Leave {z.m.}

Sixteen

"We have a rental car available for you, sir. It is ready as we speak." 

I nodded to the man with the abnormally long mustache and shaking hands that he tried to hide behind his back. 

"Thank you," I gripped Adelaide's arm and pulled her along as I followed the man. 

I did not want her to find herself astray. Although it seems that she has trouble being severely harmed, I wish not to take any chances.

"The keys," he handed them to me quickly and stood up straight before practically marching away.

 How very stiff he was. 

"Get in," I ordered Adelaide as I let go of her forearm. 

I rested her bags in the backseat and sat in the driver's seat. 

"You don't have to be so rough," Adelaide complained, rubbing circles on her arm with her dainty fingertips.

"Sorry," I replied hastily without much of an apologetic tone. 

"You're acting weird. Are you scared or something?" 

Scared? No. Mystified? Yes. I could not fathom how she ended up outside of the car without a mark or even a small scratch. It was aching inside my mind. I would have to worry about that later though. I needed to find out who ran into us. I knew for a fact that it was no accident.

 "I need to get you home and then I must research whoever it was that crashed into my car. I will not let this go." 

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Adelaide questioned. 

"Yes, it is. If the circumstances were normal, you would be in the hospital with broken bones and internal bleeding or you would be dead. At least a bruise somewhere."

"How many times are you going to bring that up? Do you want me to get hurt? Do you want me dead? If not, then why do you continue to sound so exasperated about it? I don't know what your problem is." 

I sighed, realised the truth of her words, and sucked my breath in, although I did not need it.

"There is something going on. It is concerning. I do not wish for you to be touched by the supernatural world more than you already are by being around me. It would be a very dangerous life for you. Actually, the chances of your immediate death increase the closer you become to me. I do not know how or why you were so strangely saved from the accident," I paused before continuing...

"No, I do not want you to die or to be harmed, but if you were, it would make much more sense. You are a human and you should live a human life. Human lives are tricky, and after what happened, your human life seems unusual," I noted.

"Well, there was absolutely nothing supernatural about my life until I met you. Not everything has to be all supernatural and magical. Sure, it's really weird what happened, but maybe it only happened because I'm with you. I'm not very special. It's just a coincidence," she attempted to convince me.

"I don't believe that," I countered.

 I was right and she was wrong. It was obvious. 

"Can we just move on from this please?" 

I sighed and nodded; I started up the rental car after noticing that I had been distracted by Adelaide for the past seven minutes. 

"So, I've been thinking. I know about Gemma and her life, I know some of your life, but a bare minimum, and you don't know much about me," Adelaide talked as if she had spoken the first line of a thick book; the beginning of a new story.

"Indeed, I do not," I confirmed.

"Alright, I would start with what you'd want to know, but I know you won't ask anything. I was born in Ohio, where nothing happens, but I moved to Maryland a little after my second birthday. My birthday is October fourth, and I just turned eighteen this past year, although most mistake me for a fifteen year old..."

"...When I was sixteen, I visited England over an autumn break and I actually hated it. It was too gloomy and rainy. I spent three weeks in Cambridge and when I returned back home, I began thinking about my trip. I realized that I kind of liked the cooler climate and rainy days. It was much calmer than Baltimore, Maryland. So when it was time to go to college, I wanted to be in England..."

"...I never had very many friends, but the few that I did have were very close to me; Beth, Jed and Camryn. Beth had been my next door neighbor from the beginning of middle school to the end of high school. Jed had been the junior that teased me when I was just a freshman, and while he was in his senior year and I was a sophomore, we became practically best friends..."

"...We try to stay in touch. Camryn used to babysit me when I was in third grade. She watched me until I started middle school; she was five years ahead of me in school. I don't talk to her very much anymore, but I miss her."

"Where are they now?" She seemed pleased that I was responding with questions. 

"Beth is still in Maryland. Jed went to Arizona and Camryn works as a surgeon in California. I'm one of the only people from my graduating class that actually moved out of the country. My friends and family were pretty shocked..."

"...The person I'm closest to is my mom. We don't look very similar though. I don't look similar to my dad either, other than our big, brown eyes. He has blonde hair and my mom has light brown hair, while I have dark brown hair. My hair is wavy while my mother's and father's hair are curly. I'm only 5'4'' while my mother is 5'7'' and my father is 6'3''. It's a little crazy."

"It is different for every family, but there is always one person who appears to have unique traits. It is something to be admired for though. Uniqueness is alway considered a gift," I complimented softly.

 "Wow, thank you. I wasn't expecting that," she smiled. 

"Do not expect too much," I warned with a light tone. 

"Oh, believe me. I won't expect that to happen again anytime soon."

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Just for you to envision everyone, I imagine Shailene Woodley as "Beth", Lucas Till as "Jed" and Cher Lloyd as "Camryn"! (: