Jackforeman​:

goldenboyrichards​:

Adam braced himself, fully prepared for Cole to yell at him. He deserved it. Ever since they got serious, once Adam knew that Cole was it for him, they had planned on running away together. Hawkins was too small to contain a relationship like theirs - they deserved to go somewhere where no one knew them, where no one could judge them for being together. And Adam just left him. Regardless of how Adam came to be in that commune, whether it was his intention or not, he still left Cole behind. 

But the yelling never came. Instead, Cole threw himself into Adam’s arms and it felt like maybe some of those jagged pieces inside him fit again. For the first time since he’d left the woods with Jack, Adam felt like something in his life made sense. 

Adam clung to Cole, burying his own face in his curls. He’d changed shampoos at some point, but it didn’t matter. Underneath it, he still smelled like Cole. Tears were freely falling down his face now, but Adam couldn’t be bothered to wipe them away. He had no intention of letting go of Cole any time soon; not until Cole wanted him to. 

“Yeah, last time I checked,” Adam laughed wetly, crying still. “I’m so sorry.” He apologized again, holding Cole close to him. “I don’t… I don’t know what happened. They said I’ve been in some sort of commune or something?” Adam explained, shaking his head at the words. He didn’t really remember that - but what other explanation was there? “I didn’t mean to go, I don’t know why I did. None of it makes any sense. I promise I didn’t mean to leave you! I’m sorry.” 

xx.

Suddenly, unexplainably, Cole had a future again. Since Adam died, he had been aimless and drifting; obviously, he’d moved on in the literal sense-- he’d gone to college, gotten promoted, made new friends-- but he had no goals or ambition. All of his plans were tied to Adam; he would take whatever job, move to whatever state necessary just to be with him. Losing that felt like losing part of himself. More than he was confused, Cole was elated and relieved. He felt muscles unclench that must’ve been taut for the last three years. Finally, he was whole again. The closest he’d gotten for the last three years was talking about Adam with Max. 

He had so many questions: how was Adam alive? Did he remember the Mindflayer? Why did he think he’d been in a commune? But Adam’s embrace was intoxicating, the feeling of his face in Cole’s hair was bliss-- Cole didn’t want to ruin the moment with questions, because what if questioning it made Adam disappear? What if this wasn’t real?

Cole laughed, too; It was classic Adam to crack a joke at a time like this. Cole’s brows furrowed together at Adam’s apologies; he really seemed to believe the commune thing, and Cole hated seeing him so wrecked with guilt. “Adam, no... you didn’t run away. You were dead,” he said, his tone gentle. “And I don’t know how you’re back, but you are.”

Tears pricked up in Cole’s eyes again at the thought of Adam gone, but he pushed the thought aside for now. “And can we worry about the details later?” he asked, meeting Adam’s eyes and pushing hair out of his face like he always used to. Tenderly, Cole cupped Adam’s face and pressed their lips together. Somehow, every kiss with Adam felt like magic-- sloppy drunk kisses and rushed kisses in hidden corners alike felt like coming home, and now was no different. Cole leaned into the kiss, holding onto Adam like he was afraid he’d disappear if he let go. He paused, resting his forehead against Adam’s, and breathed: “I missed you so fucking much.”

jackforeman​:

It was a loaded question, but all things considering, Jack supposed that he was as about okay as he could’ve been. No one really knew any answers, which would have probably helped the several lingering questions that would’ve settled his anxiety about why he had been gone for so long. “Yeah, yeah. You know, just trying to get back to the way things were as much as I can. What about you, though? I feel like I need someone to write me a manual of everything everyone’s been up to for the past couple of years,” Jack laughed, “I assume everything’s relatively okay with you, too?” he asked.

Everyone seemed to have a lot of questions, that much was a recurring theme. “Yeah, Jo might as well have put me in an official interrogation with how much she wants to know, but Julie I think is still getting over the shock of it. I guess her questions will come later. My parents are trying to get me legally un-dead, so that’s a bit of a process.”

xx.

Jack’s answer helped Cole breathe a little easier. If Jack could adjust, even just a little, then maybe this thing would wear off-- maybe Adam could have a normal life. And all of them, but mostly Adam. Cole grimaced, “I hadn’t even thought about that. Everyone’s like completely different now. Maybe that would be a better use of that Keith guy’s time-- putting out updates for those of you who were... gone.” He shrugged, gave Jack a halfhearted nod. “Can’t complain. I ended up going to Indiana State. Got two years left and then... who fucking knows,” he shook his head. He’d originally intended to come home this summer, save up some spending money, and figure out what his big plan was. But, for obvious reasons, he hadn’t found the time to think about it much. 

