I SEE YOU

GAMES OR FATE?? (ASH'S POV)

You know that period we all go through where life holds no significance, when routine becomes the only thing you got going on??

This is how the next two weeks pass by.

I wake up, do my routine, eat, go to work, come back exhausted, then go to sleep. And then there's ignore River too on that list.

After that day I repeated her words to me, not much has been said between the two of us.

Even when we are in the same room it's in radio silence as she goes about her business and I do the same. And if I thought she was serious at first, now she's worse than a botox addict.
Her face is always clear of all or any emotions, I swear it's like she's a robot.

In these two weeks she has come home with new bruises three separate times, and this somehow just adds on to her dangerous charm as if she's not hot enough as it is.

I won't lie and say my curiosity is not piqued though, I just have no choice but to push it aside because of whatever game we are playing here.

Work has ended and I'm dreading getting inside  my apartment, when did I start feeling like an imposter in my own home??

I push the front door open and close it after me, the only thing on my mind is getting to my room so I can drown in my bed and sleep.

But of course the universe has it out for me because I enter the living room and find River inside, in fact, she's not alone.
I take in the person she's with and her eyes are the first thing that catches my attention.

She has these dark brown eyes that almost seem black, her skin is a dark and rich flawless melanin color. She's sitting on the couch with River and if I'm right they are around the same height, they even have the same muscular and heavily tattooed bodies.

Instead of braids like River, the attractive stranger has black neat dreadlocks that reach just below her neck.

Our eyes lock for a bit before I look away since I'm still the same socially awkward person, and I don't take very well to strangers.

River clears her throat which quickly catches my attention. It feels like the first time in forever that we just take each other in without the thick ice that has grown between us.

"Hey Ash, this is my friend Mercy. I hope you don't mind that she's here, you never mentioned anything about bringing people over in your list of rules."

My cheeks flush a bit as I detect the slight teasing in her tone, though her face gives nothing away. I just nod my head and linger on my spot, I'm not sure if it will seem rude for me to just go to my room when we have a guest.

"I ordered us all some pizza for dinner." Mercy's surprisingly soft voice causes me to look at her, she gives me a small smile that has my tummy in knots.

Why is she smiling like that??

"Oh thanks, let me go freshen up." I'd honestly rather not eat but I don't want to seem rude to River's guest, though I'm confident she wouldn't give two fucks if roles were reversed. Mercy nods with that warm smile still on her face.

I go to my room and I swear I can feel someone's burning gaze following me, I just don't know which of the two hunks of women is the guilty party.

I take a five minute shower then put on a pair of boxers and a tank top. This is mostly what I wear to sleep, so it's good since I'm just gonna eat then sleep.

I go back to the lounge feeling refreshed and a lot more sociable, well as sociable as I can be.

River and Mercy are still in the same sitting positions I left them in, though there's now a box of pizza on the table in front of them.