Chapter 22 Chapter 21:
Arya:
Being in the house doing nothing but resting on the bed has been exhausting, it’s at least better that I have Vera to entertain me but she has her cartoons and her notebooks for doodling. This morning, while Devon was getting his early morning coffee in the kitchen, I asked him if I could invite Wanda and Axel over.
He seemed genuinely shocked that I had asked him that question.
“You don’t need to ask for my permission before you invite people over, Arya,” He said and I was shocked, even when Kevin and I used to live together, he always demanded my visitors list, Kevin wanted to know what I was doing, where I was, what I was eating. In the beginning, I brushed it off that he was caring, but as the time went by, I realized that Kevin just wanted to control me.
I placed a call to both Wanda and Axel and they are coming in the evening. I prepare the whole place for their comfort and Vera is having a nap in the bedroom. The door pings with their arrival and I open it with a bright smile, Wanda and Axel stands in the entrance, both holding a box of my favorite chocolate.
“Come in.” I gesture towards the room as they step inside. Axel who hasn’t been here before hangs his mouth open.
“Fuck, this place is like heaven.” He says, clearly astonished by what he’s seeing. He’s wearing a cool cashmere sweater that makes his skin stand out. Meanwhile, Wanda is wearing her leather jacket over a jumpsuit.
“I told you.” Wanda tells him, focusing back on me, her voice softening. “Are you okay? We heard about the accident.”
The accident...It’s funny how people are looking at me like I actually slipped, but I didn’t. They might not know it, but that guy that was wearing all black was the one that pushed me, even when I demanded to speak to him in the hospital, they said he had taken off. I don’t tell Wanda and Axel my theories though; they might think the fall has messed with my head.
But it doesn’t stop me from texting Nicole, she might be a lawyer, but she’s certainly smart enough to not doubt me.
“I am okay.” Sometimes, my ankles still hurt and it’s hard to be on my feet for too long, but the doctor says I should be healing anytime soon as long as I stay at home, it’s a surprise Clara granted me the leave. Leading them towards the chair, I say. “What has been happening at work?”
“Aside from everyone being the asshole they are. Everything’s great, though Axel and I really miss you.” Wanda says, her tone bitter.
“I am going to resign tomorrow.” Axel blurts out and we all look at him like he’s insane. Wanda is the first to react, even though her face is still morphed with confusion.
“What? Why?” Her face falls.
Axel shifts on the chair awkwardly, trying not to meet her eyes. The tip of his ears is turning bright red again and I have to admit, it’s a bit cute when he acts flustered around her.
He shrugs, still not answering her question.
“What are you going to do if you quit?” I ask, furrowing my brows.
He meets my eyes. “I don’t know yet.” There’s an edge to his voice, like he knows exactly what he wants to do if he quits, so I don’t press further.
Besides, Axel has plenty of reasons to quit, working in the same space as the woman who humiliated him in high school does not fit well.
Apparently, Wanda doesn’t get the signal to drop the subject, because she probes further. “You are going to end up broke if you quit! You might even end up losing your flat, don’t worry, if you lose your flat. You can come stay with me, we could spend all weekend watching TV, you could even help me with my search in finding a rich billionaire husband.”
“What if I am rich? Will you date me then?” Axel asks.
“You don’t have money, Axel. You. Are. Broke.” Wanda nudges his elbow playfully. “Though, if you get kicked out, just come and stay with me.”
He coughs, and I hurriedly hand him a bottle of water. He chugs it down in a go, his face still bright red. “That’s okay, but I am not going to be kicked out of my flat.”
“Whatever you say.” Wanda crosses her legs and folds her arms, but peers intently at him until his ears brighten the more, “whatever you say, Axel.”
Wanda, Axel and I end up chatting until it’s late, they hug me goodbye before leaving. Again the whole house feels empty again but Devon’s going to arrive soon, I don’t even know why the thought of Devon walking through that door makes me....nervous.
The way he had complimented me yesterday feels so raw. Not all compliments are to be taken emotionally, but it felt like he meant everything of what he said and it just wants to make me try harder.
Devon has been making dinner for a while now, I feel like I want to do something back. I don’t really fancy cooking but I just feel the need to make something special for him.
After a while, I rub my hands against the paper towel, the smell of cooked pasta lingering in the kitchen, taking a deep breath, I begin to set the table and when I hear the front door unlock, my heart skips a bit.
