Crisis Of Desire

< LIII >

Neveah Aurora North:

I stare at myself in the mirror and take a deep breath. 

It has been exactly sixty-three days, meaning it has been one thousand five hundred and twelve hours, meaning there have passed more than ninety thousand seven hundred and twenty minutes already. 

Nine weeks since we've last heard anything from Santos. 

Meaning they either didn't find her body yet or they simply don't care enough, which I highly doubt. Or maybe Rio knows more than he's willing to give away. 

But I don't think so. 

He and Cataleya seem to spend a lot more time together, so if Santos would've found out, he wouldn't have so much spare time to spend with Leya. 

Right? 

'What are you thinking about?' I look into the mirror and watch as Tiago sneaks back into our room. 'Nothing.' I lie, not wanting to bring it up. 

He's wearing another black suit, with the same green tie as the dress I'm wearing. I don't think I've ever seen him wear anything green in his entire life. 

'You look handsome today.' I chime, smiling at him. 'Nothing compared to you of course.' He mumbles, obviously not caring about shamelessly letting his eyes roam my body. 

I have to admit, the dress Brandon made is perfect. It's not too tight and is very flowy, just in case it gets too hot. It's March already, so everything can happen when it comes to weather. 

Last week we had rain, but the week before that was sunny as hell. As if it was summer already. 

'Ready to go?' He asks, moving a bit closer. I nod and jump up from my seat, slowly walking towards the man I love. 

I hook my arm around his and walk by his side as we go through the long halls, down the stairs. I like that this house is not as wide as the others, but it's taller. 

'I feel sorry for Celine.' I whisper as we get to the stairs. Tiago looks at me with a frown on his face as he continues to walk down the stairs. 'She really wanted Kai to go as her date.' But instead, she has to go as Marco's date. 

'You know why he can't come.' He chuckles, making me groan. 'Because he's one of the shooters at his previous parties, I know. But Celine can't stand Marco.' 

He chuckles and grabs my hand to pull me after him, towards the others. Everyone was apparently already waiting by the door. 

I first glance at Celine, since she's standing at the end of the stairs. She's wearing a simple black dress that wraps tight around her figure and has a very, very deep cut. Wow... 

She looks good. So does Leya. 

Her taupe-colored dress is tight, wrapped around her waist to reveal her hourglass figure, and has little puffs as sleeves. 'Who are you two trying to seduce, because if it's me... It's definitely working.' 

They giggle and turn to me, smiling like crazy. 'Like you're one to talk.' 

I smile back at them and look at the boys. Roman, Brandon, Marco, and Rio are all wearing black suits with different colored ties, all matching their dates. 

'Took you long enough.' Rio sighs, making me roll my eyes at him. 

We're not even five minutes in and he's already ruining my mood. 'Let's get to the cars. We'll be back later today.' Brandon chimes, nodding at Manuela. 

She's been staring at us with tears in her eyes the entire time. 'Don't be gone for too long and text me when you get there.' She chimes, wiping away a tear as she walks back to the kitchen.