Unexpected Love ✔️

T H I R T Y E I G H T

Chapter Thirty-eight 

A R I A N N A

I watch as my call once again goes to voicemail. It's been hours since he stormed out of here and Aria showed up at the penthouse, claiming that he's about to go on a rampage since he got into Sierra's face back at the apartment.

I get that it's a lot to wrap your head around. But would I be lying if I said his reaction surprised me? I mean, him leaving doesn't surprise me in the least. It's what he did after that surprises me because it's the Adrian King that has a reputation around campus acting out of rage and fear I suppose. I mean storming into my old apartment just because he could and getting into my friend's face, screaming and punching Kayden when he told him to back off because he was blinded by rage and couldn't see straight. That's not my Adrian. This is not the actions of the guy who held me when my mom died. This is not the same Adrian King I have come to know over the past couple of months. Those are the action of a hurt and bruised ego talking.

And if he doesn't wanna be with him because I'm damaged... then I guess I get it. It totally fucking sucks but I can't blame him. I won't. Blame him that is.

Should I have told him sooner? Probably. If I could go back, would I tell him sooner? Fuck no.

Because self-preservation only gets you so far, or so I'm told. And I knew from the second I let him in that I would end up getting scorned alive by him. But I did it anyway, knowing that my past would impact both of us. But I let fear get in the way, I see that now, by putting it off and pushing what happened to the back of my mind, pretending that it didn't happen.

I couldn't heal because I kept pretending I wasn't hurt. You can't slap a bandaid on a gunshot wound and expect the bleeding to stop.

Pretending that it didn't happen, pretending and convincing myself and everyone around me that I was fine and eventually I started to believe the lies I would tell myself. I had gotten good at pretending that I was keeping everything together when in reality all it would take, all it would ever take is one wrong move and I'd snap.

Nothing more than a pile of ashes on the floor.

My head snaps up at the sound of the elevator arriving on the main floor. There are only a select handful of people who know the access code; Zayn, Aria and the rest of my siblings. One of them is Adrian.

I force myself to stay put, avoiding meeting Zayn's eyes as he moves around the kitchen, I hear a heavy set of footstep approached, stopping at the kitchen doorway. I hear Zayn release a sharp sigh before excusing himself, leaving the two of us in the kitchen, not without glaring at Adrian on his way past, knocking his shoulder against his as he leaves.

"I'm sorry for walking out, Ari," He offers, walking around the counter and holding out a caramel frappuccino from Starbucks. The thought makes my heart swoon before I remind that bitch we're supposed to be mad at him. I bite back a smile as he places the drink on the counter in front of me, sending him a bored look."I just needed some space to think clearly,"

I want the kind of love my parents had.

The kind that never fades, and can withstand the test of time spent apart and the distance that lies between us. The kind of love where I know I can get through anything as long as we have each other. I can get through whatever happens because I have him and he has me. I wanna be his safe place.

He releases a defeated sigh, "It's not like that, Ari," He offers, rounding the kitchen island and moving to my side. "It's complicated,"

"How about you uncomplicate it then?" I snip, peering up at him through my lashes to find him already looking at me. His eyes darken to an almost pitch-black colour before he shakes his head.