Elia was lying in her room, with her foot propped up on pillows and an ice pack although now it barely hurts. The days were getting warmer, so she left the window open most of the time, hoping a cool breeze would blow into the room and lower the heat. The pain medicine had made her drowsy, so she was almost asleep when she thought she saw a shadow in her window, but when she opened her eyes again, the shadow was right next to her.
- No adventures today, Alec - Elia yawned - I still need to rest.
- Are you sure? - the boy asked, now that the rains had stopped, he only left the castle at dusk - You know I can carry you anywhere.
- It won't do any good if I fall asleep on the way - she replied. The boy was still sitting at a safe distance, so she stretched out her hand, calling him.
- No - Alec shook his head, crossing his arms. He was wearing less formal clothes that day, black pants and a linen shirt of the same color. - I'm fine here, thanks.
Elia sighed, then sat on the bed to pull the boy up, a difficult task for someone whose tough skin seemed to weigh a ton. Alec resisted for half a minute, but soon complied with Elia's wish, lying down next to her. He resisted a little more the first time she did it, it was two minutes in which he rethought all the rules that should separate a man from a woman in the same room.
- Take off your shoes - she asked.
- Taking off my shoes - he said trying to imitate the Weasley twins in a scene from Harry Potter that Elia had forced him to watch the last time he came. Alec was scared to see the girl hurt, but Elia seemed comfortable lying down watching movies.
Elia's brother had brought the television into her room just so she wouldn't feel lonely when he went to work, so she was watching every movie he had available, sometimes with her nephew, Luigi, which made Alec's presence impossible. He hated being jealous of such a little being.
This had been going on for a week now, and Alec blamed himself for leaving the girl alone, after all he had encouraged her to break the rules that separated their worlds. Elia said that Demetri had rescued her, which made him angry and relieved. But on the other hand, the other vampire seemed to have distanced himself from Elia after that.
Alec was still thinking about what could have happened in the forest when Elia grabbed his face. The boy flinched, which made her laugh. It wasn't just that she was so comfortable seeing him with his red eyes, but that he had never been this close to a girl other than Jane before.
- You suit those eyes more - Elia said - dark red, like wine.
The vampire didn't know what to do with his hands, so he took out the object he had wanted to give the girl since he returned from his hunt, but the sight of her injury left him too disturbed to do so.
There was no packaging or box, Alec simply placed the bracelet in Elia's hands, who sat down to observe it carefully. The piece was delicate, with well-crafted ruby stones accented by oval diamonds and bright white gold. Despite being small, it was heavy.
Since Elia didn't react, Alec hurried to place the bracelet on her wrist.
- What? - he asked, his gaze was full of hope - Didn't you like it?
Alec couldn't quite read the expression on the human's face. He thought any woman would like jewelry.
- That's expensive.
- I know. - He smiled.
- Thank you for thinking of me, but I can't wear that.
- And why not? - Alec held her hands. Elia didn't complain because he was cold, the best alternative for this hot weather.
- How am I going to explain where I got it?
- Say it was a secret admirer.
Elia laughed, she ran her fingers over the ruby stones. He wondered if she could see the stones well since the only light in the room was from the lamp on the desk, but the diamond sparkled anyway.
- If a young girl starts showing up with jewelry the last thing anyone will say is that it was a secret admirer.
- Why is this century so complicated? - Alec sighed in frustration.
Elia laughed again, she enjoyed his reactions. It was at times like these that she really saw that Alec was older and not a boy.
- In any case, I want you to keep it, it's a symbol of...
Alec didn't finish the sentence and he couldn't blush.
- A symbol of your affection - Elia said, Alec noticed that she looked healthy, better than when he saw her before going hunting - I will treasure it.
He finally decided to take a look at the girl's room, but only to look away from her. There were no more piles of clothes on the bed, no more books lying around. The desk also looked tidy. He allowed himself to smell the room; it had a pleasant scent of lavender.
- Andrea said I decided to tidy up everything because I can't move around much - Elia sighed - and I think he's right.
Alec looked at the television, the screen was paused on a scene from Romeo and Juliet, but Alec liked Elia's hair better, it looked like black silk.
- I'm thinking about going back to Rome - the girl finally said, much to the boy's despair - I've been talking to my father a lot these days, he liked the idea.
Alec knew very well how to control his emotions, so externally his expression remained a calm and well-framed picture, but inside the storm had already taken over. He felt betrayed, thrown away like a doll without a purpose. If Alec had let his feelings get the better of him, he would have bitten Elia right there, but that would have meant they would never be friends again. And he didn't think he could endure an eternity like this.
Still, he felt it wasn't fair.
- When are you going to Siena? - Alec changed the topic to Elia's surprise. She had expected him to ask more questions about her return home.
- Tomorrow, I just can't walk much - Elia said, a little disconcerted, she was ready to have a long talk with him, despite the effect of the medicine – and will only be for three days, you won't even miss me.
- That's a lie - Alec replied - if it were up to me, you would never leave Volterra.
Alec kissed her quickly on the cheek, leaving the human even more surprised, since he was more shy than her, then he put on his shoes and headed to the window.
- Oh, remember to take the pendant with you on the trip, it will protect you.
Elia took the pendant out of her clothes, she barely took it off now and it had become a habit to hold it between her fingers when she was alone.
- Protect me from what?
- Isn't it obvious? From whatever is out there.
Alec smirked, similar to the day they met, the difference was that now, Elia was no longer afraid.