Devon walks in, dressed in a tailor-made suit. His jaw is clenched and rage is burning deep in his eyes and he’s frowning. I want to open my mouth and welcome him, even maybe ask him to eat what I made, but I hesitate. He seems....so angry.
“I made pasta.” I finally manage to say, my face bright with a gentle smile.
Devon doesn't even bother to glance at the food; he returns my smile with a deeper frown of his own. “I don’t have an appetite to eat.”
I stand there, taken aback by his words, he can’t even acknowledge the time and effort I put into making the food, then I remember when he was telling me he didn’t like people making his food for him.
It hit me, the way he just brushed me off without a single care, this is the Devon Brookes that the media talks about, the cold, calculating I don’t give a fuck guy. But it hurts now that he’s showing that side to me.
“Oh.” I grip the towel harder, blinking back tears. “That’s all-”
He doesn’t wait for me to finish, he turns away and walks upstairs. I blink again, did I do something wrong? I was only trying to make dinner, because he has been doing so much for me, did I overstep the line?
The feeling of unease washes of me and I hate it so fucking much- I hate feeling so useless, it gnaws deep at me. He doesn’t deserve to leave me here and take out his anger on me, still part of me feels curious.
Why does he seem so upset? Something inside me wants to know and so, without waiting. I storm upstairs to his room; I know that I am crossing a boundary; he has made it very clear that I am not allowed into his room, still I step inside.
Everywhere is neat, like I expect it to be, smelling faintly of his cologne. My mind tells me to get out of here, but the other part of me- the one that wants to know why he’s so upset prompts me to stay and find out.
The sound of the showering running fills my ears and I glance at the direction of the bathroom in panic, it’s slightly open, the steaming wafting into the bedroom. Unease starts to slip in and I can imagine the water running down his toned muscles, and the liquid dripping down the strands of his hair.
Suddenly, my whole body is feeling hot, I need to leave. Right now, the moment I take a step forward, the door of the bathroom flings open and Devon steps out, shirtless. Shamelessly, my eyes remain on his chest, staring at the water that trickles down his smooth chest.
My heart is beating so hard as I picture myself crossing the distance between us and kissing him. How will it feel if I kiss him? His strong arms holding mine, the warmth of his body pressing against me, the feel of my tongue on my neck.
“Arya,” A sharp voice jolts me out of my daydream. What in the hell am I doing? Picturing him like that...This isn’t some romance novel where love just magically appears. We are co-parenting, before I try anything foolish; Vera is always on the line. Imagining him like this...kissing him...wanting him...This is too dangerous.
Now, I am face to face with a set of burning emerald eyes. They stay pinned on me, trying to demand what I am doing here.
“Is something wrong? You seem upset.” The words feel so lame as I say it out loud, but I am trying to care, trying to show him that I do care. “I can make another food if you don’t like pasta.”
His jaw hardens, but not in surprise. His gaze is so damn cold and unreadable, it makes me shudder. “No, Arya, I am not hungry.”
I inhale sharply, as if I have just been slapped. “I know, well. You seem really annoyed, if you don’t want food, then I can make-” Shit, I am blurting again. Nervousness wrecks my inside as his gaze focuses intently on me.
The air is thick with tension, if I don’t get out now, something might happen.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” I whisper, my voice shaking as I take a step back, but clearly it seems like he doesn’t want anyone asking him if he’s okay or not.
“I don’t need you to check up on me,” his voice is tense around the edges, really tense that I can’t help but wince at the intensity of his voice.
I nod foolishly, my chest is tightening and hurting so badly, I want to yell at him, but the tears get stuck at the back of my throat, my eyes are already starting to get misty as I come out of the room and shakily climb the stairs down.
My phone on the table rings and the caller ID displays Nicole. I snatch it from the table and walk outside, not even bothering to grab a coat, the cold seeping into my bones but I don’t care. I click accept and blurt out without even thinking. “I hate myself for caring about him, Nicole. Clearly, he doesn’t want me too.”
Nicole isn’t the person to give relationship advice, I can tell with the way her breathing slows on the other end: she wasn’t expecting me to call about Devon, she said she was going to call to talk about the accident, I bet she wasn’t expecting this.
“Arya.” Nicole’s cool voice resounds on the other end. Her sigh is not one of frustration, it’s of exhaustion, on the other end, I can hear her typing on her keyboards, even at this time, she’s still at work. “Do you want to meet? We can talk about full custody of Vera.” Her voice turns softer, “you don’t have to stay with him, you know.”
