"Are you done?" I asked but I knew he wasn't.
"Not even fucking close. Why, would you like me to stop?" He chuckled while staring me dead in the eyes.
"No, Icas. Keep going." I uttered quietly.
"Why?" His rough voice snapped my attention away from the bottle of whiskey sitting on the island to his deep set eyes.
"Hmm." I smirked because I knew I wanted him to keep going. To keep braking me down, I craved it.
"'Cause you like that shit? You know how disturbed you are, Akila? You may have gotten clean, but you still haven't figured this part out. Why you love being hurt, traumatized and fucking eviscerated? It's not normal. It's not healthy, and it permeates every aspect of our relationship. The way we talk, the way we fight, the way we fuck. I've dated some damaged people in my life, Akila. But none of them wanted to be debased and degraded like you. And honestly, Akila... it's nothing to be proud of. So stop fucking smiling, 'cause you look like a clown. Now there's some attention for you."
I watched him as he downed what was left in his glass and walked over to the counter to fill it back up again, he was staring at the artificial fruits displayed right next to the bottle. Then he snapped his eyes back to mine, probably hoping to see any type of emotion. But I of course felt nothing.
﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏
Akila Soulis is a young woman who struggles with her cravings of anguish and agony, her life is spiraling and no one seems to be able to stop it. Not even the strikingly handsome Icas Angeles, but he's never been the one to pass up a good challenge. If only he knew this one would last a life time.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]