Cole nodded as Jack spoke; from what he knew about the Foreman sisters, that checked out. He wasn’t surprised that Jo was at the heart of trying to figure it out, and he especially wasn’t surprised that Julie was a bit calmer. "Legally un-dead?” Cole questioned, his expression darkening. “What does that... mean?”

rcbinbvckleys​:

⚢

“i don’t think we made it up either. when i usually make up or think out scenarios in my brain they’re always just a little bit fuzzy and out of reach. but this was totally different. because i was there, and i felt everything. did you- have that?” robin had considered that maybe she’d just been thrown back into a memory from long ago which went completely haywire.

but herself and barb had only gone swimming when they were kids, and in this ‘vision’, barb had looked older. as in, the same age as when she first went missing. and it had been night time. and then there was the pool… “i just wish we’d still been friends. i wish i could have helped her.” although robin logically knew that there wasn’t much that she could have done. the two of them had still been friendly, but they had drifted apart. it wasn’t anyone’s fault, sometimes that just happened, right?

“i don’t know.” the only real running theory was one that she didn’t believe cole could possibly know — that the upside down stuff was happening again. “i think — we might have disturbed barb’s grave.” it was what robin had initially believed too, before realising everything had been far too much of a coincidence.

xx.

“Yes! Yeah... it felt like a memory, only I know it wasn’t a real one; I wasn’t there when he died, I know that,” Cole said, relief washing over him in waves. They had both experienced the same thing. As the relief came, so did a growing sense of fear; why had they both experienced the same thing? 

The knot in Cole’s stomach twisted at Robin’s words. He didn’t know much about what happened to Barbara, but he knew that, with things like this, there was no use blaming oneself. Some things are just out of our control, no matter how desperately we wished they weren’t. No matter how desperately he wished he could change the past, he couldn’t. Instinctively, Cole leaned over to Robin and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. He was pretty sure she wasn’t the kind of person to get the wrong idea from a comforting gesture like this, and he couldn’t stand letting her sit there with that sad look in her eyes. “I know,” was all he said.

Puling out of the hug, Cole nodded. Eyes dropped to his hands, a chill runing down his spine as he remembered the feeling of being in a grave. “It was Barb’s grave?” he asked, “The one me and Lucas were in?” As much as he tried to remember what had happened, the details were fuzzy. “Wasn’t it already... disturbed?” 

backtowheeler​:

— ✎ —

Nancy made room on the blanket by scooting over just a tad more, ensuring that she wasn’t hogging all of the space from Cole. “Not great, huh?” She scrunched her nose, the corners of her mouth turning up as she thought back to the night at the mall. Cole had bravely crashed his car to distract them into getting Max, which didn’t end up helping in the long run since Max had to stay in their jail for a night anyway. “I’m sorry you did that for nothing,” she apologized, as if she had been the one to tell him to wreck it or had caused it herself.

“How did you know?” Nancy asked, bemused that Cole could even clock that. She wasn’t a girl scout for long, but Karen Wheeler had forced her into it for a few years until Nancy ultimately fought her long enough to quit. “Did it until 7th grade,” she admitted, pulling out another sandwich for herself. Although Nancy would chalk up her knowledge of being prepared to her intrepid sense as a journalist or the over preparedness of a girl that got roped into saving the world on multiple occasions. “It’s a Karen Wheeler specialty. I’m surprised she even gave me the recipe,” she explained, taking a bite from the sandwich.

“So, two weeks? I mean, was it even broken?” She asked, suddenly interested by his injury. “I’m pretty sure I just taped mine once and I lived,” granted, it’s harder to go to a doctor if you sustain injuries from an outside force.

xx.

“Let’s just say Maggie Montgomery is not very thrilled with me right now,” Cole laughed. His mom was strange; she wouldn’t come out and say that she was upset with him or even that she didn’t believe the road rage story, but he could tell. Cole shook his head, dismissing Nancy’s comment. “It was my pea-brained idea. Why I was even driving after combining weed and alcohol, I don’t know,” he laughed. There was no sense in being upset about something that had already happened. 

