Page 62 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part One
“You knew?”
She shrugged. “I suspected. You don’t spend ninety days in an institution and not learn the difference between a personality quirk and an actual illness.” She looked at him, not with pity, but with empathy. I guess that was one possible perk of dating a girl who also suffered from mental illness—she understood. “What can I do?”
I sighed, because that was what was so hard about mental illness, from a bystander’s point of view—the helplessness. “His self-talk gets really dark. Just let him know you’re there. That you aren’t going anywhere just because he’s a little fucked up.” I paused. “Forgive him for the stupid shit he’ll inevitably do once he decides you’re too good to him. He’ll try and drive you away, because obviously it’ll be easier than owning up to his bullshit.”
She nodded as Sampson came over, the room key clutched in his hand. “Let’s go up. This jet lag thing is killing me.” We walked to the elevator, and Evan slipped in beside us. The guys would be horrified, but I could tell Evan wanted Aviva. Wanted her badly, but he was a professional. He would never act on it, especially because he’d sound like a fucking hypocrite after that stupid speech he gave us back in Paris.
“Firth texted me while we were on the flight. He’s coming down on Saturday to hit up the clubs with us,” Sampson stated, looking back down at his phone as the doors closed.
Hendrick nodded, and in the reflection of the elevator mirror, I could see him scrolling through some Insta posts. Following the pattern like a champion, just like he always did. He’d lose himself to meaningless hookups that made him feel like shit, because then he wouldn’t have to face the fact that I—thatwe—meant something. Like he could just push us away. It hadn’t mattered to me before, when it was just me and him, and we were only a casual hookup between friends. But I wasn’t sure I could stand back and let him purposefully hurt Aviva like that.
Our suite was actually two connected rooms, and Hendrick grabbed my arm, pulling me into the first one. “I’ll sleep with Otto. Sampson won’t rub my dick in the middle of the night.”
Sampson gave him a sharp grin that was all teeth. “You’ve never asked,” he teased back. “Come on, Good Girl. I want a nap and a spooning buddy.” He dragged her into the other room, not bothering to shut the door.
I looked at Hendrick but he raised a hand. “No lectures, Otto.”
I tilted my head at him. “Maybe you should have bunked with Sampson if you didn’t want lectures. Or maybe you could have had Aviva all to yourself.”
He scratched the back of his neck in a gesture I knew meant he was about to give me an excuse that I wasn’t going to like. I’d known this man too long.
“About Aviva...”
I held up a hand to stop him and went over to shut the adjoining doors. Finally, I waved for him to proceed. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to hear what his fucking excuse was for this.
“I like her. I like being around her. But we aren’t good for her. Our—I mean,mylife wouldn’t be good for her. It isn’t even good for me. Getting attached, or letting her get attached, will only lead to bad shit.”
Fuck, he wasn’t even spouting selfish lines that I could shoot down as his illness talking, because I’d actually thought those very things myself. Hendrick’s life was complicated, not just with the bipolar, but with the constant attention he’d received ever since he was young. Him and Sampson, they were the darlings of the tabloids. That was without the added pressure of Hendrick’s family, especially his fucking dad.
I was silent, and Hendrick took that as confirmation. “We both know I’m right.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re not. You definitely don’t have the right to make those decisions for her, or for me either. Or for Sampson, who—in case you’ve been blinded by yourself these last couple of days—might actually be in love with her. It’s hard to tell with Sam.” I stepped closer to him, pulling him against my body so he’d be forced to look at me. “If I’ve learned anything about Aviva, it’s that she does what she wants. You can try pushing her away, but in the end, I think she’ll love you whether you like it or not.” I lifted his chin a little so I could kiss him. It was a soft kiss, a rope that I could wrap around his body and use to keep him tethered tightly to me. “You deserve to be happy, Drix.”
He just grunted, and I knew that was about as much as I was going to get out of him. I hung up our clothes, watching as he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, pretending to go to sleep despite the fact he’d slept the entire fourteen hour flight here, and it was now the middle of the day.
This was the beginning, but I was determined to drag him out of his spiral before he hit the bottom. I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into bed beside him, holding him to my chest so he knew that he had me, no matter what.
Turns out, the bookstore we needed to visit for this little expedition was about forty minutes away, so we hired a car. Evan left the other two bodyguards at home for a well-deserved rest day, and chaperoned us himself down south.
Hendrick seemed a little better today, handing out his usual dirty one-liners and smiling brightly, even if it didn’t quite make it to his eyes every time.
I’d done some research while everyone recovered from the flight yesterday, and while I couldn’t find the exact address for the bookshop, I knew its general location. We’d unanimously decided that shopping was also in order, because so far we hadn’t done much on these trips other than sleep, eat, and chase down a ghost.
Evan parked, and we all piled out. Instantly, you could tell that this area was off the tourist trail. The locals eyed us with surprise, but just kept going about their day. It was your average, working class neighborhood, complete with a shopping strip. Except unlike the US, everything was insanely clean.
We ducked in and out of back alleyways as a group, exploring and laughing. Sampson bought several silk scarves in jewel colors and when he handed them to Aviva, he gave her a look so hot it even made me hard. Somehow, I didn’t think they were for his great-aunts back home.
If Aviva noticed though, she didn’t let on. She skipped ahead, giving Evan a heart attack as he kept one eye on her, and one eye on us. Bet he was regretting not bringing the rest of the security now.
“Relax, Evan. It’s fine. Enjoy yourself,” Sampson grumbled, and Evan just gave him a droll look before going back to scanning the street for potential threats. Aviva ducked down one of the alleys, and we all strode after her.
“Guys! I think this is it!” she called, following the narrow walkway. There was a hand-painted black and white sign, the wordTabipainted like a title on the front of a book. I caught up to her in a few long strides, and grabbed her hand, keeping her with me. I was being overprotective—it was just a store after all—but I’d feel better if one of us was with her all the same.
As we stepped in, a little old man behind the counter greeted us with a smile and a bowed head. He looked about a hundred, but blaring over the speakers was a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song. I laughed before I could stop myself.
Aviva stepped forward, bowing respectfully. “Do you have any Jules Verne?”
The old man smiled, but didn’t answer. She pulled a book from her bag, pointing to the name. The old man smiled wide and yelled loudly in Japanese. Aviva squeaked in surprise, jumping slightly, but the man kept smiling.
