04: Money Runs The World

"Ah-h, fuck ! Do it fast and be a little gentle,will you?" Adam rolls his eyes at the demand. He is being gentle as much as possible.

"It's a knife cut not a paper cut,idiot! and of course I'm being gentle enough." Adam mutters while treating the wound, he already gave her medicine to lessen the pain while she is being just like a little baby.

Now, it's not like Adam is a verified doctor or something similar to that but he had to learn how to treat knife and gun wounds as he had been shot and stabbed several times over the past few years. That's understandable as he won't be getting fresh roses as greeting when he works as a street gang leader.

Life is not easy when people either fear you to even look at you or hate you enough to kill you. That's how life is treating him, not that he is treating life in any better way. Either it's him who gets wounds or else he is the one who gives wounds. It's not only for him, It's for the others too who decide to walk the psth of crime. Game of survival they say, gotta kill the others to be the chosen one. 

Not that it's something that bothers him anymore. Adam joined this difficult path of life even before he could hit his puberty. He feels as if he were immune to pain now unlike his friend who is whimpering like a little baby over a knife cut. It happens every time, Adam shakes his head at her babyish behaviour.

"Done." Adam declares before busing himself in putting all the medical tools back inside the first aid kit. His best friend, Amy moans at the pain,gently touching the left side of her belly when that ugly bastard stabbed her.

"Don't whine like a baby now,Amy. It's not that deep either." Adam puts the box in the cabinet that stands right beside the bed. 

"Oh really? As if it didn't take you an entire hour to cover up the little wound." She scoffs. He is one lucky man who doesn't feel pain,she thinks. But she isn't that fortunate. 

"Want me to show you my medical certificate?" Adam never feels tired rolling his eyes, it has now become one of his personality traits.

"Yah! Cook something. I need something in my stomach before I take the painkiller." It just earns her "are you serious?" look from the boy. 

"I got this shit by trying to save your ass, you ungrateful fucker!"Amy yells and grabs a pillow from nearby and throws at Adam when he proceeds to leave her instead of doing what she has asked him to do.

Adam catches the pillow before it hits him,he can thank his reflexes for that. Turning around,he throws an angry glare at his annoying friend who is unfortunately like a family to him. Amy,by the way, gladly mirrors his action. 

"I didn't ask you to act like a reckless superhero. I could have handled that fucker anyway." 

"He was about to stab you!" She defends her previous action. If it wasn't her being a considerate friend who would even risk her life for her friend,it would be Adam moaning in pain. 

"At least you wouldn't be hurt-" He stops when he realises he just said in the most considerate tone. So, he clears his voice and adds to his previous sentence " and barking orders at me!"

Adam may think he doesn't feel pain anymore but he still has emotions and the emotion that scares him the most is the fear of losing someone he loves. He believes everyone who is lucky enough to have people to love would have that fear deep within their hearts.

"Aww,that's sweet. But can you at least make some cup ramen for me?" Amy laughs silently seeing Adam embarrassed. He is a fool if he thinks he can make Amy believe that he doesn't care.

With a sigh,Adam makes his way towards Amy's unorganised kitchen. Gosh, this girl is so dirty! Her beautiful face will fool everyone because it doesn't show how unclean and unorganised she is. It's always Adam who has to organize them orderly.As Adam's apartment is only 5 minutes away from hers, they end up either at Adam's or Amy's place after their work or when they don't have work for the day which rarely happens.So, her home is not yet a gutter because Adam cleans it. One has to pay a heavy price for being a good friend. 

"You will die without me! You can't even cook for damn's sake." Adam exclaims while carrying the bowl of noodles, suddenly feeling furious that It's always him who has to cook.

"What has gotten into you suddenly?" Amy inquires. She moans in pain once again when she tries to sit down on her bed. 

"Nothing." 

"Why are you so annoyed?" 

"I'm not." He states to which she shrugs and dives into the food that Adam has set for her. 

Adam is not annoyed, he is just worried . He is used to being in a life and death situation. He is the debt collector, the contract killer, the abuser, he is anything that his boss deems fit. But today for the first time Amy was so close to being dead. She usually doesn't have to go for action, It's always Adam but today she decided to interfere. This makes him wonder if something happens to him, what will happen to her or the vice versa?

They have been together for more than 10 years. He has always seen her like an older sister as she is 3 years older than him and she has always looked after him since the first time they had to work together when his own family left him to die.

"Take some well deserved rest. I will pick you up tomorrow morning." Adam announces before taking his coat  from her couch. 

"Where are we going?" Amy asks nonchalantly, much invested in her ramen. 

"Do I have to spell it out to you now? It's work,Amy. It's work." 

"God damn it! I just got stabbed! Can't I just take a few days rest?" She yells, frustrated. Her body already feels worn out and now she has been stabbed by a crazy bastard. 