Cole grinned as Nancy confirmed his suspicion. “Guess you’re not the only sleuth in town, Nancy Drew,” he quipped. Part of him had always been jealous of Nancy’s certainty-- the fact that she seemed to know exactly what she was doing and what role she would play in every situation. Cole, on the other hand, was existing almost entirely off of guess work; he picked Literature as his focus because he was good at it, he got a job at the Music Center because it sounded easy, he came back to Hawkins for the summer because he didn’t want to be alone in a college town. No strategy, no certainty. He used to know what he wanted, but with that gone... he pushed the thoughts away and took another bite of the sandwich. “Karen Wheeler can make a damn good sandwich,” he declared.

Shrugging, Cole slipped off the finger brace the doctor had given him. “He said it was fractured. It’s really not even that bad-- it’s just annoying. Honeslty, I keep wearing the brace because I don’t want to fuck it up and have to change the way I play piano.” He set the brace aside, letting his sad little finger breathe for a moment. “But enough about me. What’s going on in the Wheeler household? Any big summer plans?”

who: cole & @goldenboyrichards​

where: the Richards’ house

Since Adam died, Cole had made it a habit to check on his sisters at least once a week. He’d been quite close to them when Adam was alive, as he went over to the Richards house once or twice a week for English tutoring. Mrs. Richards, particularly, loved Cole for ensuring her son passed English, and always had some sort of baked good in the oven on tutoring days. He’d loved coming over to the Richards’, to get a glimpse of a functional family and a father who was fairly involved with his children. Besides, Cole had always wanted a big family, so he was never annoyed by the girls’ footsteps and giggling filling the hallways.

Now, though, the energy in the household was different. For the first few months after the fire, Cole almost dreaded going over-- it broke his heart to see the family so devastated. But in the last year or so, it had gotten easier; they’d sort of mutually decided that remembering Adam together was better than suffering alone. It was a somber occasion, still, but bearable. 

Today, Cole had picked up Dirty Dancing at Family Video, because Cindy had been talking about it lately and he figured he’d give it a shot. He always had a soft spot for Cindy (and Patrick Swayze). Cole approached the familiar house on his skateboard and stopped short by the curb, glancing at a guy around his age sitting on the porch. Had they invited cousins into town he didn’t know about? Or maybe it was the neighbor?

Untucking the VHS from his arm, Cole walked up the steps and tried to get a closer look at the guy without seeming weird. He immediately recognized Adam’s old hat-- the beat-up Notre Dame logo, with bleach spots from a botched wash, was unmistakable. “Hey, man,” Cole said, trying to get his attention. “I don’t know if you’re a guest or whatever, but you shouldn’t touch Adam’s stuff,” he said, trying to keep the resentment out of his voice. What kind of asshole just helped himself to a dead guy’s belongings? Cole wanted to snatch the hat off of the guy’s head, but he resisted.

willthewize​:

    “Yeah, the Palace. If you’re into video games?” That came out more like a question than he’d intended. He wasn’t sure whether Cole was actually interested in hitting up the arcade or if he was just picking a spot he knew Will liked because it was easier than the alternative of going back and forth trying to figure out where the hell else to go or what else there was to do in this small town. Either way, he was down to head over there for a hangout if Cole was willing.

     When his own words were used back at him, he couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips even as he rolled his eyes. Then, as Cole said something that was a little more real, a little more open—It was really weird, honestly—Will straightened up in interest. “God, I know, right? It was…weird, yeah.” He didn’t exactly know what the other guy was referring to, but what they’d discovered at the cabin was enough to rattle him and the rest of the party.

     As for the mention of the commune stuff, Will shrugged. He didn’t really know much about that besides the news coming out about people returning from some weird forest community, but nobody he knew very well. Not enough for him to feel like it was a reunion, at least. Cole’s use of the word sparked his curiosity. “Oh, did you have family or a friend who was involved with that?”

Cole chuckled and shrugged “I’m not not into video games... but maybe I get my ass handed to me every time Max and I play.” He stood up, motioning for Will to follow him. At least the Palace gave them something to do, something to take Cole’s mind off of the piece of information lodged in his throat. He knew timing wasn’t his strong suit, but Cole had to wonder if there was some information that even timing couldn’t make palatable. 

