"Wow! I think the conversation between you was very enlightening. You no longer look tired, like you're carrying heavy burdens. You look light."
"And I feel light." He said and leaned back on the pillow.
Anna approached him and began to caress his face.
Allister held her hand firmly, forcing her to stop, and looked at her seriously.
"No, Anna."
She felt her face burn with embarrassment and pulled away.
"I'm sorry, for a moment I forgot... You're not well yet..."
"I'm perfectly fine to have sex, Anna."
"I didn't... That wasn't my intention. You never touched me and your wife told me about the relationship and what you... You see me as a daughter."
Allister stared at her for a few seconds before replying.
"You... Ah, Anna. Your desire for me is so flattering..."
"Then... We can consummate our love. There's no reason to wait any longer. Neither of us will live long enough to..."
"You think I haven't thought of that? Being with you, being your first man was what I longed for ever since I saw you, but... I promised I wouldn't touch you."
Anna stared at him as if he had just plunged a knife into her chest.
"Promised who?"
"Adam."
Anna shook her head. Allister must have been delirious because of his illness. She looked at the nurse who had gone in quietly, made Allister take his medication, and left, only to turn to him again, furious.
"What advantage does Adam have if the two of us don't have sex?"
"It's something that bothers him."
Fuck what bothers you, you little shit! Are you going to die without sex because of the whim of a spoiled brat who's never heard a 'no' in his life?" She shouted angrily and became even angrier when Allister reacted to her outburst with an amused laugh.
"Tell me more about what you think of my son... I'm interested in how you see him. I don't think anyone has ever described Adam to me like that."
"Oh, you want to know more? He's not a man. He's a teenager playing at being a leader. He's a coward who beats up women, he's a boy who thinks he's a man. I doubt he's ever buried his penis in a real woman. Nobody can be as bitter as him if they're feeling pleasure. He's a son of a bitch! I pity Sarah for having to lie down and have sex with a boy who doesn't even know where the right hole is! That's what he is, a boy who will never measure up to a man like you! You know how to treat a woman as she deserves, you know how to speak at the right moments, and you know how to make a woman fall in love without having to threaten her. Things that I believe your spoiled son will never know how to do, because he's more concerned with his own pleasure, no matter whether his penis is between a woman's legs or in a hole in a watermelon. I don't even think he knows the difference, because he can't see anything but his own navel in front of him!"
Anna finished feeling so light-hearted that she smiled when she realized that Allister was looking amused.
"Is it over?"
"I think so."
Allister looked past Anna, and she followed his gaze and felt her smile die and her heart freeze. Adam stood leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed, staring at her in silence.
"Did you... Did you hear?" she asked embarrassed.
"Every word."
Allister let out a laugh and Anna turned to him.
"You knew all along that he was listening, right? Why didn't you warn me?"
"I can't believe I lived to see someone say those words to Adam's face." He said laughing and ignoring Anna's question.
She turned to the bedroom door, but there was no one else there. Anna walked over and sat down next to Allister.
"He's going to break up with me." She said without knowing why that didn't make her sad.
"Don't worry, he won't hurt you. He needs to hear negative things about himself. The people around him always say what he wants to hear, and they're afraid of upsetting him. Even his mother doesn't have the courage to say offensive things to him like you did."
"I don't have the courage either. I said it because I thought we were alone and it was just an outburst."
Allister looked at her and then shook his head.
"Ryan's right about you."
"Is he?"
"He visited me while you were asleep. He came home with Adam."
"And what did he say?"
"That you're a human who doesn't know her own strength, that you're facing and challenging Adam in a way you never have before, and that you're going to become the biggest challenge within this family..."
"He describes me as if I were... a superwoman? And why do you say 'human' as if there were a higher form?"
"I really wanted to be around when you found out about this, but I know that unfortunately, I won't be. It comforts me to know that I've found a woman with the potential to be more than human, and there's only one person who can change her fragile condition. Adam. And right now he must be planning a thousand ways to torture you. I can feel his intense thoughts. You exert reactions in Adam, and even if they're not good, they're still more than I've ever witnessed. But be careful, my little superwoman. He's dangerous. He's never expressed feelings of this intensity before, and what he's going to do with it is unknown to all of us."
"Can you feel his thoughts?"
Allister smiled proudly.
"That piqued your interest, didn't it? Don't be in a hurry to find out, Anna. Ignorance in this family is a blessing. You won't be privileged with it for long, so enjoy it now."
"You... You and Suzy, have you never thought of taking him to a psychiatrist? Didn't he show this psychopathic tendency while you were exercising authority over his life?"