"So that means you save people instead of harming them." Jennifer said in an unsure tone. She was fiddling with her fingers, looking at Adrian with doe eyes. Adrian nodded. "Yes. So what do you think? Should we keep going or walk away?" Adrian again asked Jennifer. "I don't know yet. We shouldn't judge something too early. I will wait around to see how things function here. Then I will decide." Jennifer said as Adrian hugged her.
"It's already late. Go back to bed. We have to go to school tomorrow." Adrian said. "She can't. The entire town is looking for her." James reminded them about the sad reality after a long trip along the memory lane. "We will be with her. There's nothing that can harm her. She has to complete her schooling." Adrian said and led Jennifer to her room to sleep.
"One last thing for tonight. Even if we are dating, it isn't public. It's for security, I hope you understand. If the news about us dating floats around, many will target you in hopes of hurting me and that will need to unnecessary bloodshed." Adrian said as he tucked Jennifer into bed. "Adrian, promise me you will never hurt someone because of me. I don't want anymore people dying. Look at Kate, she could have had her brother with her if it wasn't for those men. I don't want you to become those men. The people you kill are also somebody's brother, son, boyfriend, husband maybe. I know they are bad, but killing is just too sad." Jennifer said to Adrian who sat near her on the bed.
Adrian smiled, looking at her innocent words, feeling blessed to be this angel's boyfriend. He laughed and said, "Slowly you will understand that if we had any other way, we wouldn't be forced to kill them." He pecked Jennifer's forehead and held her hand, looking at her with love and affection in his eyes. "Go to bed now. What are you waiting for?" Jennifer urged Adrian when she saw him looking at her for the last five minutes, without moving.
"You sleep first. I like watching you." Adrian's eyes were filled of all the emotions a person could hold. Love, care, affection, serenity, everything. He was so calm. Something he hadn't been for a very long time. When Jennifer closed her eyes and her hands were still entwined with Adrian's fingers, Adrian felt a new emotion. Something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. It reminded him of how his mother used to hold his hands while he slept. It was the same feeling. Safe, secure, and tranquil.
After some time, Adrian heard snores coming from Jennifer. They weren't loud. They were somewhere between a sweet melody and a rhapsody. Music to his ears. Adrian felt so nice. When he finally went to sleep that night, Jennifer had been asleep for three hours now. It was getting late. Adrian laid on his bed thinking about how peaceful and serene he felt when Jennifer was with him. He had been through so much. Happy memories. Sad memories. Achievements and failures. Love and hatred. But nothing made him feel as alive as her.
Next morning, Adrian did something he hadn't done in a lifetime. He woke up earlier than his alarm rang and went outside to see Joseph looking at him like he saw an alien. He was staring without blinking his eyes. "You woke up earlier than usual." This was more of a question. A heavy sleeper such as Adrian would probably sleep through a zombie apocalypse but he was standing in front of Joseph, awake and alive. How????
"I woke up to make breakfast for Jennifer. She will be awake any moment now." Adrian tried to explain. He wasn't planning to wake up but he did. He doesn't know why? Joseph could see the amount of positive changes Jennifer brought out in Adrian. He was trying to be a better person just to accommodate Jennifer into his life. It was positive and this made Joseph even more determined to protect them both from any harm that befalls them in future.
Adrian made breakfast for Jennifer as she got up and got dressed. When she came down to the landing, she saw the entire area bustling with activity. Everybody was awake. Everyone was going about his own business. This was so contrary to what she had seen in movies. Mafia's are suppose to wake up at night, kill people, take drugs and sleep through the day but everybody here was looking like just a normal person. If Jennifer didn't know them as members of the deadliest mafia, she wouldn't think of them as dangerous at all.
"Good morning, baby." Adrian greeted Jennifer and took her to have breakfast and then they both left for school with James. Jennifer was so quiet in the car. She didn't look towards the window. She didn't take her hoodie off. She was so tense that she didn't even register the tiny signs of love shown by Adrian like holding her hand which was freezing cold. "What are you thinking about?" Adrian asked Jennifer. He was concerned about this changed behavior of hers.
"My dad." Jennifer's answer was the truth. "The moment I step inside the school, they will notify him. When he finds me, I'm screwed. Maybe, this was a bad idea. I shouldn't have stayed in town." Jennifer was panicking. Overthinking. Mumbling random stuff. Random thoughts. "Babe, calm down. Nothing will happen. I am here. Look at me." Jennifer looked up to meet Adrian's eyes. "I'm here. Nobody is going to harm you." Adrian said in a comforting tone.
Adrian and James stepped inside the school with a shivering Jennifer. "Babe, I want to go back. I will not be able to get through the day." Jennifer was hyperventilating. Her father had installed such a fear in her that it was getting difficult to breathe. Now more than ever, she had something more to lose. Adrian. The love of her life. If Adrian is harmed while protecting her, it would be so heartbreaking. For the first time Jennifer understood what it meant to be in love. When you prioritize them before yourself but you don't lose yourself in the process because they are there to remind you.
Love was beautiful and tranquil. It was scary and psychotic. It was all those emotions she had felt. It was all those emotions that she hadn't felt yet. "Jennifer, love, calm down. You'll get through the day. You'll get through the year. You're strong. Okay? Trust me." Adrian was trying to calm her down while James kept watch.