Hadrian's Wall (33 page)

He may as well have spoken
Greek, of course. I was beginning to believe that all physicians
had adopted Greek as a second language, but I could infer some
things about what he said. He was a young man who was in the early
stages of his studies, (i.e., a very smart guy...maybe even one of
those gifted persons and his teachers had no idea what to do with
him. Given that he is rich, handsome, and intelligent, he is
probably was targeted because he is a member of the most powerful
family in the town. Therefore, people expect that he will have to
lead by example and maybe that burden too much for someone so
young. I felt he was like someone
imprisoned, anxious to be free of all that.
What?
I didn’t know
enough about life to deduce many things. All I knew was what I
felt.

I also understood that he
planned to continue his own research. Adrian had a purpose and
didn’t intend to deviate from it, even if he was pressed.
Remembering some of Charity’s comments, I concluded that his
research was linked to the rare disease that killed his mother.
From what Charity told me, his mother’s neurological condition was
very rare and affected the blood...or would it be
otherwise?

When my attention reverted back to our
conversation I noticed that we were talking about the routine of
medical school. He spoke a bit about his day-to-day routine and a
few incidents with problematic patients. I laughed my head off
listening to his stories, particularly the one about the old man
who ran naked through the ward.

I heard that Adrian was
rotating in two hospitals to meet the requirements of the course—or
rather, the requirements of the course’s adviser, who was
monitoring
his
adaptation. As I understood it, a professor was rendering opinions
about the level of his knowledge while he was also evaluating
Adrian’s performance. Such pressure!

It had been months since
this routine had been established. He was in the Emergency
Department and the also in the clinics alternately. Also, he was
attending some disciplines at the college. The only things that
disrupted his routine during the past few weeks were the new
responsibilities that almost “made his hair stand on end” according
to his own words.

“You have no idea what it’s
like when your team boss looks at you and says, ‘Today, you will
help to extract a brain tumor...’” He took a deep breath. “Of
course I didn’t help to extract anything, I just participated in
the basic procedures—the open and close, you know.”

I didn’t know, but I could
imagine.

“With my zero experience, I was less useful
to the surgeon than an infected gauze patch. The surgical nurse
knows more than I do.”

Oh, I was doubtful about
that. He knew more than he was telling me. However, something in
his gaze told me he didn’t like or didn’t need to brag about his
accomplishments to gain people’s sympathy. I noticed that he was
trying to whatever would make him seem like a common person in my
eyes. I felt flattered by that.

“Believe, even worse than
opening someone’s head is being in charge of a group of unsafe
interns. Dr. Carter must love me a lot to play this dirty trick on
me.”

He shook his head and chuckled, which was
more evil than sorrowful. I looked at him blankly.

“They were a little
resentful when they discovered that
technically
I was at the same level
as them,” Adrian explained in a confident tone, with a touch of
humor in his voice.

“The life of a physician seems to be pretty
hectic.” I looked down at my cup, skirting the rim with my thumb.
He crossed his arms and smiled slyly, knowing that I was giving a
longer lap...afraid to get directly to the point.

“And...?” he said.

“Do you have plenty of time to go on the
celebrations of fraternities?

“I belong to a
fraternity,
but I can’t
talk about it. Our rules are very strict about the rituals. It’s
part of my legacy.”

I pouted, but I don’t give
up so easily. “Yes, but medical students don’t have
fun?”

He laughed softly and shook his head.

“No, Melissa. I’m not
dating.”

I opened my eyes wide, feigning innocence.
In turn, he stared at me in disbelief.

“I didn’t want to invade
your privacy,” I replied. “I just thought friends could ask that
kind of thing.”

His eyes were black. Now
I’ll get up and run!

“Sure they can...and that means I can ask
the same thing, right?”

I kept staring at those black eyes,
beckoning me ever closer as if they were going to lure me to the
edge of a bottomless pit and push me in, never to return.

“To ask what?” I said, confused.

He laughed again. His eyes took on their
green hue, glistening, mocking.

“Do you have someone special around
here?”

I shrugged and took a deep breath.

“When I turned 18, about two months ago, I
was forced to leave the orphanage. There was no one who cared about
me or who I cared about. No one special.”

He looked at me seriously for a long time.
He knew I was talking not just about boyfriends. Suddenly, a slow,
devastating smile spread across his face.

“Cool. I guess that means
there’s no one I have to
hunt.
”

“What?”

He gave a Machiavellian
chuckle—the kind of laugh that promises a thousand things at once.
Then he shook his head, waving his hand as if to say, ‘I didn’t
mean that.’

“Nothing...nothing at all.
I’m just relieved to found you before somebody else did. He seemed
delighted with my embarrassment. I must have been beet red.
Damn!

I cleared my throat and
returned to the attack. “Don’t you usually go out at night? What do
you do when you aren’t at the college or in the
hospital?”

He scratched his chin and looked at me
thoughtfully.

“I like to travel. I enjoy sports...radical
sports...radicals in the extreme, to be exact.”

I tried to imagine how an extreme sport
could be more radical than the name itself says and I felt a chill.
I think I absolutely did not want to know!

“I like ultra fast cars.”

I already knew that.

“And I enjoy playing a certain kind of video
game.”

No! Video games are for
nerds, please! No way was he a nerd. Sure, I was biased and
old-fashioned,
but so what? I couldn’t
imagine a grown man playing video games.
Girl, you were born in the wrong century!

“Yes, I enjoy having fun,
but believe me, the video games that I play are nothing like those
you know. They’re very...
corporeal
. We use the latest
generation simulators.”

