"Your mother is arriving…," Adam told me.
   I automatically looked down the road but didn't see her car.
   "Why don't we ask her if she gives you permission to go to my house?"
   I smiled and nodded. I had forgotten about Alice…and the whole world. Adam looked down the road and then turned to me. And he gave me a quick but extremely sweet kiss. Then he moved a couple of steps away and looked at me mischievously. Immediately, the sound of the old Falcon snapped me out of my reverie. It was as if Adam had known exactly when the car would appear, rattling across the wet dirt.
   I looked at him, as if searching for an explanation. But he just winked at me. How I loved that mischievous look!
   "Hello, guys," Alice greeted us, happily.
   We got in just in time, when the rain became intense.
   "Adam, your bicycle…," I told him.
   " It doesn't matter, it's dirty. Let it wash…"
   The three of us laugh.
   "Mrs. La Rue, I wanted to ask your permission for Emma to come to my house tonight for dinner."
   Alice looked at him for a moment.
   "And…I guess your parents will be there…"
   I died of shame at that insinuation, even when I knew she was kidding.
   "Yes ma'am. Not just my parents. One of my sisters, my brother-in-law and two of my nephews will also be there," Adam said without flinching. "By the way, you know one of my sisters, Mrs. La Rue. Although she won't be there tonight."
   "Yeah? Who is…?” my mother asked with great curiosity.
   "It's Mary. Mary Alexander, the head of intensive care nurses."
   Alice nodded smiling. And I remembered her. I had seen her when Anthony had taken me to the hospital to see my mother.
   "Mary has helped me so much all these days," my mother said. "And I am so grateful to her. Go, go!" my mother smiled from ear to ear.
   "I'm leaving first," Adam told me suddenly. "I'll go to my house, I'll look for the car and I'll come get you."
   He looked at me with such kind eyes that for a few long seconds I didn't know what to say. I couldn't stop gawking at him either.
   "Emma?" my mother's voice broke the spell.
   "Eh…," I didn't know what to say. "But… it's pouring rain."
   "In a minute it will stop… And I will have time to go get my car."
   "Do you have a car?" I looked at him confused.
   "Yes, but I almost never use it. I prefer the bicycle."
   He winked at me and bit his lip mischievously.
   I had to make an effort not to throw myself into his arms and kiss him right there. He had done it on purpose! He knew that gesture lost me. He smiled and greeted my mother, shaking her hand.
   "See you later," he said.
   I accompanied him to the door, while my mother went up the stairs. I heard the bathroom door close and turned to Adam. It was my chance. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to kiss him. But Adam moved a few steps away.
   "No kisses, Emma. Not until we get married," and he bit his lip mischievously again.
   Feeling my face red as a tomato, I returned the jacket without saying anything. And I sighed as he walked away. He took his bicycle and got lost at high speed down the road. I looked at the sky. Adam had been right. It wasn't raining anymore. Although the dark clouds covered everything. I closed the door with another sigh. Had all that happened? Or had he simply imagined it?
   Without wasting time, I went up to my bedroom and changed out of my wet clothes, paying attention - for the first time in my life - to the color scheme. I chose blue pants, my must-have sneakers, and a white long-sleeved t-shirt that fit a little tighter on my body than the others. It was perhaps the only item in my closet that wasn't two sizes too big for me. My mother had bought it for me at an airport, once when we didn't have time to take all our clothes. I could only grab my backpack and leave with what I was wearing.
   I thought I was going to feel weird wearing her but when I looked in the mirror she liked what I saw. I straightened my back and looked at myself for several seconds. That shirt highlighted my chest and I was embarrassed. Still I controlled my impulse to change. And to feel more comfortable, I put on a white jacket with a faux fur collar. And I looked at myself for the last time.
   I went down the stairs sighing. I was really very nervous. My whole body was shaking. I would meet Adam's family. Wasn't everything going too fast? I shrugged at that thought. If so, I didn't really care. I couldn't know how long I had left in that town. Whatever it was, I was going to make the most of it.
   Fifteen minutes later, my mother came out of the bathroom. I made her coffee while I spied towards the road every now and then. I was already making me impatient.
