She sighed as tension left her body, her eyes filling up with tears. Looking through the rear mirror she couldn’t help feeling as if she’d just enter a surreal movie. Because besides just having destroyed two University’s laboratories she’d also kidnapped a woman. And to think that that morning she hadn’t plan anything beyond having a friendly talk with an old classmate.

The sound of her phone ringing startled her, leaving her full alert again, and she nervously looked for it inside her handbag. Swallowing hard at the sight of the name on the bright screen, she still chose to pick it up.

“Yes,” she answered dryly, stopping at a crossroads, waiting for the lights to change, and the voice from the other end sounded urgent and anxious.

“What the hell were you thinking, Sarah?! Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?”

“I do. The question is, do you, John?” She pressed forward as the lights turned green.

“You've gone completely insane!” he accused, ferociously. “You’ve just destroyed years and years of research!”

“It’s you, isn’t it? The member of our team working for Farran,” she concluded, a bitter smile touching her lips as suddenly everything made sense. “How else would you know I’m the one who destroyed the labs? Farran called you, didn’t he? And told you I’d found Deborah. You went to the Hillman Center to save the samples and to capture me. Sorry you were too late.”

“Sarah! You have no idea of whom you’re dealing with! Let me help you! I can get you out of this mess!”

“Oh, help!” she repeated speeding up as she finally managed to get out of the morning traffic still clogging up the main roads. “If before your offers to help always sounded more like business transactions, now they sound like complete deceit.”

“Sarah! I’m not the one trying to deceive you, can’t you see? That … man you’re living with! He’s just using you to do his dirty work! You’ve just destroyed the animal samples that were proof of his experiments, proof that he’s been working on genetic manipulation in order to create a new biological weapon. That Alexis is part of a terrorist group!” he declared, his tone urgent, and Sarah couldn’t help gape, astonished.

“What? Is that what you believe? Is that what Farran told you?” she asked, still in disbelief.

“Please! Please let me help you!”

“John, you’re the fool here. You’re the one who’s being used. And I don’t need your help!” she declared and turned off her cellphone.

She was turning towards Alexis' house a few minutes later and, leaving the car in front of the porch, she quickly climbed the three steps to the entrance and used Anne's key to open the door, peering inside. To her relief, neither Selena nor Anne were anywhere to be seen, and so she went back outside, opening the backseat door. Holding Deborah by her ankles she took a deep breath before using all her strength to pull her out of the car. She couldn’t help cringe as the woman’s limp body fell on the ground, her head hitting the car door, making her quickly look around to make sure that there were no unwanted witnesses to her crime. She pulled her again, up the stairs, her muscles aching from the effort. Fortunately, once inside the house, dragging her down the corridor and across the living room was much easier. And she quickly made her way to the door in the back, hoping to hide Deborah inside before the noise gave her presence away. She took a deep breath, pulling her towards the dark stairs, almost losing her balance, her arms aching, her breathe uneven.

“Alexis!” she called, closing the door as deep, thick darkness surrounded her, and leaned against the wall for a second, trying to catch up her breath. “Alexis!” she called again and decided to go down to meet him. The shadow around her murmured severely, as if it were angry that she’d taken an intruder in there, but then strong arms surrounded her, surprising her, holding her against a warm, firm, body.

“Sarah. Where did you go?” he asked, his voice heavy with concern, and she tried to pull away from him.

“I need your help,” she told him, tension still coursing through her veins, and felt him immediately apprehensive. “There’s a body at the top of the stairs. I can’t see a thing. And I still have to go upstairs. I left the front door open, and there are things in the car.”

“Hey, Sarah, slow down. You’re shaking,” he observed, framing her face with warm hands, and softly kissed her forehead, which immediately calmed her down a bit. “One thing at a time,” he told her, and holding her by the hand, started to climb the stairs.

When he stopped Sarah immediately knew that, even surrounded by all that darkness that left her completely blind, he’d recognized the woman she’d brought with her. The fury that took over him left her on the verge of a nervous breakdown, tears filling her eyes. Her own emotions were already chaotic as they were. Having to deal with his share as well suddenly felt like too heavy a burden to bear. Maybe taking Deborah there had been a mistake. And Sarah found herself hugging his arm, wishing she could bring back the soft gentle Alexis that had just greeted her.

