Ride or Die
Chapter 10: Little Games
Staring at the blinking cursor on the empty word document, his mind was empty. Initially, he'd set aside a few hours that night to hammer out the first few pages of a paper for his upcoming macroeconomics class. The subject matter of the course suddenly seemed inconsequential as flashes of the previous night formed in his mind.
Trying his best to shove the thoughts aside, Aang pulled the textbook closer to him and skimmed over a few of the paragraphs. No matter how many times he read and reread the same passages, the information left his brain. He was overwhelmed with the urge to throw his laptop out of the open window next to him. Much in the same fashion, he wanted to throw Jai out a window.
Unable to concentrate, he pulled the phone off the desk next to him and unlocked the screen. Anything to pull his mind of the paper and the events of the previous night. He'd found Katara outside of Lagoon, by herself, phone filled with threatening messages from an unknown number. They'd called the number, hoping for an answer on the other side of the line. Nothing. The line had trilled for a few seconds before disconnecting, not even leading into a prompt for a voicemail.
They'd spent the night together at her apartment, huddled together on the couch as they rewatched their favorite horror movies. While her mood had been sour at the start of the night, by the end of their third slasher movie and a few White Claws, Katara had done nothing but laugh at the terrible B-movies. When morning had come, they'd gone their separate ways - she to her job at the cafe and he to his uncle's house, to start another assignment.
7:08 PM flashed up at him in bright white numbers. She was late again.
Opening the messaging app, he composed a quick text and sent it to her. They'd planned to meet up after her shift was over, but since the early hours of the morning, he hadn't heard a word from her. Normally she'd call him on her lunch, or at least send him a text. But nothing, he thought to himself.
Are you okay? Haven't heard from you all day.
Sending the message and darkening the screen, Aang rested the phone face down on his desk and stood. Raising his arms over his head, he stretched out his muscles, loosening the tension in his shoulders.
Opening his bedroom door and heading down the large staircase towards the living room, he flicked on a few lights as he went. Even if it was so early in the evening, his uncle had long gone to bed. The man was an early riser and was usually awake well before dawn, heading to the park to practice tai chi forms with his small group of friends.
Entering the kitchen, Aang took a mug out of one of the cabinets. Quickly, he moved to fill the electric kettle with water and waited for it to heat. The cooling season had quickly set in, and a steaming cup of tea sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world at that moment.
His thoughts drifted back to Katara as he listened to the whistling of the kettle. Even as relaxed as she'd been the previous night, there was still something about her that was on edge and distracted. As if she really couldn't relax, no matter how hard he'd tried to help her.
As he poured the steaming water in the mug, Zuko's words boomeranged back into his mind. 'You both have a lot of healing to do. Take it slow.'
What they hadn't done was take it slow. They'd both dove head-first back into the deep end of the relationship, with Aang staying at her place multiple nights a week and Katara visiting his home regularly. It was like they had picked up in the relationship right where they'd left off - as if the last six months had never happened. It was natural for him, he thought, being with Katara the way he was. In the back of his mind, he knew they still both had a lot of healing to do. He knew they'd have to have a serious conversation sooner than later.
Raising the mug to his lips, he inhaled the deep floral notes of the jasmine tea and took a small sip. There wasn't anything quite like his uncle's custom tea blends. While Zuko's uncle was the best tea maker in town, there was something about the unique blends his uncle came up with that made him feel grounded and comforted.
Somewhere outside of the house, the sound of shattering glass and the blare of a car alarm yanked him out of his thoughts. Dropping the mug, he bounded from the kitchen and towards the front door, pulling it open with all the force he could.
In the floodlights of the driveway, Rika's small form crouched on the hood of his uncle's car, partially blocking the smashed-in windshield. His insides twisted as he watched her stand and turn on her feet, her eyes locking with his. The image of his ex-girlfriend perched on the hood of the car filled his mind, blotting out everything around him.
Unable to form words, he focused on quelling the rage and confusion building within him. Stepping from the front door, Aang ran towards her, stopped in his path at feeling something hard pelt him.
"What the f-" His words stopped short as another object smashed into him, cracking and leaving him coated in a slimy substance.
Realizing what had crashed into him was nothing more than eggs, Aang wiped the yolks from his face and ran towards Rika. With wide eyes, Rika stepped back from him, face dark with rage.
"Why are you doing this?!" He yelled, voice booming the young woman. Grabbing her shoulders, he shook her for a moment, tamping down the confusion and anger threatening to overtake him.
Shoving him away, Rika's voice left her in a shriek. "You broke my heart!"
Her words, the simplest of explanations for her and Meng's actions betrayed nothing but the truth. The moment Katara had come back he'd cast off Rika like a dirty rag, nothing more than something to be disposed of. Even if he hadn't intended to hurt her, he could only imagine what his betrayal had done to her.
Feeling his chest tighten, Aang watched as Rika wrenched her hand back and slapped him, the sharp sting of her blow blossoming across his face. For a moment he stood stunned, reeling from the force of her blow.
For such a small woman, the impact of her blow left him feeling breathless and stunned. 'I deserved that.'
The moment she was the folded up paper underneath the blades of her windshield wipers, Katara felt her stomach drop. This was the last thing she needed, she thought as she headed towards the SUV. Quickly pulling the papers from the windshield, she hesitated for a moment, dread and anxiety building within her.
Drawing in a deep breath, she slowly unfolded the thick stack of papers. Images of herself in her apartment, taken from an unknown vantage point filled her mind. An image of her changing, shirt just above her head, torso, and chest fully exposed. Fear seized her as she flipped from one page to the next, the crisp images of herself sending her into an internal freefall.