“I know,” the tip of my nose is bright red from the cold, and my body is shaking but I refuse to go in there and face him. A tear makes its way down my cheek and I wipe it away angrily. “I just...I made pasta for him and he won’t eat it, then I saw him shirtless and I imagined kissing him, and he acted coldly to me, then I left and...” I keep babbling on and the only thing I can hear is Nicole’s steady breathing.
“Are you even listening to me?” I sniffle.
“Yes, yes. I am forwarding your messages to Emma and Emily; I am not cut out for this, I am a divorce attorney, my job is to split couples. Oh wait, Emma responded, she’s going to call you now.” The call ends and my phone starts vibrating in my hand, I pick up the phone and Emma’s soothing voice resounds on the other end.
“Hey, babe.” She says. “Devon is such a close-off person, in his last interview; he didn’t say more than three sentences. You have to understand him, Arya.”
“I wish I could, Em. I really wish I could.” He doesn’t smile, doesn’t laugh, rarely responds to my jokes- which by the way I are good jokes.
“This is a case of opposite-attracts,” Emma says, ranting on, “don’t blame me, I snatched out a romance novel from Emily’s house, it means you are both different, but you are unique together.”
“Okay, Em. First of all, this isn’t romance bullshit, there’s no attraction or tension or whatever, we are just co-parenting and I don’t want this to get weird.” I say, dragging my sweater tighter against my body.
“You both are the sunshine and grumpy couple.”
“What in the hell is that?” I ask.
“You are the sunshine one and you spread your rainbows on the grumpy beast, making him fall in love with you!” She happily cheers, however I don’t think Emma understands that Devon isn’t a grumpy type, it’s weird to explain but he’s always unusually quiet. I rarely see him yell or even lose his cool, maybe it will be better if he yells and I yell too, fuck. Everything is just so messed up.
The door unlocks behind me and Devon steps out, already dressed in a woolen sweater. Our eyes lock and he begins walking forward.
“I have to go now.” I end the call, walking forward. If I use another minute here, the cold will make me pass out. Devon stands in front of me, his features less hardened but his eyes, still unreadable.
We stare at each other for a brief moment, my chest is heaving gently as I swallow.
“Let’s go inside, Arya.” His voice is resigned.
“No.” I fold my eyes, my voice breaking. Gosh, I hope he didn’t notice that I cried. “You can go in, Mr. Brookes.”
He’s taken aback when I don’t call him by his first name.
“Mr. Brookes, why don’t we try to keep our relationship platonic and formal from now on? You can start by calling me Miss. Morris.”
There’s a shift in his green eyes, almost like a glint. The normal calm look vanishes and what’s left is a hint of amusement.
“This is not a joke.” I remind him, shivering due to the cold, he steps forward when he notices, but I step back. “Back off, Mr. Brookes, I mean it.”
My threat doesn’t seem to faze him, because he grabs my hands and that tingle of electricity rushes through my palm, he covers his large palm with mine and leads me back to the house.
“Let me go, Mr. Brookes!” I keep yelling, trying to wriggle out of his firm grip. “Let me go! This is considered assault!”
“Stop talking, Miss. Morris.” He has the fucking audacity to chuckle, when he leads me inside. He walks straight to the kitchen, and scoops a chunk of pasta onto his plate. Sitting down, he grabs a fork and shoves an amount of pasta into his mouth.
I am taken aback, standing in the dining room watching him shove my food into his mouth. “What are you doing? I thought you said you didn’t eat other people’s food.”
“You are not other people.” Because of this statement, a blush creeps up my cheeks. I better get out of here before I end up looking like a blushing baboon.
“Sorry.” After much hesitation, Devon finally says, I can tell with the way he’s not looking at me that sorry is not a word he says to people often. “I wasn’t angry at you. It was just...” He sighs, dropping the fork on the table.
“You don’t have to explain it to me, okay?” I say, the only best part is that he apologized and finally ate my food, which means he trusts me now, right? Oh yes, I am the best at making people fall in love with my cooking.
“I will leave you to it now, goodnight.” I say, feeling the earlier weight of sadness lift away.
“Arya?” He calls out to me before I leave.
“Hmm?” I ask, my back facing him.
“Thanks for dinner.” He says.
This time, my smile is much wider. “You are welcome.”