Chapter 67: All she wanted was to get to her room and crash

The afternoon had rolled around and Aria was sitting in a cafe eating lunch with her friends.

Dominic had pissed her off so bad earlier that day she could not even stand to be in the same house as him. So she decided to get out and see her friends. They worked at this cafe so it was the easiest place to go. She figured being around them might help her feel better and get her mood back to normal.

Mona slid a menu across the counter toward her. "You actually left your house? What is the occasion? Usually we have to drag you out kicking and screaming."

Aria shrugged. "No reason. Just did not want to be at home. Got bored."

Mona nodded and made an understanding sound.

"Where is Tama?" Aria asked, looking around for the owner who also happened to be their friend.

Mona waved her hand vaguely. "No clue. Has not shown up since morning. Probably messed up over some girl again."

Aria frowned. "What do you mean again?"

Mona nodded like it was obvious. "You know how he gets. His dream girl is giving him trouble again. Who else is going to make that man lose his mind if not her?"

"Wait, Erin?"

Mona nodded again. "Exactly. Who else would be Tama's dream girl but Erin? You remember how crazy he acted when she dumped him before. That man was literally begging her on his hands and knees to take him back. Is that insane or what? And Tama is seriously good looking. I would date him in a second but he does not even notice girls like me exist."

Aria looked at Mona's face and could not help but smile. The way Mona said all that made her feelings pretty obvious. "Do you have a crush on Tama?"

Mona choked on nothing. "What? No way! Do not put words in my mouth like that Aria!"

Aria laughed. "Oh really? Then who was just talking about wanting to date him and him not looking at you?"

Mona made an annoyed clicking sound with her tongue. "That is not what I meant! I was just saying like, in general. But he is so obsessed with his girlfriend he does not even notice other women exist. Remember Caroline? The super hot one? She tried to get with him and he turned her down flat because of Erin. Guys were lined up around the block for Caroline and I know for a fact she liked Tama. But that idiot chose Erin over her." Aria started laughing hard at Mona's rant.

This was how her friends always acted. They got way too involved in each other's love lives even though it really was none of their business. Like Mona here. Who Tama dated had nothing to do with her but she acted like it did. She would actually lecture Tama about his choices like she had a right to.

Aria smirked. "You better be careful Mona. If Tama hears you talking like that you might be in trouble."

Mona rolled her eyes dramatically. "You think I am scared of him? Please. I would call him an idiot to his face. Just not while I am on the clock or he might fire me." Aria started laughing again at how ridiculous Mona was. She shook her head amazed at her friend's boldness.

"Okay but now I get to ask you stuff. Why are you really here? Is that foreign guy your mom brought home not at the house?" Mona sat down right next to Aria even though the cafe was busy and she was supposed to be working.

Aria pointed at the customers. "You need to get back to work. If Tama catches you slacking you really will get fired."

Mona waved her off. "Stop that Aria! I am trying to have a serious conversation with you. Why do you have to kill my mood like that?"

Aria sighed. "I am not trying to kill your mood you idiot. I am trying to keep you employed. Go work and I will tell you later."

Mona's eyes lit up. "You promise? You swear you will tell me everything later? You better not forget."

Aria nodded. "I promise I will tell you. But you have to go work first. I do not want to start explaining everything and then have you run off in the middle. That would annoy me so much."

Mona stood up quickly. "Fine fine. I will be the best employee today just so you can tell me about that ridiculously hot foreign guy your mom brought home."

Aria stared at her friend like she had lost her mind. "Oh my god. You are so dramatic. What is wrong with you?"

Mona fanned herself. "I am serious Aria. Just thinking about his body makes me feel some type of way. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have those arms around you? I get chills."

Aria shook her head at Mona's ridiculous behavior. "You need to go work before I kick you out myself. Dominic is going to be my stepdad. Get a grip. Just bring me a vanilla drink with chocolate ice cream on top."

Mona clicked her tongue again annoyed. "Fine fine. I am going. But you promised you would tell me everything later." Mona pointed at her like she was making a deal.

Aria waved her off. "I said I would. Now go."

Mona finally smiled. "Okay cool. Love you bye! Going to work now!" Aria smiled at her friend's crazy personality as she walked away.

After Mona left Aria played on her phone while waiting for her drink. She figured while she ate she should think about what she would tell Mona later. She needed to explain things without making her friend suspicious and without causing a huge scene.

Afternoon turned into evening and evening turned into night. The sky was full of stars now.

Aria stepped out of the taxi that dropped her off at home. She had spent the whole day at Tama's cafe and told Mona pretty much everything except the part where she caught Dominic and her mom being intimate and her spying on them. Mona gave her a lot of advice including warnings about not getting too comfortable or flirty with Dominic.

She rubbed the back of her neck feeling exhausted. All she wanted was to get to her room and crash.

She walked slowly into the house feeling drained.

When she got inside she noticed everything was dark except for some moonlight coming through the windows. Where was that man? Aria wondered as she felt along the wall for the light switch.

When she found it she flipped it on and the room lit up.

As she turned around she almost jumped out of her skin. Dominic was standing right there with his hands on his hips. His face had no expression at all. Just cold and blank.

Aria swallowed hard. "Uh. Hey." Her voice came out shaky. "What are you doing standing there? I was just at my friend's place. I am really tired and I need to sleep. Goodnight." She flipped the lights back off quickly and tried to walk past him.

She made it one step.

His fingers closed around her arm and yanked her back.

She stumbled backward until she was standing right in front of him looking up into his eyes. He was staring at her with an intensity that made her skin crawl.

She swallowed hard. It felt like she was a little kitten surrounded by a pack of big dogs.