Beyond What Meets The Eye

Chapter Sixteen

It all felt too good to be true. She'd had dinner with her dad, telling him about all the little things he'd missed out on. They smiled and laughed like they used to. It was almost like he'd never left in the first place.

She was sitting at the edge of the bed in the room her father had given her to stay in when a knock came at her door. She got up and walked over to answer it. A boy no more than a few years older than her stood in the doorway, his sandy blonde hair tousled messily, a pair of electric blue meeting hers.

"Good evening miss Amira," He smiled warmly at her as he held a bag out to her.

"Oh," She said in confusion as she took the bag. "What's this?" She asked, brows furrowed.

"Your dad wanted me to drop it off, I think its just some clothes and toiletries." He shrugged, leaning against the doorway, eyes lingering on her.

"Ah, thank you." She smiled at him. She waited for him to turn around and take his leave, but he stayed there, his eyes studying her.

"So you're the big boss's daughter, huh?" He hummed, tilting his head to the side like he was taking her in. Mira's grip tightened around the bag. Why did she feel like he was predator getting ready to pounce.

"Um yeah, I'm just visiting at the moment." She replied awkwardly. What was he trying to get at? He smirked.

"My names Leo, I work closely beneath your father so I've heard a little about you, although he's done a good job at keeping you a secret. From what I've heard, he also kept his work a secret from you too, so why the change all of a sudden?" His eyes were prying, like he was waiting for her to say something she wasn't supposed to.

"Well, I'm not a kid anymore, it was about time he told me about all this," She said, choosing her words carefully. She assumed her dad would have told him what happened if he wanted this guy to know.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll let you get some sleep. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other in the coming days." He straightened himself out and began down the hall, that sly smirk of his never leaving his lips. She watched thoughtfully as he disappeared around the corner before heading back into her room. Whoever this Leo was, he sure seemed to be quite the character.

She went through the things in the bag, some pajamas, a pair of clothes for tomorrow, tooth brush, tooth paste, all the essentials. She changed into the pajamas and brushed her teeth before making her way over towards the large window that overlooked the city.

She ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a long breath. What the fuck was she even doing? She was supposed to be digging up information to help her father's enemies, but right now, that was the last thing she wanted to do. Even after everything Adrian had said about him, her father hadn't seemed like a monster at all, if anything he was simply broken, a product of his environment. Still, she couldn't make any definitive decisions yet. She needed to be sure she wasn't too blindsided by her emotions.

She walked over to the backpack leaning against her bed, pulling out the books Adrian had stuffed into it before they'd left his apartment that morning. As she fumbled through the bag's remaining contents, he hands came across the spine of another book. She pulled it out and felt a smile tugging at the edges of her lips. It was 1984 by George Orwell, Adrian's favorite book, and the one she'd started the night before. He must've thrown it in there while she wasn't paying attention. It was a small act, but one that warmed her heart.

She slid into freshly made bed, laying down as she flipped to the page where she'd left off the night before. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she didn't follow through with her end of the bargain, would he despise her? Would she even ever see him again? The thought made her sad, despite the short time she'd known him. Still, over the short span of a few days, she'd felt a connection with him. He understood her in a way other people couldn't, knew her secrets.