“Alexis, please …”

“What’s the meaning of this?” he managed to ask, his voice dry and deadly, and even the shadow surrounding them squealed threateningly.

“I can explain! I promise I will! But now I need you to stay calm. Please,” she begged in a shaky voice and felt as his body tensed up, the muscles contracting, becoming hard as stone.

“You don’t know … you can’t even imagine, what I want to do right now …” he muttered between clenched teeth, his voice an ice razor, and Sarah hugged his arm even harder.

“I can! Of course I can! But you won’t! We need information! Information that only her can give us. That’s why I brought her here. Please Alexis …”

He violently shook her away and Sarah was forced to go down two steps so she wouldn’t lose her balance. Surrounded by darkness and deprived of his physical contact she felt lost, as if she were floating in a space without light or color. The only thing she could still hear were the loud, acute screams of the shadow surrounding them, and her heart beat anxiously against her chest as she tried to guess at what he could be doing.

“Go down!” The command reached her hard and dry and Sarah found herself obeying without question. In truth, above all, she wanted to get out of that world of darkness, and so it was with a sigh of relief she greeted the yellowish light of the torches at the base of the stairs.

With her heart beating loudly she stepped back, anxiously peering into the darkness. For an instant she feared he wouldn’t show up, that he’d stay in the dark, surrendering to his instincts of violence and revenge. And so, when she saw his tall figure appear, as if his body had just materialized from the emptiness behind him, she couldn’t help smile nervously, following him as he walked past her, towards his office. He was carrying Deborah over one shoulder, as if she were no more than a sack of potatoes; her blond head dangling against his wide firm back. A painful stab pierced her chest as she realized he hadn’t even looked at her, and she couldn’t help cringe when he simply dropped Deborah on the floor, as if she were a mere object.

Alexis took a step back, squeezing his own arms as if he needed to be sure that his hands were otherwise engaged. His practically incandescent gaze seemed unable to look away from the body lying at his feet, his face a mask of hardly restrained fury.

Sarah clenched her fists hard, feeling inside herself his battle for self-control. Had it been so wrong bringing that woman to him? In despair and in her urgency she’d been unable to think of anything else, except to return as quickly as possible to Alexis' side. Because she’d be safe, near him. Because he’d protect her. She’d completely forgotten to take into account his feelings, and what seeing the woman that had tortured him for days would mean to him. And now he was again locked inside himself, again drowning in pain, again somewhere where she couldn’t reach him. Just like it had happened in that warehouse.

“Alexis …” she called him, taking a step forward, and the fact that he didn’t even seemed to hear her opened a dark, painful hole in her chest.

Her gaze fell on the woman on the floor and a frown of irritation marked her forehead. That woman, who she'd admired for so long, had not only caused pain and suffering to the one she loved, she was stealing him away from her! Even unconscious, even unmoving, even in silence! Deborah Rayleigh was causing an insurmountable gape to open between the two of them. The anger that filled her was almost as intense as his, and the despair at her own helplessness left a bitter taste in her mouth and tears blurring her eyes. Without even thinking about what she was doing, she walked up to him and pushed him with all her strength, wishing he’d at least look away from her. Alexis, however, didn’t move one inch, as if he were a statue, leaving her even more frustrated.

“Look at me! Stop looking at her and look at me!” she demanded, pulling him by his collar, trying to shake him, and her rampant heart seemed to calm down a bit when he finally turned his head to obey her command. Even if I have to face your scary eyes, or your threatening expression. You have to look at me! “If you want to get mad, get mad at me! If you want to shout, shout at me!” she told him in one breath, her voice shaking nervously, her brain unable to discern what she should do, how to make him understand how she felt, as he slowly got farther and farther away from her. “She is nothing! She is nothing, right? And I … I am your Hridaya…!” she declared, although right then doubt weighed heavily on her mind, and two tears escaped her control sliding down her cheeks. Don’t leave me alone. Don’t run away to where I can’t reach you.

He seemed surprised, for an instant, the shock vibrating through his entire body. The fury that had taken control of his mind slowly faded away, the world around him regaining its due colors and shapes, as the crimson fog that had covered his vision slowly lifted. Until he was finally able to see her again.

