"Why?" James groans, "why are we traveling to another city at five in the morning?"

He's spent the last couple of nights at my house, but was unprepared for the 'sudden' trip. In my defense, I told him he could stay until I got back. James is considered my only family, so my house is his. Well, his second one. Not that he spends much time at the first. He could do whatever he pleased until I got back, but he woke up when I did, demanding that he comes with.

He didn't care that it was four am when we were getting ready, and I believe it was the drowsiness talking. I'll admit that I didn't do much convincing for him to stay because his company was honestly wanted. Spending an entire early drive with nothing but my thoughts was something I wasn't looking forward to.

On the day that I met up with Malik I brought up the topic of family, and I was too focused on him to think about the topic being spinned back on me. I said I had no one other than James, and that wasn't a lie. My family is dead to me to put it simply. Every single member. Their names hold no weight in my life, their very being has no place in my heart. The thought of them sends fire through my veins, and I burn with a hatred that's hard to muster. Leave it to my family to make it easy.

Yet, with all of that, I've been plagued with nightmares that leave me tossing and turning through the night. When I'm not thinking about work, or Malik, it's them. I've never let something so insignificant disrupt my life, but that's what's happening. My sister...my brother...the time for them to reappear back in my life—even if only in my mind—is comical.

"Can we at least stop soon? I'm thirsty."

I turn on my signal light as an empty gas station comes into view almost right after his request. Despite my somewhat troubles, James has been in a mood himself. The two of us have been working our asses off at the building, and sulking around at home after hours. We haven't officially talked about why we're zombies at night, but I could only guess.

Malik said he knew he could come to me when he needed me, then started avoiding me like I had the deadliest fucking disease. The cafe meetup was three, almost four, weeks ago. He hasn't come to me, hasn't contacted me, hasn't responded to me attempting to contact him. He looks at me like he can't stand to be away from me, and I've come to terms with the fact that I look at him the same way.

He decided to drop off the face of the earth after that, and I'm positive that James is in the exact same situation. Malik's the first to pull me in, in the way that he has. I'm entranced by him. He's not a want, but a need, and I never planned to let him go. A tiny sliver of my mind worried about him, because his so-called job as security was serious. The other parts of it were feeling something that I can't define.

What James knows about Talon is unknown to me. I do know that he settled for Dylan's death being suicide. He didn't question it further, and I didn't bring any of my suspicions to his attention. Believe me, I don't want to avenge him. It's the last thing I'd wish to do, but Malik being connected is keeping me there in that jail. Talon too. They're too close for him not to be involved. I won't leave it alone until I get the truth that I already know. A truth that puts myself on the line.

"Oh, fuck no, that signs flickering. I'm not being a victim of Michael Myers in a town where no one knows me."

My mind clears as James says: nope, nope,nope, over and over. I park closely by the door, noticing the owner standing by the door. His head tilts as he assesses my car. James clutches onto my arm as I sling my seatbelt from my body. His death grip almost keeps me glued to the seat, but I manage to step out.

The owner opens the door as I near, his beard and mustache covering his nice, business-like smile.

"Back here again, Ziya?"

"Good to see you too, Rob. How's Lily?"

"Same old! I was just telling her about raising these prices, and she bout hit me over the head!"

I laugh softly at the story he tells me, while rounding to get a few candy bars. I take a few nutrient bars while I'm at it, and secure a large chocolate chip muffin. I'm heading over to the drinks when Rob beats me to it.

"You've always been my best customer, and this is your second time visiting! I told Lily you'd be back."

"Did you now?"

"Yup! And what's with your friend? He gonna pretend like he's invisible the whole time? He can at least be a man and offer to put gas in your tank."

I shake my head, not mentioning that my car doesn't need gas. "He thinks a serial killer will get to him if he comes out."

Rob barks out a laugh, his belly shaking with the rumble of his chest. James tries peeking sneakily through the window, as if he senses us talking about him. Rob laughs harder at the sight, and I can't help the little laugh that slips free.