At Will’s reaction, Cole’s dull worry that the camping trip had been weird for everyone was confirmed. He hadn’t asked around yet-- he’d been too occupied by the disappearing lesions on his ankle-- but he knew something had been off. “It feels like it’s always something,” Cole replied. He was happy to leave it at that, or happy to talk about it-- whatever Will decided.  

So even Will didn’t know anything about the tree commune. At least, according to his reaction. Cole shoved his hands in his pockets and ventured a sideways glance at the other. “Sort of-- my best friend, Adam Richards? He... left right after the mall fire. Closest thing I had to family, I guess, so I’m relieved he’s back.” He was rambling and digging himself into a rabbit hole-- not one, but two of his ‘big secrets’ were scarily close to the surface. Thankfully, they’d arrived at the Palace and could leave this topic outside, for another day.

goldenboyrichards​:

Adam wasn’t ready to process something like that. How could anyone ever be? Being faced with your own mortality - knowing that you’d died - it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t possible. Adam couldn’t believe it because it just couldn’t be real. Dying and coming back three years later wasn’t something that could just happen. 

He knew it had been summer, the last time he really remembered anything. Adam had been working at the pool with Billy Hargrove and Heather Holloway. He remembered talking to Billy after work one night, something he wouldn’t usually do, and then… then mostly nothing, until he woke up in the woods a few days ago. A brief flash of a fight with someone, maybe. Adam didn’t remember. 

It was the not remembering that scared him the most, besides the thought that he could have died. How did someone forget three years of their life? 

Before he could spiral too far, Cole was grounding him back to reality. Whatever had happened had happened years ago. Right now, in this moment, he was safe because he was here with Cole. And Cole wanted him to stop apologizing for leaving him. Adam leaned into his touch, choking back a sob when Cole forgave him. I know it wasn’t your fault. It didn’t fully relieve Adam of all of his guilt, but it did make him feel a bit better. “I wouldn’t have left you.” He agreed, slumping against Cole. “I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t mean for it to.” Adam pulled him close again, needing to know that this was real just as much as Cole. “I love you too. I always have.” 

They could talk about it when Adam was ready. But… what if he was never ready? He hoped to be at some point, but right now, he just wasn’t. He had never been the sharpest knife in the drawer - his teachers had never accused him of being smart. But this just wasn’t something Adam could rationalize. He couldn’t understand it. Maybe Cole knew people who could, and maybe they should talk to them. Just… maybe later. Adam squeezed Cole’s hand, nodding his head. “Let me tell Mom,” He replied, pulling Cole with him to the front door. 

“I’m heading over to Cole’s. I’ll be back,” Adam promised as he ducked his head back inside the house, ignoring the panicked look on his mother’s face at the mention of him going anywhere. She was so scared he’d run away to the woods again, Adam knew. He hated that he’d ever made her worry that much. 

xx.

Cole hated seeing Adam this upset. Before, it was rare for Adam to be upset about anything. He can’t recall a time when Adam was angry, and he can’t recall a time when Adam was this sad. The Mindflayer had broken part of him, and while Cole was confident that he could and would heal, he was still angry. He kept caressing Adam’s cheek, though his hands were shaking. Why Adam? Of course, it wasn’t just Adam, but... why not Cole? He would rather it be him coming back, dealing with all of this, than Adam-- Adam who was always the first to crack a joke or include an outsider or show kindness to the most unlikely people.

Cole had never been like that, he’d never been like him: naturally kind, easily trusting. From birth, it seemed Cole had a chip on his shoulder-- and that was okay with Adam. It was okay that they were different, it worked. And it still worked, it would always work. But Adam was never supposed to hurt like this. As Adam choked back a sob and slumped against Cole, Cole wrapped his arms around him and buried fingers in Adam’s hair. 

I love you too. I always have.

Tears stung Cole’s eyes and relief flooded his body hearing Adam say it. He figured it was part of the Mindflayer’s possession, but the last fight still echoed in Cole’s mind. Leave me the fuck alone, Adam had yelled, and Cole was relieved to be able to dismiss his fears that Adam hated him once and for all. “I’m so glad to hear you say that,” he admitted, his breath hot against Adam’s neck. He hadn’t planned on telling Adam about the fight-- there was too much else going on-- but he couldn’t help the pent-up tears from years of heartbreak. 