The small, frail hands holding him by his collar were shaking violently. There were tears on her cheeks, and tears in her eyes, but her restrained, resolute expression showed that she too was fighting against her own emotions. Her light hair had become a revolution of disorganized strands. She was standing on the tip of her toes, he noticed, so she could better reach him, and a smile almost tore at his lips, if not for the shame that suddenly filled him instead. She was just like a desperate child trying to make herself heard. And he had failed her, yet again. He’d been the one to declare with all his confidence that she was the center of his life, that she was the world to him. How could he have permitted the light of his life to beg, so he would hear her? Make so that she had to be the one to remind him of the truth he himself had offered her as a guarantee. How could he have allowed her to have such feelings, when he’d sworn to himself never to make her suffer again, never to make her doubt … When all he'd ever wanted was to be able to protect her?

The irony of the situation left a bitter taste in his mouth. How could he feel the right to threaten beings like Aaran under the pretense of protecting her when he wasn’t even able to protect her from himself? When he was the first one to make her cry. And for what? For a woman that had only brought him pain and suffering. For a Human that had always seen him as less than an animal. When Sarah had given him and shown him so many things, never asking for anything in return. When she’d touched him gently, when she’d hugged him without fear, accepting him the way he was, drowning in darkness and madness. The measure of his own weakness was simply humiliating, the same way it was completely unbelievable that, even so, she’d fight so desperately to keep him at her side … that she’d look at him with that begging expression … that she wouldn’t simply leave him, as he knew she could, as it was her right to do.

Sarah hesitantly released him when he closed his eyes. His emotions were too chaotic and confusing for her to be able to discern between them, not to mention that they were starting to weigh on her mental ability, leaving her temples aching painfully. Her rational mind took over once more, leaving her shaking and feeling sick to her stomach. When had she developed the courage to talk like that to such an obviously unbalanced and dangerous being? It wasn’t as if she’d forgotten the dark monster living deep inside him. So, where did it come from? That unwavering absurd certainty that he wouldn’t simply shred her to pieces for standing between him and his so desired revenge? And so, when he moved, her instinct was to step back, trying to keep a safe distance from him, but the arms that surrounded her wouldn’t allow her to escape, pulling her forward, holding her against the warm, hard wall that was his chest.

Sarah felt her heart jump and her mind became completely blank, empty of any logical thoughts. She couldn’t help shudder as he bent over her, his forehead dropping on her shoulder, and she was finally able to react to the initial shock. With shaky hands she tried to hug him back, although the firm, almost choking way he held her hardly allowed her to move at all, and squeezed his shirt over his shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered trying to swallow that bitter taste. “I was silly and selfish. I didn’t consider your feelings at all … All I could think of, all I wanted, was to come back to you,” she confessed, wishing she could hold him back, and Alexis squeezed her even harder, making it hard to breathe.

“Your place is with me.” Those words whispered against her neck were enough to blow her anguish away, and Sarah found herself smiling in pure bliss. Alexis raised his head, slightly loosening the strength with which he held her and she couldn’t help feel relieved as his emotions started to reorganize themselves again. “I made you cry, again,” he noticed, ruefully, and Sarah quickly dried her tears replacing them with a reassuring smile.

“I’m just easy to cry,” she declared in the most casual tone she could manage, his guilt and sadness surrounding her like a heavy cloak, and Alexis simply caressed her face before taking a deep breath and returning his serious cold expression to his face.

“So? What happened?” he asked dryly and Sarah felt lost, for a moment. Until she realized that the only thing that had changed was his external posture. His feelings remained the same. Pain, sadness, shame … but also care, desire to protect, to love … And yet now wasn’t the moment to act on any of those emotions. That had been the first mistake he’d committed. Now was the time to keep a cold, rational head. And so Sarah followed his example. Later, when all that mess was solved, there would be more than enough time to share their feelings and thoughts.

Sarah raised her head, nervously squeezing her hands together. There was no other way to explain what had happened, to explain how that woman had ended there, lying unconscious on the floor of his office, if not by telling the truth. And she couldn’t help feeling a weight on her chest as she considered that her actions could probably be seen as a kind of betrayal.

