Blood Money - HO

•9•

"Tonight's party is going to be amazing" I say to Petra as we walk through the store.
"So many people are coming, girls gunna eat tonight" she says and I roll my eyes.
"I've gotta leave for a bit before it starts but we'll be there" I say.
"Ooo going to your boyfriends house?" She asks.
"Not my boyfriend" I say, grabbing chips.
"He's so your boyfriend, it's disgusting" she says. "Done fighting? What happened with that whole lie thing?"
"We worked it out" I say.
Petra and I are polar opposites. She enjoys hooking up with different guys, sometimes even girls, while I enjoy actually dating someone.
My phone dings and I look to see Tom is calling me.
"Hey tom" I answer as Petra picks out the alcohol.
"Aria, is haz with you?" He asks.
"No he left last night after we had a few drinks, why?" I ask.
"I haven't seen him since yesterday, and he's not answering his phone" he says.
"Is he alright? Should we worry?" I ask.
"I'll talk to you later" he says and hangs up.
"Oh no.." I sigh.
"What?" Petra asks, loading the vodka into the cart.
"It's nothing" I shake my head, not wanting to get her involved.
"We will be getting drunk tonight my friend" she says, and we head to check out.
Once we make it back, I head to Petra's room and dial Harrison's number. Worth a try.
No answer.
"Haz, Tom is worried and so am I, call me" I leave a message.
I decide to distract myself by helping Petra set up for the party. I always loved parties at this beach house, I'm not the kind of person to let my wild side out, but these parties really help me do that.
It's hard to not worry though, everything in me wanted to call a million times and go bug Tom about finding him, but it's not my place.
As the party gets closer and closer I sent a few texts to Haz, and to Tom asking if he's heard anything.
'Nothing yet' Tom responded.
I take a deep breath, realizing this is completely out of my control, I've done everything in my power to help, and I need to let it go. At least for a little bit.
People start showing up and the house slowly starts to get more and more packed.
"Come drink with me!" Petra yells over the music, but just as I'm about to turn to go with her I see the same familiar blue eyes walk through the door.
"In a bit" I say to her, pushing through the crowd to him.
"Haz!" I yell, almost reaching him. He makes eye contact with me and I push through the last few people to meet his face.
"Where have you been?!" I yell at him.
"Around" he shrugs.
I groan, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him outside.
"Everyone has been worried about you! And you've just been ignoring all of our calls! What is wrong with you?!" I yell.
"I'm sorry darling" he frowns and I quickly notice he's not himself.
"Are you drunk?" I ask and he smiles.
"Just a little bit" he says.
"Haz, you need to call Tom-"
"No! I don't owe him an explanation! You were right! He's never even considered making sacrifices for me!" He says angrily.
"Haz give me your phone" I say.
"No" he says.
"Haz. Now." I say sternly and he frowns, pulling out his phone and handing it to me.
I go to his texts with Tom to text and say he's safe.
'Are you with my sister??'
'Haz answer'
'Are you okay'
"You were with Toms sister?" I ask Haz and he laughs.
"Why is that funny?" I ask.
"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?" He asks.
"I'm not Toms sister, silly. I'm Aria remember?" I ask.
"You are his sister" he says. "He has your birth certificate"
"You are really drunk" I laugh. "Maybe I should drive you home"
"I'd like that" he smiles.
I pull him to my car and get in.
"You know Aria" he starts as I pull the car out of the driveway. "You're so pretty I should get your face tattooed on me"
I burst out laughing at the shit coming out of his mouth. He's absolutely ridiculous.
"I'd fully support that" I laugh. "I think everyone should have a tattoo of my face"
"I agree" he nods.
The car ride was pretty silent as I drove him to the house, the sky was dark and I'm currently missing out on a great party but I don't care, hanging out with Haz, even if he was drunk, is just as fun.
We pull up to the house and I open Harrison's door for him.
"Cmon lets go" I say and he groans.
"I don't want to go back here, that's why I left last night" he frowns.
"What? Why?" I ask.
"Good girls like you don't like bad guys like me" he says.
"You can't just disappear like that. We can talk about this later but your friend needs to know you're okay" I explain.
"I guess" he sighs, stumbling his way to the door.
I knock and someone answers.
"Harrison! Where have you been?! Boss has been freaking out!" The man says.
"He's really drunk" I explain, pulling Haz inside.
"So he's been with you huh?" The man says with a nasty tone. "Guess the whore really does know how to get what she wants"
"Fuck off mate" Haz says, pushing the guy as he walks down the hall.
"For your information, I just found him an hour ago so fuck You" I say, following haz and helping him to Toms office.
I open the door and he looks at me angrily.
"You can't just walk in-" He then sees Haz and understands why I didn't knock first.
"Where'd you find him?" He asks.
"He found me" I say.
"I see the family resemblance" Haz laughs as he looks from me to Tom.
"Haz-" Tom starts.
"He's been saying crazy stuff all evening" I laugh and I see a weird look on Toms face.
"Oh, hah yeah. He says a lot of weird stuff when he's drunk" Tom nods. "Why don't you go to bed, we'll talk tomorrow"
Haz agrees, then quickly running away, about to puke.
"Thank you Aria" Tom smiles.
"Of course" I nod.
I was about to walk away but he started talking again.
"He came to you...weird" he says.
"Not that weird" I shrug. "I'd understand him wanting a break from this place"
"It's not that bad here" he says.
"It's not great either" I state.
Interrupting our small talk I hear two bangs and Tom jumps from his chair.
"Under the desk. Now" he says, pushing me behind him, pulling out a gun.
"What's going on?" I ask, feeling my breath quicken.
Another bang.
"Okay listen" he says turning to me. "Take this"
He places the small pistol in my hand, wrapping my fingers around it.
"If someone gets in here, aim, and shoot" he says.
"W-what if-" he cuts me off.
"Under the desk. I'm locking the door. Just keep your finger on the trigger." He says, walking out and locking the door. I follow his instructions. Getting under the desk.
I hear several more gunshots. My icy fingers hold the metal in my hand, feeling my fight or flight go haywire.
I close my eyes, leaning my head down. Trying to drown out the noise.
"It's fine, you're okay." I say to myself.
I hear someone right outside the door, picking the lock. I squeeze the gun tightly in my hand, waiting.
The door slowly opens, I see a pair of feet walking in.
"Where are those files" the man says to himself.
I pull my knees in close to my chest, praying he just doesn't find me.
My shaky hands hold the gun tightly, not knowing if it came down to it, If I'd actually be able to shoot someone. His feet got closer, almost touching my leg.
Fuck. He's going to find me.
"Hey fucker! A familiar voice yells, then a gunshot, so loud my ears were ringing. The man standing only feet away from me falls to the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him. I look into the mans eyes, seeing the life leave him. I scream, having no control over my now trembling body.
"Aria?" Haz says, stumbling over to me.
I get out from under the desk and hug him tightly, tears slipping from my eyes.
"That was awful" I say.
"I know, I'm sorry" he says, hugging me.