Burning in a Memory by Constance Sharper Page B

expanse of the living room.
                  “You don’t understand the background, Adelaide. We’ve had a change in leadership but no one is clear on who is in charge. Tony is just pretending to be the leader and telling us what to do. I can tolerate half of it, but to take you away? Without my permission? How dare he?”
                  Adam kept asking questions but obviously wasn’t looking for an answer. He finally stopped.
                  “This isn’t about him. This isn’t his choice to decide whether you are worth being around,” Adam said.
                  “But you’re leaving, Adam. You told me before your whole coven was moving away to somewhere I couldn’t follow, and you didn’t know when you would return,” she said. She parroted his words back to him and they sounded just as final the second time around.
                  “Yes, we are. And I’m not going to lie that the place we are going isn’t easy to visit. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come. I mean….” Adam’s cheeks reddened as he struggled for words. Suddenly he closed the distance between them and seized her by the arms. He used her arms as leverage to pull her close and leaned down until their cheeks touched. The sensation took her by surprise just as he whispered in her ear.
                  “You told me once you didn’t have plans for this holiday weekend, right? Come with me and spend the weekend with us. We have a spare room that you can stay in. It’s a long way and it’s not near a city, so it’s the only practical way to go.  It’s a nice place, it’ll be a fun break, and you can go home afterward.”
                  “I don’t understand,” she whispered, though she had a light-headed feeling telling her that she did.
                  “I know it sounds crazy.  Especially because I’m concerned I may be on the run forever. But I feel like if I stop seeing you now, then there’s no chance of us reconnecting after all of this ends. I’m sick of giving up everything in my life.”
                  She let the words sink in while replaying them several times in her head before deciding she was certain she knew what they meant. Adam finally backed off and left a foot of space between them. She took a clean breath and composed herself before speaking.
                  “You’re asking me to your place for the weekend? How will Tony take that?”
                  “You let me deal with Tony. Will you come with me?” he said.
                  He waited anxiously for her answer.
                  “It’s so spontaneous, I love it.” She plastered a grin on her face. “Of course, I’ll go. But I haven’t even packed.”
                  His face lit up.
                  “I have go home, anyway, and then I can pick you up. I’ll take you there so don’t worry about driving. Can you pack in an hour?” he asked.
                  For most people, that would have been a brutal question. But Adelaide was always packed, always ready to go. She’d take the hour to shower and fix her makeup. She feigned some concern but agreed.
                  “Yes, one hour is fine.”
    Despite her ready agreement, he hesitated.
                  “What’s wrong?” she asked. Now was not the time for hesitation.
    “I want to clarify. I’m glad you’re coming, but don’t feel this invitation obligates you in any way to me. I mean that I’m totally okay if you just come as my friend.”
                  He backed away a few steps.             
                  “I didn’t think I was obligated,” she said quickly, to stop his retreat. “It’s fine.”
                  “I just wanted to make it clear that anything outside of friendship isn’t a must.”
    Adelaide