Lucas couldn’t help but watch Aria as she worked. She was speaking to him and yet, once again, her words fell on deaf ears. It’s not like he did it on purpose however, his head was merely full of over things. There was one thing that echoed in his mind the loudest, something that was bothering him the most - Aria wasn’t looking at him the same way she had always done before.Why is that?“Mr. Augustine.” Her pleasant voice speaking his last name caught his attention. But when he looked at her, her gray eyes didn’t hold that tender warmth that they usually did ever since he met her after getting amnesia. “What are your thoughts on the matter?”Lucas bit the inside of his cheek when he realized she was only questioning him just to see if he was paying attention. She didn’t look like she was in the mood to have extra patience for the man who spaced out so often. He finally decides to come out and speak his mind. “Ms. La Belle, I need to ask you something.” Aria put her hands together and
“Aria? What’s wrong?” Lucas questions her when he sees the look on her face change. By the time he looked towards what she was staring at, the shadow was gone but a new voice was heard amongst the familiar voice of Aria’s boss.“Roxanne!” Her boss echoes in surprise. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting to see you here til later!” “I just thought I’d come to pay my favorite friend a little visit.” Says a voice that Aria hasn’t heard in years that immediately makes her heart sink and feel sick to her stomach. All this time, Aria has been trying to ignore the woman’s name which seems to keep popping up more and more as her popularity grows and she becomes more famous. It was hard to believe that Roxanne was once a petty woman jealous of her talent in singing. Now she couldn’t even call her competition. Lucas sees Aria’s expression dampen even further. He had a feeling it had to do with the woman’s voice that had just appeared, this Roxanne person that Aria’s boss ju
Aria and Lucas get in his car and drive deeper into the city. He glanced over to the short woman who was twirling her black hair with a single finger, lost in thought as she stared out the window. Though she faced away from him, he could still see her reflection in the window. Her gray eyes reminded him of storm clouds that were about to rain. Lucas reached over to her lap and was about to place his hand on it but he then flinched as a sudden headache struck him. The flash of a memory crossed his mind. This isn’t the first time he’s seen her eyes like this. He’s seen those clouds pour rain plenty of times.Aria gives a startled gasp when the car gives a sudden jerk. She whirls around to look at Lucas and panics when she sees him gripping his head with a pained look in his eyes. “Goodness, Lucas, are you alright?! What happened?”“Y– yeah, just another migraine. Hey, open up my glovebox and hand me a pill from the bottle in there.” Lucas pointed towards the glovebox and Aria opened it
“The Songbird.” When people say that name now, it’s only full of scorn and distaste. The love that everyone once poured into the name was nothing but a broken memory after the time she spent in jail over the DWI. Heinous rumors like these were what kept her head low and she tried to work somewhere she wouldn’t be identified so easily. A bustling, fancy restaurant like this isn’t surprising; it has quite a few people who love music and are very familiar with musicians. Aria seemed to shrink in her seat as she looked out the window where she sat in the booth, silently and desperately wishing that this “lunch” would end soon. She did her best to block out the whispers full of cruel words and mocking her career because of alcohol abuse and murdering a member of her band. She had grown used to blocking out the voices full of intentions to harm her feelings, it was a skill she learned back in high school. When Lucas would torment her endlessly…As soon as the reminder of the abuse crossed
There was a silence between the two of them as the atmosphere between them changed. Aria could already feel herself sweat and her hands become clammy. She was purposely trying to make her body as stiff as a board in an attempt to keep herself from trembling. Unfortunately, her hands still had the faintest shake. Old habits die hard. Her childhood trauma was starting to creep back into her brain even though she thought she had grown out of it years ago. Being inches away from the man who gave this to her and hearing the hostility in his voice was enough to trigger an anxiety attack but thankfully she had enough strength to keep that much under control. Lucas’s angered frown melted into disappointment. He may not know what the real problem is so all he could do was assume. “Listen, if you’re worried about what your boss is going to do then don’t. I’ll take the fall. I got your back, I promise. I’m sure that Roxanne chick is gone by now too.”“Don’t promise me something that you don’t k
Another blush burned Aria’s cheeks as her eyes locked with his. It was as if her thoughts were a wish that had just come true, except this ‘touch’ she was yearning for ended up being more provocative than what she bargained for. And yet, she still didn’t complain. Lucas on the other hand noticed her flustered state and it confused him until he realized how high his hand had rested on her thigh, he only intended to generally lay it on her lap in an attempt to softly catch her attention.Lucas quickly removed his hand as her blush seemed to have just copied and pasted onto his cheeks as well. “Oh! Uh, I- I’m sorry! I didn’t…” His clumsy apology wasn’t exactly making his situation any better so he hurriedly cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Um, I’ll grab the food…” He did as he said and even opened up Aria’s door for her to get out of the car, the man continuing to behave like a gentleman though when they both came inside the work building, there was nothing but an awkward si
“Lucas…?” Aria murmurs his name concernedly. His sudden change in demeanor was a bit alarming and it only grew more alarming when she noticed the look in his eyes. It was hostile. However, it was also directed at her other client. Lucas was glaring at him to the point she couldn’t tell whether or not he was purposely doing it. Aria may have been completely confused over what was going on but her other client could get the hint. He glared back at Lucas and there was even the faintest hint of a sneer on his face. “Isn’t your appointment supposed to be over with? I’m pressed for time. I need Ms. La Belle’s full concentration. If you don’t mind, please excuse yourself.” Despite the man’s polite words, the look in his eyes told a different story. They displayed how much of a nuisance he thought Lucas was being. Aria was blind to the fact he was trying to provoke Lucas but a man like him, as she was well aware of, wasn’t the type to back down so easily.Lucas stepped closer to the other m
As Lucas drove off away from the company, he glanced at his rearview mirror before the building was out of sight. He caught a glimpse of Aria hugging herself and her head hung as she went back inside. Despite the distance between them, he could still tell that her face looked very sad. He felt a clutching feeling in his chest and he gripped the steering wheel just as tightly.It was hard, trying to keep himself under control. Why was it such a struggle when it came to her? Somehow, it felt like it’s always been this way… why is that?Either way, he didn’t get what he needed. At least not everything, and he didn’t care about it. All he wanted to do in the first place was to go see Aria and spend time with her. So much for that plan for the day. There was nothing else for him here so he decided he’s got no other choice than to go back to work. As soon as he drove back into the Augustine Company’s parking lot, he saw that there were more cars there than usual to the point that he had to