Adam awoke to his own cold, lonely bed covers. His room was so messy and full, yet this morning it felt incredibly empty. He groaned, standing up and leaving the bedroom to wander down the hall. He passed the kitchen, the cookie dough packagings speared him in the heart with their mere presence. An unfinished cereal bowl sat on Adam's dining room table beside a full bowl of pasta. Adam stepped into his living room, the TV was still on. A plate of cookies still sat on the coffee table. He sat and stared at it as his phone continuously rang. Slowly, he reached out to pick up his phone, his thumb hovering over the green icon.

Then he blinked and found himself somewhere else again.

First, it was his bathroom. Emptily, he stared into the mirror, his own eyes had trapped him in a somber stare as his thoughts were reduced to mush.

He blinked again and found himself elsewhere.

Now, it was Jaiden's kitchen. Neither of them said a word as they rolled up the dough, gently setting it on the cookie trays. Each passing minute Adam's mind felt more and more dysfunctional, blankly staring out Jaiden's kitchen window as he set the last dough ball on the tray. She didn't speak up once, but her face detailed her concern perfectly. But every time Adam looked at her, he didn't seem to feel anything. Instead, he simply pushed the cooky trays into the oven.

The next time he blinked, he realized he was now sitting next to her on the couch, eating cookies. Again, not a single word was said, the air felt stale as the two continued to eat. But he couldn't experience it for long, as the next time he blinked, he was on Jaiden's bedroom floor.

Her fan whirred quietly as he laid on her carpet, focusing on her plain white ceiling. She sat beside him, her soft brown eyes that fixated on no particular object looked just as empty as Adam felt. At that moment, for once, he felt truly nothing. At least, he didn't until Jaiden put her head in her hands, then his empty head seemed to crack and tear in a whole new layer of pain all over again. Not even his emptiness could stay for long. He reached out to touch her arm with a whimper, as Jaiden moved her hand slightly, tears trickled down her wrist. She breathed in sharply, her shoulders heaving as she quietly sobbed. The truth that Adam despised had finally gotten to sink in. He was no longer bombarded with white noise, Jaiden's cries did their job at slicing and dicing Adam's heart. He sat up, forcing her into a hug. No embrace before this had more weight than it, he gripped her tightly, refusing to loosen up until she returned it. "He said he was alright, that he'd get better." Jaiden sniffled into Adam's shoulder, he didn't think to speak, he couldn't, all he could do was try to steady his breathing. This time when he blinked, he realized that he hadn't moved a muscle. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore, he held Jaiden tightly as he started to cry.