OCEAN VILLAGE

56. atlas hands✨

—Kairi—
-jump right in and swim until you're free, i will remember your face-
-benjamin francis leftwich-

I press my phone to my ear quickly, wanting to not wake Athena.

"Are you and Alexander on your way?" Khalil asks quickly. 

"To where?" I keep my voice quiet.

"Hello? Kairi where have you been the past three hours?" Ace says.

With Athena.

"Tell me."

"There's a lead in Newark so we're taking it but Alexander and you haven't arrived yet." Khalil says, "Is everything okay?"

I look down to Athena. "Is this another hopeless lead?"

"There's a location, even an eye witness willing to talk to us."

It's important. But so is the promise i made to her. It hasn't been the full night, it hasn't even been close. She will hate me.

I argue with myself for a while, "We'll be there soon." I hang up.

I take my ring off my pinky finger, sliding it onto her ring finger. It was cute to see her with jewellery, other than earrings, for once.

I gently and slowly take her out of my grip, her body adjusts to the mattress quickly. I place a blanket over her, leaving my jacket on the side of her bed.

I walk over to her desk, writing her a note.

I had to go, i'll see you soon. I'm sorry, Athena. I love you.

That's all. I will give her an explanation after i catch the guy.

I open her door, closing it as soon as i leave. I trot down the stairs, still tired from watching her sleep, Alexander looks at me and he couldn't hide his disgust.

"What now, Alexander?" I sigh, rubbing my eyes.

"Do you only like her for how vulnerable she is?" He says, never have i been more offended about anything.

"Alexander!" Hayley raises her voice in anger.

Even Alejandro was a little shocked.

"Excuse me?" I ask rhetorically.

"She's eighteen for gods sake, what went through your head? Why are you having sex with her-"

"Alexander shut it." Hayley slaps his arm.

I scoff, "You really can't talk, Mr. Arieta but surely have the chat with Athena when you decide on seeing her again. You believe there's nothing more to our relationship than sex and i'd love to see the reaction. She always believed you were fine with our age difference, because like you make it out to be, it isn't that bad." I move my arm to Hayley.

"Kairi that is my daughter. I don't want to hear you-"

"Then don't listen." My nostrils flare. All of sudden this has sprung onto him?

"I have did everything to make sure she grows up with the best life. I don't seem you fit for that."

"She could disagree." I pick my bag up. "Are we gonna leave?"

"You're going to break her, Kairi." He says his words slow, as if they're not registering through my head. "She is eighteen, you are her first ever boyfriend, this isn't love, you don't know her, you've barely known her a year."

"And you do know her?" I look at him, a frown on my face i can't hide.

"You will break her-"

"You have already broke her." I look into his eyes. "I was the one there to hold her as she cried her poor soul out that daddy didn't come and save her, i was the one that comforted her as she lost her friends. You shit on the amount of time we've spent together but fail to notice how deeply she opened her soul to me. About everything; about you." I keep calm, even though i did want to smack him. Athena would hate me for that.

"You can't say shit about the age gap either, you're dating a lady twelve years younger than you. Would be a bit of a contradiction to shame myself and Athena for it. You wanna be a dick and say all this shit to her then go ahead and say it, you'll look the fool whenever she comes running to me to cry over it."

I could see and feel Alexander's rage.

I look at him once again before turning and leaving the house. I get in the drivers seat and wait for a moment before i decide to drive.

I drive back to the office, the team waiting for me. Ace noticed my tenseness as soon as i walked into the room, he always was good at reading the room.

"Let's go." I grab my gun from the table.

Ace hops in the car with me, "What happened?"

"Alexander suddenly doesn't approve of Athena's and I's relationship." I start driving.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." I look down for a second, "I love her." I look back at the road, "More than the others."

"I think we all noticed that." He chuckles a little.

"I promised her, before i left, i promised her i would stay the night with her and i'm not following up on it. That's all she wanted, was for me to stay one night." I hold my throat gently, why do i feel like crying?

"You have a duty." He puts his hand on my knee.

"As a fed or as a boyfriend?" I gulp, trying to remove the lump in my throat. "Because i could have asked to be taken off this case, together we could have been in the safe house. I put my work before her-"

"No you're doing it because of her." He corrects me. "She'll understand."

"And what if she doesn't?"

"She will. You know she will."

Do i?

I don't even know.

We arrive at Newark, forty minutes later. We get to the location, all armoured up, but then my phone rings.

I raise an eyebrow and call off the kick down whenever i see Alejandro's name. "What?"

"Athena's gone."

"What?"

"She's gone, Kairi."

I don't think i've ever felt more anger in my life.

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#cliffhanger

word count: 997