and that he'd be sent to an orphanage. He had cried a lot. For hours. Sometimes people say that you can run out of tears to cry. That was one of the two times James had ran out. He'd cried until he had nothing left. He had been pretty sure people could've heard him cry in the hallway and even in the room next to him, but he hadn't cared about that. And now he couldn't cry. He was at school and he didn't want to draw any attention.
'Are you okay, James?'
James looked up and saw his friends staring at him with worry.
'I'm fine.' The blonde lied. He was sure it didn't sound convincing, but he honestly didn't care.
'You don't look so good. Are you sure you're fine?' Jaiden asked.
'You've been kinda down this entire week, but today you look like you're really depressed.' Maaz added.
'It's been a rough week.' James muttered.
'Well, it's Friday. So the rough week is almost over.' Rebecca said, trying to cheer her friend up.
'It's not about the week itself it's about... never mind.' James muttered.
'You know you can talk to us about it, right?' Maaz asked worried.
'It's just not something I want to talk about! It's not something I want to remember and it's not something I want to think of, and yet the memories are all I can think about!' James cried out. Tears started to roll down his face again and he quickly tried to wipe them away to hide it, but it was to late. Jaiden, Maaz and Rebecca all wrapped their arms around the blonde.
'It's okay, James. You don't have to talk if you don't want, but we're here for you. Sometimes people just need it to cry.' Jaiden said in a soft voice.
'And if you do want to talk about it one day, you know how to find us.' Rebecca added.
'Thanks, guys.' James muttered quietly. 'I appreciate it a lot. It's like Adam once said: You guys are really nice people and I better hold on to good friends like that.'
'Adam said that about us? I always thought he didn't like us.' Maaz said.
'Yeah, he always reacted kinda cold and distant.' Rebecca added.
'Doesn't he act like that towards everyone?' Jaiden asked.
'Almost everyone. He doesn't act like that with James.' Maaz said. James noticed how al of his friends turned to look at him, as if they were expecting him to say something. James cleared his throat to buy him a little time to think about his phrasing.
'He started out acting like that with me too, but he opened up after I got him his job. We had our shift together this Monday and it was nice, but he didn't talk to me for the rest of the week, almost as if he's avoiding me. So I don't know if I got much closer to him than others.' The blonde said. The bell rang and James got up. He wiped the last tears from his face before giving his friends a little, sad smile and walking towards his next class.

James was lost in thoughts as he was doing the dishes. Subway was closed and he and Tyler were just finishing up the last chores. Dexter and Sarah were gone for the weekend, which the blonde appreciated. That way he could be alone to mourn. They didn't know this was a painful weekend for James. They had planned their weekend away just on the right time by coincidence. The blonde already knew he was gonna cry a lot this weekend, but he was glad to be able to do it alone.
Suddenly he heard the door open. He looked up in surprise and looked at the open door that connected the store with the back. From in the back he couldn't see who'd came in, but he heard Tyler speak to the person: 'Hey, what's up, Adam? What are you doing here? You don't have shift! We were just about to close up.'
"Adam?" James thought. "What's he doing here?"
'Hey, Tyler. I was just... can I talk to Jameson for a second?' Something about Adam's voice sounded weird, but the blonde couldn't quite put his finger on it. Did he sound...insecure? Worried? Scared? James quickly ran over to the door and walked in to see Adam and Tyler standing near the exit. Through the window behind them, James could see it was pouring outside. That was probably why Adam was soaked. His hood was casting a shadow that prevented James from seeing Adam's face and his hands were hidden in his pockets. He looked kinda nervous.
'What can I help you with?' James asked worried.
'Can I speak with you alone?' Adam asked, nervously glancing at Tyler before looking back at the floor.
'I'll be in the back.' Tyler said before leaving and closing the door behind him.
'What's wrong, Adam?' James asked, feeling more worried every second.
'I need a place to stay tonight. I don't have any friends to go to and I knew you had your shift right now. I can't go anywhere. Please? Can I stay with you for a night? Maybe two?'
'Did something happen at home?' James asked. Adam didn't answer. Instead he looked up from the floor, looking straight into the blonde's eyes and carefully pulled back his hood. James gasped and took a step back when he saw the dark haired boys face. There was a new bruise right next to the old one near Adam's eye, his nose was bleeding and he had a cut in his lip.
'I can't go home right now. Please, James!' Adam said. He sounded like he was about to cry and James noticed Adam was shaking.
'Ofcourse you can stay with me tonight. Dexter and Sarah are gone for the weekend. I'll ask Tyler if he can close up and then we'll get to my car. But only if you promise to tell me what happened.' James replied.
'Thank you! Thank you so much, James. I promise. I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know.' Adam said in relief and gratefulness.
James walked to the back to grab his stuff.
'Hey, Tyler? Can you close up? I need to go help Adam out with something.' James asked.
'Yeah, no problem.' Tyler replied.
James walked back to the store and saw that Adam had put his hood back on, hiding his face again.
'It's raining pretty bad outside so I'll run to the car as quickly as possible. Just follow me.' James said before pulling open the door and running outside.

A couple minutes later, they were sitting in the car, driving to James's house. It was silent. Every now and then the blonde glanced at the boy next to him. He noticed how stiff Adam was sitting and how he was careful to not touch the seat with his back. He also regularly wiped his nose and mouth with the back of his hand, probably trying to not spill blood in the car. It all made James feel worried. He could feel something really bad was going on. But Adam had promised to tell him. Only, knowing that he was gonna hear the story, made the blonde feel even more nervous.