Just The Right Black

Chapter 5

Jace stood under the shower, water pouring down on him as he placed his palm on the wall in front of him and bent his head, the water cascading on his head and down his body.

He closed his eyes and snapped them right back open when he saw those piercing green eyes staring back at him in the rearview mirror.

What the heck is going on with me?!
He let out a breath.

That was the same question he'd been asking himself all day. Having her walking behind him just made his neck itch and he'd had the urge to rub it off but he knew that wouldn't solve the problem.

In the elevator, he couldn't help but watch her and he also couldn't help notice she seemed bored. He trusted Jack's opinion and hadn't asked much questions. Actually, he hadn't asked any questions and all he knew was Jack thought highly of her and that was it.

In his office, he hadn't been able to get much work done, thinking of how he was going to cope with his day-to-day having someone following him so closely. Yes, he knew it was for the best and all of that but what was he supposed to do about the discomfort of it all.

It was like having an itch he couldn't scratch. He constantly wanted to look back, out of habit, to see if someone was following him then remembering someone was and not being able to look back every single time so he didn't look crazy.

Damn Jace, you need to get your head straight.

Jace turned the faucet off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel, he left the bathroom. Walking to his closet, he picked a pair of grey sweats - top and bottom and put them on before making his way downstairs.

Jace ran his hand through his damp hair as he reached the end of the stairs. He then turned right towards the kitchen, passing the short hallway leading towards Ariana's bedroom. He pushed up the sleeves of his sweats shirt and grabbed all the things he needed to make dinner. After putting the pasta in the pot to boil, he began chopping the vegetables for the sauce.

"Want to tell me exactly what I'm doing here?"

Jace almost flinched and stopped chopping at the sudden break in silence and interruption of his thoughts.

How didn't he hear her come in?

Jace glanced up at her and took in what she was wearing.
"I see you found the gym."

He went back to chopping and Ariana stood there in a black tank top and matching leggings.

She'd decided to give herself a tour to get familiar with the place before she went to the gym but then had been quite pleased when she found the in-house gym downstairs. She'd taken her sweet time and then had hopped off the treadmill when she heard the commotion upstairs, in the kitchen precisely. She'd had enough time to think things through.

"I don't like being kept in the dark."

"Jack told you everything you need to know."

Calling Jack to tell him what was going on had been a struggle on his part, and he wasn't going to let someone else in, and someone who he didn't know at that.

"All the important stuff, yea," She said, "But I feel like you're both hiding something vital about this from me."

Jace put the knife down and wiped his hands as he gave her his undivided attention.
"If Jack has confirmed my suspicion, then he would have told you."

"And what suspicion is that?"

Jace smiled, slowly.
"You don't like being left out, do you?"

"In my line of work, I've learnt that every little detail counts, no matter how insignificant it might seem."

"And when my suspicions are proved right, I'll tell you."

She could work with that.
Ariana nodded in agreement.

Ariana watched as he the vegetables he'd added into the saucepan and she debated asking him at that moment.
"Can I have Friday nights off?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

Jace turned his head to look at her as he kept stirring.
"Uh, I don't see why not."

Ariana frowned. She'd expected a series of questions and was surprised when she got none.
"Thank you."

Jace glanced at her with a smile, clearly surprised by her show of gratitude.
"You're welcome."

Silence filled the space between them as Jace turned towards the kitchen island, facing her. They looked at each other, both clearly comfortable in the silence that was building between them.

"Why don't you go freshen up and come back here for dinner."

"I'm not hungry."

Jace's brow furrowed,
"You don't eat?"

"I'm not a robot."

"Could've fooled me." Jace muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing." Jace said quickly, "Hurry back."

"Like I said, I'm not hungry."

Ariana turned and left. Jace watched her walk away and disappear into the hallway. He sighed and went back to cooking.

In her room, Ariana took a shower and changed into another pair of black leggings and pulled on her large grey FBI hoodie. She combed through her damp jet-black waist-length hair and left it to air dry. She walked towards the large bed and stared at it for a moment.

Here we go.
She sighed as she got under the comfy covers.

Every night, as she went to bed, it felt like she was about to fight the biggest battle of her life. In a way, it was.

Ariana turned to her side and stared at the empty side of the bed as her mind pulled out an image she was yet to get out of her head after nineteen years. It was still so clear in her mind, the memory so fresh like it was just yesterday. Every night, she would get into bed only to wake up in a panic having relived that night. Just like every other night, she would get out of bed, lay her blanket on the floor, take her pillow and fall asleep hugging it. It had been her coping mechanism as a little girl and she hadn't grown out of it. The pillow felt like a shield, an armour.

She'd looked forward to when she'd sleep through the night, on a bed. No panic, no flashes of that night, just a peaceful sleep, but she doubted it'll ever come. The therapist she saw after the incident had tried getting her to open up about it but being able to narrate a traumatic experience as a child wasn't easy. She'd instead told her therapist that she had nightmares about that night and would be unable to keep sleeping in the bed and instead sleep on the floor.

Her mum had been the one who needed a therapist more than she did. She'd gone completely mute and only began talking three years later, when she was in fifth grade. A seven-year-old dealing with losing her father and her mother, temporarily. She was just glad she'd made it out the other side.

Asides her dad not being able to be with them because he was on tours, protecting the country, she was really close with him. Every time he made it back, he would always make up for lost time. She loved her mum but the fact that her dad was not with her for most of her years growing up, that kind of made her crave for him more. She always looked forward to the day he would write her letters and when he was around, she loved every second of it. Her dad was her favourite. Then just like that, he was taken from her.

After that night, she knew she was going to follow in his footsteps but then she'd been discharged and had to find the next best thing to keep her on his path. Now, her mum was all she had and she was not doing so great. She couldn't imagine losing the last of her family.

After all, what's life without the ones you love.

Ariana closed her eyes in the hopes of waking up in the morning. But she knew. She knew she would once again wake up in the middle of the night to lay her blanket on the floor and fall asleep hugging her pillow, wishing it were her dad.

And that was exactly what happened.