Page 25 of Adam & Eve

“Are you crazy?” she asked.

I hadn’t expected her to come right out and ask. I didn’t think she had the nerve.

“No, I’m not. I may be… slightly imbalanced. That is a better way to describe me,” I joked,

but I was serious.

Crazy was not knowing how to come back from madness. I always pulled myself back. She

didn’t have to voice it, but the doubt was written all over her face.

“Are auditory hallucination part of your ‘imbalance’?” She used finger quotes when she said

imbalanced.

I nodded but didn’t elaborate. I’d never told anyone how bad my episodes could get. That was

something I would save for later, for when she understood me better. I rolled my shoulders and

waited for her next question. The wait wasn’t long.

She pushed her plate away. She’d barely eaten anything. “Why am I here?” Placing her

elbows on the table, Eve steepled her fingers together then rested her head on them as she waited for

an answer.

I debated on whether I should tell her the truth. How would she react to knowing I’d watched

her for four years and she was now mine whether she liked it or not? Maybe if I told her that I wanted

her so I took her, it would sound a little less creepy. Then realized I’d sound crazy either way.

“Tick tock, tick tock…what will you do?” that voice sang in my head.

I ignored him and took a deep breath before I swallowed down the rest of my Scotch. I needed

the drink before I told her the part I’d played in her freshman year. I started from the beginning of our

story and told her everything, well almost everything. When I finished, she stared at me in utter

disbelief. Her mouth opened like she was about to say something but quickly closed it again.

She shoved away from the table and made her way to the bed. Eve slid under the fluffy white

comforter and pulled it up to her neck like it could protect her. I said nothing, allowing her to be alone

with her thoughts. Besides, there wasn’t anything I could say to make her understand why I’d done

what I had. Sometimes I didn’t even understand it.

I got up from the chair and took one last look at our plates. While she had barely eaten, I

hadn’t even touched my food. I thought about eating, but quickly dismissed it. I’d eaten breakfast. It

was well past midnight. Fatigue from the long day was setting in.

I never took my eyes off Eve as I made my way across the room to the chaise lounge. Her face