The Invasion of Adam (Tork and Adam Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

but still… His heart sped up then stopped as he saw there were a few new sheets since the last time he’d snooped around in here. He began to read.
    It was mostly about Tork’s past. “Shit,” Adam hissed under his breath, trying to skim read as well as keep an eye on the door. Mostly a load of boring shit about mental health deterioration and lack of support, but the last section actually made him choke.
    Tork had a dad!
    * * *
Tork
    Getting on the tram was OK that day. There were still plenty of seats, and even though they were facing other passengers, Tork knew by now that no one would bother him here. Kevin had accompanied him to town a few times, so he knew it was safe.
    His favourite position was looking out the window, watching the houses slipping by like patchwork quilts. He knew all these streets from the years when walking about was the focus of his day, but somehow now it seemed like they were different.
    He stood up to let other passengers sit down and hoped Adam would still be at the shelter. That Adam was still interested in him was difficult to accept, but Tork had read enough books to know that attraction was a strong physical force not easy to deny. And he certainly didn’t want to.
    He got off the tram at the stop near the shelter and hurried to the bike shed to see if Adam had left his bike…and there it was. Both tyres were almost flat; the brakes didn’t work. As he peered closer, he saw Adam had drawn a picture of a penis on the saddle.
    But it didn’t take Tork long to fix it so at least it would be safe. He’d offered many times to show Adam how to take care of it himself, but all Adam would say is that he’d just buy a new bike when this one finally broke.
    As he left the bike, Tork hung an origami turtle around the handlebars and grinned. Adam was far too cool to pedal very hard, so his pace was incredibly slow.
    From across the street, Tork could see that the shelter appeared to be quiet today. Too often it was full of angry drunken people, and fights broke out, with Mike trying to calm things before the police intervened. On those days, Tork had to just walk away and find somewhere quiet to hide until the shaking stopped.
    One day, he hoped to repay Mike and this place for giving him help last year, when his resolve began to crack and the ache of loneliness dragged him to his knees. This was where he first met Adam, doing work experience as part of his college course, and even though the shelter had all the smells of desperation, Tork had lots of memories here that made him smile.
    But not as much as the sight that befell him as he walked past the activities room.
    He was not one to stare, but now he openly gawked. Adam was lying on a table on a great sheet of paper, while the artists painted around him, creating a colourful silhouette. Tork stepped closer, grinning like a child. He could just hear Adam through the closed doors.
    “Just be careful, yeah? These jeans cost me more than you’ll see this month. No offence.”
    “What, more than ten pounds? You were robbed, mate,” one of the guys said, making them all laugh.
    “What shade is your hair, Adam?” a lady asked, actually running her hand through Adam’s expensive layers.
    Tork had to step away from the door—and Adam’s indignant shriek—to prevent the guffaw that was building.
    Mike was waiting for him with a cup of tea, as always.
    “There you are, son. Come along in and have a seat. Did you see Ken in the art room on your way in?”
    Ken was Adam’s nickname here, after one of the guys had called him Barbie, and Adam had replied, ‘Ken, if you don’t mind. He has a much bigger wardrobe than Barbie.’
    Tork smiled at Mike and made himself comfortable. “I saw him. He has them drawing his outline, like an emperor having a portrait made. I walked away just as one of the women started pawing his hair.”
    “Oh, he’ll not like that,” Mike said, and they laughed together before Mike got down to business.