"He pays good money, you shouldn't whine about work then." Adam replies,trying to find his shoes but he can't find them anywhere. 

"Oh how much I love them green notes! But not more than my health though." Adam ignores her.

Money, the only inspiration for people to work their asses off. It's one of the few factors that can turn humans into monsters, the hunger for wealth is much more severe than the hunger of food. It can compel people to unleash their inner demon, burying their humanity. Adam isn't beyond that. 

He works for money, he lives for money. Greed is the main factor he is still working, he won't deny. Amy isn't any different either. Though neither of them two chose the path of crime themselves,  they made themselves valid, feared and respected because they used the ladder to go ahead in life. 

"Damn where are my shoes?" He asks,annoyed as he is getting late. 

"You know my boy Milo." Adam huffs, glaring at Amy's smirking face. 

Now he has to deal with a furry monster. He hates that little creature. Not only he has to deal with annoying Amy, he also has to deal with her equally annoying pet. 

Amy found an abandoned cat a year back near her apartment and took him in. Adam was never a cat person but he tried to give it a shot but the cat didn't like him. Milo scratched Adam's legs when he tried to pat him. Such a brat. 

"Seriously, one day I'm gonna get rid of both you and your damn pet." Amy snickers at his anger. 

"You do love both of us though." 

"You have never been so wrong in your whole life." Adam scoffs, he is not gonna admit he actually likes to spend a little time with that tiny creature.

"If you say so." 

"Found them!" Adam lets Amy know, he finds his pair of shoes near Milo's little bed, Milo is biting on them as if they were food. 

Adam bends down and pats Milo's head, this time that damn cat didn't scratch his hand or anything so he smiles at the cat and pats him for a while before taking his pair of shoes. 

"Wait!"

"What now?!" Adam groans in frustration. It's now the 2nd time that he got interrupted. 

"I have something for you." She informs her best friend.

 With some struggle she finally succeeds into getting up from the bed. Taking slow steps she finally reaches her indoor plants section and plucks out some flowers off them. 

"Take it." She forwards her towards Adam, gesturing to him to accept them after verbally advising him. 

"Why?" He asked, confused.

"You shouldn't visit a grave without some flowers. That's bad manners." He doesn't say anything,just takes the flower from her hand. 

"You remember." He says, lowering his head. Not knowing how to meet her eyes. He is unwilling to show his vulnerable eyes to her. 

Till now he was able to hold his cold facade up without much struggle but now that she knows about it, It's hard for him to act the same way and that's why he feels pathetic. That's what happens every time. When you know someone is there to care for you, you become the vulnerable hostage of overbearing emotions that force you to burst your little bubble and share your thoughts, your tears.

"Hmm. Though I didn't remember at first, I admit." She begins while Adam looks up to her with curious eyes, silently urging her to go on.

"You never get distracted at work unless there is something bothering you." He nods his head at her statement. It's true. 

He almost had had Amy killed today because he was so distracted with emotion, it was overwhelming. Though he wants to make himself believe that he doesn't feel any pain, he has to admit that he is one who is in more pain. 

"Want a hug?" Amy asks, nudging Adam's arm. 

There is no one who understands him better than her. She knows how much he wants to act indifferent. He may fool others with his act but she isn't one of them. She knows his most vulnerable points, his secrets. She doesn't want to step out of her boundaries and take advantage of that information but she wants him to open up, it would be better than bottling up all the feelings.

Adam chuckles before embracing her into a warm hug. He was careful as he didn't want to hurt his injured body in the process. 

"Thanks for the ramen." Adam playfully rolls his eyes at her awkward attempt at trying to ease him. 

"Go now and sleep. I will see you tomorrow." Adam hurriedly takes off without sparing  another glance at her. 

On his way, he smiles at the flowers in his hand. Though he will never be able to forgive his mother for leaving him, from taking away the chance to be a kid from him. He had to become an adult when she decided to leave him. He had to accept that not everyone has a childhood, some know it as painhood. He hates her for not caring for him. But still, he doesn't hate her enough that he will not cry on the day when she permanently left him.

Shaking away all the raw emotions, he drives towards his destination. Sometimes he thinks if the world of crime didn't embrace him what would happen to him? 

Maybe we would have died a long ago or he would have to beg like the kid on the street who is right now begging from car to car for money as the traffic light turns red. Adam takes a 100 $ bill from his wallet and gives it to the kid who approaches him. The joy on the kid's face makes Adam guilty instead of happy. What an ironic world, he had to kill a man today for money but now here he is giving the same money to save someone from hunger. 

At the end, life is just like a circle and money in the centre of it. Adam smiles at the kid when the kid thanks him for the money. Silently he drives his car, eyeing the flowers once again.