sixty four

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ATHENAS POV.

The two weeks leading up to Neptune and I's release went by much slower then I hoped, by this point I was willing to kiss the sidewalk outside the hospital just because I could finally breath in fresh - non sanitized smelling - air.

I tugged at my sweater sleeves and watched as the staff buzzed around the crowded floor. Trailing closely behind Dad and Demitri, I made sure not to stray too far to as they led me through the hotel lobby.

It seemed as if everyone was busy with themselves but few guest took their time to stare at me; while majority of them were clad in name brand clothes and jewels, I was strolling through in sweats and an oversized hoodie along with some healing yet still visual face injuries.

Damn, I'm just the odd one out aren't I?

Yes. Yes you are.

Thank you so much for your input.

I would say you're welcome but I know you're being sarcastic.

Stepping into the elevator, I finally felt like I could breathe without my every move being critiqued. I sighed and leaned against Demitri, clutching at his arm in attempt to distract myself from the queasy feeling in my stomach as we ascended to eighth floor.

I hate elevators, they make me feel sick.

Soon enough the elevator came to a stop and the reflective doors opened, marble and gold outlines made up the floor and down each hall were several beige doors.

Stepping out onto the polished tile, I continued to trail behind as they started down the hall, stopping at a door near the very end.

Pulling a card out of his pocket, Dad swiped it across the doors keypad and waited for the red light to blink green, once it had he pushed the door open and gestured me in.

I walked through the doorframe and looked around, finding Levi and Giovanni casually wrestling on the floor meanwhile Elias and Landon conversed on the couch.

Where's Adriano?

My eyes swept across the open room and I fought the urge to block my eyes from the blinding sunlight that spilled in through the windows.

Turning around to purposely face my back to the light, I finally saw Adriano, he had his back turned to us as he grabbed a water out the fridge.

Demitri called out to him and he glanced over his shoulder, dropping the unopened water bottle and quickly crossing the room with open arms.

"You're free!"

Adriano shoved Demitri away from my side with a grin and wrapped his arms around me, being extremely gentle as he rocked us back and forth a bit. I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his torso.

Once he started to let me go - which had taken a while - I was grabbed by the arm and pulled over, stumbling straight into Levi and Landon.

I steadied myself before hugging them back, shaking my head when I heard Giovanni mutter something about Adriano acting as if I was 'just released from prison' which was followed by a loud smack.

Pulling away from Levi and Landon, the boys were soon gestured out by Dad, yelling that they promise to see me later before walking down the hall.

"Before I leave I wanted to give you this," I looked down at Dad's out stretched hand to see a brand new phone, "I had a friend transfer the data from your last one, numbers, photos, text, it's all there."

I half-smiled and grabbed the phone from his hand, with the quick movement the screen lit up and I saw the same Lock Screen from my old phone.

It was picture of me, Nep, and Bell from the night we snuck out and got arrested, I almost shook my head at the memory.

My eyes trailed over the screen, Neptune was the closest to the camera with crossed eyes and her tongue sticking out meanwhile I stood in front of a graffiti covered wall with my arms spread out and head back, blue accented angel wings sprouted from behind me and ended nearly five feet above my head.
Bellamy stood to the other side of the frame and was nearly covered in shadows, even with his hood up there was a clear smile on his face as he held up a can of spray paint.

I pursed my lips tightly.

It's taking everything in me not to sob right here and now.

"Thanks Dad, I appreciate it."

"No problem Bambina, call me if you need me alright? And make sure to call one of us if your ribs start hurting at all." He kissed the crown of my head then took his leave, placing the keycard on the side table before walking out the door.

I waited until his footsteps were out of earshot then rubbed my eyes and sighed. With no desire to look around further, I headed straight back to the bedroom and dropped my phone on the bed, moving across the room and grabbing my prepacked duffle bag before entering what I guessed to be the bathroom.

The bathroom itself was simple, only containing a glass shower, sink, and toilet which left a lot of floor space.

Stripping out of my clothes, I turned the knob and waited for the water to heat up before stepping in the shower, relishing in the feeling of the warm water on my skin.

I relaxed my shoulders and rinsed my hair, taking advantage of the current blank state of my mind as I lathered soap and shampoo on my body and hair.

Finally, I won't smell like a damn hospital.

I stepped out when my finger tips started to wrinkle, by that time the room was filled with steam and the mirror was fogged over. Wrapping a towel around my torso, I dried off and brushed out my hair before rummaging through the duffel bag of clothes.

After I was dressed I stepped out the bathroom and walked across the room, throwing myself down on the bed and nestling under the heavy duvet.

My hands wandered under the cover until I found my phone, raising it to my face level before unlocking it and scrolling through everything.

Dad certainly wasn't lying when he said his friend transferred everything...

I looked through my camera roll for a while, smiling when I came across a few videos that Neptune had taken without me knowing.

Bellamy was in almost all of them, usually telling Neptune to put my phone down to which she stuck her tongue out at him and he did the same back.

A tear slid down my cheek and onto the pillow.

I just wish we could go back to this.

When did things get so damn complicated..?

After a couple hours of looking through my phone, the sun had set and stars could be seen clearly in the sky. For a while I was dreading another insomnia episode but soon enough my eyes started to droop and my clutch on my phone loosened.

Letting it fall beside my head, I turned on my side and nuzzled into the pillow, falling asleep in seconds.


so this definitely is not the long awaited big update we've all been hoping for🌚 (I say we've because I'm included) + I'm probably gonna come back and edit tf outta this chapter.

Anyways, in this three month period I've managed to write the remaining chaps, hate them, rewrite them (3x), then hate them less.. BUT they still need severe!!! editing!!! because I am very much not satisfied with them and I wanna give y'all the best version I possibly can. so please, stick with me for a bit longer... 👁👁

see you soon babes, ily ❤️
-aaj

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