I take a few waters from the freezer as Rob waltz behind the register. I close the freezer with my hip before joining him, and seeing that he already rung me up. The price reads five dollars flat, when I know that's nowhere near the original price. Rob gives me that same friendly, salesman smile—ignoring the roll of my eyes. He immediately gets to bagging the items as I set them down, and I quickly pull a one-hundred dollar bill from my wallet.

Rob passes me the bag as I slide over the money, his mouth dropping in disbelief.

"Keep all of the change, and tell Lily I say hi."

"I will! Come back soon, and tell your friend to check his underwear! Boy looks close to peeing himself."

I smile as I leave the small store, James unlocking the doors as I near. He's biting his lip anxiously while taking the bag that I hand over.

"What happened?"

"Rob says to check your underwear," I smirk, trying my best not to laugh, "and to pay for my gas next time."

"Your car doesn't even need gas!"

———

"No," James whines.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything, James."

We made it to another house of mine around seven in the morning, and James took a nap in one of the master bedrooms. I took advantage of the morning peace and rested in my bath with scented bubbles. I honestly could've taken a nap there, and be happy when I woke up, but there were others things I wanted to do. Like make a nice breakfast for James. I earlier paid for food to be delivered to my house and put away in the fridge.

He woke up to scrambled eggs, cinnamon french toast, star-shaped waffles, and strawberries with a bit of whipped cream. I gave him a bottled water from the few I bought earlier. He moaned and groaned, twisting his back to me—his small swarm of butterflies tattoo staring me in my face. I barely uttered the word: breakfast, before he was up and ready to eat.

It was devoured in mere minutes, with a smudge of whipped cream left on the plate. Now we're here.

"Wherever you go, I go, and I really don't want to go anywhere."

"James," I laugh, "I'm not going far, so you can stay and rest up. I'll be back in an hour or two."

He visibly runs his eyes up and down my body, assessing my outfit of a sage green sports bra and black leggings. I packed a new pair of sneakers, so I slip them on as James stares silently. He's mentioned before that he finds the vines that are tattooed across my spine pretty. They're plain as can be because I haven't decided what to add onto them. Vines spoke to me for reasons I can't explain, and that's why I haven't done anything more. Nothing speaks to me.

James decides that now is the time to get up when I wrap my hair into a tight ponytail. He staggers around as he pulls on the sweats from earlier this morning and his sneakers. His hair is utterly wild, but he's too busy rubbing the sleep from his eyes to notice. He looks up from the heat of my gaze, his eyes suddenly squinting.

"Let's just go before I change my mind."

"Yes, sir," I nod.

We head out of the master bedroom, walking past the elevator that leads to the third floor, and I lead down the stairs. I change my direction to the back of the house, seeing an already open door waiting for us. I made sure to open it earlier because the air felt nice at the time.

The sunlight eagerly greets us as we reach the stone path behind my house. It's silent, but this kind of silence always felt comforting to me. The only sound is of the soft wind, our breathing, and the tiny crunching beneath our feet.

"You weren't lying about not going far..." James looks around, "I never knew about this."

"I bought this house on a whim. This is my second time staying here."

It's an escape. A place for me to not be, because I'm too many things in my regular life.

"Are we going to meditate? I was totally unprepared when I decided to tag along."

"Shush, James."

"Okay."

We tread down the rest of the path in silence. There are no thoughts in my head at the moment. It's finally empty after months of thoughts that I've longed to disappear. Being a multi-millionaire can't solve everything, unfortunately. I wish it was so.

"I know you said to be quiet, but who's that?"

I hum as Nathan emerges from the open stone sanctuary. He's shirtless and sweaty, letting me know he started way before we showed up. I guess long mornings aren't uncommon here. He places his hands on his hips, welcoming us, while also trying to catch his breath.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show," he breathes, once we stand in front of him.

"I see you've started without me," I reply, heading further into the open space.

James squeaks out a small greeting before rushing to join my side. I sit down on the cool, concrete flooring, spreading my legs apart before stretching my body in between them. I stay in that position for a minute before lifting my body up.

