by A. Marie
Despite how much he hated himself for it, he opened the bedroom door and looked down into Avelina's piercing blue eyes. Her eyes were the only eyes he could ever remember seeing. The blue of them seemed to pull him in and shut the rest of the world out.
"Avelina.”
"I don't like this place that we're in right now. I'm not saying that I don't care for you because you know that I do. I am trying to say that maybe when I'm no longer your care-provider in two more months, we should try to be something more. Who knows?" Avelina laughed off before continuing, "maybe you'll be tired of me by then."
'I would never be tired of you,' he thought.
"Okay.”
She laughed softly before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into an embrace. Her head rested on his chest, leaving him to sigh. He hated hugs more than he hated Johnathan, but with Avelina, they were his favorite things in the world.
Adrik watched as Avelina pulled away from him with a huge smile on her face. He loved it when she smiled. Everything about Avelina was mesmerizing, but it was especially her smile.
"Come downstairs for breakfast. You are supposed to eat in exactly... Ten minutes!" She shrieked.
Avelina quickly darted out of his room and into the kitchen, where she began to make his food.
-
Avelina had finished making Adrik’s food when he entered the kitchen.
Just as she was about to speak, the doorbell rang. Avelina dried her hands off on a towel before traveling over to the front door. When she pulled it open, she was greeted by a delivery man. The man held out a clipboard and pen for her to sign in order to receive her package.
She signed everything she needed to sign before bidding the kind man a goodbye. Avelina shut the door and walked over to the couch, where she set the package down. She didn't waste any time uncovering what was inside.
A gasp left her mouth when she saw that it was a beautiful gold, sparkly dress.
Avelina could feel someone's eyes on her. When she turned to the source, she saw it was Adrik staring at her. He was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Did you get this for me?" She asked him, hoping that it was him who picked it out and not Zaria. She would feel better knowing that it was he who picked out her dress only because it solely reminded him of her.
"Yes.”
She nodded her head and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. As much as she tried to hide her blush, she knew he could see it.
"I love it. Thank you.”
Adrik’s hand grazed her hip as he walked up to her.
"We have to leave for the wedding in two hours. Please be sure you are ready.”
CHAPTER TEN
Care for Fears
After quite a few hours, Avelina had finished her light makeup. She wished she could do more of a luxurious look, but she never took the time out to learn beyond the basics of makeup.
She glanced down at the gold dress that did her figure an immense amount of justice. The material hugged her every curve and emphasized her breast, seeing as the dress left a long slit for cleavage. However, that wasn't the only slit on the dress. There was also a slit at the bottom that stretched higher than mid-thigh. Everything about the dress was beautiful.
Avelina walked into her closet and grabbed her gold stilettos.
She wasn't much of a 'heel' kind of girl. Avelina always wore shoes that slipped on quickly. Her closet back at home was full of shoes like vans and converse.
After she put on the shoes and took her time to strap them in, she stood up and instantly felt twice as tall. Her heels clattered against the flooring as her hair bounced with her every move.
Just as Avelina exited the room, a smile grew on her face. She felt amazing and couldn't wait to share her look with Adrik.
Avelina almost sprinted to the top of the staircase just to see Adrik. The second her gaze met his, she couldn't help but smile. His eyes wandered down her body, tracing every curve.
The gold looked just as beautiful as he thought it would on her. It was entrancing.
She made sure not to rush because she didn't want to fall and embarrass herself. However, despite how careful she was being, it didn't stop gravity on her last step because she managed to lose balance. Luckily for her, Adrik was quick to latch onto her waist only to steady her.
As he held onto her, she could not stop her arms that curled around his neck. Her eyes moved down to his lips as the temptation to kiss him oh-so-badly only intensified. Her words and mixed emotions had only complexed the burning passion that just continued to grow between them.
"Avelina," he said.
She looked away from his plump lips.
"Adrik.”
"I do not know what you want from me.”
Avelina started to pull away, but he only pulled her right back.
Her body was flush against Adrik’s, and all she could pick up on was how amazing he smelled and how perfect it felt to be in his arms.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down at absolutely nothing.
His hand lightly grasped her chin before slowly craning her head up to gaze into his eyes.
He leaned down. His eyes were flickering from her lips to her eyes before wandering back down to her lips.
The closer he got, Avelina could feel her heartbeat exhilarating.
Adrik’s lips hovered above her own, grazing her top lip that protruded out a little further than her bottom one. The lip gloss she wore had gotten slightly smeared on his lips, but he did not care. All he cared about was how magnetic their attraction was to one another. Neither could pull away due to this invisible force that stuck them together.
"Just tell me what you want from me," he spoke.
He could hear her breathing harder. Even her arm around his neck was tightening. He knew that she was fighting with her mind on exactly what to say at that moment.
"Kiss me," she whispered against his lips.
He pulled her waist even closer and pressed his lips to hers. Her body immediately melted against his, while one of his hands traveled up to her hair. Her silky strands welcomed his dominance as he gripped her hair and aggressively pulled her closer to him only to get rid of every inch that separated them.
