ᴀᴘʜʀᴏᴅɪᴛᴇ // $ᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇʙᴏʏ$

Chapter Thirty Six

SCOTT

It was hard to enjoy the daylight. Not that I cared very much for the sun, even if it had become overpowered by the grey clouds. And because the police force was out looking for me and my men, anything they could get their hands on concerning me, I couldn't spend that much time out of the warehouse without the worry of being seen, followed, and then caught. And while I thought the warehouse was secluded enough, I had enough vehicles and weapons at my disposal now to heed them off and escape them. I figured it would be too much of an unnecessary hassle to find another location and restock it after the police would ransack my current one. And for those reasons, I didn't turn to the daylight when I needed peace.

I stood on the roof of an old abandoned building by myself smoking a cigarette and I watched the night sky as the stars glittered, as the clouds travelled, and as the darkness consumed.

I had started to feel antsy at the property for the last few nights. And when the feeling of simply wanting to get away rose within me, I came here and looked up to the sky. It oddly calmed me; the sight of the vast black above had become a promise to me, the tempting exit from hell. I felt the stresses of my body leave me as I watched the sky, breathed in the fresh, cold air of the night.

I found it odd that I hadn't seen a breaking news report on the return of my captive. Because I liked to remain up to date on the progress of the police's efforts, I was always watching the news. And after a couple days had passed with no report on Aphrodite, I wondered if they were keeping her return a secret. She would have obviously had to go to the police station after she left me to let them know they no longer had to waste time looking for her and could concentrate more on other things. So why hadn't the news team reported of her being brought safely back home? Why are they still running her face and that silly telephone number if she's already been set free?

But, I told myself as my mind started to wander, it was something I shouldn't be bothering with. I didn't need to concern myself with Aphrodite anymore because I had gotten rid of her, because I didn't know how to handle her when she became too annoying. I didn't need to wonder why she wasn't being interviewed about her stay with me. I didn't need to think about what exactly she was doing at the moment her face crept into my mind. She was gone because I wanted her to be gone. She left because I gave her the freedom anyone in her situation would want.

You want me to leave?

I shook my head to try to make her voice leave my head. Of course I wanted her to leave. She would still be with me right now if I didn't. She was just another hassle to worry about, just as all the other guys said she was. She was just another worry to take into consideration because she couldn't leave in case she would go to the police with my information or location. She was too snippy at times and too smart. She was too comfortable around a small army of gangsters and terrible men because she accepted what they could do to her. She would yell at me, tempt me, and anger me.

She had been gone for days and I still felt that bug I only associated with Aphrodite crawl underneath my skin.

I could admit to myself now that I wanted her. I already had her and I still felt the need for more. I tried to tell myself it was only because she was the only woman around me since the last time I saw Sienna. I had never spent so much time with another woman before who wasn't Sienna. Every other woman I'd known in the past had been for a very short amount of time.

Now, I couldn't have Sienna because she was dead. And I couldn't have Aphrodite because she was gone and out of my life. Aphrodite had been gone for only five days. I felt like I hadn't seen her in years.

I watched a plane fly by in the night sky; its lights blinking so that it could be seen as I remembered how my days without Aphrodite had been going. How annoyed I got with myself when I almost called for her when I needed something just so I could see her face. How I would somehow end up in her empty room with the broken door because my feet had brought me there during the late hours of the nights I couldn't sleep. One day, I was so exhausted from those sleepless nights, too tired to gather the energy to eat my food, that I closed my eyes and realized I was unintentionally imagining her touching my face softly and feeding me my food sexually.

I wondered where my self-control and independency had run off to and decided that they needed to return right away. I wasn't dependent on Aphrodite in any way because I'd never allowed myself to depend on anyone. I couldn't depend on her because it wasn't who I was. She only spoiled me temporarily with company and her caring for my wounds. Soon I would go back to normal because I had to. I didn't need the company of Aphrodite anymore or for her to take care of me.

I watched the sky for a little longer and felt that tonight it wasn't calming me as much as it normally would and went on my way back to the warehouse.

The last five days without Aphrodite seemed so... different.

I didn't like it very much.

After returning to the warehouse I still wasn't feeling very relaxed. I thought physical activity would help but exercising only quickened my heart along with my other insides. Meditation wasn't working, trying to sleep was pointless, and making beats on the computer was only jumbling my already jumbled mind. I was still restless, still antsy. I could barely make any decisions because I just couldn't seem to think straight. Usually this only happened when I was running extremely low on food or something. But I had eaten plenty, and the reason for how I was feeling tonight was still out of reach.

I decided I needed to eat again. Jerry and Summit sat at the monitors in my storage room, discussing some stuff we had decided earlier. Summit was cleaning one of his favorite rifles as Jerry watched the screens. And when Jerry sat up further in his chair, calling for me to see what he was seeing, all three of us stared at the screen, my body standing behind and over the other two sitting in the chairs.

"Should I send her away?" Summit asked, looking up at me.

I ignored him for a moment and simply stared at the security monitor. Apparently the outside world wasn't very gratifying.

I watched as Aphrodite walked down the long dirt driveway, keeping her normal fast pace in her combat boots. Once again in another dress, the long black skirt of it billowing behind her, she made her way toward the storage units, taking a few cautious steps so that she wouldn't stumble. Her blonde hair and the red of her lips stood out in the choppy footage. Behind her she wheeled a much larger suitcase than the simple duffle bag she left with, one that seemed packed to the brim with all the things she thought she needed. I squinted at her face on the monitor and felt complete surprise, something that was usually rare for me.

I told her to leave, yet here she was after only five days. I told her that she was no longer needed, yet her face lacked any hesitancy from the approaching location. I gave her freedom, yet she was hastily making her way to what she thought of as a prison.

Jerry and Summit were waiting on me to say something. I thought just seeing Aphrodite return was somewhat shocking. But my answer to the men surprised me even more.

"Let her in." I told them.