Piercing Hatred | ✔️

34

~Flora's POV~

I clenched my teeth as I got into Knox's car the next morning, having to get in a bit slower than usual.

Knox noticed and looked over at me, a furrow in his eyebrows and his keys clutched between two fingers. "You're sore." He said after a few seconds of simply examining me in silence while I fumbled with my seatbelt. I paused, my thumb absentmindedly playing with the metal. "I don't know what you're talking about." I fibbed, embarrassed.

He just gave me a flat look and then raised a brow. "You don't have to be embarrassed to admit it. If you're hurting, take the day off. Let me take care of you." He hummed, trying to persuade me. Interested in the idea but still unsure, I bit the inside of my cheek and frowned at him. "But Odette is expecting me." I pointed out, but he simply stared at me and then shoved his car keys into his pocket in refusal to start the engine.

We had a stare off for a minute or two before he reached over all of the sudden, a squeal leaving me when he just snagged my cellphone from my pocket like it was nothing. I went to lean over to grab it but the change in position had me wincing in pain as I tried to sit more comfortably again. He called Odette on my phone and gave her an excuse about how I was sick for the day so I couldn't come in, while I just looked at the side of his face in disbelief. When he was done, he held my phone out towards me with a smug grin on his face.

"There," He said rather smartly. "Wasn't so hard, huh?" He teased, opening his car door. I just shook my head and tried to hide a smile as I got out of the car much slower than he did, secretly a little bit happy that he had done that. Because he already had today off, I got to spend more time with him now.

Following behind him closely as he headed towards the apartment building again, I looked up when Knox slowed his pace to wrap an arm around my shoulders. He pulled me into his side, my head reaching just to his shoulder, and I felt my heart flutter in my chest.

The two of us entered the apartment building and wandered over to the elevator, which I was relieved to find only he and I ended up getting on. I hated riding an elevator with other people.

When the doors opened, I followed Knox down the hallway towards my apartment, which he unlocked with the key that he had seemingly sneakily snatched off of me at some point. I raised a brow and stuck my hand into my pockets, searching for the key as if I wasn't sure I was truly seeing him hold it in front of me. Of course, my pockets were empty, so I lingered behind him while he unlocked the door.

I absentmindedly glanced around as Knox swung open the front door and sauntered inside, my eyes catching the sight of a figure standing at the far end of the hall. It was a woman with long brown hair and tan skin, her figure petite and somehow seemingly even shorter than I was. She was at the end of the hall with a large wheeled suitcase, one hand gripping at her bag as she looked around curiously with a frown on her face. I'd not seen her here before, so I assumed she must've been moving in.

"Coming in?" Knox asked, stealing my attention again. I looked over at him, realizing that I hadn't even noticed that he was now waiting patiently inside my apartment, holding the door open for me.

An embarrassed grin formed on my lips and I quickly forgot about the girl at the end of the hall, following him inside. "Sorry. I was in my head." I said, allowing him to shut and lock the door once I had entered.

Knox just chuckled, clicking the lock into place before he set my apartment key on the table and suddenly swept me up into his arms with a charming grin. "Of course you were." He hummed, carrying me down the hallway towards my room while I hung an arm around his neck, holding tightly to him.

He entered my room and dropped me into my bed, causing me to huff and peer up at him from beneath my lashes. Brushing his fingers through his hair attractively, he plopped down beside me and leaned back onto his other hand, peering at me with a brow raised. "You want to watch a movie, order some food?" He asked, to which I hesitated, biting on my lip in thought. "Can we get donuts?" I responded, craving something sweet.

A chuckle left him and he rose from the bed, grabbing my laptop from where I had it tucked between my bed and my nightstand. "Whatever you want, doll." He hummed in response, joining me in the bed again.

We ended up ordering kolaches and a box of glazed donuts, both of which were two of my favorites. Luckily for me, they were Knox's as well, or I'd have felt bad about only ordering those. After we ordered, I bumped him with my elbow and scooted towards the computer, beginning to look through Netflix for something for us to watch.

I unplugged the headphones that I had plugged into my laptop and glanced up at Knox, raising a brow. "Is this one okay?" I asked, pointing to the movie my mouse was hovering over. He scrunched up his nose instantly and groaned, eyeing it with distaste. "The Lake House?" He muttered in complaint, causing me to pout. "Come on. Please?" I insisted, not above begging, but Knox narrowed his eyes at me as if this was the worst thing I could ask of him.

"But I hate that movie and you know it." He practically whined, earning a frown from me. It didn't escape his attention because he stopped quickly and sighed in defeat, slouching back into my pillows. "Fine. Don't be surprised if I fall asleep though, doll face." He grumbled.

Happy that he had given in, I started the movie and snuggled into Knox's side, getting comfy beneath the blankets.