Vexed /vexed/
adj. feeling or showing irritation, annoyance, or distress

HE STEPPED INTO her house. She could only watch him as he shut the door behind himself. For some reason, Avelina felt rooted in her spot. The man she hadn't seen in years was in her house. Her mind kept surfing over the memories of the most tragic day in life from the last time she saw him.

"W-What are you doing here?" She asked, backing up. Avelina picked up on the hurt that flashed in his eyes. She didn't know how she should feel with him standing only a few feet away from her.

"I wanted to talk to you, but it wasn't possible with the Russian's around," he said.

"How did you know I'd he here? Were you following me?" She exclaimed. Vincent let out a sigh. He should've known this wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally planned it to be.

"No. My men have always been ordered to watch over you," he stated. His blue eyes pierced into her own. Her mind began to process his words.

If it weren't for how badly she wanted to lay down and cry her eyes out, she would've lost her mind. Avelina began to feel like she had absolutely zero privacy. It was almost as if every decision she made had already been strategically planned out for her.

"I can't do this tonight. I am exhausted, my head hurts, and I'm just so confused about everything," she murmured. Her hand had risen up to her head, where she began to rub her temples soothingly.

Adrik kept playing out in her mind. It seemed as if the more she tried to push him away from her thoughts, the more he kept reappearing. It only seemed to add to the throbbing pain in her mind.

"I want to be here for you. All I ever wanted was to protect you from all of this, and it would've been successful if it weren't for that stupid idiot, Johnathan," Vincent let out, sounding irritated.

"What was your plan-to leave me thinking that all my family was dead for the rest of my life?"

"Trust me, your life was better when you believed everyone was dead," he told her. She shook her head.

There were so many questions she still needed to be answered, but every time she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself closing it again. It didn't help that her headache wouldn't go away.

He tried to walk closer to her, but she quickly moved away from him. It didn't matter that he was her brother. She couldn't trust him. She couldn't trust anyone. If she were the person she was months ago, she would've been happy to know she had a brother out there. For some reason, the more she looked at the man in front of her, the more vexed she became.

"Yeah. It was," she agreed, allowing her disappointment to settle within her words.

Avelina walked over to her front door, where she pulled it open for him. She couldn't handle talking about the situation any longer. It was bad enough that she wished she just flip a switch and forget that the past few months ever happened.

"Get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow. We really need to talk," he told her. She didn't say a word as he walked out of her house. Avelina was quick to close the door and lock it.

A calmness settled over her. She glanced down at the cat, who continued to parade around her house as if they owned the place. When Avelina walked to her room, the cat seemed to follow her. She was thankful that the cat was there to keep her company. The last thing she wanted was to be alone.

Her frown seemed to deepen when she realized that most of her clothes were still at Adrik's. Luckily for her, she still had a tiny bit of clothing left.

She knew that she would ultimately have to face Adrik sometime soon if she wanted to get her clothes back. That thought should've made her sad, but it didn't. Avelina knew she could rack her brain for another solution on getting her clothes back, but she didn't even bother trying. That small, stupid part of her wanted to see him again. The same small, stupid part already began to miss him.

Avelina felt sorry for herself. She couldn't believe that she was actually missing someone she should hate. She couldn't believe that no matter how hard she tried to hate him, she couldn't.

Plopping down on her bed, Avelina's shoulders had fallen in defeat. The cat hopped itself onto the bed right along with her.

"I'm such an idiot," she whispered to the cat as she fingers combed through its fur. In the corner of her eye, she could see the picture of her grandmother gawking at her. Guilt loomed with her heart.

"Meow."

"I'm already aware of this. You don't need to keep reminding me," she told the cat jokingly as if she were actually having an active conversation with it.

A cringe suddenly took over her features; was she really just talking to a cat?

Avelina's eyes returned to the picture of her grandma. It was almost as if the picture itself was mocking her.

She stood up before picking up the picture. Her gaze never faltered from the beautiful woman. When she slid her finger across the glass that rested just above her cheek, a tear fell from her eye. It was almost as if she could remember feeling her grandmother's smooth skin beneath the pads of her fingertips.

Her mind kept taunting her-what would granny say if she saw you with Adrik after his sister had killed her?

Avelina laid the picture flat down on its face. She couldn't bear the feelings that shadowed her heart pathetically.

-

Adrik was frustrated and hurt. Anton was speaking to him, but he wasn't even attempting to understand a word. His mind always trailed right back to the blue-eyed beauty.

Everything reminded him of her. His desk caused his mind to reminisce about how much he hated when she sat on top of it instead of a chair. Now, he didn't hate it as much. He wanted her to sit on top of his desk and play with his hair while he did paperwork.