“Deborah Rayleigh,” she named her and made sure she faced him unwavering. “She was my classmate, when I was in College,” she declared and didn’t need her gift to know just how that information had shocked him. The expression that took over his face spoke more than one-thousand words and she found herself panicking, urgently trying to explain herself. “I didn’t tell you before because I just couldn’t believe it! It’s not like she was my friend, or anything like that. We were merely the best students in our class and the professors would frequently pair us up for more challenging projects. Although she’s always been the complete opposite of me, we shared the same degree of dedication as far as research went. Everyone could easily understand why a shy, uninteresting girl like me would spend entire days stuck in a lab. The same could hardly be said about Deborah, but the truth was that she always pulled the same long night shifts I did, sometimes hardly eating or sleeping, as we tried to figure out some mathematical equation. When we graduated we were both invited to stay at the University, as assistants. I accepted. Deborah declined. I admired her even more, for her courage to go out into the unknown, while all I was able to do was to hold on to the safety they offered me,” she explained, lowering her gaze. “I was always like that, afraid, unable to take any chances … wishing I’d just go unnoticed. The result was obvious. Deborah became a renowned researcher within the scientific community, even at an international level. I was never more than a lab technician, merely following orders, taking part in investigations that don't even belong to me. But, even so, when you mentioned her name … I couldn’t help fearing you might see me the same way. That you might think that … I’m the same as her …” she added in a whisper, wishing above all he would deny her own words, but Alexis remained cold and unmovable, much like Aaran normally was.

“I don’t understand. Why doesn’t her name appear in the alumini lists of your course?” he asked and Sarah tucked her hands in the pockets of the white lab coat she still wore, trying to hide just how much they were shaking.

“Back then she was known as Ana Stanford. Her full name is Ana Deborah Stanford Rayleigh. She only started to use her second and last names after graduation,” she replied and Alexis walked by her, leaving her heart beating fearfully in her chest. She saw him push Deborah’s unconscious body with the tip of his boot, making her turn so he could see her face. Sarah couldn’t help noticing the bloodied hair plastered against her right temple, and for the first time feared she just might have hit her too hard. Maybe she needed medical care! She had never intended to kill her, quite the opposite. And the idea alone was enough to make her panic.

“And then? How did you find her?” Alexis went on in what could only be classified to as an indifferent tone, if not for her ability to constantly see inside his contradictory emotions.

“I made a few phone calls. I learned she had authorization to use the University’s labs. Ironically in the same place I work,” she added sarcastically. “They also told me that although she used to go there in the evenings, lately she’d started to run her experiments early in the morning, before working hours. When I asked for the specific date of that change it matched perfectly with the day … I met you,” she informed him and took a deep breath, searching for the courage to go on. “After that day Deborah stopped going to the Hillman Center at night. She was probably afraid you might find her. Still, stubborn as she’s always been about these things, she just couldn’t let it go, changing her visits to an earlier schedule. And so, today, I went to see her,” she confessed, expecting some kind of reaction, but Alexis kept staring down at Deborah’s defenseless expression, her blond hair now completely disheveled, spread all over the floor. Sarah took a deep breath and went on. At least, although the need for revenge and violence were still there, he seemed to be in absolute control. “Actually I hadn’t really planned anything at all. All I wanted was a chance to, as an old classmate, ask about her research and maybe gather some information regarding the data she collected. But things didn’t go all that well,” she concluded and took a deep breath. “Knocking her out was the only solution. And then I thought that they'd probably find out I’d been there, and that they’d probably just take all the samples and hide them away, which would take us back to the start. And so … I blew up the lab where she was working,” she confessed and her last remark seemed to finally break through Alexis icy expression.

“Blew up the lab?!” he repeated, in complete disbelief, and Sarah felt her cheeks warm up from embarrassment.

“It was the only way! I really didn't think things through, before going there. It’s like I’ve told you. I didn't think much of anything, really. I’m sure she was keeping some of the samples there. I couldn’t allow them to take them somewhere else. Which would probably have happened, if we were to wait for night fall so that you and Aaran could get rid of the evidence,” she quickly argued in her own defense. “I brought her here because I just couldn’t leave her there. And because she probably has a data backup stored somewhere else, for safe keeping. I know you practically destroyed her apartment, but knowing what little I know about her, Deborah has the results of her research hidden somewhere else. And contrary to what you guys might thing, they’re not in Farran’s possession,” she added with absolute certainty. “She is extremely possessive of her projects. And although she might be working for Farran, she’ll only present him with the final results once she's reached a conclusion, which obviously hasn’t happened yet. She would never hand him the process. Delivering a research’s process to a sponsor is something that, for our own safety, should never be done. Because it means that tomorrow our sponsor can just decide to sack us and choose another researcher to continue our work,” she told him and only then noticed his stunned expression.

