[1] Midnight Lips | Ghost

𝐂𝐇. 54

VAL
༻❁༺

     I glared at Simon's back as we walked down the hallway, watched the ground move like it was my ceiling, and watched Simon's butt move under his jeans which was quite difficult to ignore. Everything was upside down and I hated the way I felt. I had this deep satisfaction and deep ache in my hand, also the deep confusion that Nadia left me in with her last unfinished sentence.

That's not what he—

I forced myself to stop obsessing over something that could have meant nothing and threw it out the window. I was tired, yet I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Because it was fun though, how the evening had turned on its axis. From planning the mission to punching Nadia in the face—well deserved—which was not professional at all and the realization of that made me a little less prideful about myself.

I bit my lip to stop myself from bursting into laughter, which I knew was going to end up in tears of frustration. I was exhausted—and hungry, goddamnit. How could I go back to the kitchen without the possibility of crossing paths with Nadia once again? Simon won't let me go now. I should've just pretended I didn't hear anything and gotten some food in my stomach.

When Simon put me down, we were already somewhere else. He held onto my hips with both hands and didn't let my mind drift away as he said, "I can't believe you did that."

I let out a laugh. "Me neither."

"How long did you stand there listening to our conversation?"

"Long enough." I looked into his eyes, and for the first time in a while, I didn't know what he was thinking. After spending a lot of time staring into those honey-brown eyes of his, I thought I had mastered the ability to tell what each expression meant. A chill ran through my body. Maybe I should feel ashamed. Maybe it was a mistake hurting Nadia out of my impulsiveness. What was he going to think about me now?

Simon sighed and looked away. "You can't just do that."

For some reason, I flinched. "Eavesdrop?" I knew that their conversation wasn't meant to be heard by me, as any other one that I wasn't supposed to be present for, but she was talking bad about me. That was something I would have liked to know despite the situation.

Simon met my eyes again. "Punch Nadia."

I felt cold, suddenly. So cold, I had to wrap my arms around myself. Was he going to defend her now? Wasn't he the one who murdered a man for touching me without my consent? "She was looking for it."

"She was looking for it, yes," he surprised me by saying. "But that was not the right way to handle it."

I scoffed, stepping away from his grip. "Of course, because when Graves touched me without my permission, you tortured him!"

His eyes widened, and I took it that he wasn't expecting my sudden outburst. "That is not the same."

"Obviously it is not the same, because I only punched her, Simon, I didn't kill her." Pretty damn close to thinking about it, might I add.

"Which was not the right way to handle that situation, continues to prove my damn point."

I frowned. "Did you want me to kill her?"

Simon visibly flinched as if I had punched him, and it was me who was surprised now. What was going on? He took my elbow in a tight grip and pulled me against him. I had to place my hands on his chest to stop myself so I wouldn't collide so hard against his chest. He leaned down with narrowed eyes and hovered close over me. "Punching her is not right, neither is killing her. What are you saying, Valentina? Are you mad?"