MORNING AFTER
1632 Words
"Marcus, please go away." Aria groaned as she pulled the duvet cover over her head, and Marcus continued to tug it away from her grasp. The two were engaging in a game of tug of war over the duvet, and unfortunately for Aria, Marcus was evidently winning.
Aria squeezed her eyes shut in response to the dreaded morning light flashing upon her face, blindingly bright. She could barely remember the last time she had opened the curtains in the morning of her own accord. That was when she still lived at home with Marcus and her mum.
"I can't believe it's still this difficult to get you out of bed before ten," Marcus said as he began flicking some water on Arias face, much to her dismay.
When the two had still lived under one roof, Marcus had always forced Aria out of bed before six every morning before attending school. Small sums of money had to be made every day, and early mornings proved to be the best time to make money.
Some days, they scrubbed floors and washed windows for neighbours willing to pay in crumpled notes. Other days, they drifted toward crowded streets and tourist-heavy corners, where Marcus strummed an old guitar he’d dragged home from an alley, and Aria sang to anyone who would slow their steps. They weren’t especially talented, but the streets were generous in their own careless way, and most days the city gave them just enough to get by.
"You thought I wouldn't notice those sagging arms? It's time to get rid of that cellulite, sis." Marcus whispered in his sister's ear jokingly, knowing that the thought of gaining weight had always been Arias's worst nightmare and would probably be the only thing that would get her out of bed.
Aria responded by mumbling rather loud curse words in Spanish and giving Marcus the oh-so-familiar special finger that Marcus had learn to welcome from Aria since the two were kids.
"Of course, you had to ask Marcus to be our fitness instructor for the wedding." Aria poked Isolde's shoulder playfully as she stood at the end of the bed, in her gray jogging pants and a crop top that looked so tight it would've been painted onto Isolde's skin. Of course, Aria approved of the choice of clothing.
She trotted past Isolde towards the bathroom to get changed for their first session.
"I call these the spiders." Marcus began as the two girls stood in front of him. He dropped effortlessly to the floor, performing a push-up and then crawling back up and repeating without struggling.
"Marcus, I ain't doing no f*****g spiders," Aria responded, although she reluctantly dropped down to the floor in unison with Isolde.
"If I didn't love you, I would drown you right now, Isolde." Aria whimpered as she struggled to perform a push-up.
"Do it." Aria gasped, admitting defeat as she plopped down onto her back, her chest rising and falling uncontrollably, emphasizing her unfit state.
"Marcus, I'm f*****g dying here." Aria exaggerated, spreading and tangling her legs around Isolde as the two lay beside one another.
"...you've only done two. Give me another eighteen of those." He clapped his hands twice, indicating that they should get back up.
Adrian entered the room, passing Marcus a can of Coke.
"Look at this ass, does it look like I need to work out to you?" Aria stood up, twirling around slightly, showing off her back-door goodies in her tight shorts.
Aria couldn't help but allow her eyes to wander to Adrian, whose eyes were emitting a slight glimmer, probably due to the memory of the night when he'd had first-hand experience of Aria.
Three weeks had quickly turned into three weeks since Adrian and Aria had slept together that night. After their accidental kiss in Arias room, Adrian had made a conscious effort to stay as far away as possible from her; even going as far as not staying in the same room as her for more than a couple of minutes.
It had become a habit for the two of them to exchange glances here and there; he couldn't quite figure out the meaning of those glances, and he knew he should refrain from trying.
Adrian continued hanging onto the thought that what he had with Isolde was hard to come by. He couldn't stand the thought of him being the reason behind Isolde's tears, and he knew that if she ever found out, it would slowly but surely kill her.
"You could just continue your talent of riding, and you wouldn't need to do any squatting. Isolde, take notes." Marcus jokingly responded.
"Adrian, aren't you going to join us?" Isolde rolled her eyes at Marcus. She had grown up with both Marcus and Aria and was very used to the crude jokes that so easily slipped out of their mouths. She drew her complete attention towards Adrian, leaving the two to continue bickering.
