True to my word, I did my best to get Cora back. Although it seemed as if I was getting on her nerves, a little too much.
I knew where she worked and her work hours. Every morning for the past two weeks, I was waiting for her outside of her company with a cup of coffee. At first, she was both surprised and delighted. Then, she told me to stop stalking her, and that this wasn't going anywhere.
I showered her in gifts, which she always loved, but she put them all aside. At some point, I tried hiding and then meeting her at the coffee shop she frequented, but she figured it out quickly. She stopped going to that coffee shop.
''Didn't I tell you to knock it off?'' Cora's annoyance was visible on her face, eyes glaring at me with creased brows.
''Yes, but I also told you I'm not giving up on you.''
Cora sighed, annoyed. ''It's not making me forgive you, if anything, it's making me want to kill you for real.''
I grinned. ''That would be an honor.''
Cora walked out of the shop, and I followed suit. She paid no attention to me, and went about her business, though she did turn around once and glanced, to see if I was still behind her. An eye roll followed.
''Why are you so keen on annoying me?''
''Well,'' I decided that honesty was the best policy, ''I'm leaving soon. I'm going back to London, and I wanted to annoy you before I left.''
Her brows narrowed and she stopped. ''What? No. You can't leave.''
''Why? You want me here?'' I was teasing her, for the most part.
I didn't expect her expression to falter. For a moment, Cora seemed genuine sad. Her eyes flickered with an unknown emotion. Her lips pursed, and she avoided eye contact.
''Well, yeah, I do.'' She confessed, ''so I hope you rethink that decision. After all, you had a life here.''
I chuckled, and linked my arm with hers. She was taken aback, but didn't reject the advance. It made me too happy, even though it could've been a fleeting emotion. We continued to walk together for a while, without speaking.
We approached her company way too soon. Cora turned to look at me, a sad smile on her soft features.
''As much as I enjoyed your little stalking sprees, please don't do that anymore. Instead, just call me and let's go out for dinner or coffee.''
My smile couldn't have been wider. I nodded my head, and before I could utter another word, she slipped past me and walked into a building.
It was true that friendship break-ups were rougher than romantic ones. And no matter how much I wanted Elijah back, no moment with him could have compared to this. Cora was my soul mate, and hurting her was what I regretted the most.
The guilt was eating me alive, but after hearing her speak to me softly, like she used to, and smiling at me as if nothing had happened, I was more at ease. I was grateful that she'd given me another chance, and I wasn't a fool enough to let it slip through my fingers.
I turned on my heel, soft summer breeze hit my face as I walked down the busy street of New York. Truth be told, I missed this city beyond words.
Even the mere sight of busy streets, and even busier people brought joy. It was definitely different than London, and despite me loving both cities, nothing could ever compare to the city I grew up in.
I realized that I was no longer afraid. I wasn't afraid of Milo, I wasn't afraid of walking alone. I didn't look back in fear of someone following me, nor did it cross my mind that I might not reach home safely.
Of course, bad things were happening all the time, yet I stopped living in fear. That fear was eating me alive, and I was shocked how quickly and how easily I was able to let it all go. Perhaps, it was because I knew that Elijah would continue torturing Milo until his last, pathetic, dying breath, and even if he did somehow escape, there was no chance of him ever being brave enough to seek me out.
The most important thing was that I got my best friends back, and all that's left is to get Elijah back. Although it seemed like an impossible task, something in the air told me it might be a lot easier than I thought.
—
Midnight struck quickly. With a glass of red wine, and nothing but a silk robe on my body, I was sitting on the small terrace of the newly purchased apartment. Yes, I changed them, again. This time, I chose a smaller one, with a great view, in one of the best parts of the city.
Some soft music played, from a random playlist, whilst the night breeze hit my face, throwing my hair out of my face. I didn't count how many glasses of wine I had, but before I knew it, the first bottle was empty.
It wasn't some quality wine, and it didn't take me long to get tipsy.
My doorbell rang. It took me two whole minutes to understand that it wasn't in my head, nor due to my drunken state, but that someone was outside of the door. As it turned out, my survival instincts completely died, because I had no sense of danger.
I simply stood up, with a sigh of disappointment at the sight of an empty glass, and moved towards the door. It didn't affect me to the point of stumbling, but my vision did get blurry a little bit.
The door flung open, and I immediately took a few steps back. To hide the fact I was under the influence, I leaned against the wall, and crossed my arms in front of my chest.
''I'm getting worried,'' I said. ''You finding every single address I reside in is... weird as fuck.''
Elijah's response was to blink. He didn't invite me in, nor did he need an invitation. He was slowly approaching me, the look in his eyes promising me a lot of trouble.
I glanced at him, before completely ogling him, up and down. This was the first time I'd seen him so... underdressed. A pair of sweatpants, with a plain shirt. How was it possible for someone to look that good in everything?
''I think I told you this, but I will always find you.''
I laughed, too loud. ''First off all, I don't remember you ever saying that. Second, that's too cheesy. So, tell me, why are you here?''
Elijah quickly closed the door, and locked the door. I blinked, amused.
''Are you aware of how you look right now?''
I glanced down. The balls I got when under the influence was one of my biggest strengths. The robe had come undone, and despite my arms being folded, he had a full display of my chest. In any other moment, I would've felt embarrassed, tried to cover myself and apologize. But right now?
I threw the damn robe off my body, and watched it as it fell to the floor. My eyebrow raised, a slight smile on my lips.
''Yes.'' I responded, the way his eyes darkened only, but his gaze was on my face. He took a step forward. Boldly, I mimicked his actions until we were less than an inch apart.
His breathing was heavy, and I could feel his hot breath on my face. My cheeks were flustered, I felt my face getting hotter as silence surrounded us. It was suffocating, not uttering a word, but he was the one who approached me, who came to me. He needed to make the first step.
I tilted my head to the side. I couldn't stop my words as his silence began to piss me off. My resolve to have him make the first move lasted less than two minutes, but in the end, it was worth it.
''Does your future wife know where you are?''
His jaw clenched. ''Nina and I broke up.''
That caught me by surprise. I hoped that would happen, but was not sure if it ever would or I needed to get my hands dirty. I took a small step back, brows narrowed.
''Why?'' It was a useless question, and there was only one answer that would satisfy me.
Elijah took another step towards me. His finger came to my collarbone, leaving a trail of goosebumps where his touch used to be. His eyes were on mine, a hungry gaze that seemed to pierce through my soul.
''Because she wasn't the one for me,'' and that was the wrong answer. He was quick to continue. ''And because since the day I saw you again, I wanted to do this.''
He didn't waste another second. His lips fell on mine, leaving me shook.
That was the right answer.
—
HI!
Please read this!
As many of you know, I decided to take the step to self publish one of my books. It's a completely new story, though it's completely my style. If anyone wants to support this journey (and this is optional like I'm not forcing ANYONE) you can preorder the book on kindle! The paperback will be available on Amazon on August 24th
If you're interested in knowing more about it, the cover reveal, blurb reveal and a few snippets are on my instagram profile! @katkingwrites is the username
𝑷𝑹𝑬𝑶𝑹𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬: https://a.co/d/iTK3QdW