The Grey

The interview wasn't at all what he expected, and it took longer than he anticipated. Now that all the T's were crossed, and the I's were dotted on Octavio's contract he could finally leave this Blisk dude's office. At least he wasn't owned by Apex. He could leave anytime he wanted, and he didn't have a manager that he couldn't ever remember the name of. The money was substantially more than he had previously made, which was a nice surprise. He did have money in the bank but a little more wouldn't hurt. He had double checked the contract before he signed anything. He didn't want to get himself into another contract that he couldn't get out of.

Blisk didn't seem to mind that he took his time to look over the contract. The only stipulation that he could see was that he could not mention he was going to be in the games and that he not give out his real name to anyone he didn't know. The first part seemed reasonable, and the second part seemed stupid to him, but he already kept his real identity a secret anyway, so it was not a big deal to him.

After all the paperwork he had to meet with the tech team to figure out what his ability would be in the games. Luckily Octavio had been prototyping something that he wanted to try out. It was a small jump pad that quickly enlarged when he tossed it to the ground. Everyone could use it but of course he could use it the best with his stimmed-up ability. The team liked the idea and agreed to begin the final work to get his jump pad ready for game day. It felt good to have an idea, even an opinion.

His start date was in a week, so he had to find a place to stay. He also didn't have full access to the Apex headquarters until after his first match. As he left the building, he took one more look around to see if he could find her, but she was nowhere to be found. He thought about taking Elliot up on his offer, but he wasn't technically allowed to hang out with the other Legends until after his introductory match. He also didn't want to meet up with party hard Ajay and try to have a conversation with her while she was in that state.

He had known her his whole life and that little piece of information about partying seemed to bother him. He had partied with her before, but she wasn't a diehard partier. Maybe she wasn't like that at the time because he was the partier between the two of them. It also didn't make any sense as to why she was even in the games at all. He thought that she hated stuff like this.

Really, he didn't need to stay with anyone at all because he already had a place on the outskirts of the city. He had planned ahead before he left his other gig just in case whatever his name was decided to screw with his cash flow. The thought of money paused his thoughts as he stood outside of the building. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen on. He checked his bank account and to his surprise his severance pay was there. He thought for sure that whatever his name was would backout of the contract.

Octavio continued to scroll through his phone until he found what he was looking for, which was the address of his new place. The pictures that he saw of the place online were nice but he didn't need anything too fancy. Just a place with land where he could finally get away from it all for a while, at least until his first match. He also wanted it to be a place where he could take her back to and give her everything. Maybe a life together

He sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket, threw his helmet on, and slung his bag over his shoulder. He needed to get going because the new place was a few hours and some change away. The sun was already settling into the horizon, and he really didn't want to ride his bike in the dark, but he knew that he would have to. The interview had gone longer than he anticipated. He thought that it would be just a normal sit-down interview but honestly it was the best interview he had ever had because he got a chance to let go and be himself.

He hopped on his bike and turned on the engine. Off he went. Speeding through the bustling town until it began to disappear behind him, and trees were in front of him. It felt like he had rode for hours but really it hadn't been too long before he came upon a long dirt road that eventually led him to a huge house that sat nestled into the trees. There were no other homes around him, just like he wanted. He needed the seclusion. He had spent way too long with a bodyguard at his side and his manager up his ass.

Octavio parked his bike in front of one of the three garage doors and got off. He slid his phone from his pocket and went over towards a scanner near one of the garage doors. He tapped his screen on and held his phone up to the scanner. Once verified the garage door opened, lights turned on as it did. He pushed his bike in, closing the door behind him. He pulled his helmet off and set it on his bike. Parked in the garage was a very sleek black car with lime green accents. Things were already looking up. He was able to get into his new home without a problem and the car that he requested was there.

He took a quick look at the car and then finally decided to go inside and see if the pictures online did this place any justice. When he opened the door to get inside, he found himself standing in a moderately sized laundry room. There was a washer and dryer, a shelving area for storage, and a counter to fold laundry. So far so good. Beyond the laundry room was a very large kitchen with an island set in the middle of it. The counters were made of marble and the floor was lined with ash colored wood; it was even warmed. The kitchen was complete with a large dining area that could seat about ten people and a breakfast nook.

He walked past the kitchen and towards the front of the house where he noticed a foyer that led to the front door. Everything in the house was white and accented in onyx with marble and wood. To each side of the foyer was a room. He assumed one to be an office area and the other to be whatever he wanted because it was his house now. The entry was itself and had winding stairs on each side of it, like right out of a movie for the rich and famous. He shook his head; it didn't matter, at least he was out from under whatever his name was control.

He walked one of the sets of stairs up and found a small loft area for sitting. There was also a hallway off of each side of the stairs. He ventured down the hallways to find some empty bedrooms and bathrooms. Finally at the end of the left hallway he found the master bedroom. He couldn't believe how large his room was, it was bigger than the kitchen and that didn't even include the adjoining bathroom. He sighed happily for the first time in years.

He set his bag down on the grey upholstered bench that sat in front of his huge bed. The bed was made with sheets, blankets and pillows that had some kind of white and grey theme to them. Side tables sat to either side of the bed. On the wall, in front of the bed was a dresser made for more than just one person and a large tv that hung on the wall above. There were even a couple of chairs and a small table positioned in one corner of the room, some kind of sitting area. On the table was his favorite bottle of tequila with a ribbon and note attached to it. He was a little taken aback by the whole area.

After the tour of his bedroom, he decided to take a tour of the bathroom. It wasn't at all what he was expecting. There was a long countertop lined with marble. Two sinks sunk into the marble on either end of the counter. A huge mirror was set behind it. Underneath were drawers and open shelves for storage. There was a huge standup shower to the side of the room and right next to it was a large corner bathtub situated into the corner that looked more like a hot tub. He opened a door that was clearly meant for more storage. Then there was another door that led to a toilet with a bidet.

This place was much too fancy, but it didn't matter because in the end he wanted to make it a home for her and himself. He walked back into the bedroom and opened a large set of curtains that had French doors behind them. He opened the doors, which led outside to a balcony. He stepped out onto the balcony and took a deep breath in of cold air. It smelled of pine trees and freedom. He looked over the balcony to see only trees for miles. Right below him was a patio with a fire pit, seating, and a hot tub. Beyond that was a piece of barren dirt plot that he had requested so that he could start construction on his own obstacle course.

He smiled because he was finally making a life for himself on his own terms. Not his father's. Not his manager's. Not some stupid teethless chicas. He was done trying to hide his heart inside of head. It always felt like a maze of viscous lines that cut through everything and pull his body until her bled. He could finally let go and breathe. He could finally breathe again. This house was all his; paid in full. The only thing he needed to focus on now was training for the games and to find a way to get to er so that he could talk to her and apologize. He had a good feeling about all of this.

The title of this Chapter is inspired by a band that I like: Thrice

There are also a lyrical quotes in the chapter:

"He was done trying to hide his heart inside of head. It always felt like a maze of viscous lines that cut through everything and pull his body until her bled. He could finally let go and breathe. He could finally breathe again."

-Thrice – The Grey