GRIFFIN
"Why didn't you tell me she was in town." Damon huffs. He still looks blanched from when Ariel's friend ripped his ego to shreds ten minutes ago. I speed up, keeping track of the car they are in without making myself noticeable.
"It did not come up." I switch lanes.
"That's a shitty reason." He grunts. "Why are we following them?" He asks.
"I have some unfinished business with her."
"Yeah right." he sits up. "Why are they pulling into Azzuri?" he questions.
"Because they've lost their minds." I grit, parking down a few spots from their car, watching them walk into the trashy bar. Ariel hesitates by the entrance, stopping and saying something to her friend, looking nervous.
Azzuri is low life bar for Romes scum the drinks are standardly roofied and drugs flow through the crowd like candy. Why they would even come here is beyond me.
I watch intently as she tugs down her short blue dress, shaking her head as if in disagreement. She starts to walk back to the car and Damon and I relax into our seats. But her friend grabs her hand, pulling her back and into the bar in a flash.
"Fuck." I mutter as both Damon and I jump out of the car and follow them inside. I can't stop her but I sure as fuck can stop any fuckers from trying anything.
We stand tall by the back wall near the bar, with a direct view of her and her friend. They talk and do a couple shots. Then they talk louder, squealing and laughing at something the other said. I watch her, eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed with a buzz from the alcohol. And no doubt the smell of thick weed in the air.
We stand there for 30 minutes before her friend is approached by a guy, short, blonde. Damon tenses beside me when he takes her into the dance floor and they disappear into the thick crowd of writhing people.
"Should I do something about that?" he questions.
"I can't imagine Ariel being too happy if her friend gets felt up against her will." I shrug. Damon grunts, stomping into the sweaty mess of dancing. I keep my eyes trained on her, taking her in.
Two years. I haven't had a chance to look at her and touch her or feel her presence in too long. She hasn't changed much. The same beautiful smile, the same kind eyes. Although they're sadder. She seems less enthusiastic now then she did before.
I remember watching her when she wasn't looking. Small things made her happy, she would smile for no reason, she would look happy all the time. Bu her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes now, her eyes hold a melancholy. An apprehension. It makes my chest twist painfully.
I watch a guy as he walks over, planting himself in the stool next to hers. Fuck that.
I walk closer, stopping short just behind the fucker.
Her friend stumbles into her from the side and starts to slur something but Ariel gasps.
"Oh god. How much did you drink, Ave?" She holds the drunken girl up.
"Uhm 'ts okay. Not alot." she mumbles.
"See your friend is having fun. That dress wasn't made for you to sit at the bar alone." the scum continues. My fists clench and I walk closer, watching Ariel shudder visibly.
" 'Scuse me, pervert. My friends been celibate for 2 years." My steps halt. The beat if my heart stutteres then takes on a rapid rhythm. "What makes you think she'll do it with you?"
Fuck me. Fuck.
"Ava!" Ariel screams, horrified.
"Well then atleast we know she won't be loos--" But I don't let him finish his colorful thought.
I grab his nape and squeeze till I am choking his airway from the back. It's a trick my father taught me. I pluck him from his seat, and squeeze till all he can do is let out choking sounds.
"Stop." the soft plea makes me look up at her. She's looking down at the bastard now sinking to the floor with tears welled up in her eyes. The storm gray eyes look up into mine, pain filling the gaps her melancholy leaves. Fuck.
I release my hold around his neck, letting him fall in a heap of unconscious pity, keeping my eyes on hers.
Ariel stands, blinking away the tears. A few pearls fall to her cheeks but she wipes them off.
"Stand up, we're leaving." I grunt. Her eyebrows furrow.
"No." She defies, looking at the bar to the shot that the scum had left behind, she picks it up, throwing it back.
"Fuck." I snatch the empty glass from her hand. "They roofie drinks in this dump, Ariel." I grit, a second from loosing my shit altogether.
I would take her hand and drag her out myself but her words are fresh and present in my mind.
Don't touch me.
Her eyes widen. "What?" She stumbles on her feet.
"How do you think Avalynn here got so wasted." Damon appears, wiping his hand on his pants. His knuckles are bruised, hair ruffled.
"Ava? What'd you drink." Ariel touches her friends cheek.
"Sam gave me some shots." Avalynn slurs.
"I thought he was a school friend Ave, why would he drug you?" She stresses. Ariel's hand falls to her side, her feet stagger backwards till she collides into my chest. "I feel woozy." she warns, before falling limp.
"Fuck it was a drug to make her pass out." Damon curses. My head explodes with anger as I hold her small body up.
"I'm taking her to the penthouse." I grunt.
"The penthouse?" He questions. "I thought you hated going there." He holds Avalynn up when she stumbles.
I did hate the penthouse. It reminded me of every second I'd spent with her and being in there without the slightest chance of her being in it ever again made my head spin. So I hadn't been there in years.
"You need help with that?" I gesture to the girl slumped into his side, ignoring his question.
"That? Really?" He rolls his eyes. "No she has her car I'll drive it around till she's sober enough to give me an address." He huffs.
"Or you could call Aless." I smirk. He flips me off and leads her away. That bastard.
I haul Ariel up over my shoulder, carrying her out if the club.
