Adam felt his heart break when he saw the rest of Elena's family standing over her grave. There was her mother, Sophie, who wore a black dress. Despite the situation and the morbid look on her face, she still managed a smile when she saw Adam. Besides her were Elena's brothers, Oliver and Harry. Both were older than Elena, and both were in the army at the time they heard the news. They still wore their military uniforms.
Sensing his discomfort, Duncan put his hand across Adam and led him towards the grave. With each step he took, Adam felt a desperate need to run away. To leave then and there.
To never look back.
It was even more heart-breaking to know that this was the first time any of Elena's family have seen Adam. Elena's boyfriend… and the person responsible for her death.
By the time Adam reached the grave, his hands were shaking, his mouth felt dry, and his eyes turned glossy. He slowly reached towards the grave and sat on the ground just in front of it. He sniffed once, trying and failing to remain strong. He placed the bouquet on the grave before reading the inscription, below the dates of Elena's birth and death.
'Parted by death, we'll be reunited in Heaven.'
Adam hung his head low. Too ashamed to look for too long at the grave. Behind him, he could hear Duncan speaking with his wife. Their voices meant nothing to him. He cared little for what they were saying.
Oliver and Harry sat on the ground as well, each sitting beside Adam.
Oliver, the oldest sibling, nudged Adam just a bit. "Oy, don't beat yourself up about it. It wasn't your fault."
Adam sighed but other than that, said nothing.
"He's right, you know," said Harry. "No one could've seen that coming."
Adam felt his lips tremble when he spoke up. "Then why?" he whispered softly. "Why I'm sitting here, while Elena is down there? What makes me special? She didn't deserve that. If anything, I should be the one-"
Adam could not finish his sentence as Oliver smacked him across the face. Not enough to hurt, but enough to get the message.
"You start talking like that and I'll box your teeth so hard, your head will make a full one eighty! Am I understood!"
"Yes sir!" Adam replied automatically. He had never seen Oliver like this. Sure, he saw him only in pictures but he was always smiling in them. Seeing him scowling at his direction made Adam more than a little nervous.
"Don't startle the boy, Oliver," said Harry from the other side of Adam. Harry placed his hand on Adam's shoulder and tugged at it so Adam was looking him in the eyes. "Look… I understand what you're going through, I really am. Elena was special, no doubt. So sweet and caring." Adam lowered his head. "But don't sell yourself short because of it. She loved you, and that's enough for me. I can't offer you words of comfort, but I can offer you a shoulder to lean against. We're all here because of Elena, and I know she would chew our ears off if we were to treat you as anything but family."
Despite the situation, Adam cracked a sad smile. "It's true," he croaked. "She would smack me in the head for acting like that."
Harry smiled weakly at Adam before standing up, pulling Adam as well. Oliver stood up as well, giving Harry and Adam a nod before walking up to his parents.
Harry crouched next to the grave, tracing the cold stone with his fingers. His lips trembled and his eyes were red and slightly moist. He occasionally sniffed.
"Would you like to have a private moment with her?"Harry asked.This surprised Adam. For a moment he simply stood there, opening and closing his mouth not unlike a fish. Realizing that words have no meaning anymore, he simply nodded.
Harry nodded as well, straightening himself and walking past Adam, giving him a pat on the shoulder. Adam waited until the only sound he heard was the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. The rest of Elena's family was slightly further away, letting Adam say his final goodbye.
"H-Hey Elena," Adam stammered. "How's it going down there?" as soon as the words left his mouth, Adam smacked himself in the head. "I'm so going to hell for that," he whimpered before collecting his thoughts. He took a deep, calming breath and relaxed his tense muscles.
"I'm lost Elena," he finally said, whispering. "I don't know what to do. You were my anchor, my reason why I wake up in the morning. I know I'm a lot younger, but I honestly believed we'd be with each other forever." Adam felt something wet trickle down his cheek before wiping it. "S-Sorry. Got something in my eye." Adam wiped his eyes furiously,
but no matter how hard he tried, the tears continued to flow.
His knees trembled and his felt himself drop unceremoniously to the ground, still looking at the grave. "I miss you. I can't bear the thought of living without you… I just… I just wish I could tell you goodbye properly, instead of between a coffin." The last word came as a pathetic whimper as Adam moved away from the grave, picking himself up. Adam reached for his pocket and fished out a wrinkled photo.
