Cold as Stone

58

Darius

I ran my hand through my hair, stressed out. I don't even know why I'm stressed. I just am.

The front door opened up, but I didn't really mind. Xavier came into the kitchen, only seeing me at the counter.

"Is Addison here?"

"I think she left last night." His eyes went wide.

"What?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said." Chase came into the kitchen with Emily on his hip. Xavier looked at him confused.

"What? I'm allowed to babysit."

"But he said Addison left. I'm confused. If she left last night, why is Emily still here? Wouldn't she have taken Emily with her? And why isn't Addison answering her phone?" He asks, running a hand through his hair. Dad came in, taking his suit jacket off.

"Addison?" He asks, confused. We looked at him. "She'll be back, Xavier."

"But where is she? Why won't she answer her phone?" Dad looked at him then at me then back at him.

"I'll send you the address where she is, Xavier. Don't yell at her, okay? She has her reasons like she did a year ago. Now, I'm going to the hospital considering I don't want to be late." With that, dad walked out of the kitchen.

"Is he still working?"

"Yes and no." I mumbled. "I'm taking the mafia over on my birthday which is in a few weeks but I am in charge of the business."

"Got it." Chase whispers before leaving.

Xavier

My feet dug into the sand, but I didn't mind. I immediately found Addison sitting down in the sand, watching as the waves crashed into one another. I slowly made my way over to her, sitting down next to her. She laid her head onto my shoulder, not speaking a word.

After a few minutes, she stood up. I furrowed my brows. She stuck her hand out, making me grab it. I stood up.

"You know how to slow dance?" She whispers.

"Yeah, why?" I ask, confused. She put her head onto my shoulder, grabbing onto my hand. My other hand snaked around her waist, while her free one went around my back.

We started dancing until she pulled back suddenly. I raised my eyebrows, confused at the action.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not saying goodbye."

"You had your reasons, right?" She nods, looking out at the waves.

It became silent again, only the waves in the background. Tears fell from her eyes. The pads of my thumbs softly wiped them away, making her look at me.

"It's Ashlyn's birthday today." My gaze softened. "I don't want pity."

"Oh." She shrugs.

"It's alright. You didn't know." She whispers.

"Where are you staying?" I ask, after a while. She tensed up, looking away from me. "Addison?"

"I may have bought a house here." I nod.

"And you thought I would have an opinion on your house?" She looks back at me. "Addison, what you do or don't do is none of my business. I'll support your decisions."

"But-"

"Addison, I will support your decisions in whatever you do. No matter what. I don't care if you buy a house or if you dye your hair a different color, I don't care really. Whatever makes you happy, then I'll be happy."

"Okay."

"Now, let's go see this house." I say, wiggling my eyebrows. A small smile went onto her face.

"It's just a short walk." She says, softly. I nod, following her to the house. "Did you drive?"

"No. I flew on the private jet. Faster." She nods.

We walked for a few minutes, before she stopped abruptly. I stopped too, looking at her. She had a smile on her face, looking at the house. I looked at the house too.

"Come on." She says, grabbing onto my hand. She pulled me up the steps and into the house. She turned on the lights. "We have to get furniture for it but it'll work. Oh, I also want to paint it."

"It's pretty." I whispered, looking around. She looked at me.

"I think so too."

--

I took a bite of ice cream, watching as Addison rant on and on about something. Her eyes lit up by talking about it. I fell in love with how she can go on and on about ice cream.

"I was thinking." She says, suddenly.

"I love to hear it." She took a deep breath.

"I want to split the mafia up." I furrowed my eyebrows. "I lead the biggest mafia in the country. It was supposed to be me and Adrian running it before things happened."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to give half of the mafia to Adrian while I lead the other one in California. New York and California are the main points of the mafia's headquarters."

"Okay." She sighs.

"I'm moving back to California, Xavier."

"I know." She furrowed her eyebrows. Realization crossed over my features. "Is this your way of asking me to move in with you?"

"Yes? I don't know. I never had to say something like this before."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I'll move in with you, Moretti." She nods, a smile going onto her lips. "Only if I get to pick out the furniture while you paint."

"Deal."

There is a couple more chapters until this book is finished. So excited for it.

Yes, I'll include an epilogue. There's only like two chapters (not including the epilogue) and that's it. So be ready.

Next update should be in a couple of days!

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