Pulling away just far enough to lock eyes with Adam, Cole angled his chin upward and cupped Adam’s face. “We’ll never have to be apart again. I promise,” he paused, taking in the view of Adam’s face. He was really here. “We’ll go to San Francisco, like we always planned,” Cole’s face broke out into a nostalgic smile.

It was a small thing, but Cole was glad Adam hadn’t let go of his hand to go to the door. Cole needed the physical reassurance that this was real, and he fully intended to hang on to Adam’s arm for the next year, at least. “Wait!” he called, grabbing the VHS from its discarded position on the floor. Cole ducked his head inside, still holding Adam’s hand behind him, and placed the tape on the entryway table. “Could you give this to Cindy? Tell her I’ll come by and watch it with her tomorrow, if she wants,” Cole flashed Mrs. Richards a smile, more genuine than any he’d produced in the past six months. “I’ll watch out for Adam,” he stated, hoping to ease her nerves.

Shutting the door behind them, Cole turned to Adam once again. “I don’t really have a car right now, so.. you up for a walk?” He looked at the porch swing with Adam’s hat and sunglasses. “Want your disguise?” he teased, bumping Adam’s hip with his own. For a second, things felt simple like they used to be. Cole breathed in the feeling, giving Adam’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

mmuscles​:

.

each time thad thought this guy was going to go right, he veered left. how did he know nancy? he lives here, dummy. why did he say that? why the fuck did he say that? the discomfort, outrage, and curiosity sparked blatantly behind thad’s eyes. he was never one to successfully mask his feelings, and now that trait was coming back to bite him in the ass. he opened his dry mouth and leaned in closer to the other, pointing a firm finger in the stranger’s face, “watch what you say about my girl,” and then, “and i’ll call you whatever i want, pretty boy.” thad was becoming gradually more convinced that the other just liked to hear himself talk. the offer to buff out his car for him made thad audibly laugh, “yeah right, like i’d even trust you to spell your own name correctly.” he looked at his car, “you couldn’t handle her. not in the slightest.” he scoffed, then snatched the legal pad out of the stranger’s hands. Steve Harrington. so he had a name. smugly, he tapped the pad of paper on top of steve’s head. “nope.” he popped the p. “this’ll do, i gotta jet. more important things to do.” thad winked at steve as he walked back to his car, feeling satisfied with the conversation. 

when thad had left the stranger in the dust, he hadn’t been expecting to have to go on a hunt to find him again. turns out he was most certainly not steve harrington. for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to ask nancy about this mystery man. and he definitely wasn’t going to ask cassie. so thad was left with no choice but to ask strangers if they’d seen the small fry with the curly hair? to which he got a different answer almost each time. thad thought he might just lose his mind. the longer he had to go on this chase the more fired up thad got, stuck on the mental image of this guy’s stupid face and his stupid idea of a joke. he became more and more set on the idea of finding him, then giving him a piece of his mind. thad, actually, replayed the thought over and over, near obsessively over the course of the two days it took to find him. when thad next laid eyes on this asshole, it happened completely on accident. he was driving around, killing time when he saw him, barreling down his driveway on a skateboard. 

wasting no time, thad screeched to a halt and scrambled out of his car, “you!” he shouted, pointing a finger as if it would make him sound more clear. immediately, he stormed up the driveway and eventually backed him into the garage, “do you think i’m like, stupid or something?” he asked, then balled up the fabric of the other’s, as if he might strike him. but he didn’t. instead, thad faltered, and eventually backed him into the wall of his garage, “you’re not steve.” he breathed out obviously. if it wasn’t already apparent why he had shown up, thad leered over him as he demanded to know, “are you gonna fix my shit?”

xx.

My girl. What an absurd thing to say about Nancy Wheeler, Cole thought. He couldn't imagine them together at all-- this guy who felt the need to control... everything, it seemed, with Nancy who was the most capable and independent person Cole knew. Even worse, Thad was a person who gendered his car. He probably named it too. Gross. Showing his distaste on his face, Cole looked from Thad to Thad's car. "Whatever you say, guy. Let's hope I spelled my name right," he smiled, glad to be done with Nancy's boyfriend.

When Cole didn't hear from Thad, he figured he'd uncovered Cole's scheme and decided he didn't care that much-- which was the plan. His mom's car wasn't any closer to getting fixed, but at least he didn't have to scrounge up his last three paychecks to pay for an overpriced repair on a gendered car that he could do himself. So, in lieu of a ride, Cole took to skateboarding around town. He'd just returned from work and was skating up his driveway when Cole heard a familiar voice yelling at him.

