Chapter 3

For the next couple of days, we lived like strangers.

Not close friends who decided to share a house, but two strangers who couldn't be in each other's presence.

I could barely catch a glimpse of Adam these days and when we bumped into each other in the kitchen, we almost never made eye contact.

There was an awkward air. Like there was so much to say yet so little was being said.

I was losing my close friend faster than I'd gotten closer to him. Most times I laid wide awake thinking of how to rectify this but how could we meet in the middle if he was refusing to meet at all?

I heaved a sigh as I carefully placed the pitch fork at the corner and stepped back to admire my work. Under the sun, my body glistened with sweat. Next up, bringing the horses in for a good feast.

I looked straight ahead and caught sight of Adam going at a wood with an axe like it owed him money.

At least we still had something in common.

We've been trying to bury our heads in work.

His muscles bulged under all that strength and I found myself taking a gulp. I had to tear my eyes away, and tried to focus on the land instead. I took a deep breath and the next time I looked at Adam, my heart jumped.

He was dragging a stubborn horse. I hurried over, panicked in my steps.

"What the heck are you trying to do?" I screamed.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked without sparing me a glance.

I didn't care about the silent treatment we had going on, but I wasn't going to let him take a huge risk with this one.

"Maximus is not ready yet. He's as stubborn as they come!"

Maximus neighed aggressively as if siding with me. The big brown beast had wild fire in his eyes. He didn't want to be tamed, at least not right now.

"Oh, stop your whining! I'm the best around here," He rolled his eyes. He threw the saddle on Maximus and tried to lock it in.

He was right. Adam was the best horse tamer but that didn't mean I wouldn't worry. I stepped back, letting him have his way and hoping he wouldn't regret this. He straddled the horse, guided it with dominance and authority. I chewed on my finger nails watching him.

There was nothing to worry about after all-

Adam relaxed.

His biggest mistake.

Maximus bucked hard. Adam lost his balance. He was thrown off in a blink. He fell hard to the side with a heavy grunt.

"Adam!" I jumped into the arena as Maximus continued to buck, threatening to trample Adam.

"I got it!" Henry, another farmer, rushed to Maximus to get him stable and move him away from Adam as best as he could.

"Adam, look at me!" I knelt beside him and pushed him back to the ground, "Stay down. Don't move. Are you hurt?"

He groaned, "Fuck. I don't know. My arm hurts. I think I broke something."

With that fall? "No shit, Sherlock!" I grunted.

"We're clear," Henry signalled as he led Maximus away.

"Come on, up!" I helped Adam to his feet but he wobbled, leaning heavily on me. I grabbed his waist and threw his arm around me.

"Fuck! I think I dislocated my knee. Aw man!" Adam groaned, still trying to be tough but I held onto him tighter.

"Henry! Call a doctor-"

"No, I'll be fine-"

"Don't piss me off, man!" I almost screamed at him. My heart was racing wild. This could've gone a lot worse than how it looked right now. I just hoped he didn't have any internal bleeding.

I didn't have the heart to break any news to his poor mother.

"The doc is on his way here," Henry announced and helped us get Adam inside the ranch. He tipped his hat and left.

Adam's low groans filled the room. He must really be in pain because he wouldn't show this much on a normal day. He liked to act like the big tough guy he was.

"What else hurts?" My eyes roamed his body wishing my hands could do that instead.

I halted at the thought. Took a step back. What the hell was I thinking?

"My head, my knee, my arm..." Adam trailed off, eyes glaring at the ground like he hated to admit he was in pain.

The doctor came and left. This diagnosis was as expected. Adam had dislocated his arm and knee. It would take a few days to heal. The doctor mentioned it was a good thing he didn't hit his head. We would've been in an ambulance by now.

"I can't get off work," Adam grumbled. "That's impossible-"

"It's not up for debates. I'll call the boss and let him know beforehand. You're staying home. You're resting. I'm not letting you out the door." And that was final. "Let's head to the car. I'll help you-

Adam tried to stand as I started to reach for him, "I got it-"

"Sit back down, Adam!"

He flinched at my tone, shock filling his face before he frowned, "How the fuck am I supposed to get to the car if I can't stand on my own two feet, Tristan?"

"It's not even been up to an hour and you're already so grumpy." In the past, this wouldn't even be an issue. I guess it was my fault my best friend had become weary of me?

"I guess you're dying to say I told you so," he muttered, narrowing his eyes in a glare.

My jaw ticked, "You think?"

I hurried to open the car door and found Adam barely on his feet. "Holy mother of- you're so damn stubborn!" I groaned through clenched teeth and threw his hand over my shoulder, grabbed his waist and did the unthinkable.

I lifted him. Bridal style.

"What the fuck!" Adam screamed, trying to get down but I held on tight.

"I swear to God, Adam! If you move a muscle, I'll stomp you harder than Maximus would've!"

Adam froze in my arms. His eyes searching mine. I saw the hesitation before he grumbled, "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me!"

He was quiet and stopped wiggling. He let me carry him to the car. We rode in silence. Heavy silence. He grumbled when I carried him out of the car and into the house.

This was going to be one long week.