When Ciara turned around the corner and came down the alleyway, Adam could feel the stress leaving his body. For a moment he just forget about all the hell he had been through the past week. He pushed off the wall slightly as she came closer even though every cell in his body groaned in agony. A trade mark smirk pulled at the left corner of his mouth at her self-proclaimed insanity. “Well they do say it is safe to talk to yourself, sweetheart, but when you start answering yourself that is when you are truly going insane.” He paused and took a moment to look over her figure noting the dark glasses that she had not removed since coming into the shade of the alley and the way she seemed to walk as if every step was painful. “Though from the sound and looks of it, you not too far away.” He finished.
Adam leaned back against the wall again, it took to much energy to stand on his own two feet. A laugh fell from his lips at her comment about his looks and without much thought he returned the sentiment. All the while though, he was truly taking in her appearance and, despite himself, he found that he was worried about how she was truly doing. After a snide comment, anger came from her lips in the form of an insult and was all he could do not to clap at her bravery and her cunning comment. “Well said, darling. And I will thank you for your complement too. One of us has to be the ‘pretty’ one after all. Though, according to your comment, you are self-proclaiming you as the prettier one.” Adam leaned his head back against the wall and gave a short laugh.
When she got close enough, Adam had reached out and grabbed her wrist a little roughly. He could both see and feel her flinch as his fingers wrapped around her. If it had not been for the instant relief the touch brought, he probably would have let go. It was easy to read the fear that lingered in her eyes and the tense way she walked was a testament to how terrified she was to be around him. Once the dull ache of several days training resettled on his body he let go of her wrist and relaxed once more against the brick welcoming it support. He was unsure of how long he could keep up with this new training regimen they had put him on. Before he could stop himself, he spilled the days he had been enduring back with his coven and for some odd reason, being able to tell her seemed to ease some of the tenseness in his body.
Ciara reached out and gently touched his cheek and Adam froze. Her skin felt soft against his. He leaned into her touch slightly. Then it was gone as quickly as it came. It took a moment for him to register that she had leaned against the wall and sank down next to him because he was still caught up in the fact that she had willingly reached out and touched his face. A few seconds later he slid down the wall to sit next to her and listened to her recount her past few days. He almost made a comparison to the easiness of her days compared to his but he stopped himself. She had genuine concern in her eyes when she had looked at him, the least he could do was try to understand how her days had been difficult for her.
Adam laughed when she mentioned that she had a hissy fit which resulted in her lighting someone on fire. It would have been applauded in his coven, but he reminded himself that her coven did not work in the same way. It still amused him though. “I am sure they deserved it. On the bright side, next time the person will not risk pissing you off.” Adam told her in a slightly joking manner. Adam turned to look at her as she pulled her knees up to her chest and asked him what they were going to do now. Honestly, he had no idea what they could do. His coven would not tolerate him spending too much time out of the coven, not to mention what they would do to her if they found out. The fact that he cared what would happen to her scared him and for a moment he debated getting up and walking away from it all.
For a moment he did not speak but just looked at her. “I don’t know.” He finally admitted as he let out the breath he had been holding. “It is all too complicated.” He whispered softly. Slowly, as though not to scare her, Adam reached out to put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his body so that she could rest on his shoulder. It was painful to have her weight against his body but he didn’t let it show as he closed his eyes. “You need to understand what would happen to you if my coven found out. You would not just be killed quickly…” He sighed and pressed his face into her hair. “I shouldn’t even care if you get hurt.” Silence hung around them heavily but he didn’t dare move nor speak.