With an eyeroll and a groan, Cole planted a foot on the cement and turned. Unable to hid his smirk, Cole shrugged at Thad's question, "I never said that. Maybe I just misspelled my name. Oops." Cole's eyebrows shot up as Thad pushed him against the wall. Well, didn't this feel familiar. "I'll happily buff it out myself, guy, but I'm not paying for that shit. Why don't you call your diamond daddy and ask him for a favor?" Cole said with a sickly sweet smile and a bat of his eyelashes.

mmuscles​:

thad refused to meet cole’s eyes as they got into boyfriend talk. sure, cool, they were a couple or whatever, but he didn’t want to hear about it. it had been so deeply conditioned within him that what cole was…boasting about was wrong. maybe it was right for other people, but not for thad, not in this lifetime. the whole conversation confused thad to the point he regretted even asking, so he put on his best sour expression and stared at the car. his hands were numb and he had to take another large gulp of beer before he got back to work on this piece of shit car.  “whatever man,” he shook his head, “i’m not gonna go tattle to the first person i see, don’t flatter yourself.” thad huffed, insisting cole and now adam didn’t take up nearly as much space in his mind as they did. 

“everyone keeps talking about being gone…” thad started, no acutely aware that he couldn’t stand to talk about cole or adam any longer, otherwise this job wasn’t getting done. “but where did they go, like, study abroad? vacation? i don’t get it.” he didn’t read the papers or keep up with the times. as far as thad was concerned, he kind of lived in his own little bubble amidst the chaos that descended upon hawkins. it was one of many things he remained blissfully unaware of. 

xx.

Thad clearly didn’t want to talk about it. And that was fine, it’s not like Cole wanted to get into details... but he felt a sense of relief that Thad knew, if only so that what had happened before wouldn’t happen again. It was easier, anyways, to fall into the bickering back-and-forth with Thad; avoid the real stuff. “Whatever,” he echoed Thad’s tone. “I know you’re obsessed with me,” he laughed, to make it obvious he was joking.

Cole felt his stomach sink at Thad’s question. Of course Thad Bradshaw didn’t know what was going on in Hawkins, if Cole barely knew himself. “They were... off in this... group. In the forest. Like, a commune?” Cole said, trying and failing to infuse certainty into his tone. “It’s weird, but a bunch of them did it. Guess they had enough of the bullshit. Anyway, you can read about it in the paper. Assuming you can read,” he tacked on the end, hoping to piss Thad off enough to distract him from the ‘commune’ nonsense. 

jackforeman​:

“Yeah, Adam and I were in the woods together … in the commune. So, I guess they let us go, or we just left together,” he explained with a shrug. Didn’t Cole know that Adam had gone away with him? “I mean, I don’t know, I guess it makes sense. He was one of my friends in high school, so I guess if he’d decided to go into the woods for some shit like this, then the other would’ve followed.” At least, that’s what he was telling himself. Everything made sense.

Jack didn’t recall Adam and Cole being that close in high school. He knew the two were friends, but he didn’t think that they’d be hanging out so much that Adam’s parents would be sick of him, or so he said. “No, I’m sure they’re glad Adam has a friend now that he’s back. You know, someone to hang out with. I went over to Steve’s after I saw my family, you know, just to say hi, but other than that, I’ve kind of just been hanging out with my sisters. Not that they’ve ever missed me before this, but I think they might have this time,” he said with a laugh.

xx.

Cole nodded, going along with Jack’s story. It was certainly easier than telling what had really happened to Adam. Though, it made no sense-- why would Jack have a memory of being with Adam at the commune? None of this made any sense, and Cole was too nervous to figure it out, in case he uncovered something he didn’t want to know. “Right, of course. Well, I’m just glad you’re both back and... relatively okay?” he phrased it as a question, raising an eyebrow at Jack as if to assess his mental wellbeing.

With a smile, Cole agreed with Jack. That much was true, at least with Adam’s sisters. He’d gotten very close with them after Adam-- died, disappeared, whatever-- and he felt as if they were his sisters now, too. “Well, that’s valid. I’m assuming you also didn’t contact anyone while you were gone, right? I’m sure they have a lot fo questions.”