𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐄𝐃 | 𝟏𝟖+

bonus

(His point of view of chapter 13)

R I C C A R D O

. . .

Looking at the young girl in distress, I can't quite comprehend how I ended up here tonight. I never expected to sleep in the Four Seasons tonight, forty minutes away from the hotel I'm staying at.

Aurora's make-up is smudges and her dress is hitched up around her thighs. Her shoes are dangling off her fingers and her eyes are red-rimmed.

She's quiet and seems to be uncomfortable and in pain. "Hey, are you okay?" I frown.

She shakes her head, the corners of her lips tugging downwards. "I feel horrible," she admits.

I take her body in my arms, lifting her and carrying her to the room she's going to be sleeping in. Once I place her on the bed, I lean back with a sigh and rake a hand through my hair.

"What has gotten into you?" I ask her, and she answers with a smirk. The girl is wasted and high, and I have no idea what set her off to do this.

Everything was fine at court. I won the case. It was supposed to be a good day. I wanted to go and celebrate it with her and tell her how proud I was of the help she offered and how focused she was on the case.

"You told me to enjoy life," she answers, making me shake my head and let out another deep sigh.

"I meant that, but I didn't mean worrying your parents and everyone else to death and take drugs," I scold her. She furrows her eyebrows and pushes herself up on her elbows.

"I'm not a child!" she snaps, beginning to stand up. Our faces are only inches apart, but I couldn't care less right now.

"You're sure acting like one," I snap back, feeling myself getting mad. Fuck, she should have known better.

Her eyes fall to my lips, and her tongue comes out to wet hers. As I follow the movement, I recall her pressing her lips against mine earlier this evening.

I had blamed it on the alcohol, and still am. She's not thinking right now, and I'm not going to look too deep into the actions she's committed when drunk.

"I don't regret kissing you," she whispers, putting me at a loss for words. I take a step back while sighing.

"You need to sleep. I'll be giving you my shirt and then going to my room," I say. She sits down, jutting her lower lip forward into a pout.

"I didn't mean to upset you," she says and looks up when I hand over my shirt. "We'll talk about it tomorrow," I tell her, suddenly realizing how tired I am.

Without saying anything more, I leave her room and go for the one across the room, entering it and ridding myself of my pants. I go into the bathroom and throw some cold water on my face, before brushing my teeth with a new toothbrush I find there.

As soon as I walk back into the room, I hear a faint knock on the door.

When I open the door, I see Aurora staring back at me, dressed in my shirt that's too big for her.

It reaches past her thighs, and her arms and hands are hidden by the sleeves.

"I don't want to sleep alone," Aurora whispers huskily, a pout coming on her face. I sigh, now knowing what to do.

I have no idea what she expects me to do. Having her sleep in my bed would make things difficult and awkward, and I don't want it to make it any worse than what has happened so far.