Self-Seeker

23

Thursday

Genesis hadn't even fully unlocked her apartment door when it swung open and she was roughly pushed back inside. It was the early hours of one in the morning; it had been hours since she found out her mother was still alive; her emotions were all over the place and she had no clue what to think. No. She didn't want to think. Genesis wanted to clear her mind of yesterday's events. She needed a distraction, something or someone to temporarily take the agony away. So she got one.

She called Dimitri and told him to come to her apartment. He turned up in a business suit - God knows why he was still wearing one at that hour - but she had no problem stripping him down to his birthday suit. They somehow found their way to her bedroom, never once losing contact with each other's body. The need for sexual pleasure was killing Genesis, she felt like a damn virgin again. As soon as they hit the bedroom though, the satisfaction lasted for hours. After the third round, she simply stopped counting.

Genesis wasn't sure what time they had finally given in and gone to sleep, but she didn't wake up until early afternoon that day. She peeled open her eyes to see Dimitri fastening the buttons on his shirt. His hair was wet from the shower he'd obviously taken and he caught her watching him in her full-length mirror. As she sat up in her bed, allowing the duvet to fall to her waist, he turned toward her and grinned mischievously.

"I hope you weren't expecting breakfast. Or, more of a late lunch. I've got a conference to attend." He said, fixing his tie. His prominent Italian accent was the sexiest thing a woman could wake up to. Genesis wasn't aware that he worked in New York, she would've thought his occupation was back in Italy.

"Non vorrei mai. No strings attached - that was our deal." She said. 

"So you not only understand our native tongue, but speak it too. Buono a sapersi." He nodded to himself. Genesis wondered how he knew she had Italian blood. Damon must have informed him because even if his mob ties had researched her, all they would have found was her connection to her adoptive parents.

Still fully nude, she walked over to the bathroom and began brushing her teeth. It was quite strange, actually, she was never one to partake in casual sex. But there she was, having a secret affair with Damon's little brother. She had also never had intercourse with someone younger than her, even if it was only by a couple of years. Not that she was complaining - the man unquestionably knew what he was doing.

"Anyway, I'm glad we're on the same page." Dimitri said, throwing on his suit jacket and gathering his phone and wallet. "I had a good time, we should do this again." He continued.

Genesis spat the toothpaste out of her mouth and rinsed it just in time for him to pull her in for a kiss. He eyed her naked body from head to toe and smiled approvingly. She wasn't ashamed to be bare in front of him - Genesis was very comfortable in her skin, battle scars and all. Besides, it wasn't anything he hadn't already seen that morning.

"Sì, we will." Genesis confirmed, grasping his tie and pulling him back down to meet his soft lips again. Dimitri's top lip was a little smaller than she preferred, but that didn't prevent him from making it work.

She smiled and playfully pushed him away. "Get yourself to work, I'm certain you're already late." Genesis said, slapping his bum as he walked away. The gesture made him jump a little. He stuck his tongue out at her as he left the room. He could pretend to be more mature than Dominic all he liked, but he was still a kid at heart.

After Dimitri had left, realization hit Genesis once again about what she had seen yesterday afternoon. If only she could find a more permanent diversion, she thought. Something to keep her mind off of the fact that the years upon years of torture and brutality she was succumbed to was for absolutely nothing. She was made a victim, the subject of her own father's abuse, only to discover that it was fuelled by a lie.

It wasn't Genesis's fault anymore. She didn't kill her mother - nobody did. The woman was still very much alive and breathing. He knew that. Jazmine knew that. Yet he still proceeded to cause Genesis a world of pain - and both her mother and sister allowed it to take place.

Genesis was only a child, thirteen years of age when the world introduced her to its cruelty. She began to look at life with hatred beyond compare. She resented herself, as well as those around her. It was all because of one thing, the incident that ignited the flame. Her mother's 'death'.

She intended to find out just how they made it happen. How they faked the evidence for the investigation and how they made her appear to be dead. Then, after Genesis found out everything she needed to know - she had every intention of making them all wish they really were six feet under.

Genesis was brought out of her thoughts by three raps at the door. The time on her phone read four thirty and there was only one person she could think of that wouldn't be at work at that time, whom would come to her apartment. Audrey. Genesis opened the door to find her in a formal dress and heels, with her usually untamed hair gelled tightly into a donut bun.

"Quite the transformation." Genesis said dryly as Audrey stepped into the apartment, inspecting the interior as if she were a real estate agent.

"Damon offered me a temporary secretarial job at his building whilst I'm over here." She explained.

Genesis scoffed, shaking her head. "Of course, he did." She muttered, not in the mood to care that she could hear her.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on, Gen? Huh? You're just going to completely freeze me out?"

"I'm not freezing you out, Auds. It's just going to take a while for me to accept the position I'm in. You of all people should know what I'm like - I'm used to getting what I want. And when what I want has been taken from me before it's even had the chance to begin, by someone who claims to be my best friend nonetheless, it hurts. But all wounds heal, I just need some time."

"I thought our friendship was worth more than letting a man come between us? I thought we were stronger than that. I guess Damon wasn't the only person who thought wrong about you."

Genesis's jaw cocked, Audrey certainly knew what buttons to push. "And what do you mean by that?"

"The night I arrived in New York, on a plane in which you paid for me to come on, Damon took me to his apartment for a little 'welcoming party'. Anyway, after a steamy night to remember, we got to talking. He wasn't aware that you and I were friends at that point - so he had no trouble letting out his frustrations about the girl that was driving him mad." Audrey started, pacing back and forth in front of her.

"What exactly were these frustrations?" Genesis pressed.

"He was falling for you, babe, hard - but you messed things up by failing to keep Carter in check. He couldn't trust you anymore. So naturally, he found his way back to me, and found himself wanting to take our relationship from the friends-with-benefits stage to being a real couple. I must admit I had some help along the way, to keep his eyes from wandering back to you. The fact that both your sister and my brother had nothing but negative things to say about you only made him doubt his feelings for you further."

"So, what is it that you are trying to tell me Auds?"

A smug smile planted on Audrey's lips. "I didn't take Damon from you, Gen - you lost him all by yourself." She explained - the conniving, scheming little wretch.

The worst part of it all, was the fact that she was right.