Be With Me

Aria’s POV

A sharp pain shot through my whole body as I blinked my eyes open, light

stabbing at my skull.

“Ow!” I groaned, rolling onto my side. In an instant, I tumbled

off the couch and hit the floor, my head smacking down to make the hangover

even worse. “Great!”

Hearing my own voice made everything feel a million times worse,

and I could taste bile rising in my throat. I fought against the nausea and

tried to stand, battling the dizziness as I steadied myself.

An empty Slush bottle lay on the floor next to the crooked

coffee table, and all the decorative cushions from the sofa were scattered

around.

How much did we actually drink last night?

I couldn’t even recall Elle and Knox leaving or what we talked

about after we polished off the second half of the bottle.

It took me a moment to realize that the knocking on the front

door wasn’t just in my head, and I groaned again as I stumbled to answer it,

feeling completely out of it.

Knox was standing on the porch, shaking his head with a grin.

“Yeah, I figured you’d be feeling pretty rough today,” he

laughed, his eyes scanning me like they always did.

I pressed my lips together and stepped back, feeling super

exposed even though I was still in yesterday’s clothes.

“Come on. You’re hanging out with me today,” he said.

“What?” I blinked, rubbing my eyes as I tried to grasp what was

happening around me.

I was still feeling the effects of the alcohol, my body refusing

to cooperate.

“I passed your deliveries to Mary today. I need your help with

something else.”

Gradually, I started to feel a bit more alert.

“Alright,” I said. “Just give me a sec to get ready.”

“Need help getting dressed?” he teased, but his eyes were

serious, silently pleading for me to say yes.

I couldn’t muster even a fake smile and instead shut the door

before I almost collapsed. I took a moment to catch my breath, leaning over

with my hands on my knees, bracing myself for what was ahead.

It wasn’t the first time Knox had changed things up, but this

felt different, likely because I was in such a weird headspace. The anxiety of

having Jericho close by and the alcohol still buzzing in my system had me on

edge.

But when I finally got it together and climbed into Knox’s truck

out front, he didn’t give any hint that something was off.

A part of me couldn't shake the thought that he might be pulling

me into his trafficking world now that I had mentioned it, but that idea faded

fast when we rolled into the Naxos ports to grab the latest shipment of stow

from the docks.

Just another day at work.

“You’re looking a bit rough today,” Knox commented as we headed

back to the warehouse.

“Hmm…?”

I had drifted off, my eyelids feeling heavier as we crossed into

Amestris. All I wanted was a long shower and a full day of sleep, to hell with

work. To hell with Jericho. To hell with everything.

“Why don’t you take tomorrow off?” Knox suggested generously.

“You’re not much use to me like this, and you might end up causing more trouble

if you go in all frazzled.”

He winked at me, his hand reaching over to give my leg a light

pat as the truck slowed down near my place. “You know, Aria, I can treat you

really well.”

I shifted my leg, and his hand slipped away.

“You already have,” I replied firmly yet gently, crossing my

legs.

Knox frowned. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Aria.

Isn’t it time we stop acting like there’s nothing going on between us?”

I felt my face go pale, thankful for the dimming light as I

anxiously glanced out the window. I thought we had moved past this, but every

now and then, Knox just had to bring it up again.

The truck came to a stop at the curb, and this time, his hand

gripped my leg tightly.

“I get that you felt some sort of—I don’t know—commitment to Jericho

when he passed, but Aria, it’s been a while now. You don’t owe him anything

anymore.”

A wave of panic hit me as I considered my choices. I didn’t want

to make him angry, but I also couldn’t lead him on.

“What about Elle?” I stammered. “What about your loyalty to

her?”

He leaned in closer, hissing, but before he could say anything,

a loud knock on the window made us both jump. We turned to see a big,

unfamiliar guy standing on the sidewalk.

“Who the hell is that?” Knox asked, clearly annoyed.

I didn’t say a word, but I took my chance to bolt from the car, my heart racing

like crazy.

“Ms. Aria Morris?” he said in a monotone voice.

I could tell right away that this dragon shifter was sent by Jericho,

his smoky scent hitting me hard.

“Who the hell are you?” Knox shouted, marching toward us.

Without saying anything, the stranger shoved a box into my hands

and melted away into the darkness.

“Hey!” Knox yelled after him. “Get back here!”

“It’s fine, Knox,” I sighed, lifting the lid of the box. A gasp

escaped me as I saw what was inside. “Oh…”

I quickly shut the box as Knox came closer, trying to peek

inside.

“What’s that?” he asked, eyeing me suspiciously. “What’s

happening?”

I shook my head and took a step back.

“It’s from a friend,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion

as I struggled to stay calm.

“What friend? The same one who smashed your window?” Knox shot

back. “Is that why you can’t be with me?”

I flinched and shook my head. “Knox, you’re with Elle,” I

reminded him, feeling overwhelmed with confusion and feelings.

“I’d leave her for you,” Knox growled. “Don’t you want what she

has? You wouldn’t have to lift a finger—”

I need to leave. I just couldn’t handle any of this.

Without waiting for him to respond, I

dashed a few steps to my door, clutching the fragile box tightly against my

chest.

How did he even find this? I can’t believe

he remembered it was a thing.

Once I locked myself inside, I collapsed

onto the foyer floor, stretching my legs out in front of me as I lifted the lid

off the old hatbox again.

Tears of joy sparkled in my eyes as I

started pulling out the treasures one by one, feeling a jolt of electricity

with each memory that surfaced.

I had noticed his countless texts and

guessed those missed calls were from Jericho too, but this little time capsule

spoke volumes more than anything he could say.

In my mind, I could picture us, so in love,

sitting by that giant spider tree next to his stables, carefully placing each

item into the hatbox.

“Should we toss that ugly hat in there

too?” I could hear Jericho teasing, pointing at the ridiculous frilly bonnet my

mom had just bought me.

“You wouldn’t dare if you want to avoid my

mother’s wrath,” I shot back.

“My love for you can heal any pain your

mother might cause me, and I can’t stand to see that eyesore on such a

beautiful head.”

I chuckled as I held the crumpled, ruined

bonnet, now unrecognizable after being buried for so long. My laughter quickly

turned into sobs, and I buried my face in my hands.

Who was I kidding thinking I could stay

away from Jericho? I was such a fool to even try.