“Sarah …”

Don’t look at me like that. As if I were a stranger. As if you were unable to recognize me. Because I’m the one who can’t recognize myself …

“What? It’s important to you guys, right? And I understand its importance!” she declared, cutting him off and saw him slowly take a step towards her. “And so I did the only thing I could do. The only thing I was able to do. Because there isn’t much I can do, to help you. Because your world is just too vast and I’m too small. And because no matter how much I try, there isn’t much I can do!”

The arms that surrounded her cut off the unending, unrestrained stream of words leaving her mouth, and the soft kiss he placed on top of her head left her suddenly calmer.

Alexis took a deep breath, and holding her face between his hands, lifted her head forcing her to face him.

“I really want to get mad at you for hiding all these things from me! Because you wouldn’t trust me. Because you just left without a word. Because you placed yourself in danger, just like that! Because no matter how hard I try to protect you it’s no use, and even knowing it’s impossible, it’s even more frustrating when it’s you who leaves my protection of your own accord. Because, because of me, you’ve done things that Sarah would never do … The me before I met you would probably be shouting at you right now. But the me who knows you has learned that things aren’t always that simple. Because you and I are the same … You did what you did because you feel as I do … And I too, for you, do things that Alexis would never do.”

Sarah was at a loss for words. How was it possible that those mere words had just freed her from all that accumulated tension so easily? Because in the end, he’d just told her that there was nothing wrong with her, even when she hadn’t hesitated in pointing out her own faults, even when she’d felt the need to defend herself before him. He’d told her that she had been right and that there wasn’t any reason why she should have acted any differently. He’d told her that it was okay for her to be who she was, something that no one had ever been able to tell her. She’d always been the half-crazy, the depressed one, the anti-social, the phobic girl. There were those who felt sorry, those who worried, those who’d tried to take advantage of her, those who despised her. In the end, they all kept their distance, and when they did try to approach her they all had shallow intentions. When they talked to her they were always looking for the Sarah she herself had created, in order to survive inside the system they called society. The other Sarah, the crazy one, no one wanted to see, no one wanted to acknowledge … even her own parents had did their best to ignore her. But not him. He understood her … and not only the part of her that dealt with the exterior world. He saw her and understood her completely, even without knowing her feelings like she knew his. And there was nothing more precious in the world than that certainty. Because, as long as it was so, she’d never be alone again.

Sarah averted her gaze, blushing at the intense way he was staring at her, and couldn’t help reprimand herself for behaving like a school girl, especially taking into account the serious situation they were in.

“Still, I really didn’t … think things through. I’m sure that, by now, the police already knows I was involved in the explosions. It won’t be long before they come knocking on your door,” she added, feeling the weight of her own words. No matter how much she’d wanted to help him, even though she’d been able to fulfill her main objective, the truth was that she’d only brought him even more trouble.

His lips over hers immediately erased any coherent thoughts, and for an instant all she could feel was his warmth and the weight of the desire consuming him. When he finally released her a mischievous smile shone brightly on his face, making her aware of her own dreamy expression. Taking a step back she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, facing him with a severe expression.

“This is serious, Alexis,” she reprimanded him and he took a deep breath, folding his arms over his chest, although his humor had become much brighter and lighter.

“No one said otherwise,” he agreed and his expression became hard again when his gaze fell upon the woman at his feet. “I understand where you’re coming from when you say we need her alive, but I’d honestly just rather tear her to pieces and be done with it!” he growled and took another deep breath, as if that allowed him to maintain his emotions in check. “As such, I’ll let Aaran decide what to do with her. You’re all right with that, right?” he asked and Sarah looked at the woman with a weight on her chest.

