50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Torn: Chapter Twenty-Four

    After the trip to the clinic, Monday was a day of relaxation. Destiny and Aubrey lounged around on his living room couch watching movies and eating, when he wasn't stepping out of the room to make a call to Sullivan Elevation or the construction company who was helping to fix the damage done to the ground and second floors.

    Tuesday, the Graham Enterprises headquarters was still closed for business. Some executives were granted permission to work from home, while the vast majority of employees had the day off. For the first time in a long time, Destiny woke up before Aubrey did, and worked out on the elliptical machine in his home gym. He joined her in the gym, and they worked out in silence, while sneaking glances at each other. These were days that Destiny was savoring, days when her life felt halfway normal. She had mixed feelings about the upcoming weekend, mixed feelings about dating two men that she cared about very much. While a part of her dreaded it, there was also a part of her that was excited. She hated to admit that any part of her was excited, especially considering how high the stakes were, but it was the first step to making sure she was choosing the right man to be with. As apparent as it seemed that choice was at times, she couldn't deny that she was still thinking about Brian, still missing him.

    On this day, Aubrey had all of the furniture from his other condo cleaned and donated to charity. Neither he nor Destiny had dared to venture there much after the dead body of his condo groundskeeper and handyman was found there - another gift from Palmer. Aubrey stood just inside of the condo door, surveying the unit. "As much as I hate to, I kind of want to sell it," he said. "Just seeing the place now, I can't get the image of Rafael out of my head."

    "I definitely want nothing to do with this place," Destiny told him, still standing in the doorway. She didn't even want to venture inside.

    He watched the furniture movers heft up one of the large living room couch pieces. "I won't put new furniture in here until we decide what we're going to do with it."

    "We?" Destiny asked.

    He arched a glance at her. "I gave it to you. This place is yours, as much as it is mine."

    They spent the day together as much as they could. Aubrey made a habit of disappearing upstairs to his home office, so he could get some work in and keep tabs on what was being said about Graham Enterprises in the news. That evening, he drew a bath for both of them and held her while running a fluffy crimson washcloth down the slope of her breasts. She asked him about the time he spent at Palmer's, asked what it was like. His hand froze while hovering over her belly, water dripping from the soaking wet washcloth.

    "I'm...sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked," she said quietly. "But back in D.C., you were so vague about it. You didn't really go into detail."

    "No, it's all right." He continued washing her. "The doctor we saw said that talking through it could help, right?"

    She nodded and turned her head, not able to fully see his face from how she was positioned.

    "There's not really much to tell. It was dark. For most of the time, especially in the beginning, I was kept tied up. I don't remember if I told you, but he said that he hoped that I appreciated the irony of me being tied up."

    Goosebumps raised along the length of her arms. "Meaning he knows about some of the things you're into."

    "Which is expected, since he saw us in the sex club, Decadence," Aubrey said, dipping the washcloth in water. "But it was still disturbing to know, yes. I was barely given any food. No television, nothing for the sake of entertainment. Just...lying on the floor, in and out of consciousness."