   "So… Adam…, huh?" Alice wasn't wasting any time either.
   "Yes…," I said confirming her suspicions.  "Adam… And I have already spoken to him. I told him everything about Albert."
   My mother looked at me for a moment without saying anything. I brought him the cup of freshly brewed coffee.
   "Do you think I did wrong?" I asked nervously.
   "No. You did well."
   That calmed me down.
   "And what did he say to you when you told him everything?"
   "That I didn't worry. That he was going to protect me." My whole body trembled as I remembered his words.
   My mother smiled.
   “That boy is really straight out of a novel,” she said.
   I was going to answer him but the ringing of the phone startled us both.
   "Could it be Adam?" I asked confused.
   I hoped he wouldn't call to cancel the outing.
   "No, it's not Adam. Here he comes,” Alice said, pointing out the window.
   As I watched a red car approach, I picked up the receiver. My mother opened the door and a few seconds later Adam walked in with a radiant smile.
   "Hello?" I looked at him enthralled while I answered the call.
   "Hi Emma."
   That voice left me paralyzed.
   "Hello," I stammered, looking at Adam out of the corner of my eye. He winked at me and followed my mother into the kitchen.
   "How are you?" Damien's voice sounded very sweet.
   But, for some reason, it no longer had the same effect on me as before. I didn't feel anything, just a little curiosity.
   “Okay, thank you,” I said mechanically and looked at Adam again.
   "What's wrong with you, Emma?"
   "Nothing Why?
   "Because…you sound strange. You can not speak? Is Adam with you?"
   "Yes," I responded immediately "But we're about to go out…,"  and by saying that I felt like I was betraying him in some way.
   There was a moment of silence on the other side. I think Damien wasn't expecting that.
   " I warned you not to be alone with him."
   "I know…," the inexplicable feeling of betrayal became more acute.
   "Wait there. I'll send you Jack."
   "No, don't send anyone. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me,” I said, lowering the tone of my voice.
   Adam looked at me from the kitchen with a sweet smile.
   "Are you sure?"
   "Yes… Thank you… for worrying about me."
   "You deserve it," His voice sounded a little muffled. "I'll see you soon…"
   "I hope so…"
   There was silence on the other end and then I heard the call end.
   "Ready?" Adam asked me, approaching me.
   "Yes…," I said trying to sound natural.
   We said goodbye to Alice and went to the car. She followed us to the threshold.
   "Is this your car?" I asked.
   Alice smiled.
   "Yeah, do you like it?"
   I looked at him in disbelief. That wasn't just a car. It was the car: an Escort Cabriolet XR3, red with a black roof and a spoiler on the back that made it look even more interesting.
   “Emma has dreamed about that car for years,” my mother said.
   “Really?” asked Adam, smiling. “What a…coincidence!”
   Coincidentally...they were the last three numbers of the personalized patent: 187...
   " Really…a coincidence…," Adam repeated again.
   I noticed something strange in his words but I couldn't figure out what it was. My mother greeted us and entered.
   "Before we leave…," he announced to me in a solemn voice. But he stopped and looked at me intently.
   "What?" His silence made me more nervous.
   "Before we go…," Adam repeated. "You have to see the gifts I brought you," and pointed towards the porch.
   At first I didn't see anything. Only the closed door and a light that illuminated several meters towards the garden. Then I felt Adam's hands on my face. He gently lowered my head to the height of the small welcoming rug. And there I saw them: two stone sculptures just over a meter high, one on each side of the entrance steps. Their faces were wrinkled, gray, with thick wild beards and twisted roots that came out of their heads with strangely shaped caps. They had large hands and held staffs pointing forward. Their gaze was stern, as if giving a warning to imaginary intruders.
   "Adam! They are beautiful!"
   Adam raised an eyebrow. He was surprised.
   "Really? You like them?"
   " I love them! They are Daoi-sith…"
   "How do you know?!" Adam crossed his arms and looked me up and down.
   "I really like reading about elemental beings…"
   Adam smiled.
