I took some steps backwards as I watched him make his way towards me through the crowd. My legs turned to jelly and I looked around to find a place to hide. But unfortunately, the only free seats around here were the one besides shady, gangster-y looking guys, with ugly scars and weird clothes.

When he finally reached me, he cast a glance at me so furious that I felt shivers straight down my spine.

"Ad-" My words got caught in my throat when he walked past me and tugged me along, gripping my wrist with his hands tightly.

I looked around, people watching me while he moved briskly and I struggled to keep my pace with it. We passed through sweaty bodies, finally stopping when we reached a room. Pulling me along, he shut the door behind me and pinned me to a wall, his body pressing into me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice filled with anger and irritation.

"I.. I thought you were hurt." I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"So what?" he spat, his jaw still clenched and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Adam's Adam Apple!

Funny!

No Alicia! Stay focused.

"I-" I tried to form a sentence but his angry glare rendered me unable to speak.

"Adam!" I muttered finally, feeling scared of his demeanor. "You are scaring me."

His eyes softened after hearing my words and he pulled apart, letting out an aggravated sigh and running his fingers through his locks. It was kind of his signature move, whenever he was angry at me, he would do this to calm himself.

"You shouldn't have done this. You have no idea how dangerous this place is!" he whispered, resting his arm at my side and looking down at me from his tall height.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, pulling my hand out and without thinking about all the possible consequences of my action, gently cupped his chin.

For a moment, his eyes showed his inner vulnerability and to hide it, he leaned down and rested his face in the crook of my neck, gently nuzzling his nose over my sensitive skin.

"You don't know me Ali!" he whispered, his voice laced with exhaustion. "You should stay away from me."

I felt like crying after hearing the desperation in his voice. It sounded like a part of him wanted to push me away while the other part wanted to beg me not to leave him alone.

"It's not possible Adam. Staying away from you is not an option." I said, bringing my hand to his hair and massaging his scalp gently.

We stayed like this for a moment. The only thing that could be heard in the small room was the sound of our harsh breaths. Few minutes had passed when he pulled apart. "Come on. Let's get out of here." he proposed.

Nodding, I grasped his hand and he led me to the outside. Nobody in our way dared to say anything despite the curiosity in their eyes, which meant Adam was quite popular among these people.

I didn't know whether I should be proud of him and afraid for him. Or both?

When we finally exited the narrow street, I unlocked my car and slid inside it and Adam settled himself on the passenger seat. His own bike was nowhere to be seen which meant he didn't bring it with him.

Starting the engine, I drove the car past a couple who was one stage away from practically humping in the street. My heartbeat finally slowed down when we were finally out of that area into the more crowded one.

Adam's eyes were trained outside, his feet tapping the floor of the car in a restless manner. Keeping my one hand on steering wheel, I put the other one over his hand resting on his thigh. He didn't move his face, just laced his fingers with mine.

Not wanting to crash the car, I kept my eyes on the road and didn't ask anything until we reached in front of our houses.

"So will I ever get to know you?" I muttered softly without leaving the car.

He contemplated for a moment, his eyes shifted between my face and our hands that were laced together, before he finally spoke up.

"Be ready after school tomorrow. I want you to meet someone." he said and after that, unlaced our fingers. A strange wave of dissatisfaction hit me when he did that and I almost pouted.

"Good night." I said.

"Good night." he replied and stepped out of my car, making his way to his house.

...

Getting dressed in a yellow sundress, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The effect of stress eating was very much visible on my stomach and chin but I couldn't care less. My thoughts were focused on where Adam was taking me.

I was feeling restless because I had no idea what the future holds for both of us. I spent the last night tossing and turning on my bed, the bags under my eyes were a proof of that.

My phone vibrated, pulling me out of the trance and I checked the text from Adam. Giving one last glance to the mirror, I picked up my shoulder bag and made my way out of the house to the street, where Adam was waiting for me in his bike.

Cautiously, I sat beside him and when he started it, my hands automatically wrapped around his waist and my eyes shut close. I might be suffering from existential crisis nowadays but I wasn't suicidal. And even if I was, I would prefer drowning over falling from a bike any day.

Throughout the ride, I kept my face buried in his back, waiting for this time to be over soon. I finally heaved a sigh of relief when the bike stopped and I was able to lift my face from his jacket.

After moving out of the seat, I watched the familiar place in anticipation. It was the same rehabilitation center for paraplegics, where I had followed him once. But he didn't need to know that.

"Come on." he grasped my hand and pulled me along with him. We walked through the security gate and reached the reception, where the same receptionist asked him to show his registration slip.

After checking through the records, he finally let us in. I followed Adam to the inside, walking through the corridor. My heartbeat was rising with every passing step. He finally stopped in front of a closed door and my anxiety heightened. The person behind this locked door might change everything between Adam and me.

He opened the door and peeped through it. After making sure of everything, he walked inside, leaving the door ajar for me to walk inside.

With small steps, I tiptoed inside and looked around me with uncertainty. The room was same as Adam's room in size, a bed in the middle was occupying most of its space. The bright orange walls were giving a sense of excitement to the otherwise boring room.

Adam walked towards the right corner where a female was present, sitting on a wheelchair silently, her back was facing us while she was looking outside through the glass window.

He bent down in front of that girl/woman and cupped her face with his hands. I tried to stand on my toes to watch her but couldn't. Her hair was blocking my view so I failed in taking a peek of her face.

"Adaline!" he said to her in a voice so gentle that my heart skipped a beat. "There's someone here I want you to meet."

The girl/woman just nodded and that's when Adam stood up and turned her around, revealing the girl's face to me.

I gasped when I realized that I was looking at the female version of Adam. Same smouldering grey eyes, same silky brown hair, same high cheekbones, same long lashes, same straight royal nose. The kind of face that has the ability to blend in the crowd but once you give it another look, you'd realize how wonderfully beauty each and every feature is.

Adam coughed, breaking my chain of thoughts and I raised my head to look at him.

"Meet Adaline. My twin sister." he said and I almost choked on the air.

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