Recover

Chapter 25 Adrian

It's bright and early and I'm feeling refreshed from last night, dressed and waiting to be let into Lucie's apartment, I was serious about making it up to her.
Let the fun begin.
As I wait for someone to answer my knock I think about yesterday night - about how much...lighter I felt after Lucie messaged me and how more...I don't know what that feeling was only that I want to feel it again.
Ava opens the door groggily, her hair sticking out in all directions, the corner of her eyes still sporting sleep there, and she rubs her eyes,yawning loudly before letting me in.
"Why are you here?" She groans as she shuts the door and elaborately stretches.
"Is that how you talk to family?" I say mock-offended. I continue through to the bedrooms, but Ava stops me, pulling me back by the sleeve.
"No, that's how I talk to you. Why are you here?" She whispers intensely to me, pulling me so we're looking at each other, her gaze fierce.
"For God's sake, Ava, that hurts." I shrug her off me. "And if you must know, I'm here for Lucie." I push past her and get mid-way down the hall before Eva's back at my throat again.
"You seem to be spending a lot of time with a play thing Adrian. I know you were texting last night, seriously, you need to back off. We have more important things to be talking about then why you're here, before classes, for a sleeping girl."
"I agree Ava." I reply stiffly, "Now thanks for letting me in, you may go now."
"Warren and Eden found something-" Ava hisses.
"Why wasn't I -" I interrupt, I'm supposed to fucking know about these things.
"Maybe if you weren't so busy trying to get laid you'd know." Ava snaps aggressively, before turning on her feet and striding away. "We're meeting tonight. Maybe you can show some courtesy and fucking turn up." She goes into her bedroom, shutting her door quietly but forcefully.
I inhale deeply and exhale slowly to release the stress before slipping into Lucie's room for my plan. Lucie's there, sleeping peacefully, and my heart does something weird as I watch this mysterious girl sleep. Her hair's in a long plait, her lips slightly open, her eyelashes stark again her sparkling pale skin. There's something indescribable about this picture of the girl tangled in her sheets...she's beguiling.
I could stand her and watch her sleep forever, at her peace. But that would ruin the plan.
"RISE AANNDD SHIINNEE SLEEPING BEAUTY!" I yell at her, watching as she bolts up in bed, disoriented and with wide eyes sweeping her bedroom in shock.
"What the fu-" Lucie pauses. "Isn't that from Mulan?" Then she looks at me, as if she's just woken up and it's slowly dawning on her what's happened. "Woah, woah, woooaahh, wait...Adrian? Why are you in my bedroom yelling at me at-" she looks at the small clock next to her bed- "at bloody eight-thirty in the morning?"
The grin stretches over my face at her in the morning - you'd think from her deadly glare in my direction that if be more careful- she's clearly not a morning person. But of course I won't be- there's something tantalising playing between the light and darkness of us.  "I missed you."
"You motherfucking piece of shit, fucker, bullshit, wan-" she hisses under her breath as she tries to untangle herself out on the bed.
"We could call each other names all day, or, we can spend a few hours before the council sesh and you can let me start making it up to you for being a dick."
"Let me sleeeep Adrian Hawthorne and we'll call it evens." She flops back on her bed, giving up,  watching me with narrowed eyes. "I am not wandering around with my uniform on." The disgust clear in her voice.
"If you're not in a lesson, or if it's the weekend ect then you don't have to wear it, just bring it along off you're that worried." I wink. I'm fighting a smile, she is just...so damn interesting.
"Wow, you're really selling this apology. " she says dryly.
"Oh I know." I grab her legs and pull her quickly towards me, causing a squeal from her lips, and then she's sitting up, flush against me, her breathing quickening, looking up at with her gorgeous guarded grey eyes, slightly glazed as she studied my face and her lips slightly open. My breathing catches in my throat at the thought of kissing her, of her kissable lips, of her soft skin,of her hair...
Of taking her energy and feeling more alive than I have before- of how powerful it'd be- I'd know everything she knows if I did that...
No. No. No.
I move away, coughing into my hand and turning my back to her as I control my instincts to take it from her, to tear it out if that's what it costs.
"Adrian -" Her faltering voice is hoarse, almost as if she's about to cry, spinning my instincts into overdrive, my abilities wanting out to do-
"So we're going out, so get ready, tip top. " I manage to force out a laugh as I turn my head to look at her, at how she's frozen on the bed, just staring at me like a deer stuck in headlights. "Want me to pick what you wear?" I push everything down, focussing on the now - on how I need to find out what's wrong with her.
Lucie is watching me throughout this, silently drinking in my details, and I want to see what she sees in this moment.
"I think I can manage." she says wryly, cocking her eyebrow up at me. "Anything in particular requested?"
There are so many things I could say to that.
"Something pretty." I smirk before going out the door and shutting it behind me, going to the living room to wait for her.