   "They are Celtic elves, right?"
   Adam nodded pleased.
   "Yes, and they are also guardians. They will take care of you. They will be my eyes and my ears."
   "Thank you…," I stammered.
   "It was a coincidence. I had decided to give them to you before you told me about…Albert. Even before I knew it, I felt the need to take care of you, to protect you, from the first moment I saw you..."
   His voice sounded very sweet and very moved. And I got lost in his gaze again.
   "Shall we go?" He told me with a smile, while he opened the passenger door for me.
   He was truly a gentleman! He turned around and sat in the driver's seat. We went out onto the forked road and drove in the direction of the Institute. There I realized that I didn't know where he lived.
   “I live there, in that house on the hill,” Adam told me, as if guessing my question.
   I looked ahead. At the end of the road, surrounded by fog, rose a hill with a truncated peak where a large house could be seen, shrouded in mist.
   "Wow!" I said surprised.
   Adam smiled.
   I looked at him. And then I realized something else. He had changed his clothes. He had on thin dress pants and a black T-shirt, tight to his body that showed off each of his muscles. And he had his hair up. He was beautiful. I couldn't believe someone like him had noticed me. And suddenly I felt afraid. Afraid of losing him. Afraid that he would notice my ugliness or my flaws. And I also realized that I shouldn't hide anything from him.
   "Adam…," I said resolutely. "when you arrived, I was on the phone."
   "Yes…," he told me.
   I expected him to ask me who he was talking to. But he did not. So without wasting time I told him:
   "I was talking to Damien."
   Adam looked at me. He sighed and returned his eyes to the road. I noticed that his hands were closing tightly around the steering wheel.
   " He… he called me…"
   "And…, what did he want?" His voice sounded tense.
   "He called me, again, to ask me not to be alone with you."
   Adam growled. But he remained silent for a few seconds. Then he asked, as if he had just realized:
  " Did you say again…? How many times have you spoken to Damien on the phone?"
   "Four…"
   Adam looked at me in disbelief. And before he could say anything, I rushed to tell him.
   "The first time was in the municipal library. Jack handed me his call while he distracted Anthony."
   Adam shook his head. He had his eyes fixed on the road.
   "The second time was on Saturday morning, when we were having breakfast. You and I."
   Adam looked at me in disbelief. Then he turned his eyes to the road and asked:
   "Wasn't it your mother who called you?"
   "No."
   Adam growled again.
   "How… didn't I feel it?" He said more to himself than to me.
   "Then…"
   "No! Enough, Emma! Don't tell me more. I do not want to know."
   His voice sounded tense and even hurt.
   “Stop the car, please,” I asked almost in a whisper.
   Adam pulled off the road and parked on the shoulder. He turned off the engine and crossed his arms. His eyes were still fixed on the road.
   "Adam…, I wanted you to know. I don't want there to be secrets between us. But nothing happened with Damien, and nothing is going to happen. I chose you."
   I felt Adam breathing heavily and keeping his lips pressed together. But he still didn't look at me.
   "Don't you realize what he wants to do?" He asked me suddenly.
   He continued with a lost look.
   "Separate us…," I said.
   "Exactly!"
   "But he has not achieved it. And he won't do it! I don't know why but it seems like...he wants to protect me from you," I said without thinking too much about it.
   "Exact! That's what he wants."
   His conviction surprised me.
   "And maybe… you should listen to him…," he said then with barely a thread of voice.
   I approached him and forced him to look at me.
   " Is that what you want?" I asked a little hurt.
   " It doesn't matter what I want. What matters is what you want."
   " I love you…," I whispered.
   Adam couldn't resist my words. He sighed in relief. He pulled me closer to his body. And he kissed me. And that kiss was as if it were the last. It was wild and intense. And it lasted a long time because neither of us wanted to stop. We couldn't stop. And after several minutes he was the one who separated an inch from me, breathing hard.
   “We better go,” he told me. I still felt his warm, agitated breathing on my face. “If we stay here…” he couldn't finish the sentence.
