"I still can't believe you got kicked out of a carnival. Over a carousel of all things," Lysandra shook her head, mirth dancing in her green eyes.
Aelin scowled into her cup of mint tea. "Blaise was there first," she muttered.
"Only you, Aelin," Lysandra chuckled and sipped her own drink. The two were seated at Aelin's desk in her office, sipping from travel mugs before the morning rush began. The office was in the corner of the building that Aelin's company was based in. The office had walls of glass to promote transparency between employee and employer, or some meaningless phrase like that that the board of directors had come up with. Aelin wished they hadn't. It was disconcerting, having no privacy from your workers. Especially when Sam had used to visit during her lunch break and do things with his mouth...no, she wouldn't think of that. "Lys, can I drop off Blaise at your place tonight?" Aelin asked.
"Yeah, of course," Lysandra replied. She thoughtfully surveyed Aelin's face and lowered her voice in sympathy. "Are you finally going to see that grief counselor I told you about?"
"No," Aelin snapped. "I want to get some grocery shopping done without being begged for candy every other step!"
Chewing her lip, Lysandra just tapped the brochure she had left on Aelin's desk days ago and left the office, brushing Aelin's arm as she walked past. Aelin leaned her forearms onto her desk, head bent like she was praying. She knew she wasn't handling the grief well. Hell, just look take a look at her apartment. Every day she came home to reminders of Sam and painful as they were, she couldn't bear to remove them. His clothing was folded in the antique armoire in Aelin's bedroom; his pillow case still cloaked his pillow, unwashed despite the fact that Aelin had switched from flannel sheets to silk ones ages ago; his fancy coffee maker that he wouldn't allow Aelin to touch was still in the kitchen, unused. Aelin had taken to drinking tea after his death. Even in her office, sticky notes were scattered about with his little stick figures and sweet notes that he had used to slip into her bag for her to find at work.
The glossy brochure on the desk was filled with words like "stages of grief" and "healthy support group" and had a picture of a woman consoling a crying man on the front. Of course Lysandra thought she needed grief counseling. Everybody probably thought that but Lysandra was the only one ballsy enough to say it even when Aelin's temper was on such a short leash these days. The woman knew what was good for everyone except herself.
Hearing footsteps, Aelin roused herself from her thoughts and sat straight in her chair. Another disadvantage of her office was that she couldn't take moments to grieve without being seen as weak by her workers. Her company, though she loved it, was cutthroat. It had come a long way from being a one-woman operation in her basement. She missed those days, when it was simpler and she was able to actually do the work she loved: selling clothes online. Now, as CEO of her newly incorporated company, she was subject to the board of directors and was tangled in a net of office politics.
Her assistant knocked at the door, a thin man a few years younger than she with thick-framed glasses and a bowtie. "Aelin, your meeting with Vivienne Larue began five minutes ago."
Aelin jumped to her feet and rushed out the door, nearly knocking him over. "God, I can't believe I'm late! Which conference room?"
"3-she's saying she'll leave if you're not there in five minutes," her assistant said.
"Thanks, Glen!" Aelin caled over her shoulder as she barreled past the currently-empty cubicles and towards the conference room. Why she ever scheduled a meeting before most of her workers even arrived was beyond Aelin, but she knew she was late to a meeting that would expand her company nationally. But that was just how her life was going lately. Things were rushing past her and she felt like a spectator. She held it together well enough but anyone with a brain could see she was not her former self.
Blaise grinned at Aelin as they walked up the lane towards Lysandra's front door. The little girl absolutely adored her "aunt", who spoiled her with sugary treats and allowed her to watch all the TV she wanted. Not to mention, Lysandra's adopted daughter Evangeline was like the older sister Blaise would never have. Before knocking on the door, Aelin knelt in front of her daughter. The sunlight burnished her golden curls, so much like Aelin's own, although her brown eyes were the mirror of Sam's. Aelin's heart stuttered, as it always did when she looked at Blaise, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. "You be good for Aunt Lysandra, you hear me? No temper tantrums or hissyfits." Blaise nodded solemnly and Aelin pulled her in for a hug then rang the doorbell.
Lysandra cracked open the door, then hauled it open further when she saw Aelin. "I thought you were Aedion. He hasn't shown his face around here in two days," she scowled. Aelin wondered what Aedion had done to piss her off this time. The two fought like an already-married couple, even though they technically weren't even dating yet.
"Well, I haven't seen him in days either so if you do see him, tell him to get his ungrateful ass to my apartment," Aelin said. She watched Blaise scurry inside to be greeted by Evangeline and smiled. "If she misbehaves, don't be afraid to put her in timeout or something."
Lysandra rolled her eyes. "Like you always do? That child's a terror and you do nothing about it," she grinned to soften her words. Blaise definitely lived up to her namesake, but as Aelin's child, what else could you expect?
Aelin grabbed Lysandra's hand and squeezed. "Thank you so much, Lys. I'll be back in an hour," she turned and left the little gingerbread house, with its white shutters and flowered walkway. Her black Jeep was still running in the driveway so she climbed in and roared out without a glance back.
On the way there, Aelin felt like she hit every single red light. The waits were unreasonably long today, too. With each light, Aelin swore and hit the steering wheel, her blood pressure rising every time. The sun was below the horizon by now, its former presence only signified by a faint pink glow. The light she was sitting at was such a maddening red color. She bared her teeth at it and growled, not caring what the drivers next to her thought. Finally, finally after agonizing seconds of waiting, the light shifted to green. Aelin didn't bother to look as she pressed her foot down on the gas. Reckless driving was her specialty. She gunned through the intersection and was almost across when she felt an impact against the left side of the car. The Jeep spun once, twice, then crunched to a halt for only seconds before another impact slammed into the other side. Aelin was jolted to the side and slammed her head on the window, which was cracked from the other impact. Panic filled her as she realized her legs had been trapped below the steering wheel by twisted metal. She tried getting them out but her senses began to numb and her vision blurred until everything was black.
Aaahhhh a cliffhanger! I'm sorry (not really hahahaha). I'm sorry that this chapter was so short even though it took so long to update! But AP exams will be over in two weeks and then it's almost summer and I plan to finish this story over the summer. I'm not exactly sure what direction I'm taking it so message me with any suggestions!
Also thank you soooo much to all my reviewers! I love you all! I promise that this chapter I will personally reply to all my reviews if they aren't anonymous. Let me know what you thought!
-Rachel