She parted her lips, and he made sure to take advantage of that. His tongue swept against her own. Her whole body felt like a flame that left behind nothing but sparks and tingles. There was such a hunger and intensity that he engraved with each stroke of his lips.
Avelina didn't realize her hand had crept down to the waistband of his pants, but Adrik did. Every touch she left behind only led to Adrik's need for her to strengthen, to pulsate.
It was like he couldn't get enough of her soft lips. Even her quiet moan against his lips was better than any song Beethoven had ever written.
He was gently pulling away only to enjoy the way she pushed her lips even closer just to keep kissing him. She didn't want it to end, just like Adrik didn't want it to end. It took everything within him to not throw her on the sofa and have her in a million different ways.
Suddenly, there was a knock that pounded on the door. Avelina jumped and was quick to pull away just before slipping from Adrik's arms.
Her eyes immediately dropped down to look at the ground as she realized what just happened. That kiss felt like it was more than a kiss. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Adrik.
Adrik stared at her. He was trying to figure out what was going on in her mind and why she wouldn't even bother to spare him a glance. When another knock echoed against the door, Adrik turned away from Avelina. He pulled open the front door and quickly grew frustrated when he saw Viktor had been outside the door.
"What the fuck do you want?" Adrik questioned in Russian.
Viktor glanced over at Avelina, his eyes trailing down her body. He had never seen a woman in Adrik's home before, but he understood how she managed to squeeze through Adrik's scary exterior. She looked to be the most beautiful woman Viktor had ever seen.
"The wedding," Viktor spoke.
Adrik noticed the way his eyes were on Avelina. "If you ever look at her again, I will kill you, along with everyone you have ever loved.”
Viktor gave Adrik a curt nod before turning on his heel and heading into his car.
"Avelina," Adrik called out to her.
She finally looked at him with a look he couldn't seem to figure out. Was she angry, sad?
He wanted to punch something out of frustration. He wanted to be able to talk to Avelina. He needed to find some way for her to choose him.
Adrik couldn't help but feel down at the thought that maybe that is why she didn't want him. It was because he couldn't care for her the way she wanted him to.
He hated himself more than he ever hated anything because Adrik wished he was normal. Just like what everyone used to scream at him when he was a kid, 'be normal.’ His mother said it, his father said it. At some point, Adrik would repeat those words to himself every day. Be normal.
When Adrik was a kid, he couldn't help it when he would repeat the slang people would use around him to practice normal communication. They punched and bruised him just because he only wanted to help when he told the boy that he needed to brush his teeth more, and the girl that she should stop eating so nasty because she resembled a cow with the way she chewed her food.
No one noticed him with a purple and bloody face because everyone was so happy that it finally swelled his lips shut. No longer were words seeping from his mouth to anyone only because he was scared.
He had no friends at school. All the teachers knew he was too smart for his age, so they didn't interact with him much because they didn't feel the need. Every time they tried to talk to the odd boy, he would ramble about Ludwig van Beethoven.
They found him strange in the way he never ate any food at school. He always had to eat the same thing at the same hour. He held such great posture with big gray eyes that were so eager to learn something new. His vocabulary from so many different languages were already so articulate that he sounded more intelligent than his teachers. It scared the other kids. It scared the teachers.
No one ever chose him until he got older and wealthy. No one ever picked him until he had gotten powerful, so it struck fear into everyone.
As he looked at Avelina, he realized that she could see what those kids at school had seen in him. A weird, strange, odd little boy who will never be normal.
"I'm sorry. I was caught up in the heat of the moment, and it won't happen again. It was a mistake," Avelina told him.
He looked away from her as he finally recognized exactly how she was feeling—ashamed. He knew she was ashamed of the kiss, ashamed of how she felt, and, most of all, she was ashamed of him.
"I agree.”
She looked at him, surprised. Knowing that Adrik never tells a lie, it only seemed to hurt her. At least deep down, she knew she was only lying to herself. She enjoyed that kiss, and it scared her how much she wanted more of him.
"Adrik," she spoke, grasping his arm.
He snatched his arm from her hold and began to walk towards the door where he held it open for her.
"I am not sure what you learned about autism, but I am not a fucking robot. I feel everything you are telling me, and it hurts. You tell me you do not want me, but then you tell me to kiss you. So, I kissed you, and now you tell me you don’t want me again. Well, for once, I do not want you. So, yes, Avelina, the kiss was a mistake. It will always be a mistake.”
Without another word, he walked out of the house and left her stummed. She never expected that from him.
Her head hung low in sadness as she walked out of the house and towards the vehicle. Slowly, she made her way into the car. Her gaze cast out the window when the door shut, and the car began to move.
-
At the wedding, Avelina was standing by a group of screaming women with a frown on her face. She kept thinking back to what happened with Adrik. He was right about everything. She was aware that it was unfair to play with his emotions as she tried to figure out her own.
When she glanced over at Adrik, who looked as handsome as ever, her frown only deepened. Avelina did not want to ruin her job. Being with a client is like a teacher being with her student; It was wrong. Not only was being with Adrik wrong, but she could jeopardize her job. Yet, as her eyes gleamed over at him, she wanted it to be right.
