"You are so beautiful, you know that?" Chris said to me as he moved a lock of my black hair from my eye.
"I never thought I was very hot." My eyes dropped a bit and he brought my forehead to his.
"You have no idea just how beautiful you are - both inside and out."
"Thank you for saying that," I said as I buried my head in his neck again. We hadn't left each other's arms in over 3 hours. I guess Christian was sensing how shook up I was after Evelyn's visit.
"You wanna get something to eat?"
"Sure," I answered, though I didn't want to leave his warm embrace. I was hungry though, so I reasoned we had eternity to spend together.
In the lobby, I went to the front desk to ask for directions to a good restaurant. Chris insisted we go somewhere fancy, even though it wasn't even evening yet. He went outside to smoke while I chatted with the cute blond receptionist.
"Are you here for a visit?" she asked with the most adorable smile.
"Actually, we're moving in," I said with a smile and immediately regretted it. I was supposed to be keeping it low and here I was giving out information.
"Oh, you are married?" She seemed a bit disappointed, which made me feel a little good, I had to admit. I still wasn't used to people taking interest in me. Up until now, Doris the cashier at the supermarket was the closest thing I had to a friendly person.
"Married? No, I..." I froze for a second, not knowing what to say exactly. I didn't want to draw too much attention. "My brother and I, I mean," I pointed at Chris outside. Dumb... Like anyone would believe we are brothers. We couldn't look more different.
"Oh... that's nice," she smiled. "Maybe I'll see you around then."
"Sure," I answered with a smile of my own, though I was already getting nervous. She gave me directions to an upscale place not far away and I went outside just as Chris threw away his cigarette.
"Did you find a place?"
"Yeah, she said it was really expensive, so you get to satiate your snobbish taste," I teased him. The fact that I was able to do that showed me how comfortable I felt around him.
"Said the guy who lived in an Austrian castle to the guy who spent the last two years on the street." He was smiling, but I did feel a little pain in his voice. Maybe I shouldn't have said what I said. He was right after all. How could he possibly be a snob? I was tempted to take his hand then but remembered how he avoided it before.
The walk was very nice. Even though we didn't physically touch each other, I could feel the warmth in his eyes floating towards me even when we weren't speaking.
"We should find a gym here; get some time to work out. Though I guess you don't really need any extra muscles," he smiled at me. The fact he was talking about my abilities with such lightness made me feel on air. He accepted me for who I was. He didn't see me as a freak.
"Adam, you're glowing!" I thought he meant metaphorically, and I was about to answer when he grabbed my hand and pushed me to the side. He led me to an area between two adjacent buildings that served as a parking space for the residents. I was confused and didn't know what was going on. I had no idea what he was talking about.
"What happened?" My expression conveyed the small amount of fear I was feeling, I was sure.
"You're glowing!" he said in a whisper, and slowly brought his hand to my right cheek.
"What do you mean I'm glowing?" I was truly scared now. I brought my own hand to my face as if to feel the glow, but I felt nothing. Chris led me then to a shiny railing that showed off a little of my reflection. I was glowing! My whole face had a strange halo around it.
"What is it?" Chris spoke softly, never letting go of my hand.
"I have no idea. This never happened before." We sat down on the asphalt next to the railing and he put his arm on my shoulders.
"Maybe you need to relax, just breathe." He patted my hair, and I felt a wave of calmness wash over me. I completely surrendered to his touch and put my head on his shoulder.
"What's happening to me, Chris?" I said in a scared voice, like that of a little boy.
"I'm sure it's nothing. Just relax. I'm here."
"Hey, look at the faggots!"
The voice brought me back to reality, and I quickly lifted my head from Chris' shoulder. Three guys were blocking our way to the street. They were all heavily tattooed and all had a smirk on their face.
"Walk away guys, this doesn't concern you," Christian said in a stern voice.
"Did you hear that guys? The faggot thinks he can tell us what to do! And in our own street too!" I figured this guy to be the leader of the group, and I didn't like his smile one bit.
"You need to learn how to talk to men, you faggot!" One of the others chimed in. Chris stood up, and I didn't see even a bit of fear in his eyes.
"Oh, so you think I'm not man enough for you? I eat guys like you for breakfast!"
"Is that so?" the third one finally spoke, and I saw then he was holding a metal pipe. Before I could say anything, he started charging towards Chris, who barely managed to step out of the way before the pipe crushed his skull.
"That's the best you can do, you homo?" Chris leered at him, and the other two also joined the fray. I quickly got up, but I had no idea what to do. If I tried to do anything, I could end up killing them, but they were attacking Christian!
