Aviana (MC Riders #1)

C A T H A R S I S

/kəˈθɑːsɪs/

noun

the purging or release of emotional tensions, especially through kinds of art or music.

~🎲~

A V I A N A  W A S  sitting at the kitchen counter, picking at the crusts of a BLT - Casanova had finally managed to get her to try it and ever since she had smiled after taking a bite, he had been making them for her every day. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful, but it was a lot to eat after years of barely anything entering her stomach and she was still having a hard time finishing it.

She picked off another small section of the sandwich, popping it into her mouth and chewing even though her stomach screamed at her that it was full. Before her mind could correctly process what was going on, two hands suddenly landed on her arms from behind as she was mid-swallow and she jerked up, almost falling from her chair as she coughed up the bit of food that had become lodged in her throat.

"Woah," she recognised Casanova's voice. "Sorry, I thought you could hear me coming."

Her coughing gradually ceased and she took a deep breath, settling her racing heartbeat before giving him a soft glare. "You okay now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Aviana cocked a hip to the side, crossing her arms over her chest while hardening her gaze. He knew things like that scared the daylights out of her. 'Heard him coming'. As if. He did that on purpose to see if she'd jump. He gave her a sheepish grin, confirming her suspicions.

"Oh come on, Ana," he chuckled as she sat down again before taking a seat next to her. "You can't blame me for being curious. You've been doing so well, I just wanted to see what would happen if-"

She cut him off as anger unexpectedly rose in her. "Well, things like that don't just disappear after a few weeks," she snapped before instantly regretting it. She didn't snap at people; that wasn't who she was.

Casanova held his hands up in surrender for a moment, his eyes widening slightly as he spoke. "Wrong thing to say, sorry," he said, pausing for a moment before a playful aura surrounded him. "You aren't usually this snappy. Are you PMSing or something?"

She gave him a short glare. "No, you know my weight's too low to even get my period," she grumbled, pushing away the plate in front of her before dropping her head into her folded arms. "I'm just exhausted."

His expression grew concerned as he leaned forward on the kitchen counter. "You're still getting nightmares?" he asked as if he didn't already know the answer.

"Of course I'm still getting nightmares," she sighed, her voice muffled by her arms. "They're less frequent, not gone."

It was silent between them for a moment, the only thing they could hear was the sounds of the bar outside filtering through the closed door of the kitchen. Casanova let out a deep breath, lightly slapping his hands down on the counter before turning his body towards her. "You know what you need?" he grinned as she simply peered over her arm at him. "You need to find a hobby."

Aviana's brow creased as she watched him get up from his stool. "A hobby?" embarrassingly enough, she didn't actually know what that was.

"Yeah," he exclaimed. "You know, like an activity that you really like."

She raised an eyebrow, propping her chin up by the palm of her hand. "How am I meant to know what I like?" she asked.

Casanova simply shrugged, thinking for a moment as Aviana watched him sort through his thoughts. A lightbulb moment seemed to hit him as he grinned at her again. "I have the perfect idea," he claimed. "You don't get hungry easily, right?"