   I looked at him and said:
   "If we stay here…, we will have to get married…"
   Adam laughed in amusement. And I was relieved to see that he no longer had a frown on his face. He was that Adam again. The one I liked so much. He bit his lip and smiled. We set off and resumed the path towards the hill.
   When we reached the base, Adam turned the car onto a hidden road. A path that ascended surrounding the entire base. I didn't dare look to the sides because I knew he was going to impress me. We were almost at the edge of the precipice, closely flanked by the high slope of red earth, towards the other side. Still, Adam drove with complete skill. He didn't even seem to care that the darkness of the night was encroaching on us.
   After a few minutes we arrived at a tall wrought iron gate, which was wide open. Adam drove the car to a semicircular courtyard, with a water fountain in the center, made of pinkish limestone. We parked near the entrance and Adam turned off the engine. A huge, three-story house stood in front of us, with almost all of its windows illuminated.
   "Are you ready?" Adam asked me sweetly, even though I thought his voice was shaking a little.
   I was very nervous but I tried to hide it. Still, I think Adam noticed.
   "Don't worry, today we won't eat anyone."
   I smiled and looked at him. He was so adorable when his eyes looked at me like that. He got out, turned around and helped me down. He took my hand and asked me again:
   "Are you ready, Emma?"
   "Yes…, I think so," I said.
   I didn't want to pay attention to my legs that wouldn't stop shaking. I took a step but Adam stepped in front of me. He took my face with both hands, like the first time and he kissed me. And with that suggestive kiss he seemed to take away all the nervousness and anxiety he felt. And he seemed to realize it because he smiled and led me by the hand to the door.
   The furniture and decoration of the house blew me away. It was of exquisite taste and remarkably expensive. The first room I saw, I think it took up half of the ground floor. It was a huge, open space, all in black and white, with a large staircase in the center that left me speechless. On one side of that room opened an immense living room, with armchairs and bookcases that reached to the ceiling. And a fireplace almost the size of an entire wall crackled, illuminating everything. Towards the other side, a monumental dining room, with Louis XV style furniture, opened exultantly before my eyes. Luxury scared me more than it pleased me.
   And when I saw the table, I really knew I was in trouble. It had room for twelve people and was already prepared for dinner. I saw so many plates, cutlery and glasses that panic immediately took hold of me.
   "Adam…," I whispered. My voice sounded very strange in that place. It seemed to rumble and caused a strange kind of echo that made my blood run cold.
   Adam squeezed my hand. I looked at him and tried to speak lower:
   "Adam…, do you live here?"
   He smiled at me in response. He looked at me for a few seconds and then said:
   "Why don't you give me your jacket?"
   He helped me take it off. And when he saw me again, he did it in a strange way.
  " Have you dressed like this…for me?"
   I immediately blushed. But he was quick to tell me, with a smile:
   "You are very beautiful, my angel."
   "Thank you," I stammered.
   "You are always very beautiful, no matter what you wear," He whispered to me.
   And I melted again. His words moved me so much that I forgot everything else for a moment. I just dedicated myself to looking at his eyes, fixed on mine, and feeling his breath very close to my mouth.
   "Ah… They're already here! Welcome!" a guttural and powerful voice startled me.
   I turned around, unconsciously clinging to Adam's hand. A man was standing a couple of meters away from us. He was tall, very young looking- which caught my attention from the beginning. He had short, dark hair and the same eyes as Adam. He dressed elegantly and looked at me strangely, although he smiled. Smile that also seemed very similar to Adam's. And that calmed me down a little.
   " Father, this is Emma La Rue," Adam introduced me, without letting go of my hand.
   "Nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Carlisle Alexander."
   The man took a few steps towards me and stretched out his hand. I noticed a very striking ring on one of his fingers, with the drawing of a skull. I let go of Adam and waved back. He gave me a warm squeeze and looking into my eyes he said:
   "Oh! How powerful is this young girl's prana!"
   Adam cleared his throat, as he put a hand on my waist and pulled me towards him, with a gentle but firm movement. Which forced me to let go of his father's hand. And I noticed that he looked, just for a second, in a very strange way at Adam. Then he turned his eyes to me and smiled.
