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Adam felt like a caged animal.
He was alone and had been ever since Amy had left his house earlier that morning. The redhead had insisted on going to the local unemployment office in town. He had offered to drive her, but she'd declined, insisting it was something she needed to do herself.
He reflected on their night together. It had been incredible, and certainly the best thing to have happened to him in a long time. He hadn't said so yet, but he found himself falling deeply in love with Amy. But he still had his dark fears. He realized, with much chagrin, that they would probably never leave him throughout the rest of his lifetime.
Feeling as though the walls were caving in, the tall blond man left his house. He needed to go out and do something.
Getting into his Lexus, he started up the engine and hit the road. He decided to go to the diner, where he would hopefully run into Shawn.
He arrived there in time and parked the car across the street - oddly, in just about the same spot where Amy's Dodge Stratus had exploded. He pushed that thought out of his mind, instead focusing on the present as he stepped toward the restaurant.
He spotted Melina and her boyfriend John lingering off to the left, as the woman was apparently taking a break. The two were talking softly, and as he neared still, they kissed.
Deciding not to disturb them for the time being, Adam didn't say hello. Instead, he turned away as he pushed his way into the diner. And sure enough, Shawn was there, at his usual spot at the counter up front. The other brunette waitress, Mickie James, was currently taking his order and didn't seem about to move away. It appeared, however, that the two of them were flirting and generally enjoying themselves.
"I hate to interrupt," the tall blond man said as he came to sit on the stool just to his friend's left. "But good morning."
"Mornin', Adam," Shawn greeted with a smile.
Mickie said a quick hello as well before grabbing a menu and handing it to him. Adam perused it speedily as his friend gave him a once-over. He looked up to see Shawn surveying him.
"Err... What?"
"Well... I'm just surprised to see you in such a good mood," the older man said.
The blond man's eyes trailed off as a memory from the previous night came to him. The redhead moaning in ecstasy, writhing her beautiful, taut body beneath him as he rapidly pumped in and out of her. Of course he was in a good mood. Quickly, he snapped out of it and faced his friend again.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Shawn."
"Wow, so you don't know," the mechanic said. He reached for the paper at his other side and handed it to Adam.
The blond man frowned as he caught sight of the picture on the front page, along with the headline - Sole Survivor in Fire. Naturally, it was a different paper than the one Amy had worked for. The cover's photo was that of the charred remains of the building in which the newspaper office had been. It was very eerie and sad, and it gave him a feeling of emptiness. He opened the paper to the page on which the article started and glimpsed at it.
"Yeah, I knew about this," he said, as he faced his friend, "but the headline is wrong. This guy isn't the 'sole survivor.'"
"Huh?" Shawn questioned as Mickie suddenly returned from the kitchen and placed a cup of coffee before him.
"Amy's a survivor, too," Adam explained.
"She survived? But how come-" Shawn didn't get a chance to finish asking his question as the blond man answered.
"I swung by her work yesterday to take her out to lunch." He shut up in a hurry as he realized Mickie was still standing there, waiting to take his order.
"I'll take the pancakes and a coffee." He handed her the menu. "Thanks a lot, Mickie." As soon as the little brunette was out of earshot, he continued in a whisper. "A vision came to me when we were at lunch. I begged her not to go back to her office."
"My God," the older man said, his eyes slightly wide. "So, you saved her life yet again."
Adam nodded, grateful that was indeed the case. He felt guilty for not having been able to save all the people at Amy's work, but he didn't know if he would have been able to live with himself had she perished along with all of them.
The door to the diner opened as Melina and Nitro came in. The two were still chatting when they headed over. Johnny took the stool at Shawn's right while Melina came back around the counter.
"Hello, Adam," she said.
"Hey, Melina... Johnny."
The dark-haired man waved from Shawn's other side.
"Here you are," Mickie sang as she returned with Shawn's breakfast plate. Smiling, she placed it down in front of him.
"Thank you, doll."
The brunette blushed but seemed to be glowing. Adam eyed the two in turn and thought he could see a definite something, a spark there.
"I saw your friend earlier," Melina told him. "Amy."
"She was here?"
The Latina nodded.
"Just for a couple of minutes. She got a bagel and tea to go... I know she's out of a job now." She shook her head, her face growing sad. "I read all about it in the paper this morning. It'll surely be all over the news today."
"Anyone have any idea of how that fire started?" Nitro asked.
"Beats me," Shawn answered with a shrug. "Probably just a horrible accident."
However, Adam wasn't convinced it was that cut and dry. He hadn't received any vision of it, but somehow, he sensed more sinister undertones to that fire. He wondered, really wondered about it. He knew Amy would want to visit the man who'd survived - and he would bet that man would be able to give some clues.
As of right at that moment, the blond man decided he was going to do a bit of investigating.