“We?”

“My brother, Vincent. You saw him today
exercising his talent for the stage.”

Ah, the angel face!

“Stephen, my other brother
and Christian, one of my cousins.
He’s
really good with
computers. He was the one
who developed the concept of our simulator.”

Oh, the famous Christian
Wade
...

“How many cousins do you have anyway?” I
asked, startled.

Adrian laughed.

“There aren’t so many. Hey,
don’t change the subject!”

I pretended to be scared.
“Okay, I’ll behave, I promise!”

“Impossible girl!” He
laughed. “So back to the game...it consists of a virtual part and
another mechanical training specific to certain skills. Chris’
simulator was coupled with computer programs that raise the level
of difficulty.”

I frowned. “You’ll have to
show me that.”

“One day, when I think
you’re prepared...for our lifestyle.” He paused, as if evaluating
his own words. “And you? What do you like to do in addition to
drawing and hallucinating?” He liked to tease me and I stuck out my
tongue at him.

“I like movies.”

“Uh oh! A movie freak girl. It explains a
lot.”

“Of course, my habit of
comparing everything with movie scenes. That’s it, really. I love
movies, I love to travel, despite not having had the opportunity to
go too far yet!”

He raised his index
finger, with a look of extreme concentration. “Let me guess, you
want to go to the
locations where movies
were filmed
that you like best,
right?”

I smiled with delight.

“Rich, handsome, and smart!”

“Very funny!”

We laughed at the absurdity of this
conversation.

“I like to do research too.”

“How so?”

I shifted on the chair, feeling excited and
enthusiastic. “You give me a theme, no matter how preposterous it
is and if it awakens my curiosity, I research it.” I snapped my
fingers. “I love surfing the Internet. I like to explore the
shelves of a library.” I tried to read his expression, to see if he
thought my hobby was stupid or annoying, but he was still looking
at me in that mischievous, inscrutable way.

“One topic leads me to another...which leads
me to another.” I gestured with both hands moving simultaneously.
“And when I finally find the answer, I know more than I did when I
formulated the original question.”

He shook his head in understanding.

“
Mmm
... beautiful, interesting, and
intelligent.”

We laughed again, but I laughed more at the
adjectives he used to describe me because there was no way they
could be applied to me.

The ring on his finger caught my attention
again. So for the first time I took the initiative to touch his
strong, cold hand. Before leaping from decision to action, my hand
shook and my heart sped up. I was afraid that my action would be
rejected or belittled.

Very slowly, I touched the back of his
fingers, marveling at the texture of his skin; but I was even more
fascinated by the delicious little shocks that I felt in the tips
of my fingers. I noticed that Adrian shuddered, visibly surprised.
He was very quiet while I traced the outline of his ring with my
index finger.

“What does this symbol mean?”

“You are very curious girl,
aren’t you?” he said, looking a little uncomfortable.

I gave him a half-hearted smile. His face
brightened.

“You asked me if I was ready to ask...”

“I did not mean...” He stopped mid-sentence,
smiling mischievously. “Okay, Melissa. I will do everything
according to your time.” Of course, the phrase had a double
meaning.

I shuddered with the warm tone of his voice.
It was almost like a physical caress.

“I had my ring made a long time ago.”
Looking at the ring, suddenly he was wistful. “This symbol means
that everything ends up in me.”

I faced those mesmerizing green eyes.

“How so?”

He sighed, took off the ring and placed it
in the palm of my hand.

“Omega...from the Greek alphabet.”

I looked at the strange, yet beautiful jewel
for a long minute.

“What do you mean by
‘everything ends up in me’?”

He smiled, but this time the smile did not
reach his eyes.

“I finally found my end.”

I grimaced as I put the
ring back on his finger. He didn’t move.

“No one knows when we’ll
find the end. Don’t be pessimistic.”

The way he looked at me was scaring me.

“No, of course not. He
looked away. “But I can dream about how my turn will be and now
that I get the chance, I won’t miss out.”

He spoke as if the end was a good thing.

“I don’t understand what
you’re saying.”

“It’s not to understand.”
He laughed, amused by my confusion. But the pain was
there...hidden. I could feel it.

“This ring defines who I am—the last of my
species. With me, the generation is over.”

I was thinking about what
he’d just said: Adrian had no wish to marry, have children, and
perpetuate his clan. My heart sank.
Stop
being silly, girl. Live only the present. Having his friendship is
already too good
.

I decided to
change the subject
.

“Is it true that I look like your
mother?”

He opened his eyes in disbelief. “Who told
you such nonsense?” He tapped his fist on the table. “Charity, of
course.”

I looked down, expecting for a reply...

Adrian sighed and then
said, “You don’t look like her in a physical way... although that
doesn’t matter at all. I think you awoke in Senior some feelings
that he’d kept buried for a long time. The situation in which you
were found when you arrived at the hospital—unconscious—was very
similar to my mother’s.”

I looked up.

“How so?”

He stared at me with an
expression of pain so deep that it took my breath away. I wished
I’d never asked. I wish I could erase his suffering.

“You have no idea what is
to feel powerless while the person you love...that you chose to be
your partner for life...goes willingly to their death.” He leaned
towards me without taking his disturbed eyes off mine.
“
Watching
her die,
powerless to prevent it, is the most terrible pain that my father
could ever have experienced.”

Adrian took a deep breath and looked away.
“When he saw you, so fragile and unconscious, he was sure that he
should act—that this time things would be different.