The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

Instead of going to his dad’s house, Adam turns toward his mom’s house. As he gets closer, he feels his OCD escalating, like walking through a net of razor blades. He smells smoke coming from inside the house and panics. He can’t open the door, but if he doesn’t go inside, he can’t help his mom in danger. He shoves the door open, but it barely budges because there is too much stuff on the other side blocking the way. He screams for his mom but there is no answer. Out of nowhere, Thor appears, and they both throw themselves at the door, forcing it open enough for Adam to squeeze through.

His mom is slumped on the kitchen floor with a bump on her head. Her eyes are closed, but she winces when touched. There’s a pot of soup boiling over, causing smoke but no fire. Adam turns the burner off and tells Thor to call 911. Carmella’s eyes fly open, and she begs Adam to not call the police. She says the man who’s been sending the letters was here and hit her, and that he wouldn’t have come if Adam had been present. She begs Adam to make Thor stop moving the junk for the paramedics and to not let anyone see her like this. Adam reveals that he’s known there is no man sending the letters since almost the beginning. She’s been writing the letters to herself. Adam asks Thor to call Chuck and his dad, too, and Carmella sobs into her son’s lap.

Soon after, the paramedics arrive, and Adam sees his house through their eyes. He wonders how they let it get so badly overcrowded. Eventually, Chuck and Adam’s dad arrive, and that’s when Adam collapses inside. Carmella refuses to let go of Adam as the paramedics try to take her away. She begs and pleads with him to not let them take her. Adam says he is doing this for her. Chuck steps in to break the pair apart. Adam’s dad embraces him in a hug and says he is so sorry; Adam realizes that he is as tall as his dad now. Before leaving with his dad, Adam thanks Thor and hugs him. Thor says he’s been watching for weeks, trying to get the person sending the letters. Adam says Thor is incredible, and Thor says Adam is a superhero.

Adam stays home from school for a week in the aftermath of all the chaos, and he sees Chuck a few times. His threshold issue is no longer a problem. Adam also meets with Father Rick and a social worker about his mother’s recovery. Adam’s mom will be treated at the hospital, but family is not allowed right now. Adam is secretly relieved to have a break. He talks to Ben on the phone and fills him in on all that’s happened. He asks if Ben would mind if he invites Thor to hang with them, and Ben says sure. Father Rick and the social worker give Adam a ride back to his dad’s house, and he asks if they can make a stop at the cemetery.

Adam is still trying to process everything that’s happened over the past few days, and he is incredibly sleepy. Chuck says it’s like a protective shock; his body is catching up from being sleep deprived. Even though Adam no longer has a threshold issue, he is still counting patterns in his head. Chuck says this is normal and he will recover in time.

When Adam is finally alone, he opens the letter that he found under a rock in the cemetery, which Robyn left for him. In the letter Robyn writes that she heard about everything that happened with his mom, that Adam will always be her Batman, and that she misses him. Later, Adam talks with Sweetie about what will happen next. He will probably have to spend more time with Sweetie at their house. Sweetie asks Adam about what anxiety is, and he thinks, “Maybe everybody has a damn good reason to lie. Maybe we all lie to hide the hurt or fake being strong until we can be strong” (277). Sweetie asks if Robyn is gone, and Adam says yes, he’s lost her. Sweetie asks if he can be Adam’s Robin now, and Adam says yes. He tells Sweetie to tell Brenda about his new identity. When he’s gone, Adam sits on his bed and finally weeps.