"Mr. Zolotov," Anton called out to him. Adrik glanced up at him frustratedly.

"Freedom to speak freely, sir?" Anton questioned his boss.

Anton could feel Adrk's disappointment shedding off of him in waves. The truth was, he had never seen his boss in this way before. Adrik always kept to himself and expressed his emotions mechanically. For once, Anton could see just how sad Adrik was, and it hurt him.

"Okay," Adrik stated.

"You have to give her time," Anton advised.

"I do not understand how I can give someone time. It is beyond my control. Time is indefinite that can not be controlled or given away by neither me or you," Adrik explained. Anton let out a sigh. He had forgotten how literal he had to be for his boss.

"What I meant is that you have to have patience. Based on the short amount of time that I've known Avelina, I could honestly tell that she will come back," Anton spoke.

Adrik grasped an understanding of what he was trying to say. Hope began to splurge into his heart as he thought about Anton's words. He had thought that Avelina no longer wanted him, but maybe with time, she would.

"I only wanted to protect Natasha like Natasha had protected me my entire life," Adrik let out. It surprised Anton, to say the least. He knew that Adrik wasn't the type of person to ever say how he felt. Yet, there he was, explaining what was going on in his mind.

"Have you talked to Natasha?" Anton found himself asking.

"Not recently. The last time I had spoken to her was after the wedding to tell her what the man had said," he said. Anton's brows pulled together.

"What man?" He asked curiously.

"The man that stabbed me. He told me something before I shot him," Adrik stated. Anton leaned forward in the chair as curiosity peaked his mind. Adrik hadn't told him about this.

"What did he say to you?" Anton asked.

"He told me that if I did not give up Natasha's location to Vincent, then Vincent would come back to kill me," Adrik explained, "he threatened me, and I do not enjoy being threatened."

Anton noticed the clenched fist Adrik withheld that only managed to tighten with each word that left Adrik's mouth.

"So, you told Natasha. What did she say?" Anton questioned.

"She wants to come out of hiding. Natasha has said plenty of times that she did not want to be the cause of Avelina hating me. On that day of the wedding, Natasha said that she had given up. That if Vincent found her and killed her, then it was okay because she felt as though it was what she deserved. After that day, I hadn't heard from her. I tried calling, but she would not answer. I am not aware of where she is," he said casually. Anton's brows had risen as worry woken itself up in his mind.

"We should go look for her," Anton declared, standing up from his seat and beginning to storm out of Adrik's office.

"You cannot," Adrik demanded.

"Sir-"

"Vincent's men are always watching just like my men are always watching him. If we go to look for my sister, he would know where she is. It is not a risk that I am willing to take," Adrik stated.

Anton's shoulders fell. He didn't think about that.

"I have to go. Sobaka and I have a date," Anton let out.

Adrik didn't spare him another glance as he walked out of the office, leaving him with his perplexing thoughts.

He grew the sudden urge to text Avelina-just to bid her a goodnight. His heart already yearned for her.

As his mind trailed back to to the conversations he had with his sister, Adrik began to realize she was right. Natasha constantly told him that he should tell Avelina about what happened. He was fearful of her reaction. He was scared that he would lose her. Sadly, it was too late for that; she was already gone.

Grabbing his phone from beside him on his desk, he clicked Avelina's contact name. Adrik's finger seemed to hover over the call button. Anton may have told him to be patient, but it was hard maintaining patience when all he wanted was to look into those ocean-like eyes once more.

Switching his phone off, he gripped the bridge of his nose. Adrik's eyes seemed to shut as his thoughts took over his mind. Angrily, he slid everything from off his desk. He even went as far as standing up and kicking his chair off to the floor.

He slammed his fist into the wall leading to a sharp pain in his stab wound.

"F*ck," he groaned. He lifted up his shirt to see blood leaking through the bandage at a faster rate.

Adrik racked his brain over to the time Avelina had changed his gauze for him. He memorized each function of her fingertips before walking over to the bathroom and attempting to repeat her very same steps.

Even though he was currently in physical pain, it didn't triumph the hurt he felt over losing Avelina. He didn't think anything could measure up to that.

He finished taking care of his wound, wishing that it was Avelina doing it instead. He loved it when she touched him, even though he typically hated it when others made any kind of contact with him. With Avelina, he felt like he could be a normal adult man. Everything impossible for Adrik's mentality seemed possible around her.

Turning out his light, he walked into his bedroom where he laid down in his bed-his mind still wide awake. This was one of those moments where he would creep into her room and lay down beside her. He would press his head against her neck and whisper that he enjoyed his time with her today.

Adrik couldn't do that today. Adrik couldn't do that ever again.

-
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