Deal • REWRITE • BOOK 1

14; One of Those Nights

"I'm a big girl Lucien, I don't need your shadow following me everywhere,"

L U C I E N

"Don't do it...it's for your own good."

I licked my lips, registering Aria's words and watching the way she tucked her hair behind her ears. Her voice echoed in my head and for a moment I zoned out, the world around me suddenly sounding distant as I stared at her and then shook my head to force myself out of the headspace I was slowly slipping into.

"No need to warn me because that's not going to happen," I reassured her simply, watching again as she rolled her eyes at me and then leaned forwards to sip her drink, the music in the bar sounding out as the lights dimmed a little more and an array of rainbow LED strip lighting suddenly bordered the walls.

It made my eyes squint uncomfortably as I sighed lightly and took another sip of my beer, the bitter tasting liquid coating the inside of my throat for a split second before my chest warmed. The taste of it lingered on my tongue as I licked my bottom lip, my head turning to observe the bar again as the music increased in volume and in turn made a group of friends at the far end erupt into cheers.

On My Mind by the Disciples played loudly over the speakers, the bass thumping in my chest as I looked back towards Aria who was now drinking the drink that I'd rejected. I stared once again, ignoring the fact that I seemed to be doing it a lot lately as she aimlessly kept the straw in her mouth when she typed a message on her phone.

My chest tightened once again when I suddenly remembered what she'd said previously, my eyebrows furrowing as a frown marred my face when I put down the ugly feeling in my chest to the heavy bass that was thumping inside of it.

Goddámn stupid music.

I huffed to myself, swallowing another mouthful of beer and altering my gaze from Aria back to the bar, my eyes suddenly set on the same stupid blonde man who had been sitting in my seat previously.

Involuntarily I glared at the back of Paolo's head, unexpected adrenaline flooding my system when I wondered what would happen if I shot him from across the room in plain sight. It would've been easy, a quick flick of my fingers joined by my impressive accuracy meaning that I could kill him in less than five seconds if I wanted to.

Which I did.

Fire burned in my chest, a smug feeling overwhelming my body as I thought about it until the abrupt loud slurping coming from Aria made me turn to look at her again.

"Did you just drink that entire thing in less than a minute?" I asked her, involuntarily amused by the look on her face when she scrunched up her features and mumbled brain freeze whilst nodding at me.

"All the ice melted. It was barely alcohol by the time I got to it," she said, poking her tongue out of her mouth and cringing before she shivered and picked up her purse. A smile ghosted over my lips before I realised and went back to frowning, my face scrunched for a different reason just as I watched Aria pull out some money and go to put it on the table.

"You're stupid," was all I said to her when I reached for my wallet and watched her eyes widen for a split second as I moved out of the booth and walked towards the bar, my eyes searching for where Paolo had previously been standing until I realised he was nowhere to be seen.

Lucky for him, I thought smugly when I pictured the fictional thought that was me blowing his head clean off his spine and the splatter of blood that would coat the walls as a result. It repeated in my head and made me inhale a relaxed breath as I kept walking towards the bar, my vision moving back to Aria as I turned once I'd reached the bar to pay for our drinks. She stayed sitting in the booth and watched me with her head tilted slightly, her one raised eyebrow making me mock her reaction when the bartender swiped my card for the amount of money that was due and the hefty tip I left just because I could.