When Adam touched her, her body sang. When he kissed her, he awoke a part of her soul. When he looked at her, her entire body awoke as if it were sleeping for two solid decades and never spent a moment truly alive.
How could any of that be possible? How did she sometimes feel his pain? And today, when she’d been thinking about her mother and returning home to the boxes of things that waited, what was that feeling that washed over her?
“Something happened to me today?” She watched his eyes to see if they gave anything away. “Grace and I were talking, and I was thinking about something that made me sad.”
“I know. I felt you.”
“You ... felt me? How?” It was one thing for them to sit across from each other and share some weird Ouija board experience, but he hadn’t been home when this happened.
“The more time we spend together, the stronger the tether that binds us.”
“But how does that work? You did something to me. I felt you inside of me when you were nowhere around.”
“I only meant to comfort you, ainsicht. I felt your sadness and I... I’ve never tried to explain it before. I suppose it leaves me like a prayer and finds you like the brush of a kiss.”
That’s exactly what it had felt like, a kiss. It was as if he kissed her memories, the ones that brought her grief, the way a parent might kiss a scrape on a child’s knee.
Her breath rushed out and she silently laughed. “Can I do it to you?”
“Perhaps in time. If you transition, you might find you have other talents, things I can’t do.”
“Really?” She wanted to see what those skills might be.
“I sense your curiosity, but also your uncertainty. What I don’t feel from you, is fear.”
But she was afraid. She was afraid she’d die, afraid she’d lose her independence, afraid she’d wake up in a psychiatric ward where this was all a dream. But she no longer feared him.
“I guess I’m trying to keep an open mind.”
“Would you like me to tell you how it’s done?”
Now, he was speaking her language. “Yes! I mean, I’m sure you have some sterile equipment here. We learned about the first blood transfusions in school. Did you know that they once used animal blood? Is there a way to test that we’re a match?”
“We’re a match. That’s already been proven.”
“You’re AB negative, too?”
He smiled. “You’re not AB negative, Annalise.”
“Yes, I am. My blood is the rarest kind.”
“I think it’s rarer than you realize. Your blood carries biological matter that other human bodies wouldn’t tolerate.”
Her expression fell. “What are you talking about?”
She’d donated blood countless times. They used her platelets for her mother near the end. Was that why she hadn’t responded?
His hand tightened around hers. “Your blood isn’t poison, Anna. Just different. Same as a surplus of vitamin B will wash through your system, the over responsive cells of your blood will wash away, too.”
“How do you know this? If you haven’t looked at my blood under a microscope—which I have—how do you know it’s different?”
His lips pressed tight and she knew the instant he tried to hide something from her. She pulled back her hand, but he wouldn’t let go of her.
“Adam, tell me how you know that.”
“Because I stole your blood.”
This time when she pulled her hand back, she broke contact. “What?”
“I needed to. It was necessary. It allowed me to prolong the... Your blood is the only thing keeping my symptoms at bay.”
“So you stole it? When? Where? Why don’t I remember?”
“You were asleep.”
She stood and paced to the door. Her brain couldn’t categorize this sort of violation, but her heart told her it was somewhere between collecting someone’s hair for a forensic DNA test and getting roofied.
“What the fuck, Adam! You stole my blood? Who does that?”
“I didn’t have a choice, Anna. If I hadn’t, I never would have made it back here with you...” More covered lies. She could see him swallowing secrets by the mouthful. “We would have run out of time.”
“Stop. You stole my blood. Do you have any idea how ... creepy that is?” Her fury rose the longer she tried to picture it. “Where were we when this happened? Was it in this bed?”
“No. I haven’t taken your blood since we arrived on the farm.”
Her skin tingled with a chill. “You did this before we got here?”
His head lowered. “The first time was the night we met. I followed you home.”
“Oh, my God.”
Her stomach twisted, his true nature showing in a hideous light. Violated. Robbed. Stalked. Kidnapped. She was so stupid to trust him. But worst of all, as she realized all of this, she was sad he wouldn’t deny it.
Part of her wanted him to laugh. Ha-ha, just kidding. But he was serious, and this was her reality. And she had sex with him—willingly.