As I stood watching I saw that Chris was no newbie himself when it came to fights, which shouldn't have surprised me, I guess. He managed to kick one of the guys straight in the groin, incapacitating him as he fell to the ground. But the guy with the pipe kept swinging at him, and Chris was beginning to lose his edge. The guy I thought to be the leader grabbed him from behind, and I knew I had to act, or my angel would die.
I ran and grabbed pipe guy from behind, trying to be as gentle as I could. That proved to be not such a good plan, since he easily escaped my grasp. He swung at me then, and I instinctively dodged his blow, which was very easy for me to do, thanks to my heightened reflexes.
Chris used the distraction to bring his elbow into the leader's left eye. He screamed and toppled down next to his friend, who was still holding his balls in his hands. But when I returned my gaze to the guy still standing, I saw him swinging his pipe again at Chris. Chris was still looking at the guys on the ground!
All concern for their life left me at that moment, and I began to charge him before he could do anything to harm the person I would die for. But I wasn't fast enough, and I saw the pipe hitting Chris' head. Or at least I thought I did. The skinhead started to shake, and I could clearly see he was being electrocuted! I also saw a faint blue glow from beneath Christian's shirt.
My sapphire...
The guy fell on the ground, and Chris took the chance to grab me by the hand and drag me away.
"Chris..."
"Run, Adam, run and don't look back!"
We ran for about 10 minutes, and where we ended up I had no idea. Chris was panting, but I was, of course, not affected at all. I was also no longer glowing. We reached a small park and we sat on one of the benches. I didn't dare to speak first.
"I think that sapphire saved my life." His expression was blank.
"I saw it glow." I stuttered.
"I felt it, I can't explain it. I saw my life flash before my eyes, and I felt it."
"Is he dead?" Tears once again found their way down my cheeks.
"I don't know. That's why I wanted us to run."
"I almost lost you." He took my hand and held it with all his strength.
"Never. That's never going to happen." He closed his eyes, still panting, and seemed to be trying to get his breath back to a normal rhythm.
"I was going to kill him, Chris. I felt it. I was going to kill him." Another tear left my eye, and he quickly wiped it with his hand.
"You didn't do anything. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Those guys came at us. It was self defense!"
"So was the guy in Las Vegas." I was crying. Tears started to flow down his cheeks too.
"Come on, we're going to the restaurant." He grabbed me and pulled me up, and I didn't have the energy to protest. I would go with him to the depths of hell if he wanted me to.
We never went to the restaurant the desk girl recommended, but found our way to another one. I was a nervous wreck, and Chris pulled his chair up close to me, not caring about the stares from the other patrons.
"Here, have some water." His voice was so caring, and I felt myself clam down. I drank the water, and we ordered lobsters for the both of us. The place was pretty empty, probably due to the early hour.
"You have to push it aside, Adam. You have to stop caring. That's the only way we are going to get through this." His words seemed cold, but I knew he was right. I knew this was far from over, and that a lot of pain was still waiting for us on the horizon. I had to focus, and I focused on him. I pushed everything else out of my head.
"I love you so much."
"I would die for you, Adam," he replied. How did God manage to create such a loving, caring person? I had no idea.
The meal was good, and we spent it in relative silence, but our eyes did the talking for us. We didn't need words. We left the restaurant and started walking back towards the hotel, taking a different route than the one we used to arrive, to avoid going back to the place where the fight took place. After about five minutes of walking, I felt it again. Someone was watching me.
"We are being followed." Chris said suddenly.
"I know, I can feel it." I tensed up, not ready for yet another confrontation. I was pretty much depleted of energy by this point.
"Follow me." He took my hand and he led me to a fire escape. We climbed up a little ways and waited. A red haired woman holding a cell phone passed by on the street in front of us, but she wasn't talking to anyone. She was looking at a picture on the phone's camera and comparing it with something. I strained my eyes to get a better look, and I nearly lost my grip when I suddenly managed to focus on the items she was holding, as if they weren't more than a few inches away.
"She has a picture of us on her phone. She is comparing it with a picture she has of me." I was scared shitless, and I tightened my grip in Chris' hand. He did the same, and then did the exact opposite of what I was thinking of doing.
"You don't wanna send that, bitch!" The woman turned around to face us, lifting her head to the fire escape. Her eyes were not human. It was like they were on fire.
"I knew it was you." She had the most evil smile I have ever seen. "Why are you making it so difficult for yourself, Adam? Sooner or later, you are going to come home."
"He IS home." Chris was steaming, and his face was red. "You send that photo, lady, and you'll regret it!" She burst out laughing, finding the whole situation very amusing. She leaped from the ground with super human strength and landed right in front of us.
"And just how are you going to make me pay, you pathetic excuse for a sentient creature?" She was enjoying this. Chris gritted his teeth and lunged at her before I could stop him, trying to grab her phone. She was too quick for him, and he almost fell to the ground.