It was like he feasted on her fear as if it nurtured his sense of strength. She knew exactly who had taken the pictures and who exactly had left them waiting for her. The mysterious calls and text messages had started up the moment her plane had landed two months prior. It was no mystery.
Normally the thought of Jai would have caused her to panic. Instead, the thick stack of privacy-invading and voyeuristic photos of her made Katara angry. Angry at herself for not confronting him sooner, anger at herself for letting Jai's stalking keep an iron grip on her.
Pulling the SUV open and jamming herself into the driver's seat, Katara tossed the pictures onto the passenger seat and started the engine. Enough was enough, she thought. Before she could move the gearshift and back out of the parking spot, her phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text message.
"What now?" Katara sighed, violently pulling the phone from her bag.
Unlocking the screen, she opened the message to see a text from Aang. At least something was going right in her day. No matter how bad the day was, his messages only made her feel better.
Opening the message, she was greeted with an image of Gyatso's car, it's once pristine visage smashed and broken, a cinder block jutting out of the windshield.
"What the fuck?" She breathed, quickly dialing his number without another thought.
"Hey," His voice flooded over the speaker of the car.
"What the hell happened?" She questioned quickly, unbelieving of the image she started at.
"Well, to make a long story short - Rika showed up and wrecked the car. She'd still... mad at me if you can't tell."
Katara's heart sank in her chest as she listened to Aang. She felt battered by his words. It had been their sudden reunion that had that been the end of his relationship with Rika. To say his relationship with Rika had gone down in flames was an understatement. Once again, Katara found herself as the catalyst for another woman's meltdown.
As much sympathy as she had for Rika, the thought of Gyatso's vandalized car urged her to speak. "What about the car, Aang? What's your uncle going to say?"
Listening to Aang's sigh, she waited for a moment, feeling on edge.
"I have some money saved up, I'll have to get it fixed. There goes my car fund..."
Leaning back into the car seat, Katara dropped her head back. To say the situation they now found themselves in was both very unfair and warranted at the same time made her feel terrible. Neither of them was innocent, and both of them were to blame. But it still felt unfair that Aang was once again tried up in the problems she'd caused. It seemed as if Katara was nothing but a harbinger of drama for him.
"I'm so sorry, Aang..."
'There's nothing we can do now. It's already done. I'll tell my uncle what happened in the morning."
Katara sat silent as she listened to him speak. Even with what had unfolded that night, Aang was calm and accepting as could be. It was true, she thought. There was nothing they could do, what was done was done. That fact did little to comfort her as she studied the stitches of her headliner, unsure of what to say next.
"You there?" He questioned.
His voice broke through to her, bringing her back into reality. Realizing she was idling in the parking spot in front of the cafe, Katara sat up and put the car into reverse, and pulled out of the spot.
"Yeah... " She trailed.
"Want to come get me? Let's hang out at your place tonight."
Her place. The very apartment she'd secured for herself to escape from the claustrophobia she felt at living at him. A place she wanted to use as a fresh start. His mention of her apartment left her feeling uneasy. Perhaps if he was there with her, she could finally feel safe. At the very least, she figured she'd have to change her locks and install thick light-blocking curtains. It seemed as if the blinds currently installed in the apartment did little to give her privacy anyway.
How was she going to tell him about the pictures? She knew the wadded up pile of pictures on the seat next to her would ruin the night, what was left of the night at least.
"Yeah, on my way now." She said voice muffled as she leaned over and grabbed the glossy pictures. With one hand, she pulled open the glove box and stuffed the prints into it. She didn't want him to see them, not tonight.
"I'll be there in five. Wait for me outside?"
With those words, the line disconnected, and her mind raced. A part of her knew she couldn't putt off showing him the pictures for very long, but at that moment Katara wanted nothing more than to just enjoy the night with him.
Between the crappy day, she'd had at work and finding the pictures, a small part of her wanted nothing more than to leave Harbor City again. Maybe she should leave again? Briefly entertaining the thought, she wondered if Aang might go with her this time. Maybe if she proposed the idea as a chance for them to start over without all the preexisting issues around them, he might agree.
She shook the thought away. Katara knew Aang wouldn't leave the city until he was done with college, at the earliest. Running from her problems a second time wouldn't fix them either.
Pulling to a stop next to his house, Katara let out a sigh as she watched him enter the car.
Parting her lips to speak, she was silenced as Aang brought her in for a kiss. For a moment she tensed, slightly taken aback by his sudden show of affection. Emptying her mind, Katara relaxed into the kiss, returning it with equal passion. After a few minutes, he back away from her, a strange look on his face.
"It's nice to see you too..." Katara breathed, a small smile on her lips.
Offering her a lopsided grin, Aang rested his head against the seat and looked over at her. "You have no idea."
For a moment, the pair sat in silence. Both had experienced a lot over the past few hours. Katara watched as Aang sat forward in the seat and pulled the phone out of his pocket.
"Zuko asked if we want to hang out tonight. You feel like going over there?"
While she listened to every word he said, Katara's eyes were glued to the smashed sedan sitting in his driveway. At another point in time, she would have felt incredibly embarrassed and ashamed at the sight of the car. At that moment, she felt nothing but rage. Rage at Rika, anger at the situation Jai put her in.
Sudden realization crystallized in her mind as she continued to listen to him speak. What she wanted to do was to confront Jai, and maybe even Rika in the process.
"Wanna take a drive?"