It Was The Least I Could Do

Adam continued worrying about what to do the next day to the point that his stomach hurt. He had never felt so physically terrible in his life. When he nearly blacked out from the pain, he was fairly certain that this wasn't brought on by stress.

He was trying to make it up the stairs and would have fallen down them if Evan hadn't been walking behind and held him up. "Geez, watch it! You could have crushed me flat."

"Sorry, I—"

Adam didn't get to finish his apology because he actually did pass out then and Evan ended up falling with him from the unexpected weight. He braced himself against the banister so they didn't both tumble to the first floor and cursed. He wasn't strong enough to lift his brother on his own.

"Mom! Colton! Somebody help!"

His cries made everyone come running and they all panicked when they saw Adam collapsed. They woke him up and he groaned, still in horrible pain. "Stomach hurts."

"We're going to the hospital," Sarah said in a tone that brooked no arguments. "Colton, Evan, help me carry your brother to the car."

They both nodded grimly and Adam was in too much pain to protest even though they couldn't afford this. As it turned out, his appendix was about to rupture. He had to get emergency surgery and would be stuck at home recovering for a minimum of two weeks. Of all the rotten timing!

At least he wouldn't get in too much trouble for this with a doctor's note. Still, trying to catch up at school was going to be a nightmare. He could only hope his professors showed mercy.

He hated that he was down for the count like this. He was used to powering through. Now they had a hospital bill they couldn't afford and he would be missing work so he wouldn't be able to make up for it. It was a good thing his mom had made him save some of his money from working over the summer because that would help at least a little but wouldn't cover everything.

This sucked. Everything about this sucked.

When Adam was able to go home, he had to temporarily switch beds with Peter because the bottom bunk of their triple bunk bed was easier to access with the state of his abdomen. He laid around miserably for those two weeks, hardly able to do a thing because everyone freaked out on him if he moved around.

They all thought he was going to jeopardize his recovery. He did as they wanted because he didn't want them to worry.

The twins had been convinced that he was going to die like their dad because he had collapsed in a very similar way and Adam's heart twisted at the thought of their tears. The last thing he wanted to do was scare anybody.

He knew that appendicitis wasn't something anyone had control over but still felt horrible about it. He ended up watching a lot of kids' movies with the twins cuddling him as he recovered. They were careful not to hit his incision after the first time he groaned in pain and Jenna realized what she had done.

Unfortunately, Adam wasn't good for much else the first week he was at home. He was too hopped up on pain meds to even get much homework done. At least he had been able to email his professors so they knew what was going on and were willing to cut him some slack.

He had so much to catch up on and that wasn't all he had to worry about either. He had vanished on Erica right after that horribly awkward conversation without figuring out what to say. She probably thought he was avoiding her!

He had thoroughly burned that bridge, hadn't he? He didn't know how he was supposed to handle that once he got back.

Things hadn't exactly been great lately anyway because he hadn't known how to feel about her dating somebody else but he still didn't want to lose contact completely. He had become too dependent on her minimal presence in his life against his better judgment.

Erica probably wasn't going to want anything to do with him after this. Just as it should have been from the start.

Adam had expected it to happen sooner or later but it was going to be miserable still seeing her in class every day without being able to talk to her like usual. It would be easier once they didn't have any classes together next semester.

When he did go back to school, he absolutely dreaded the inevitable chewing out he would get. He wasn't expecting the force of her hug that came out of nowhere and grunted because it hurt.

"Where were you?!"

"Recovering from an appendectomy. Sorry I couldn't say anything. I don't have your number."

Erica immediately let go of him. "I'm so sorry! Did that hurt?"

"Yes but I'm used to it."

"That isn't something you should be used to. Are you okay? Are you sure you should be back here already?"

"I'm fine to go to school. It's work I'm not supposed to go back to for another week at minimum," Adam sighed, thinking about the horrible lack of paycheck. But his job was rather physical in nature so there was nothing he could do.

"Are you sure you—"

Erica didn't get to finish what she was saying because class was starting and they had to sit down. He caught her practically staring a hole through him on and off throughout class and felt distinctly uneasy. Was she still going to chew him out even though she knew he had been sick?

No. At the end of class, she said that she could give him all the notes he missed after lunch. She still wanted to eat with him like usual.

Adam was relieved but also incredibly confused. Why was she acting like he hadn't made a total fool of himself the last time they saw each other? Had she forgotten so quickly? What was going through her head?

Erica didn't say anything about that horribly awkward encounter in the following week as he worked feverishly to catch up. It was easier to do since he wasn't working. He was determined to get all of his assignments and tests made up before going back because it would be so much more difficult once he did.

He managed to do that by the skin of his teeth and it wouldn't have been possible without her help. When it was finally over with, he heaved a sigh of relief and thanked her.

"It was the least I could do," she said with a shrug.

"Really though. Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Adam asked, not liking to owe people but especially not her. Being in her debt made him feel especially useless.

"You don't have to but if you must, you can buy me dinner at Hardy's."

Hardy's was that barbecue restaurant his family liked. It was a local staple. He hadn't been since Evan's birthday and it was a small price to pay for all of her help but…wasn't that too much like a date since it would just be the two of them?

Confused as he was, his heart skipped a beat. No. He wasn't allowed to get his hopes up. This was just repaying a favor.

"Okay," Adam found himself saying.

Erica beamed at him. "Great!"

And that was how he found himself with dinner plans on one of his nights off once he got back to work. They were sure to exchange numbers so they could call each other if anything changed before he was supposed to pick her up but he hadn't expected to have to use it.

Adam had nearly been ready to leave when he got a call from his mom on the home phone. She was supposed to come back and relieve him of the twins and Peter after picking Evan up across town where he was hanging out with his friends but she had to take him to the emergency room because he most likely broke his arm.

Even as he groaned about ANOTHER medical bill so soon after he got out of the hospital, he felt a pit form in his stomach at the thought of having to reschedule with Erica. She wasn't going to be happy about this, was she?

This was exactly why he couldn't date though! His family always had to come first. Colton was at work and the younger kids weren't old enough to leave on their own.

"I'm so sorry, honey. I know you had plans," Sarah said apologetically. "I tried calling my friends to see if they could watch the kids but no one answered their phones."

"It's fine. I'll reschedule."

Adam meant it too. He knew where his priorities were.