Chapter 70 Weirded out.

Chapter 70 Weirded out.

Ariel

I only felt the tightness in my chest loosen up a bit when I heard my room door click behind me. Seriously?! I hate my life. And everything. Like why? Why did the whole shit have to happen to me?

It's almost like life is trying to see just how much I can take. Next, I'll be required to sell off my kidney to keep myself and my family alive.

I pulled off my shoes and collapsed onto my bed with a sigh. I'm just so fucking tired.

I sat up on the bed after a few minutes of just wallowing in the quicksand that was my life and took out my personal phone to scroll through my contacts.

Still nothing from Chloe or anyone else for that matter because I don't have anyone else. Ah, okay, there was a message from Jonas.

“Check your mail. Keke sent you a rough draft of the moodboards. She’s asking what you think.”

I clicked the chat shut and scrolled through the rest of my messages. Hmm… Anastasia. It's been a long time since I heard from her. Well, maybe almost a month but it feels like forever since our first convo.

I clicked our chat shut too and considered texting Chloe about the newest update. Mom's whereabouts. I mean, it's probably sensible for me to go to the address Kael gave me first and get a read on the situation before I take her.

That was actually a good idea. I should do that. Hopefully, she doesn't find more fences to climb before I steer her off in another direction.

I lay back on the bed again for a few minutes and listened to the faint hum of silence around me. I wondered what he was doing right now.

Wait, he didn't go through the whole house, did he? Fuck, and I left my room door unlocked.

I reared my head up immediately and looked around the room. Everything looked intact. Stupid me. I don’t know why I'd thought he would just stay in the guest room for the number of days he was planning to stay here.

I sat up on the bed. He was okay, right? I mean, he did have enough strength to hold a knife to my neck but he still had all those bandages around his leg and body.

Should he even be moving at all?

I picked my phone up again to check the time when my stomach grumbled. Fuck, I was hungry and sweaty. I need to take a bath.

Wait, he's eaten, right?

Even though I had my door locked the whole time I took a shower, I still felt so uneasy and weirded out by the fact that there was a man in my apartment that wasn't Jonas, that I spent just about twenty minutes in the shower instead of the hour-long steamy baths I normally took after a long day.

I wrapped a towel around my head as I slipped on a pair of joggers and a long shirt. This was okay, right?

I mean, of course. Why was I concerned about that when he was the stranger and is currently walking around shirtless in my house?

I did my best to dry my hair out as I picked up my phone again. Should I ask him if he was interested? Or should I just order it and if he says he's not interested, I'll just preserve it in the fridge and microwave it for tomorrow?

Yup, exactly that. The latter.

I pulled up the website of a Chinese takeout restaurant I've been ordering from for years now and placed my order.

Okay. There. Oh shit, now I have to go out and inform him of that, or else he'll probably slit the throat of an innocent delivery man.

Vincent

Fuck.

It's been how many hours now since I woke up? Seven, eight hours, and I already have a million reasons why me staying here is a bad idea.

Number one, I'm bored and actually, that was the only reason. I know; it's not like I could actually do anything if I were offered the opportunity to do so. I should be resting because of my injuries but even that was tiring, thanks to all those distorted dreams that seemed to tear me apart the minute I closed my eyes.

I was better off awake.

I scrunched my face into a wince when I tried to adjust myself on the couch. It's been almost an hour since Ariel went into her room, and almost time for me to get another dose of that pain medication.

My ribs were starting to ache badly with every movement and fuck, I was starving. I'd found that out hours ago too and rummaged through the fridge, which i’d found to be pretty much empty but I'd been too… weirded out to ask about that when she walked in.

Also because i almost slit her throat with a knife when she also walked in. I doubt she would have been in the mood to get me something to eat after that.

I winced again as I made to grab the burner. I guess I'll just wait til—

I glanced up as Ariel walked in from the right hallway, her body enveloped in a large shirt and black joggers. Her hair was let down and obviously wet around her shoulders. “I… just came to tell you that I'm expecting an order. So you don't… you know… slit the throat of the delivery guy.”

“What did you order?”

“Food.”

“I wasn't sure if you'd be interested so I ordered some for you.” My stomach seemed to fill the room with a grumble of appreciation.

“Oh.”

“If you're not interested, though, it's fine. I'll just keep it in the fridge and—”

“I'm… interested.”

“Oh. " Okay." She adjusted her stance awkwardly as a fog of tension seemed to make its way around the room.

The doorbell rang then and she went to answer it.