Drawing Blood

Chapter Four

I saw Adam before he saw me. He was standing alone, under a huge tree. He had his back towards me and was kicking at the ground, his arms folded across his chest. He seemed to be lost in thought, and for one millisecond I found myself wondering what was going through that mind of his, before realising I shouldn't care.

He had sent me a message, late last night, asking me to meet him. I thought it strange he wanted to meet deep inside the forest. I had my reservations. I still decided to go, though. But not before telling Will where I was heading. I was careful not to mention I was meeting Adam. I knew he despised him as much as I did. If he discovered I was about to betray him, he would never have spoken to me again. I recall, I dismissed him with a wave of my hand when he told me to be careful, reassuring him I'd be okay. I told him I needed the exercise. I told him I knew what I was doing. I added that if I wasn't back within the hour, then he could always send out a search party.

It was with a mixture of feelings, that I approached Adam. I regarded him with a careful eye. He was slightly taller than I remembered. And he looked stronger than the last time we'd met - much stronger. He seemed healthier, too. I reasoned it must have been all the cooking his mother had done - that, and having access to people who loved him. He'd been on the road for years. I knew that, because it was what Annie had told me. Luckily for him his family had welcomed him back with open arms. Annie, especially. She was always going to adore him no matter what he did. It could not have been easy on her when he had disappeared without warning or trace. It could not have been easy on her, suffering those sleepless nights. Having him back must have been a blessing. It would have out her mind at ease. 

I, however, did not share her sentiments.

I was about ten feet away from him when he guessed I was there, behind him. He turned on the spot, his fluid movements catching me off guard. I felt myself jolting momentarily, before continuing with my stride. I was defiant. I threw my shoulders back, held my chin high. If there was one thing I had learnt, it was not to let him see me as the shy, and nervous woman, I had become. There was a serious look to him, I noted. I could only assume he had some troubling news to deliver. Gone was the cheeky grin that had become his trademark during the summers spent here, and in its place was a thin line. If it weren't for the fact that I recognised his light brown hair, and his emerald-coloured eyes, I would have guessed he was a completely different person.

It was dark. It was very dark despite being only midday. And it was cold - bitterly cold: even for December. I told myself that I was only doing this for Annie. I hadn't been able to get her face out of my head since speaking to her, and the guilt had remained. I figured I could at least keep my word to her, despite not originally intending to. When I came to a stop in front of him, however; I didn't utter a single word. Nor did I offer him a smile. I did, I recall, realise that we were standing in precisely the same spot where it had all started, just over ten years ago. Things, though, were different this time. There was no desire to hurt me carved across his face. And I wasn't standing with my fists clenched, ready to swing for him; the urge to do so almost burning a hole through my chest. It was as if fate had brought us back to this place, realising we had unfinished business; torturing me because it hadn't hurt me enough.

It was Adam who broke the silence first.

"I didn't think you would come," he said.

His voice was deep and velvety. It coiled around me, like the darkness, swallowing me up. I decided to be honest with him. There was no point beating around the bush. "Believe me, I wasn't going to," I said. 

I saw something like triumph flickered in those eyes of his. "What changed your mind?" he said.

"Does it matter?"