Strings

Chapter 25

"I miss you around me." She all but purrs.

My heart stops in my chest as I finally hear Hayden speak.

"Ana, I-"

Ana.

"Well well well, If it isn't the bitch that no one misses Anastasia Lockhart." a voice states from behind me cutting whatever Hayden was about to say, startling me and well I assume the two of them as well as I refuse to look at them.

"Avery Knight, pleasure as always." He says again falling into step next to me, as he lifts my hands and kisses on the back of it.

I look up to see Sam and I recall him as introducing himself as Hayden's best friend who I met the last time I was here.
Before shit went down majorly with me.

I find myself smiling at him, as I remember his easy-going personality and the ability to disintegrate tension no matter how thick by the sole quality of not giving a single shit.

Grateful for his appearance I smile back at him.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sam; how have you been?"

"Would've been way better if I found myself seeing more of you and less of that bitch who still refuses to leave." He responds back, sneer and mockery laced in his voice as he raises an eyebrow at the stunning redhead.

Anastasia Lockhart.
Ana.

Not knowing what to say, or do, I look anywhere else instead of Hayden and Ana.

"I don't remember talking to you Samuel." She sneers at him.

"And I remember security throwing you out the last time you showed up, and yet here we are." He retorts back.

My eyes widen at his statement. She came here recently? And was thrown out?
Well, that part didn't sting as much as the first one.
Atleast she was thrown out, right?

I stand there awkwardly refusing to look anywhere else but at Hayden and yet I can feel his eyes boring into me. The tension is so thick in the room right now it could be cut with a knife.
The knife sounds unusually tempting. I can use it to kill Hayden, and Ana.

An uncalled surge of fury rises up within me, surprising me with its intensity. As hurt and betrayed as I already felt it seemed to multiply by a thousand.
I had begun warming up to him to put it softly. And I thought-
God, I just thought he had begun warming up to me too.

The bitter tunes of heartbreak start playing all over in my very being and my eyes full up immediately and it's everything I can possibly do to not let them spill all over my face.
I guess, I am still just a contract to him. And he's helping me just out of the kindness in his heart.
I mean, not many people may know about it but I know first hand of how incredibly kind and soft he could be.

I guess-
I guess I just thought there was more to it than just that.
I guess, I hoped for it more.

"Alright that's enough, you get the hell out of here right now." Hayden's suave voice finally breaks the uncomfortable tension that had seemed to seep it's way all over his office.

Okay. That's alright. He wants me to leave. That's okay. I can do that.

I take a step back, trying to be inconspicuous.

"Avery."

His smooth authoritative voice halting my steps mid air. I can't bring myself to look at him, afraid of what I'll see.. afraid of who I will see.
I am not sure I'd be able to face that. That effortless rejection, knowing I was in over my head regarding all of this.

"Stay."

That makes me snap my eyes at him. And as always I am taken aback. The intensity of his gaze reeling me in and at the same time keeping me at bay. I don't know how he does it but I freeze. All coherent vision of Sam or the other girl or his office or his headquarters sort of swirls away and around as I can barely find myself to focus on anything else but him.

His deep ever-calculating, over-analyzing eyes bore into mine sensing the hesitation that I tried my best to cover. I can hear Sam clearing his throat and I can feel Anastasia darting eyes between the two of us, but I couldn't stop myself from looking at the man who had won over my heart anymore than I could stop breathing.

I see emotion filling his stoic eyes ever so slightly as he speaks again; I doubt anyone else could even notice the difference.

"Please?" He asks almost pleadingly. His voice just an octave lower, his stance almost see through. Vulnerability.
And for some weird reason that made me feel less alone.

"Okay." I respond back softly. Dropping my eyes down knowing I can't physically look at him any longer.

"Okay?" He follows up.

"Okay." I let out. Breathless for some reason, like this conversation was more than it seemed to be.

"Okay." He responds; with a hint of smile gracing his gorgeous face. Ever-so-softly.
I couldn't help but smile too.

"Oh-kayyyyy, now that we have established how much all of us mean to each other,
I love you guys too, thanks for letting me be a part of your weird 6 foot apart make out sesh
Can we all just finally throw the no good stubborn ass bitch outta here? I am feeling pukish already!" Sam says breaking out the peaceful reverie that Hayden and I had somehow managed to wrap ourselves in.

Hayden finally looks away from me, addressing Anastasia.

"We don't want to repeat what happened here last time, but if you don't get the fuck out in the next 5 seconds then well, security is already on their way up."

"Your call."

She scoffs at Hayden, sneering all the way.
Just tapping her foot impatiently as if she was calling off an elaborate bluff, waiting to catch up on a hint, or anything for that matter, to show that he wasn't serious and she didn't fall for it at all.
That part fell to pieces when she heard the elevator ding knowing it was Hayden's security.

"This is the last time you'll ever hear from me Hayden Knight." She sneers at him as she stomps out of the room.

"Not one of us is complaining." Sam scoffs behind me.

"Okay, let's get down to business. Lots of things to cover, lots of things to map out." He continues almost shoving me into the room.

"Yeah. Let's." I say, taking a deep breath suddenly reminded of the mammoth of a task that lay before us and that it was entirely up to us to not only create some wiggle room for us but to get the hell out of there.

*****

HI GUYS!!!
How have you all been? Here is a nice lovely update for y'all to enjoy and so sorry it took so long 😭

Do tell me how you think Avery, Hayden and Sam will wrap things up and find a solution to get out of this mess? I love reading your theories!

Also also also
Like always, vote, comment and spread the word on this little book of mine and keep interacting. You already know I LOVE hearing from you, genuinely makes me happy! 🥺

Love like always,
Xxxx