Aria's POV:
It sunk into my head. Ryder's on the loose. My ex boyfriend who's also a fucking rapist is on the loose.
"You're fucking with us." I laugh. Ian looks away. Shit...
"Aria, I wish I were lying to you."
"Let's worry about Ryder tomorrow, if he comes in here, I'll simply shoot him."
"Derek, I was only able to have him held here because he was after Aria. I can't re-capture him if he goes back to them. That was the deal." Ian explains. Derek sighs and I down another glass of whiskey.
"Like I said, we'll both be drunk and I have a gun." Derek says.
"Yeah, but you're not touching it. I'll shoot if he walks in." I suggest. I start to feel a little buzzed, but not much.
"Derek, when you're not high, we need to discuss business." Ian says before leaving. Derek just waves.
I lean back with the bottle of whiskey in my hand. Fuck the glass shit at this point. Derek leans on the backboard of the bed next to me. I can smell the booze. I chuckle to myself, I might actually like drunk Derek.
"Well, preziosa, I'm sorry. I seem to be really fucking drunk."
"And stoned." I laugh. I take another swig of the drink. I can't complain, this is amusing. Derek puts a hand on my leg. I don't move, I just let it rest there. Derek closes his eyes for a brief moment.
"I'm sorry." Derek says in all seriousness.
"For what?" I ask.
"Bringing you into this shit. I'm so sorry. I should have never taken you that day! I-." Derek explains. I see him shed a tear.
"Hey, Hey, look at me." I say softly. Derek's eyes meet mine. They're full of sorrow and guilt. "You didn't do this. I promise, and don't blame you at all. My mother was the one who initiated all of this!" I say with an arm wrapped around Derek. I keep my eyes locked in his. He must be an honest drunk.
Derek nods and lays on my torso as I resume my show. I stroke through his fluffy blonde hair while he lays his head on my torso. I feel horrible! He shouldn't blame himself! My mother's the one who made the deal. I hope she's suffering in hell for all eternity.
A few minutes later, I hear my favorite song on the TV show. I start to sing along to it softly. Derek finds this comforting and almost instantly falls asleep. I turn off the lamp right next to me. I decide to go to sleep. I lean down on the pillow being careful not to wake Derek. Not long after closing my eyes, I fall asleep.
The next morning Derek wakes up before me. My hand rests on his head. His head lifts from my body. My eyes flash open. Derek looks at me and furrows his eyebrows in confusion.
"What the fuck did I do last night?" He asks.
"Nothing bad. I promise."
"What did I do?"
"Just made me laugh a lot. You're funny when you're drunk." I explain. It's probably better that I don't mention how he broke down. He'll feel weak, and right now, he needs to feel strong.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed when it hits me. Ryder.
"Derek, there's something else that happened to." I say sadly turning around to face Derek. He lays flat on his back holding his head.
"What else did I do?" Derek asks full of embarrassment.
"Derek, Ryder escaped. You need to talk to your father as soon as possible." I explain. Derek's eyes go wide. He gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom. I hear the water turn on. I don't feel like getting dressed today, so I grab one of Derek's shirts instead. I'm assuming Derek will be with his business guys all day.
I grab my phone and go downstairs. Derek made sure his top hacker disabled my phone so that calling and texting doesn't work. I don't mind. I still have Instagram to scroll through. I sit on the couch and sigh.
"Hey, Aria." Noah says walking up to me.
"Hey."
"Where's Derek?" He asks me.
"Upstairs showering off the weed and booze." I joke.
"I knew he'd regret it, I warned him. I only had a few smokes and beer because I had to close a deal later, but I still warned him." Noah explains. After Noah came when I got shot, we've talked a lot. I've gotten to know him pretty well.
I chuckle. "What have you guys been up to?" I ask.
"Well, not much, just killing the idiots who let your ex boyfriend get away, and discussing how to get him back without starting a war with the Diamond Eyes. You know, the usual shit." Noah explains.
"Sounds fun." I say. I stand up and walk past Noah to the kitchen. Noah stands by the kitchen island while get some water.
I take a drink as Noah focuses intently. "Now I understand why Derek speaks so highly of you. You're beautiful." Noah says with his eyes wide and eyebrows raised.
"Thank you!" I laugh. Noah's complements make my day. I know he doesn't like me the way Derek does, but I do enjoy his complements. They make me feel not totally useless. I hear foot steps from the stairs. Derek comes into view. I still have half my cup of water. He looks like shit, even after a show.
"Here, you need it more than I do." I chuckle while handing Derek my glass of water. Derek, with no hesitation, takes the glass. Derek nods at me signaling a thank you. I giggle in return.
"Let's go, dick, we have shit to do." Noah laughs. Derek glares at him while finishing the water. I stand there smiling at the 2. Derek puts the glass in the sink and whispers something my ear.
"Don't worry about Ryder, si?" Derek says pull away from my face. I nod. Derek and Noah walk to Derek's office. There's well over 5 people in his rather large office. Something better be resolved today.