"Where did you get hurt?", Adam asked.

"Just the ankle and the back, it good now", I said.

"Is it?", he asked sarcastically.

"Did you see the cuts on his arm, it looks like he did it himself, and they are recent, when I touched it, I could feel the fresh wound", I said.

"hmmmm", he hummed.

"You didn't find that odd", I asked him.

"Lue", he was interrupted by Uncle John, who came with Ryan to talk to us.

"Here you are", he said, as we brought his special muffins for us wrapped in a box.

"Where are the other?", Ryan asked.

"They left", Adam said.

Ryan didn't even look at me.

Uncle John came an sat down next to me. He told us how things were going fine with his shop. He mentioned his son, who would be visiting him after 5 years, next week now to meet him. Adam excused himself from the room, but he didn't return.

We talked for another 10 minutes, and after that he left us alone in the room.

I tried getting up, and now finally Ryan looked at me. I wasn't able to walk properly and he noticed it. As I was about to hit the ground again due to the strong pain that I felt in my waist, Ryan took a hold of me.

"Hey, easy there, what happened to you?", he asked as he was helping me walk out of the room.

Not sure if I should tell him, I said, "I just fell, you know, high heel issues".

He looked at my feet, to see me walking bare feet with the heels in my hand.

"Do you want me to carry you?", he asked.

"Cliche much?", I said sarcastically.

"Listen the kiss wasn't a mistake, and will never be one for me at least", he said. I looked at him to find a genuine, sincere look in his eyes.

"What do you mean? I'm added to the list of the girls who you charm with your little tricks", I asked jokingly.

And I hurt him again, as he didn't look at me, only kept his eyes on the ground.

"Ryan?"

"That is what you think of me?"

"That is what everyone thinks of you, that is what you wanted everyone to think of you as far as I remember", I said.

"Things change Lue, situation and people change as well", he said as we reached my car, and he help me sit in the car.

Before I could say anything else to him, he shut the door of the car politely, and turned around to go back.

I started the engine and turned the car to face the exit. Looking in the rear mirror I saw Ryan standing, looking at my car with tears in his eyes. I had no clue what was up with him. Or maybe I did but I didn't want to accept it. I closed my eyes for a second before driving out of the gate.

I reached home, and asked my mom to apply some ointment on my back and ankle, as I had fallen due to the high heels. She didn't believe me but didn't argue much. I called Olivia.

"You saw the cuts?", I asked.

"I did, and Lue I found something else as well, wait a moment", she said.

"I was with Carter and I've never seen him react the way he did today, that was so wrong, how bad is it?", she asked.

"Just the ankle", I lied,"What were you gonna tell me?"

"I found a pocket knife next to Carter's bed, and when I asked him about it, he became furious again, I've never seen him react this way before", she said.

She confirmed my doubt. Why did he do that to himself? Was the curse acting up? But we aren't sure if he is seeing any hallucinations or nightmares.

Nightmares, shit, Adam. How could I forget.

I called Adam to see if he was still awake. When he didn't pick my call for the 5th time, I became suspicious. It was Adam we were talking about. He answers his calls even at midnight. I called Mr. Dankforth to ask him to check on him.

"Hello Lucy, what can I do for you?", he asked.

"Hello D, can you check on Adam real quick for me", I said.

"Darling, he's not home yet", he said.

"His parents are home?", I asked.

"Yes"

"Maybe he is with Ryan....... but he left the party early as far as I know"

"Shall I do something?", he asked.

"D, I'll you back, let me see if he is with someone else", I said.

I called Olivia, and Ryan but he wasn't with anyone of them. Not sure what to do, I told them that Adam wasn't home yet. I told them to see if e can go somewhere else.

As I was thinking of his maybe hangout places, Mr. Dankforth called me. When I picked up the phone he seemed all panicked.

"Lucy.........h....i......", the voice on the other side was distorted due to poor network maybe.

"D, I can't here you wait, I'll call you back"

But before I could cut the call, I heard something that shook me to the core.

"Adam............... accident................hospital"

This can't be happening. I called Ryan and told him to inform the others. I announced the same in a panicked tone, in the house as I left the house with my phone and the car keys.

I drove to the hospital, after calling Mr. Dankforth of where he was. He told me he was in the emergency. I rushed to te spot and found his mother crying on Mr. Grant's shoulder in the corridor.

"How bad is it?", I asked D as I came near him.

"Bad, a traveller found his car on the forest road, and called the ambulance. The hospital staff called on the number of his ID."

I was shattered. I almost lost one friend a few weeks back and now Adam. The curse was doing it's work I was sure now. But I had no idea what should be done next. It seemed like my mind had gone blank. Neither was I able to think anything nor do anything. Half an hour later, Ryan and Olivia managed to come to the hospital. Carter couldn't be rushed in the condition he was.

The three of us sat hopelessly as the Doctors shifted Adam from his current location to the ICU. They said he was serious, an they will try their best. Even after trying so hard to remain strong, I couldn't do it anymore. It felt like nothing else mattered to us anymore. I cried, for the first time, I did, I had no idea who was around me but I knew Ryan and Olivia were around. Ryan got me a bottle of water, while we sat outside the operation theater for hours. The night seemed like it would never end. And even if it would, we weren't sure if the sun will bring brightness in our lives.