Sofia's body could no longer support the weight of her despair.
She crumpled to her knees on the soft grass. All pretense of strength was gone.
The fragile dam she had built around her emotions broke. She began to sob her shoulders shaking with each ragged breath.
"I didn't do anything to anyone," she cried. Her voice was a broken whisper muffled by the hands covering her face. "Why? Why are they doing this to me?"
Her words struck Adam like a physical blow. He froze listening to her cry. The sound transported him back to a cold concrete room. He saw himself tied to a chair bruised and bleeding.
He was asking the same exact question just before a metal rod came crashing down on his skull. Why me? It was the question of the innocent.
The question asked right before the world showed you its true ugly face. He remembered the feeling of utter helplessness.
He saw the raw helpless pain in her that he knew so intimately.
He let out a long slow breath.
He stood up.
He had absolutely no experience with providing emotional support.
He had never been in a situation like this.
He had never had to comfort someone who was crying so uncontrollably. His entire knowledge of the subject came from movies he had seen. In those movies when girls were in this state they needed someone to lean on.
They needed an anchor in the storm. It was a simple perhaps naive formula but it was all he had.
He took a step forward and stood directly in front of her.
Sofia was so lost in her own private hell that she didn't seem to notice.
Her world had shrunk to the patch of grass beneath her knees.
The torrent of pain poured out of her as tears. It didn't matter that he was there that he was watching her at her most vulnerable.
Adam bent his knees. His tall frame gracefully lowered until he was at her eye level. He reached out with both hands. His movements were hesitant at first then more certain. He gently placed one hand on the back of her head.
His fingers tangled slightly in her soft hair. He wrapped his other arm firmly around her shaking shoulders. He pulled her into a hug drawing her against his chest.
It felt awkward but right.
"Don't worry," he said. His voice was a low murmur close to her ear. The words came out more naturally than he expected. "I'm here now. I'll take care of them."
He shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be getting involved in anyone else's problems. His own were a swirling vortex of death and violence.
But looking at Sofia he saw a ghost of himself. The boy who lived a simple life the boy who hadn't yet been forced to kill. He had this power this curse that wouldn't let him die.
If he could use it for something other than just his own survival maybe... He decided then and there. He would teach them a lesson they would never forget.
He didn't care how entangled he became. What did it matter? His life was already a chaotic mess of people trying to kill him.
If a few more high school bullies were added to the list his situation wouldn't fundamentally change.
His words seemed to break the last of her restraint. Sofia's arms came up.
She wrapped them around him clinging to him tightly as if he were a lifeline. The full force of her pent-up fear and despair was finally unleashed.
A fresh wave of tears soaked into his shirt. Adam felt a surge of awkwardness at the intimacy of the embrace. He pushed the feeling down.
He began to gently stroke the back of her head with his hand a slow rhythmic motion.
"You're not alone," he repeated his voice steady. "I'm with you."
They remained in that position for several minutes. The only sound in the secluded clearing was Sofia's slowly subsiding sobs.
Eventually her crying softened into quiet sniffles. He could feel the tension leaving her body her grip loosening.
Sensing she had calmed down Adam gently released his hold. He pulled back. Sofia her face flushed a deep red with embarrassment immediately looked away.
She shifted back to sit on the grass. She stared at the ground unable to meet his eyes.
For a fleeting moment a feeling of warmth stirred within him. A deep and fierce protectiveness towards her. He felt it in his chest a strange and unfamiliar sensation.
Then just as quickly he crushed it. He looked down at his own hands the hands that had plunged a blade into his teacher the hands that had killed two men.
These feelings are useless to you Adam he told himself.
His internal voice was cold and hard. The only thing certain in your life is death. If you get attached to Sofia you'll have to worry about protecting her in every single loop.
You'll have to watch her die again and again. You can't handle that. He took a deep cleansing breath pushing the nascent emotion away until only cold resolve remained.
He looked at Sofia. She was still blushing and staring at the grass. "At that time," he said. His voice was now flat and devoid of the earlier warmth. "I'll go in your place."
Sofia's head snapped up. Her blush of embarrassment was replaced by a look of alarm. Her eyes were still red and swollen from crying.
"No," she said her voice small but firm. "You don't have to get involved in this. It's my problem. I can't let you get hurt because of me."
Before she could say anything more Adam pushed himself to his feet. He stood over her a shadow in the fading light.
"It's too late for that," he said. His tone was absolute leaving no room for argument.
"I'm already involved. And now I'll handle this situation." His decision was made. He was going to the hill tonight.