The Red Doll

CHAPTER 22

****Aria's POV****

After organizing all of my clothes, my body ached with exhaustion. I looked out the window. It got pretty late. Revon still hasn't come back from wherever he was, which surprised me a little. I expected him to come in our room and stubbornly sit on the bed, just to annoy me and prove a point. But I guess I intimidated him a little bit too much. I chuckle at that thought.

I take off the clothes I've been traveling in and put on an oversized T-shirt and some sweatpants. I make myself comfortable in bed and close my eyes. It doesn't take me long before I manage to fall asleep.

After some time, I begin to toss and turn in bed. I wake up, annoyed that I couldn't sleep till the morning. I get out of bed and sigh. I need to go to the bathroom. It's still really dark outside, so it takes a while for my eyes to adjust and see where I'm going. It must be around 3 in the morning.

After hitting my foot on every single piece of furniture in the fucking apartament, I finally reach the bathroom. I open the door, walking over to the sink and looking in the mirror for a few seconds. Even though it's really dark, I can see glimpses of myself. I look tired.

I sigh and go towards the light switch. I have always preferred staying in the dark. I learned how to embrace the shadows and become one with them at a very young age. It's way easier to hide in the darkness. But it would be quite ridiculous to struggle in the dark, not being able to see anything, when I can simply turn on the light.

I flip the switch and I turn around. I stop dead in my tracks, staring in front of me with wide eyes. It takes a second for me to process the sight in front of me, but when I do, I can't help but start laughing. Revon wakes up at the sound of my loud laughing, staring at me with sleepy eyes from the bathtub.

"Revon, what in fuck's name are you doing in there?" I ask, barely managing to get the words out through my laughs.

He looks at me and rolls his eyes, turning his back to me. "I was sleeping, until you rudely interrupted me," he says, which makes me laugh even harder.

When I finally manage to stop, I walk towards him, patting him on his shoulder. He turns around again, looking more annoyed. "Get up, you idiot. Go sleep in the bed." He doesn't say anything, clearly not planning on getting out of the bathtub. "I need to use the bathroom, so get out of here," I add, rolling my eyes.

He looks at me for a second, then he gets up and walks out of the bathroom, stumbling over his own feet. He looks like a small child that just woke up in the middle of the night and he's too sleepy to walk straight. I smile, then sigh.

When I'm done, I walk back to the bedroom, finding Revon sleeping in the bed. On the side I told him I'll sleep on. Of course he had to find some way to annoy me. I choose to ignore that right now and simply get back in bed. I can feel Revon slightly shifting besides me, but he doesn't seem to wake up. His body is warm and I can feel the heat radiating from it. His elbow slightly touches my back, and I'm very aware of that small little contact between us.

I close my eyes, still feeling tired, and it doesn't take me long to fall back asleep.

************

I slowly open my eyes, the light in the room making me squint. I quickly adjust to it and look around. I hear a soft breath coming from behind me. Only then do I notice the warmth that I'm surrounded in. And the strong arms wrapped around me. And the feeling of somebody's head resting on my back. My body tenses up, realizing that Revon is that somebody.

I don't move, afraid that he'll wake up. I close my eyes, trying to regulate my breaths. He's so close. Too close. I can feel his body against mine. I can feel his soft breaths and the regulate beating of his heart. The heart that I've been trying to kill for months. But now, that gentle feeling of his heart beating against my back brings me some sort of comfort. It makes me feel like I'm not alone.

Revon slightly moves. I can feel him shifting away from me, unwrapping his arms from around me. He woke up. He lays still for a few seconds and I can almost feel his eyes burning through the back of my skull. Then, he gets out of bed, careful not to disturb me. He probably think I'm still asleep. I keep my eyes closed while he walks out of the room and I just lay there for a few more minutes.

The feeling of his body pressed up against mine still lingers, making me miss the warmth coming from his touch. I sigh and brush away those thoughts, getting out of bed too. Revon is not in the apartment anymore. He probably went out to talk to his men.

After I get changed, I walk out, going over to the common area on our floor. It's a small open room, with a few couches and a coffee table in the middle of it. To my surprise, everyone is already there, talking. They all turn their attention to me, except for Revon, who was looking over some papers.

"Aria! Sit down," Lana says, making some room on the couch next to her. I walk over to the place where she made room for me, sitting down.

"What were you all talking about so early?" I ask them, taking a sip of the coffee in front of me.

"We're going to that bar today. You know, that illegal fighting place," David says. I gently nod my head, urging him to continue. "We can't all fight today, so we'll fight during different days. We decided that Sarah and me will fight today. Lana and Liam tomorrow. And you'll fight in three days. We heard there's some sort of competition that starts today. It's two people against two people, except for the last match. The last match is against one of the most famous people that come in that fighting ring. If someone manages to win against him, they'll have to fight alongside the winners of the previews rounds in one big fight against the best fighters," he explains.

I quickly understand what he's saying. We're gonna be fighting in that competition. And I'm the one that'll fight in the last match.

I smirk and nod. "Ok. I'm down for that," I say, taking another sip of my coffee. I catch Revon staring at me from the corner of my eye, so I turn towards him and smile. "I sure hope you'll be able to come watch us fighting," I mockingly say. I know he wants to avoid me since this morning, but I know he won't back away from a small petty competition between us.

"Of course I will," he says, tightening his grip on the papers he was holding.

To be continued...

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