It didn't matter, though. Avelina had already jeopardized everything. He didn't bother to say one word to her after they had gotten into the car. She had sat by him at the wedding reception, but he busied himself by speaking to the groom when the after-party began.
Suddenly, Avelina's eyes grew wide as her hands instinctively latched onto a bouquet that the bride had thrown in front of her face.
Her heart was racing when she looked up and saw the happy smile on the bride's face. All that occupied Avelina's mind was that she caught the bouquet. Based on the numerous movies Avelina had seen, she knew what that meant; she would be married next. Of course, it was only a myth, but it still wouldn't slow the fast pace of her heart.
Out of nowhere, A set of arms pulled Avelina into them. Based on the flowery scent, she knew it had to be the bride. Avelina looked over at her, smiling lightly, even though nervousness was occupying her brain.
"Are you a friend of Valentino's?" The bride had asked.
Avelina gazed at the woman's blonde hair before her eyes dropped down to her swollen belly. She was a gorgeous bride, and Avelina couldn't help but wonder how someone so angelic married someone as scary as Valentino.
"Oh, no-”
"Anastasia, I would like you to meet a friend of mine, Adrik Zolotov," Valentino spoke to his wife, coming from absolutely nowhere.
Avelina's eyes wandered over to Adrik, who looked at her before looking away. She couldn't help but sigh in response. He was still pissed, and she knew that she deserved it.
"Hi, nice to meet you," the bride, who Avelina guessed was named Anastasia, had smiled at Adrik.
Avelina knew she had to do her job of talking for Adrik at the moment. There was still tension between them, but she took a deep breath and pushed it aside.
"He is having a great time. He also would like to thank you for inviting us," Avelina spoke.
She felt a chill run down her spine as Adrik placed his hand on her lower back. She knew that meant she had done a great job. It also gave her a sprout of hope that maybe she could fix their friendship.
The confusion was as clear as day on Anastasia's face, but her smile never faltered.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Anastasia began. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name.
"My name is Avelina," she smiled. "We are so happy to be here and can't wait to see more of you both. If you will excuse us, we were just about to dance."
After Anastasia had nodded her head, Avelina guided Adrik to the tables. She wanted to talk to him and to clear up everything. One thing Avelina began to dislike was when Adrik was upset with her
When no one was within hearing range any longer, she sighed. Her heart opened, and she was ready for it to spill out. As Adrik looked off in the distance, she gazed at him and saw everything she couldn't have but genuinely wanted.
"Adrik, I-"
Her mind kept nagging her about what she was going to say next. There were so many words compiling up, but nothing coming out.
Her heart shattered as she watched him get up and walk away from her. It broke even more when she saw a woman ask him for a dance. She couldn't help bearing the sight, so she turned away. No matter what happens between them, it was all her fault.
"Avelina!" A voice called out.
Avelina turned to look at the source only to see it was the bride, Anastasia. A smile quickly plastered itself onto Avelina's face. She also couldn’t help but notice the raven-haired girl as she strolled right beside Anastasia.
"Hi," Avelina spoke, glancing between Anastasia and the woman beside her.
"This is Bella, my sister-in-law
, and my best friend. Bella, this is Mr. Zolotov's plus-one, Avelina," Anastasia said, smiling as Bella held her hand out for Avelina to shake.
The duo moved to either side of Avelina; this left Avelina to be in the middle of Anastasia and Bella.
"So, the hot man in the bun is your boyfriend?" Bella asked.
Anastasia narrowed her eyes before pinching her friend's arm.
"Ow! Stop always pinching," Bella spoke as she rubbed her arm lightly.
"No, he's not my boyfriend," Avelina chuckled, her eyes moving over to Adrik.
He must've told the girl who had asked him for a dance 'no' because now he was talking to the groom, Valentino.
"You have to ignore Bella. She has always been nosy," Anastasia stated.
Bella's mouth dropped as she dramatically placed her hand on her hips. "I am not nosy.”
Out of nowhere, a man walked up to them. He had a lot of tattoos that were practically on every inch of his skin aside from his face. Avelina had never seen someone so tatted before. However, it didn’t look bad on him.
"Baby, come dance with me," he said, holding his hand out to Bella.
She smiled at him before slipping her hand into his. Just as he began to drag her to the dance floor, she turned around and waved goodbye to Avelina.
"That's Vincenzo, her husband," Anastasia said.
Avelina nodded her head in response. They looked so different. Bella appeared to be harmless, while Vincenzo seemed dangerous.
Shifting her gaze, Avelina tried to look at Adrik, but he was gone. Her eyebrows pulled together.
"So, how long have you been working for Mr. Zolotov?" Anastasia asked.
"About a month.”
Unexpectedly, Avelina could hear a loud bang. The guest seemed to have noticed but assumed it was all a part of the party because they cheered loudly. However, Avelina didn't take it as lightly.
When Avelina saw someone running in all black, she jumped up out of her seat and quickly ran off in the sound’s direction. Anastasia swiftly followed as best as she could, but it was difficult due to her pregnant belly.
"Oh, my god!"