Page 11 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part One
She probably said the same thing about me. I was so ready to leave this place. I didn’t feel any more ‘healed’ than I did when I first entered, but the antidepressants were good. Made me feel more balanced. That was something.
Something to keep me comfortably numb.
Chapter6
Hendrick
I’d eavesdropped outside the phone room yesterday. I didn’t feel guilty; it was a room with no door. Anyone could listen. But Aviva’s soft conversation sparked something in me, or maybe it was the look of desolation on her face. Maybe it was the idea that someone who hoped for nothingness could still be disappointed. Which then gave me an idea.
I just had to convince the guys. And by the guys, I meant Otto. Sampson wouldn’t give two shits. After I convinced them, then I had to convince Aviva.
Me: Hey, leaving Friday at four a.m. Pack for a trip to Europe.
Otto: The fuck?
Sam: Want me to organize the private jet or are we going commercial?
I chewed my lip.
Me: Let’s go commercial. Don’t want dear old Dad ordering the plane to turn around.
Sam: Fuck your dad, we’ll take mine.
Otto: This is the most ridiculous conversation. We’re still in Florida. Want us to come and see you?
Me: Just get us flights to JFK, I have to stop and grab some stuff first. Four flights.
Otto: Four?
I stuffed the phone back in my pocket. I’d answer all their questions later, but there was no point if I couldn’t get Aviva to agree. I didn’t examine why I wanted to sink a fuckload of money into traveling around the world with a girl who hated my guts, but at least it was interesting.
Pulling the door of my suite closed, I was glad that I didn’t have to share my space with some fucking Neanderthal. Starting my search for Aviva, I worked from the outside in. She was hard to track down, and I was starting to get the idea that perhaps she was avoiding me. A smile curled my lips. This was why I liked her.
Esther appeared in front of me, like the ghost of girlfriends past. Aviva hadn’t been wrong about Esther wanting to fuck me; we’d hooked up at a party once, and now she thought I owed her something—mostly my dick. Her desperation clung to her like an oil slick, and it made my stomach turn.
“Hendrick,” she whined.
“Esther,” I whined back as I continued to move toward the back door. But Esther gripped my shirt and dragged me back.
“Wanna go to my room? My father made a sizable donation so that I could get my own suite.”
“No.”
She huffed and strode away, in sneakers instead of her normal stilettos. No wonder she seemed so short. Otto would be happy she was in here—she’d been snorting so much coke lately, it was a wonder she still had a septum.
I checked outside, under all the trees, knowing that was where Aviva liked to read. I even checked the pumphouse in case she was in there with that dumbshit. But I was pretty confident she wasn’t outside. I started inside, checking the dining and rec rooms, and then the chapel. Still nothing. Maybe she’d left early?
I didn’t want to analyze the thump in my chest at that thought. It was probably just disappointment that I couldn’t use her as an excuse to fly around the world on a whim.
I also ignored the relieved whoosh of breath that flowed from me when I finally spotted her wild blonde curls. Ducking into the infamous supply closet—because I knew she’d probably turn tail and run if she spotted me—I watched through the crack in the door. I waited until she was just passing by, then threw it open, grabbed her arm, and dragged her in with me.
She let out a scream, and I slammed my hand over her mouth. “It’s me.”
I’d learned my lesson from last time because I pulled my hand away before she could bite me.
“Honestly, you are so fucked in the head, Hendrick Kenley. You need way more therapy than you’re getting. What did I say about dragging girls into darkened corners?” she hissed, and I would be damned if her chastisement didn’t just amuse me more.
I shrugged. “You were hiding from me.”