"Yoga first, huh?" Nathan says, disrupting my silent bubble, "all you wanted was physical contact the last time."

James looks between us, his eyes wide, and his fingers pointing. "You two...?"

"Fought," I finish, as I allow my body to relax back.

"She whooped my ass," Nathan gloats on my behalf. He takes my leg as I lift it, pulling it further over my head until it reaches his thigh. He holds it for ten seconds, then I switch legs. Ten more second pass, and then I lift both legs.

Nathan holds onto them as he lifts me up, until I'm
upside down and in a handstand position. I hold my legs together as he lets go of me, focusing solely on the core of my body. I breathe in slowly, hold my breath for five seconds, then release. I do that action two more times before dropping back onto my feet.

James is sitting with his legs crossed, watching everything unfold. He looks a little more awake, but still exhausted at the same time.

"You can join," I invite him, "I guarantee you'll feel better."

James hesitatingly stands to his feet, shedding his hoodie. The cool air whips at his skin, causing a small series of shivers. Nathan heads his way, and I don't stop him. He does this for a living, and can open James up more than I can. I bend down until my fingers are curved underneath my shoes; James takes in a sharp breath, and I glance over to see him in a similar position.

I focus on myself once I see James is okay. I close my eyes, hoping to keep my mind empty. There was a time where I let myself go, and I will never do that again. I will never go back to being a person that could barely survive with herself. I built this new version of myself over time, and I will not let it go.

I do a few more stretches and yoga positions that Nathan presented to me the last time I visited. They don't leave you sore, no matter how many times, or
how long, you did them. My body felt great afterwards and I was rejuvenated throughout the week. I take a final, deep sigh before clapping to gain their attention.

"I'm ready."

Nathan nods, backing away from James who looks considerably better than before.

"Why'd you come back?" Nathan asks, circling my body.

"I thought I paid you to talk less," I answer, turning my body to get into a stance.

"Can't I be curious?"

I lunge backwards when he leaves my line of vision, catching him fully by surprise. Nathan blocks my jab, but I quickly kick his leg to the side before elbowing him in the ribs. He drops to a knee, giving me the advantage. I grab his head, kneeing him in the stomach, and bring him to both of his knees.

"No. Let's go again."

———

"I quit! Get off of me!" James says out of breath.

I've been sitting on his back for five minutes, while Nathan stood to the side watching the scene unfold. We sparred three times, resulting in two wins for me. I was still feeling amped up, and told James to give it a go. He agreed after a little persuading from both Nathan and I, and it ended with me on top of his back.

"Don't tell me you're done?" I taunt, leaning forward to reach his ear, "we've barely started, James."

"Nope, I'm done! You cannot convince me any further."

I playfully roll my eyes as I lift up from his back. James lets out a huge sigh of relief, being a tad more dramatic than usual. He rolls onto his back as Nathan approaches us once again. He has his signature stance of his hands on his hips and a smile, that looks like a smirk, on his face.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Did you get my payments? I doubled it, since this wasn't scheduled."

"I did, after I told you that you pay me enough. Still, thank you."

We fist bump and James waves goodbye as we set back to the house. I feel lighter, and I wish I could bask in this a little longer, but this life isn't completely mine. It isn't fresh air all of the time and breakfast with my best friend in a house that I spontaneously bought. No, my life is somewhere else. I've come to terms with that.

"What now? Are we heading back home?" James asks, in a lighter tone.

"Not yet. We should have some fun before dragging ourselves back into the pit of work, yeah?"

"Now you're speaking my language. But I didn't pack."

"I've got it covered."

"I'm obsessed with you."

"That's good."

"No, like, seriously."

"Shush, James."

"Okay."

———
Here we gooo, the second chapter to this double update!!

How did we like this calm chapter? Are we still rocking with the dual povs? The next two chapters will also be in Ziya's pov.

We're finally seeing a little deeper into both Malik and Ziya's lives. It was never sunshine and rainbows for them, but that could change.

———
QOTD: If you were granted just three wishes, what would you wish for?

———
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