Under My Skin

09 | bury the body

Chapter nine:

"Listen, I've already told you. I'm not driving anywhere until you tell me what's happened." Blaine responded, arms firmly folded across his chest, the rippling of his plaid shirt catching Ria's eye as his pectoralis muscle bulged with each movement.

The two of them were seated in Blaine's navy blue Honda Civic for the last ten minutes, bickering.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be a very long night, then," Ria muttered as she averted her gaze from the older boy outside the car window. The delicate speckles of raindrops coating the window pane obstructed her view.

"Only two days ago, you told me to stay away from you. And today, you're calling and asking me to collect you from work. You really expect me to believe that nothing has happened, huh?" Blaine quizzed the girl, the subtle dent on his left cheek reappearing, parallel to his oh-so-familiar smirk.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you? " Ria exclaimed, placing her hand against her temple: "You're enjoying the power you have over me. You're just like him." She mumbled almost silently under her breath.

"Just like who?" A small furrow formed between Blaine's brows as he continued his enquiring. "What's happened, Ria?" The smirk fell from his face as he spoke, replaced with nothing but concern.

Ria remained silent, her body facing firmly away from him as she continued to keep her eyes glued to outside the window. The memory of what happened a mere thirty minutes ago still played out in her mind. How had she been so foolish as to not recognise the signs of his immoral intentions? In retrospect, it seemed clear as day.

She was glad that Blaine had driven straight through to the car park. Ria didn't think she could bear seeing Rocco again today — or ever again, for that matter.

"Look, if something's happened, you can tell me. What would Reid say if he thought someone had happened to you on my watch? He'd kill me."

"You've already given him plenty of reasons to kill you." She responded, still peeking out the window, a faint flush reappearing on her cheeks at the memory of their night together. She shook her head and released an audible sigh. "Today, I thought I would get a promotion. You know, the pupillage. Get into the Bar." She shuffled in her seat, glancing at Blaine as she spoke.

Blaine's body was swivelled to face Ria. He leaned forward slightly, his left elbow rested upon the steering wheel and his eyes wide with genuine intrigue.

"Except, that didn't quite happen. We were ranked based on our performances over the last six months. The person who came first gets the promotion. I came third place." She halted, allowing her eyes to flutter close as she recalled when Miss McQueen called her name. The realisation of how far she was from achieving her goals dawned on her.

"Bullshit. Who got the promotion?"

"The partner's niece." She responded quietly.

"Figures." Blaine laughed, almost bitterly, "At least you know she didn't deserve it. She got it handed to her on a plate by a family member."

Ria bit her bottom lip, internally debating whether she should tell him the remainder of the story. She gazed over at him and noted the sincere tone in his words, the way his body language was mimicking her own.

She decided she felt safe enough to tell him the truth. "And, one of my senior colleagues offered me a shoulder to cry on. Except, it wasn't just a shoulder he was offering." She whispered as she completed her sentence, allowing her eyes to dart between Blaine and the steering wheel as she awaited his response.

She noticed the change in his body language, the way his legs shifted one too many times, the remainder of his body stiffening slightly. "A male colleague?"