“I know.” Adew’s connector went off. “Get that for me, will you?”
“Yes, Master Adew,” Lars said sarcastically.
Adew laughed harder. “Don’t be like that.”
Lars walked away and came back with his connector a few seconds later.
“Who is it?”
“It’s your dad,” Lars handed it to him. “You should have gone to see them. Or told them where you are.”
Adew silently groaned. He wanted a moment to himself. Why couldn’t people understand that? He’d been through hell, his face plastered all over the media. It was probably worse now that he was out of the centre. Everyone wanted to know what was going on with Adew Pax. It drove him crazy. But there was a reason why he didn’t tell his parents where he was. He didn’t want Urim to know where he was. He would have moved back home if that were not the case.
“Adew,” his father said as soon as he answered. He felt the alpha’s aggression through the connector. He didn’t need to use his alpha voice on him. “Are you alright? Is the house to your liking?”
“Yes. Did you find it for me?” Adew asked, staring at Lars. The alpha rolled his eyes and walked out of the washroom. He heard him talk with Calla in the room. Fuck. He should stop messing with him. But he was so easy to tease, he couldn’t help it.
“Lars tried hard to find you a place you’d like. He’s been worried about you. He blames himself for what happened.”
Adew sighed. He shouldn’t. He’d stepped into the sphere; no one had forced him. He had known the risk of fighting the UA champion.
“Your mother prepared something special for him tonight. You should bring him. We’ve been meaning to thank him for everything he’s done for you, but we haven’t been able to since you were in the health centre. Now that you’ve been discharged, we thought…”
Would Urim be there? He wanted to ask his father, but he didn’t. It was his home too. Of course, he’d be there.
“I understand. I’ll bring him,” he said.
“Good,” his father replied. “I’ll see you tonight.”
The connector went silent. Adew placed it on the floor and sat up. He bathed quickly and got out of the bathing bot. He groaned with every move he made. But he didn’t give up or ask for help. He pushed himself until he was out of the bathing bot and slid onto the moving bot.
“Fuck,” he moaned, gripping the edge of the moving bot. His muscles spasmed.
“Here,” Lars appeared out of nowhere and gave him a painkiller. Adew chewed it as if his life depended on it. “Let me help you to the bed. You should rest for a while.”
Adew nodded, not fighting him. He didn’t have it in him. The moving bot wheeled him to the bed, and Lars helped him down onto it.
“Fuck, I hate this,” he said, covering his face with his arm.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing much better. I saw you earlier when you were exercising. A few months ago, you couldn’t even do those exercises.” Lars patted his arm. “Your stubborn ass is going to walk on its own soon, isn’t it?”
Adew wanted that more than anything. But it didn’t feel like it at the moment. Right now, it felt as if he would never get his body under control again.
“Sleep for a little while. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go to your appointment.”
“Will you go with me?” Adew asked. He felt defeated and weak. He didn’t feel like being alone. He needed Lars’s strength.
“Of course,” his manager said. “Rest, Adew. The world won’t crumble if you take your eyes off it for a few minutes.”
Adew nodded and closed his eyes. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep. Lars woke him up an hour later and helped him get ready for his appointment.
“I’ll be back soon,” he told Calla as he walked out the door to the waiting pod outside. He looked at the neighbouring houses.
Lars noticed. “Don’t worry. We’ll tell them you were moving your stuff in if someone asks. They won’t suspect you’re living here already. Let’s go.”
“Okay,” Adew said. They got into the pod and drifted away, heading to the health centre. They arrived a few minutes later, and Adew was taken to an examination room by one of the nurses. A WAB stand stood to the side, and in the middle was an examination bed.
“Please remove the WAB and change into these. The doctor will be with you shortly,” she said, handing him a set of loose clothes. Adew stared at them for a few seconds. “Do you need help getting out of the WAB?”