“Now, later, you’ll end up killing her, right?” she asked in a half tone and the fury that vibrated from him made her raise her head, urgently trying to explain herself. “Not that I’m defending her! And it’s not like I feel sorry for her either. It’s just that, no matter how you look at it, I was the one who brought her here … I was the one who brought her here to die. Even though I already knew it would be like this,” she added, her voice growing stronger. “And so, no, I’m not opposed to it. As long as it is a well thought through decision. And not mere revenge …”

Alexis averted his gaze, her words stinging him.

“Then it’s decided. I’ll keep her alive until Aaran comes. You have my word,” Sarah nodded in agreement, wanting to show him that she trusted his ability to restrain himself. Only she knew how much he really hated that woman. How she was the center of the madness that had almost consumed him. How she’d been the one to wake the hate that now burned inside him, against the entire Human Race. In the end, more than Farran, it had been against that woman Sarah had been fighting since she’d met him. It had been to release him from the claws with which that woman had kept him prisoner that she had struggled. And although Sarah had believed she’d been successful, the truth was that there were still shadows … Shadows that threatened to drag him away from her, once again. “As for the rest,” Alexis went on, pulling her away from her own thoughts. “Although it greatly displeases me, or how much I want to keep you close, you best get out of here,” he declared and Sarah felt a sharp pain squeeze her heart.

“Get out of here …?” she repeated, having difficulties to believe she’d heard it right and he nodded.

“It’s as you say. The police will end up coming here and Anne has orders to let them in, in such cases. The best way to avoid suspicion is by showing that there’s nothing to hide."

“What about you? And this basement? Should they search the house they’ll end up coming here,” she argued, now certain that she’d only caused him even more trouble, and Alexis smiled, approaching her to gently straighten her disheveled hair.

“I can create the illusion of a wine cellar for a few minutes, and I can always hide in the shadows.”

“And her? What about her?” Sarah insisted, pointing Deborah, and Alexis clenched his jaw to avoid giving in to the fury that constantly assaulted him every time he was reminded of that woman’s presence in his house.

“I’ll bury her.”

“Alexis!”

“I didn’t say I’d kill her, did I? And I assure you she’ll live,” he declared although he sounded like he’d rather she didn’t, and his expression became softer when he turned to look back at her. “I’m really tempted to do the same thing to you, but at the same time I don’t want to make you go through something like that. I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate it either.”

Sarah shivered as a cold wave slid down her spine. For an instant she saw herself back in that deep, dark hole, where she could hardly move, surrounded by dirt everywhere … the hot, humid air … the acid stench of her own vomit. Without thinking twice she shook her head vigorously.

“Then. I rather know you’re out there, free to move around. Just go for a drive, avoid places with too much people and with cameras, like bars, gas stations and such. Just stay put preferably inside your car. You’ll be safe, until night fall. For now just worry about avoiding the cops.”

Sarah nodded her rational mind taking the lead.

“As long as I only have to deal with Humans I’ll be fine. We all follow the same rules, after all. We take the same time to go from one place to another and we all have to deal with traffic jams and rush hours. You’re right. I should leave as soon as possible, before they can organize their evidence and come looking for me here.”

“Everything’s going to be all right, Sarah,” he told her, trying to reassure her. “I’ll go and get you before night fall. We can take care of the police afterwards.”

“Not during the day, Alexis!” she countered, frowning in an implicit threat, and Alexis laughed which was enough to destroy her angry expression.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention to weaken myself before going into action,” he assured and Sarah sighed heavily. Further weaken yourself, you mean. He smiled again, as if he’d heard her last thought but if he did he chose not to mention it. “Because you’ve given me back the light that feeds my shadow I have even more tolerance to daylight now than I had when we met,” he told her, brimming with confidence, and Sarah shook her head, defeated. She just couldn't win when he said things like that, in that almost childish tone. “Just trust me.”

She caressed his face, the silver lines marking his left cheek shining tenuously as she touched them.

“I trust you.”

“And I will find you wherever you are. I’ll be right beside you whenever you need me,” he told her with a smile and Sarah nodded, committing those words to memory, taking a step back so that she’d be able to break contact with him.

“I’ll see you later,” she told him with a youthful smile, and before she could go back on her own decision, or he could stop her from leaving, she just ran out of the room and up the stairs in one breath.

