Corrupted hearts || 1

09

CHAPTER NINE ❦ AURELIA
"One...two....three," Vera says and both Angelina and I swallow the shots of tequila down our throats, the sharp taste hits the back of my throat but I hurry on the other shot, trying to win over Angelina.

We both finish almost at the same time, my face twists from the amount of alcohol I just drowned down my system, Vera eyes me, "You good?" She asks and I hold my thumbs up, she still looks suspicious but she doesn't push it.

What I assumed happened exactly, almost everyone I saw at college is here, from freshmen to Seniors, it was exciting, "It's midnight!" Angelina shouts over the music and I shrug.

"I'm not leaving right now." I insist, and she sighs, almost as if she's agreeing but doesn't want to admit it out loud, "So, you gonna start working tomorrow?" Vera asks, she's the least drunk out of all of us, if it wasn't for the dilation of her pupils I'd have said that she's completely sober.

"Yep, I'll need a jar of coffee to live after this." I exclaim dramatically over the music, they grin, Vera stares behind us and then grimaces, her eyes flitting to me frantically "Uh oh, I think your brother is here." She says and my lips part, eyes widening.

"He looks very angry too," Angelina adds, he'll probably inform dear mother and they'll both act as if I'm still in high school not a grown fucking adult, so if I want to spare their annoying speech, I need to hide.

"Cover for me," I say and don't wait for their replies as I get into the crowd, people are making out, dancing, and singing, he won't notice me among them, I disappear into the other side of the bar.

It's a bit quieter around here, except for the moans and grunts of the people making out, Jesus Christ, one of the guys who has two women in his arms, looks me right in my eyes, arching a brow as he gestures for me to come over, I dismiss him with a wave and stroll away but then right when I'm turning, my movements pause as my eyes clash with a familiar smoky pair.

Elias is staring right at me, while a woman is quite literally sitting on his lap, planting kisses down his neck, for a minute you'd think he's bored until amusement flashes over his face as his eyes stay on mine.

Then slowly, his hard eyes descend down my frame, the intensity of his stare making shivers run down my spine, the alcohol is doing its thing right now, it feels as if he's undressing me with his fucking stare, but at the same time, as if he's just bored,

He mutters something that I obviously can't hear from my place and the girl sitting on his lap gets off, a pout spread over her face before her gaze turns to me, annoyance filling her features as if I'm going to steal her asshole away or something.

She beautiful, with blonde hair that's as straight as ever and curves that molded perfectly against her short blue dress, almost as if she's too good for the motherfucker, but she looks like she's enjoying her time,

He strolls away from her and I realize way too late that he's approaching me until I find him in front of my fucking face, I crane my neck to meet his eyes, clearing my throat as I try to plaster my angry expression on, but right now, the alcohol isn't exactly giving me control.

I start to bypass him. Elias sidesteps in front of me. He's stupid tall. Stupid broad. Stupid everything.

"This night is about to get a lot more interesting." He rasps under his breath and I clench my jaw, taking a step back, to breathe anything but his scent, "leave me alone, and go back to the girl who looks like she wants to slap you because if you don't, I will." It's an empty threat but he doesn't need to know that.

He arches a brow, almost as if he's amused by my attempts at pushing him away, "How would Dylan feel if he saw his little sister here, hmm?" He asks, his voice low and annoying, just like his fucking face.

My expression falls and my earlier attempts to appear unaffected are crumbling all over the floor, I genuinely don't want him to do such a thing it's almost pathetic, but I'm not going to beg for it either.

He stares at me for a beat, and whatever he sees on my face makes his amused twisted expression falters, "Come with me." He orders gruffly and my brows furrow but I don't have time for an explanation as he walks away, so uncontrollably I start strolling after him.

I realize that we're now in front of the bathroom doors, it's hidden and cornered, and no one is in there, I suck in a breath and turn to face him, clearing my throat, "Thanks." I thank him because he probably saved me from the possibility of my brother following my every move till the end of my stay here.

His expression doesn't falter, devoid of emotion, but I don't bother with him as I keep looking around frantically, the sudden clutch he places on my arm makes my eyes snap to his dark ones, "Stop being paranoid, he doesn't know about this place." He assures in a harsh tone.

I squirm out of his hold and I only succeed because he eases it, "It's a bathroom, how doesn't he know?" I ask, confusion spreading through my body as my brows furrow, "It's not the main one." He doesn't offer further explanations, but the silence that stretches between us is uncomfortable, confining, and excruciating.

"Why are you suddenly acting like a human being?" I throw back his exact words back at him, his lips lifting, smirking as he ruffles his black hair, it's somewhere between tousled and slicked, I don't know why I focus on that.

The silence is back again, this time, I'm too tired to try and break it, my thoughts get the best of me as I recall every single moment that happened today, my stomach drops and any happiness I tried to plaster over my face is gone all over again.

"I s—" I start but Elias hovers his palm over my lips, so suddenly that my lips part, he shakes his head, telling me to stay silent, my heart thumps hard in my chest, shivers running down my spine as he stares down at me.

His demonic, smoky eyes bore into mine, a beat passes and then he pushes his palm away, my lips stay parted for a second before I shut them, "What was that?" I ask, sounding almost breathless it's embarrassing.

"Your brother was roaming around, his voice is recognizable." He explains, I let out a shrieked laugh, "Why would someone have such a strong sense of hearing?" I wonder out loud.

His expression darkens, becoming calloused and closed off, Jesus Christ, this man is unreadable I swear, nothing about him is understandable either, "For a lot of reasons." He replies harshly, any earlier gentleness in his voice is forgotten as he walks away back into the crowd.

Leaving me with unanswered questions and hundreds of thoughts that keep bubbling up in my mind, but they're all forgotten when Angelina and Vera come into view.

Their curious eyes keep flitting to Elias who's now back with the girl he was partially making out with, and then back to me, questions spiking behind them, I don't know how I feel about what just happened, it's weird and confusing even more.

It doesn't help with deciding if I should stay away from Elias or not, but either way, he's not exactly the welcoming type of a friend, but maybe he's not the psychopath people around here paint him to be.

But again, I know nothing about this man, however, there's no need to rush, I have a feeling that everything will be offered in front of my eyes even if I didn't ask for them, I just hope I'm ready for it.

"Let's go home," I say before they even offer anything.

A vote is really appreciated.