HER || 18+ (Monsters #2) || Sequel to THEM

67 - Freed

. . .

Olivia Woods

I gave Zavier ice and sweatpants (which were Ivan's) and then hid in my room. Neither Ivan nor Daisy had shown the least amount of surprise with Zavier's being here, they had only looked confused when I said he'd stay in the guestroom.

Everyone thought the breakup didn't happen, even after the news of Ashton's...wedding.

I knew they'd have to eventually do their duties. That didn't mean that the headline didn't burn a hole through my heart.

I changed into another giant T-shirt and comfortable shorts. I looked at the canvas sitting in the corner of my room, completely black with a hint of color in the middle. I wasn't an abstract person, but there were times I just needed to smear my hands into paint and let them sculpt.

The storm only seemed to have gotten worse. It roared and made the whole city tremble. The lightning struck, several times, making it hard to fall asleep, but easier to be alive. The storms were beautiful. Chaos was always addicting.

So eventually, after an hour of turning in my bed, writing in my journal (which must be sick of the sad things I wrote), and glaring at my sketchbook when I couldn't draw anything, I decided to walk out of my room.

The living room was empty. Ivan was probably sleeping in his room - or her room. Zavier's door was firmly shut.

I lay down on the couch, looking out of the apartment through a giant window. This is life now. Beautiful city. Terrible mind.

"....yes she asked me to stay, because of the storm." Zavier shut his door, walking towards the open kitchen. "Yeah, she knew. She didn't sound happy about it. No one is fucking happy about it."

"I am fucking fine, Ashton. These bruises don't even hurt. No, I didn't ice them."

"Olivia is sleeping. Pick me up in the morning, I don't think she'll be happy to let me go on my bike. 'Night. No, I don't know where my phone is."

I blinked, trying to listen to what he was doing. I was curled into a ball on the couch.

I turned my head and almost screamed. "Zavier!"

He raised his eyebrows and straightened up. "Someone was eavesdropping."

"I wasn't. You just didn't notice me."

He shook his head and sat down on a chair near me. And that was when I realized he was half naked - which made sense because I only have his sweatpants. He didn't like to sleep in a T-shirt.

I sat up, tucking my knees to my chest and the thin blanket I had on my lap.

I noticed the extra ink on his forearms. He had gotten more tattoos. The lines seemed to intertwine, leaves hung from them. They were beautiful.

Zavier didn't speak for a while.

"You should be sleeping."

"I can't. The storm is too loud."

I grabbed the remote. "Do you want to watch something?"

"Like?"

"I don't know. Whatever bad movie is making money?"

He lifted a shoulder slightly. "Okay."

I selected a random one, just to have something fill the silence between us.

I set my head on the armrest. I could almost smell him. I had almost forgotten how he smelt like, how he seemed to have heat waves coming off of him.

I tucked the blanket to my chest, watching the movie.