Two Worlds (18+)

Eighteen | Truth Behind The Words

A I S L I N G

I follow Aaliyah out of the speakeasy and we continue that same hallway, all the way to the end.

"This is the recruit training room. If you're ever just looking for a decent fight or just some friendly competition, this is your place to go." She opens the door to a large space filled with different sections of activities. Punching bags, weapons skills, stretching, cardio, and there is even a group of people sparring with each other.

"Aaliyah, hi." A younger girl walks up to us and speaks with confidence.

"Hey Lara, this Aisling she's staying with us for while." Aaliyah smiles sweetly and gestures towards me. I do a quick wave and give her a slight smile.

"Oh, is that a good idea? I mean bringing outsiders in here is suspicious."

"Excuse me?" Aaliyah gawks, but it was rhetorical. I could tell by the look in her eyes, she was pissed.

"Well it's just tha-

"I don't care what you think. Lara, there's a reason you're still a recruit. Stay in line, Alessio wouldn't be happy if he knew you were questioning his judgment." Aaliyah snaps. The poor girl went wide eyed and looked worried. It's a simple lesson though, don't question the authority.

This was a different side of Aaliyah, and it reminded me a lot of myself.

The girl ran off and Aaliyah turns back to me shaking her head.

"Yo I don't even know what that girl's problems were, sorry about that. Clearly some people aren't the most welcoming, but there's some good people among this bunch too." She shrugs casually.

"It's okay, I get it. She's young, naive, and wants to earn respect, that means asking the hard questions sometimes. Not the smartest if you don't ask the right questions though. Maybe she'll learn."

"How insightful, I like that. Do you do that often?"

"Do what?"

"You know, separate the emotions hidden behind the words."

"I guess. I'm just really observant most times. I like to write, so it helps me pick out the truth that the words hint to. That said, human emotion is both highly predictable at some times, and completely unpredictable at others so I'm not always correct."

"I'm glad to have someone like you by my side. I'm not so perceptive myself but I like to hear about it."

As we walk around the space, back towards the door the sparring group catches my eye. More specifically a petite brunette girl who doesn't look too much younger than me, sparring against a boy who's probably the same age but a little bigger. There's something about the girl though, she seems familiar.

He throws a punch, she blocks it. He sends a kick flying and she ducks it, using that to her advantage she elbows him in the face then knees him in the stomach. Groaning, he waves her away, she waltzes over to grab water with a smile. I like this girl.

"Who's that?" I ask Aaliyah gesturing to the girl.

"Ahh. You have a keen eye Aisling. Alessio's been watching her closely too. She's good isn't she? Her name's Valentina. He sees a lot of potential in her. As do I. Come on, I'll introduce you." Somehow I'd exptected her to be more like the last girl I met but on the contrary, she's the complete opposite.

"Valentina." Aaliyah calls out as we walk towards her she straigtens up her posture and shoot us both a kind smile.

"Hi, Aaliyah." She looks up to Aaliyah with respect written across her eyes.

"I'd like to introduce you to Aisling, she's a friend of mine and Alessio's, who will be staying with us for a while."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." She holds out her hand to shake. The handshake tells me she's got strong and steady hands, but I already knew that from watching her fight.

"You too, I gotta admit your moves are smooth girl." I return the warm smile.

"Thank you. I've been training a lot."

"Keep up the good work girl, and hit me up when you wanna hang out again. I had so much fun last time." Aaliyah gets distracted by some kid asking her a few questions.

"Listen, I used to fight, now its more when I need stress relief. If you ever want some friendly competition, I'm game. That's my number." I hand her one of the business cards I would give to suppliers.

"Thank you, Aisling. Again it was really nice to meet you and I'll take you up on that. Maybe you can give me some pointers." She looks up at me, hopeful. Although I sense she'd be real competition.

"Only if you need them. You're looking pretty good so far to me." She nods and smiles brightly.

"That means a lot really. See you around." I nod and she heads back towards the locker station.

Aaliyah and I continue on the tour, visiting the laundry room, conference room, computer quarters, and gun range.

"This place is certainly extensive." I note as we head back down after deciding to end the tour there. There's plenty more spaces, none too crucial for me so I don't mind missing out.

"I know right. You could just get lost in here for hours. I'm all tired from walking around, I think I'm gonna nap. You good?" I lazily shoot her a thumbs up.

"Yeah, I'll probably just do the same. Thanks for showing me around."

"No problem. See you later, girly." Aaliyah waves, walking up the stairs.

I walk over to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of wine.

"First scotch, and now wine. Interesting combination." I hear a deep but quiet voice behind me.

I turn to see Dante sauntering into the kitchen. I shrug. "I guess you could say that."

"Gio told me about your bike. Let me take it for a spin sometime?" He asks, intrigued. My bike is my literal baby, I don't know about that one.

"I don't know...She's kind of sacred to me." I hesitate mainly because I don't really know him all that well.

"She? What's her name?" His eyes light up.

"Sparks. Because she flies." I can see him try to hold it back but a smile reveals itself.

"Hmm...cute." My eyes narrow at him.

"Cute? I think you mean awesome." He looks up and puts his chin between his thumb and index finger, mockingly pretending to think about. He shakes his head.

"Nah, I just think it's cute." He flashes a cheeky grin.

I huff sarcastically before laughing him off.

He sits down next to me and leans in close. "So how about that ride?" He winks. "On the bike of course."

"I guess I could let you but I wanna be on the bike too." I've never let anyone touch my bike, I'm nervous to let someone else ride it, especially considering, I'm not familiar with his skill level.

"Sounds fair. You have a deal. So what you up to anyway?"

"Ahh not much, clearly. Just unwinding after a long day, you?"

"Same." His phone begins to ring, he sighs and excuses himself curtly. I notice his attitude was definitely different than it was before when we first met, he was nicer I guess.

I finished my glass of wine and headed up to my room for some much needed relaxation before I spend all my time hyper focused on unpacking for the next day.

No doubt I'll throw myself into it, not stopping until I'm satisfied. When I reach my room I immediately grab a book and plop down on the bed.

Now this I've missed.

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A/N - Next chapter will include smut!!!🤭