   "Ah… Our guest has arrived!" Another voice, this time female, took me by surprise. And I unconsciously clung to Adam. I felt his arms hugging me and his breath close to my neck and that calmed me.
   "Emma, ​​this is my sister Adelle."
   Adelle Alexander looked about thirty years old. She had waist-length brown hair and a statuesque body. And immediately I remembered Marie. They looked very similar. Adelle walked up to me and before I noticed her, she gave me a kiss on her cheek. Her effusiveness made me smile.
   "Oh! What a beautiful smile you have! I congratulate you, little brother.” She winked at Adam and walked towards the table.
   Ten minutes later, I had already met other members of the family: Adelle's husband, called Phil – tall and blonde, very good-looking and elegant, their children, Carl, eleven, and Sophie, seven. (Although they were children, they didn't look like it. They sat at the table and barely said a word. And their manners at mealtime impressed me so much that I got nervous. I was afraid of making a mistake with so many cutlery and glasses in front of me. from my). I'm not sure what I ate. Even today, making an effort, I don't remember it. But I think it went pretty well for me. And I only felt relief when they invited me to the living room for coffee. But Adam took my hand and led me upstairs.
    " I want to show you something…," he told me with an extremely sweet voice. And I couldn't help but think how much it was like Damien when he talked to me like that. Then Adam looked at me seriously. I felt uncomfortable because of his gaze fixed on mine and because of his silence.
   " Can I… ask you a question?" He said after a minute.
   "Of course…," I responded uneasily.
   "Do you think… Damien and I… look alike?"
   I was perplexed. I blinked in confusion as I felt again that Adam was able to read my thoughts. Although he knew that was impossible. I replayed the scene, thinking that perhaps he hadn't thought about it but had said it out loud.
   " I ask you because… it seemed to me, when I met you that… Damien you liked."
   I blushed immediately at those words.
   " But now you are with me and… maybe you decided to accept me because… since Damien avoided you, you saw something of yours in me and…" I put my trembling fingers to his lips and silenced him.
   "You and Damien are completely different, the way I see it. You are more…"  
" Attractive…," Adam smiled mischievously.
   " …I was going to say daring…but now that I look at you closely, I think you could say that you are more attractive than your cousin...However, I didn't choose you because you are cute…"
   " Arguably…?" I laughed as Adam wrapped me in his arms and gave me a sweet kiss. I followed him up a spiral stone staircase to a small white circular structure. Through a small opening he pointed something at me and then I was amazed. I understood that we were in a kind of tower at one end of the mansion. The view was incredible. At that considerable height, the height of the tower and the hill itself where the house was located, the world appeared to me in strange ways. The dark night enveloped the entire mantle of trees that could be seen in the distance. The valley of Crescent City was splendid with its small lights shining, as if they were a mirror that reflected the stars in the sky. And beyond, undisturbed, the ocean rocked, hitting the rocks of the coast with violence, as if disturbed, expectant, sure that something important would happen soon.
   " Do you like it?" Adam asked me.
   " A lot…," I responded, still enthralled.
   "I usually come, at this time, and look at everything around me and here… I strip myself of everything that ails me, of all my pain, of the thoughts that remind me of what I lack, what I may never achieve. Here it could be me...masks don't make sense here, at this time of night. I'm not at all the same as Damien. I never was nor will I be. Our paths are different. Damien always does what needs to be done. I do what I should do but in a different way. I am convinced of my decision. It's your own decision. I use my free will. Damien is his slave..."
   His tone of voice was so soft, but so penetrating that it captivated me as soon as he began to speak, so I didn't pay much attention to the meaning of those words. I wasn't able to read between the lines. I could only feel his breathing close to me and his penetrating gaze.
   When the cold got worse, Adam insisted that we return to the others. As soon as I had the opportunity - taking advantage of the fact that Adelle was talking to her father - I approached Adam and asked him about his mother, since she had not joined us for dinner.
   "She…has been sick lately. And she always stays in her bedroom. She can barely walk."
   "I hope it's not for anything serious," I told him, caressing his hand.