To her relief he didn’t try to hold her back, or call her, which would only have made things even more difficult. And she couldn’t help feeling silly as her heart seemed to weight a ton just from having to leave him when, most of the times, Alexis was asleep during the day and she would only see him in the evening.

This is so stupid. Just because I can’t see him. Because any other day I know that all I have to do is go down these stairs and he’ll be there, sleeping. But not now … Now even if I don’t want to, I have to part with him. An even if it's only for a few hours I can’t help being afraid I might never see him again.

Sarah was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t even think twice, exiting to the living room. She immediately stopped where she stood, her mind rushing in search of a plausible explanation.

“Selena …” she muttered facing the young girl’s serious expression, who, sitting on the couch with Sky resting on her lap, watched her sternly.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I tried to go down there, twice, but I always ended up back here again,” she declared and Sarah was at a loss for words. Selena sighed heavily and gently caressed Sky’s soft ears. “Anne had already warned me that the wine cellar is an authentic maze. But seriously! By now he could have at least installed some decent lighting on the stairs, no?” she added in a heartfelt complain but Sarah kept quiet, trying to figure out the best line of conversation to follow. For a moment she tried to sense her sister’s emotions but all she got was a feeling of urgency and unrest … Selena was worried about her. “What is it? Is it where they hide all the secret information? I know Alexis spends his days downstairs. Only Anne to think that a man his size, with such a dangerous look, could ever be a medicine student,” she criticized again and Sarah sighed in relief. However, even if Selena kept believing that Alexis and the others were some kind of secret agents, the latest events would, unfortunately, also have their impact on her. The least she could do was try to explain them, and somehow prepare her for what would certainly follow.

“Selena. I … got myself in to a bit of trouble and …”

“You tried to help them,” she cut her off and her serious expression left her at a loss for words again. Sometimes Selena could be really intimidating. “What you did … Was it the right thing to do?”

Sarah frowned and nodded without the shadow of a doubt.

“I believe so.”

“Then you don’t have to explain anything to me.”

“But Selena. You’ll probably end up … hearing some things. And the police will probably come here, looking for me.”

Selena placed Sky on the floor and got up, walking up to her sister to hug her tightly, leaving Sarah tense and speechless.

“Ever since I’ve known you you’ve always tried to run away from having to make decisions. You’d rather let others decide for you, even if it didn't make you happy. You’ve always lived according to other people’s rhythms, Sarah. But now it’s different. The decision was yours. And I know you well enough to know that, if this is something you’ve decided to do, then it can’t be wrong. And so, no matter what other people may say, I’ll always believe in you.”

Sarah ran a hand through her sister’s hair, and although she was moved beyond words, she found herself smiling.

“I am really sorry for dragging you into all this mess.”

Selena released her, raising her head, and poked her sister on the forehead.

“Haven’t you heard a word I said?”

“Of course I did!”

“Then your reply shouldn’t be ‘I’m sorry’, right? Make it a ‘thank you’ instead.”

Sarah laughed lightly, ruffling her hair as if she were no more than a kid.

“Fine. Thank you.”

“Hum, much better,” Selena grunted and Sarah took a deep breath.

“I’ll have to run away, until night fall,” she casually informed. “I can’t let the police catch me. And, even then, I really don’t know how to fix this ...”

“That doesn’t matter at all. We can always run away to Europe.”

Sarah laughed again and took a deep breath, feeling lighter. It had always been like that, she thought. Selena had always had that effect on her, even as a baby. Near her, her emotions and thoughts always got clearer, and things that before had seemed like end-of-the-world problems, were easily diminished to mere concerns when compared to how wonderful life really was. Because no one lived life more fully, more brightly than Selena.

“You’ve been watching too many action movies,” she criticized and sighed. “I have to go. Don’t leave the house, Selena. And don’t call me. I’ll buy a burner phone and call you later. And if the police really shows up …”

“I haven’t seen you since yesterday night,” the girl completed and Sarah nodded an approval. “Take care of yourself, Sarah.

“Everything will be fine. I’ll see you later. And then I’m sure Aaran and Alexis will find a way to fix this,” she declared with a confident smile and Selena nodded, although she couldn’t help feel anxious as she watched her sister walk out the door and into her car, parked right in front of the house. A few instants later Sarah’s car had disappeared down the road and Selena closed the front door as the first drops of rain hit the ground.