"Really, Adam, your choice of company is peculiar. Let us just kill this nuisance and get out of here."
"You lay one hand on him and I will kill you!" I shouted out. "You think I can't do it? Why don't you ask the last guy you sent after me?!"
"Ahh, Tommy. That was unfortunate. You made quite a lot of people angry, Adam. But we still want you to come home." She tried to put her hand on my cheek, but I wasn't falling for that again. I violently pushed it away.
"Don't touch me," I said, balling up my fists.
"Fine, we'll do it the hard way." Her eyes held the flames of hell and I felt the heat flowing through my body. She brought me to my knees, unable to breathe.
"Adam!" He ran towards her, pushing her. This time she was really mad, and with a swift launch of her hand she sent him flying to the ground below us. This distraction was all I needed though, and before she could return her fiery gaze to me, I got up and clenched her by the throat.
"I warned you!" I said, as I felt my hand tightening around her.
"Adam..." She was choking. "Don't kill me... I can help you!"
"Yeah, you could help me end up with a bunch of psychopaths who want to keep me away from the man I love. I won't let you do it!" Below us, Chris was coming to his feet. He was a bit bruised, but the fall was not far enough to cause any serious damage. He was staring at us, and I would have given anything to know what was going through his mind. I didn't know what to do.
"I can tell them I saw you in another city..." She coughed, "They will spend weeks searching in the wrong place."
"Why the fuck should I believe a word out of your mouth?"
"You can trust me, Adam, you know that!" I was suddenly beginning to worry someone might see us. It was 6:30 pm and pretty dark, but we were still somewhat visible from the street, not to mention the residents of the building the fire escape belonged to.
"I can tell you things, things you always wanted to know about yourself, who you are." She was struggling to get every word out, my hand completely surrounding her wind pipe. Answers... She can tell me who I am. What I am. But how could I trust her? I never got the time to ponder the situation.
A splatter of blood hit my eyes, and I dropped her from my grasp. She sank to the metal floor, a bullet hole through her head. I stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Chris climbed back up and took my hand.
"We've got to get out of here, Adam. Come on!"
"She... she..." Chris took my hand and we began running again.
When we stopped about a mile later, I couldn't take it anymore. I crawled into the nearest secluded dark spot I could find, and sank to the ground. I was shaking all over, and Christian sat down next to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me as close to him as possible. I was crying. Everything spilled out, and I couldn't control it anymore.
"Tell me what I can do to make it better, Adam, please tell me. I can't stand to see you like this." He was also crying softly, holding strongly in his comforting arms.
"Hold me," I said through the tears, and he tightened his grip on me.
"I never thought this kind of love existed, Adam. I never thought I could feel so strongly about someone I only met a few days ago, but all I want to do is to make sure you are happy and protected and safe. I feel like I've known you all my life and would die for you in a second."
"I didn't know what love was before I met you, Christian. I never thought anybody would ever care about me. I was certain I would spend the rest of my life alone, in the dark, never knowing another person's touch. You fill me with so much joy I didn't even know I could feel. You saved me, Chris. All I can give you in return is my undying love for you."
"That's all I'll ever need, Adam." I lifted my head from his neck and brought him to my lips, given him the most passionate kiss I could give. He moaned a little as he ran his hand through my hair.
"Be careful, Adam," a voice came from behind us. Chris jumped to his feet immediately, fists clenched, prepared to take on yet another assailant.
"Wow, relax, it's me," came Eva's soothing voice, and I could see her figure as she stepped closer to us.
"You're that bitch from the hotel," Chris started, his voice full of anger.
"No, it's her sister," I said as I rose to my feet. "What is it, Eva? Are you here to tell me how I screwed up again? How much I'm valuable to your master plan?"
"No, I just wanted to warn you not to kiss him too hard, you emit a lot of energies and too much too quickly can be dangerous." Her voice was soft and caring, the complete opposite of her sister. "And I wanted to tell you it was Evelyn who killed that woman, not you, so you don't have to feel guilty."
"Are you following us?" Chris asked in his still angry tone.
"We have to. We don't listen in on you or anything, but we try to keep a loose tail to make sure you are not in danger. Since Las Vegas, we just can't afford any risks."
"Who are "we"?" I asked.
"It doesn't matter, Adam. Get out of here. Go back to the hotel and rest. The worst thing for you right now is to lose your energy." I nodded my head and even Chris seemed to be placated, or maybe he just didn't have anymore energy in him, either.
As we walked by her, she grabbed Chris by the arm and whispered into his ear. I could hear what she said, though.
"Take care of him, Chris. He might be unbreakable, but he is very fragile"
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