It was a picture of Adam and Elena. They were both smiling at the camera, despite being wet to the bones. The Eye of London loomed behind them. Adam felt a thin smile spread across his lips as he gazed at the photo. He straightened the crumpled edges before placing the photo next to the bouquet of flowers of the grave. "Goodbye Elena…"
Adam sniffed one last time before going back towards the group of people he had just met a few minutes ago. He felt a lot better. Not happy, mind you, but Adam felt relieved to know that no one was harboring hard feelings towards him.
Once he reached to the group of people, Duncan spoke up, "Well, since we're all here how about we'll go out and spend some time together. What about you two?" he glanced at Harry and Oliver. "Can you two join us, or you're going back to your base?"
"We're free for the rest of the week, Dad," replied Oliver.
"Good, then let's head out. I'll drive with Adam and you two can join Mum."
The rest all nodded and soon, Adam and Duncan were alone again in the car. Adam felt less nervous being alone with Elena's father, but still preferred the silence over what might be said between the two.
"You know," Duncan spoke up, "When Elena died, no one blamed you at all. Sophie, Oliver and Harry all love you as family. We were actually worried about you."
"Worried about me?" Adam questioned.
"Yes… You grieve over the dead, and worry over the living. We were afraid how you might take Elena's death, considering…"
Adam hung his head for the umpteenth time this day. "Yeah, I understand," he said somberly.
Duncan risked a quick glance towards Adam before snapping his gaze back to the road. His blue eyes sparkled with sympathy. He was silent for a few moments before realizing something.
"You first met Elena when she was tutoring you, correct?"
Adam seemed a little thrown off by the sudden change of subject but nodded nonetheless. "Yeah, she taught me how to speak Italian."
Duncan hummed in thought. "Never understood that language," he finally said, "My wife, Sophie, was born to Italian farmers. Sometimes she would help them in the field, that's how she got her figure actually. Elena always wanted to know more about our Italian roots so she asked Sophie to teach her. I guess she learnt in rather quickly if she managed to teach you as well. Why did you start learning it in the first place?"
Adam felt his cheeks heat up as he answered. "Emm… Assassin's Creed, sir."
To say that Duncan broke down laughing would be an understatement. Adam actually had to hold the steering wheel for a few moments while Duncan pounded his legs.
Duncan wiped a stray tear out of his eye as he took the steering wheel back to his hands. "S-sorry, heh... heh… couldn't help myself. I cannot believe you lad. You wanted to learn Italian… because of a game?!"
Adam crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks. "You don't have to laugh about it, geez."
Duncan chuckled a few more times before smiling apologetically at Adam. "Sorry, that was unbecoming of me. But I have to ask, why Assassin's Creed two? It was released years ago. Unity was much better."
Adam stared wide eyed at Duncan. "You play Assassin's Creed?!"
"I sure did. Since the first one I've been a sucker for the franchise. Sophie says it's unhealthy for a man in my age to play video games, but I find it relaxing and a nice break from the serious nature of my work."
Adam sat there, unable to come with a coherent answer. Here was the man he probably feared to meet the most, and here he was, talking to him about a video game.
"Too dumbstruck to talk, heh?" Duncan smirked. His smile though, faded rather quickly and instead was replaced with seriousness. "Now I want you to listen to me, lad. I don't want to hear you blaming yourself over what happened, you hear? You are a good man, Adam. Don't let anyone tell you different. Sure, you're rough around the edges, if what Elena told me about you was true, but she also told me of how caring and self-controlled you were around her."
Adam simply nodded, still a bit jumbled from the previous talk but enough focused to understand what Duncan had just said.
"Good, I want you to work hard and make yourself into someone great, because I know you can be one. I can only guess how thing are in your home, but not a lot of young lads manage to climb out of a situation you've been put through. Be a good man, Adam. Not just for me, but for the memory of Elena. Can you do it, Adam?"
"I can," Adam proclaimed. He surprised himself with his own conviction.
Duncan smiled warmly, his eyes shown with care. "That's a good lad…"
Adam woke up to a freezing sensation washing across his battered form. He coughed and wheezed, sputtering a few mouthfuls of feelingly cold water out of his muzzle. He tried to open his eyes but felt something wrapped tightly across his head, concealing everything. He tried to move his body but found himself in the same predicament.
He was unable to move and he was shaking violently as the water seeped through his coat and touched his skin beneath.
Adam wanted to shout, to call for help, but the moment he opened his mouth, someone wrapped a piece of what Adam hoped was cloth across his mouth, effectively shutting him. Before he knew what was happening a bright light suddenly attacked his eye lids and burned into his pupils. Adam tried to look away but his head was bound.
Finally, after a great deal of effort, Adam was able to open his eyes, though he regretted that as soon as he did.
"Wake-y, wake-y little colt…"