   Adam looked at me.
   "Come," he suddenly told me. His tone had changed. "I want you to meet her. Even though she is from afar."
   He apologized to his father and the others and guided me to the imposing staircase that opened in the center of the room. We went up to the first floor in silence. Only our footsteps could be heard on each step. We move down a hallway. Adam walked slowly, his hand gently squeezing mine. We reach a door, almost at the bottom. With his free hand, he opened it a little and motioned for me to look inside.
   The room was large but I couldn't see many details because it was almost dark. A lone lamp illuminated a small table, right next to a high four-poster bed. I tried to get my eyes accustomed to the semi-darkness and when I did, I could see that there was someone lying on the bed covered in pearl sheets. I glimpsed his profile. She was a woman with all her white hair. She struck me how old she looked. She had very wrinkled skin on her forehead and cheeks. Her small hands trembled a lot at the sides of her body. Only her feet were covered by a beige blanket.
   There was someone else, dressed in white. And as soon as she saw us, she came towards us. I could only tell she was a nurse when she walked over and closed the door.
   I looked at Adam, trying to think of what to say to him. But he beat me to it:
   "My mother's name is Vivian. She has... a rare disease. She suffers from premature aging."
   "I'm...sorry," I said, squeezing his arm.
   Adam was serious.
  "The doctors…," he told me in a whisper. "they do everything possible…"
   I didn't doubt it. It was obvious that she was well taken care of and the Alexanders also seemed like a fairly well-off family. Lack of resources was not a problem.
   Adam looked at me. And for a second I thought he was going to tell me something. He was strange, serious and had a frown on his face. I thought it was because of the situation. It can't be pleasant to see a family member - much less a mother - in that state, unable to do anything.
   " Adam, is there anything I can do for you?"
   Adam continued to stare at me.
   “Yes,” he said suddenly, letting go of my hand. “You should go.”
   I looked at him stunned.
   "Come on," he insisted, walking towards the stairs. "I'll take you home."
   I followed him trying to understand the situation. We reach the living room. His father was no longer there, only Adelle. But she did not say anything. She looked at Adam and seemed to guess that she wasn't in the mood to talk to him. I said goodbye to her with barely a whisper of voice and followed Adam to her exit.
   He didn't speak to me the entire descent. When the hill was behind us, I noticed the car accelerate a little more. I had to think of something. Soon we would arrive at my house. I struggled to understand what had happened.
   “I did something wrong, didn't I?” I said in a weak voice.
   Adam didn't answer me.
   "If it was like that, I apologize," I stammered.
   "You haven't done anything wrong."
   The tone of his voice caused me pain. It was a cold, impersonal voice. I looked at him. I couldn't believe Adam was treating me like this. I started to feel bad. I crossed my arms, trying to calm myself down and not let him notice my sudden fear. Actually, I didn't know that young man. He was a stranger I had only met a couple of times. It terrified me to think that he was in that vehicle with someone unknown and… obviously angry. What if he got violent? I couldn't help but think of my father...
   The minutes that followed seemed eternal. I could only breathe a little easier when I glimpsed the front of the house. I was very tense. And it was difficult for me to open the door. I got out and went straight to the porch. Would he come after me? Would I have enough time to open the door and leave him outside? But before I put my hand on the doorknob, I felt the car's engine revving. I turned around in disbelief. Adam was gone.
   And suddenly I felt like a fool. And totally sorry for having allowed fear and mistrust to take over me. Why had I gotten out of the car? Why didn't I talk to him instead? Why did I let him leave without being able to remedy the situation?
   Determined, I entered. I tossed my jacket to the side and picked up the phone. I dialed the numbers as quickly as I could. And I began to cry when a mechanical voice informed me that the cell phone I was calling was turned off or out of service area. Adam didn't want to talk to me. And I was dying to talk to him.
   I returned to the porch, but not before turning off the entrance light. I wanted to be in the dark. I looked down the road. It was empty and silent. I let myself fall defeated on the first step. I didn't mind the cold or the rain. I cried. I cried a lot. Adam was gone. I just wanted to understand why.