"Are you trying to suggest I'm not ripped enough for you?" Adrian joked, wrapping his arms around Isolde's waist and holding her close to him, their noses nearly touching.
Isolde laughed. Adrian definitely had an athletic build, but he wasn't ripped like most people's standards. He had always been good enough for Isolde.
"Would I ever suggest you're anything short of perfect?" Isolde whispered before their lips met gently. A sweet, gentle kiss was all it was.
"Nor would I, so what is this all about?" He nodded his head towards Marcus, who was currently engaged in a rather serious-looking conversation with Aria.
“I want to look beautiful for the wedding, our wedding night, for you.”
The freckles across her nose shifted as she scrunched it slightly, her expression soft and vulnerable. A faint sheen of warmth clung to her skin, causing a few fiery strands of hair to stick to her cheek. Adrian lifted his hands, gently tucking the loose curls back, his thumb lingering against her face, the contrast of her red hair against his olive-toned skin striking.
“I’ve already seen you at your most real,” he murmured. “You’re perfect. You always have been, and you always will be.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her cheek, just below her ear, and as he leaned back, brushing her hair aside, his gaze met Aria's steady, affectionate, and full of promise.
An unreadable expression was painted across her face, her mouth slightly agape, before she broke the connection that the two had shared for that brief moment.
He felt the urge to pull away from Isolde; it felt weird to have his body in such close proximity to hers suddenly. Neither Isolde nor Marcus seemed to notice the change in atmosphere that seemed to have caused the hairs on both Adrian's and Arias bodies to stand up.
Adrian tugged on Isolde's forearm, leading her back towards Aria and Marcus, who were sitting on the couch, in deep conversation.
"We've talked about this already. I'm not going."
"No, you've talked, and I've listened. Now it's your turn to listen to me." Marcus argued back, not wanting to back down.
"Ari, you should go to his funeral. I know he left your mother, but despite everything, he was still your father." Isolde added, helping Marcus to plead his case. Aria had informed Isolde of the fact that their dad had had an affair and then left them struggling to make ends meet. She'd known that their mother had quickly descended into depression, rendering her young children helpless and alone.
But she had always found a way to belittle the situation. Or so that's how Aria had always felt.
"He's little more than a sperm donor." Aria sneered at both Isolde and Marcus.
"At least you had a dad." Adrian intervened unexpectedly. Little was known regarding Adrian's family life to both Marcus and Aria, except for the fact that he had been an orphan most of his life and had been passed from foster home to foster home, never truly having a family or even being wanted. So when he met Isolde, she'd become his whole and only family.
"It felt like I didn't have a mum or a dad sometimes, so it's the same, really," Aria murmured.
"It hardly is." Adrian laughed, his face stone cold, resting upon Aria's misty eyes.
"Aria, are you really allowing me go alone?" Marcus interjected, noticing the change in mood.
"Okay, but if I decide I want to leave, you'd best not stop me, Marcus." Aria struggled to tear her gaze away from Adrian's harsh glare as Jax enveloped her in a bear hug, showing his appreciation for the change in her decision.
Later that night, Adrian struggled to escape the sudden rush of insomnia that had begun to engulf him. The thoughts were constantly streaming through his mind like a videotape that someone had left on replay.
The girl lying beside him had saved his life and had shown him stability. But the girl with the cloudy, wild gray eyes with the intermingling hazel flecks had begun to show him what it was to be alive.
When sleep finally came, he dreamed of Isolde, of the times that they had made love, of how every climax was the result of a tender, gentle kind of love.
He pictured her planting kisses on his body, moving slowly south.
But it wasn't long before the blazing, vibrant locks on the top of her head began to lose their colour, her hair colour dripping and being replaced by the colour of falling leaves in the forest after the raging storm had commenced.
And when the girl in his dream looked up at him, her saw her.
That night, he found himself outside Arias's bedroom door, waiting.
- Writer
