Chapter 4 Episode Four

By the time she got home, her heels were dangling from her fingers, and she'd made peace with the fact that dinner was going to be whatever could be thrown into a pan in under ten minutes.

She kicked the door shut with her hip and pulled out her phone, dropping her bag on the counter. Two missed calls earlier from Elijah. No texts.

She dialed him. Straight to voicemail.

"Hey," she said into the receiver, pulling open the fridge with one hand. "Just checking in. Wanted to know how it went with your... friends." She shut the fridge again, nothing she wanted. "Call me when you get this, okay? I mean it."

She hung up, set the phone down, and went for her emergency ramen stash.

Three hours later, she was curled up on the couch, scrolling aimlessly, when she heard the scrape of a key in the lock.

The door opened. Elijah stepped in.

It took her half a second to process the rest: the split lip, the swelling already rising along his cheekbone, the way his shirt was torn at the collar.

She was on her feet before he'd even shut the door. "What the hell?"

"I'm fine," he muttered, brushing past her toward the couch.

"You're not fine." She caught his arm, forcing him to turn. "They did this?"

"It's nothing." He winced as he sat, reaching for the throw blanket like that would make him invisible. "I handled it."

"Really?" She gestured to his face. "Does this look handled to you?"

He looked away. "I don't want to get into it right now."

She crouched in front of him, lowering her voice. "Elijah, let me help."

"I said it's fine."

She studied him. His knee bounced. His fingers kept fidgeting with the edge of the blanket. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

She swallowed, feeling the weight of the silence between them. "Okay," she said finally, though nothing about her tone said she believed him.

But she didn't push, not yet.

Aria straightened slowly, crossing her arms. "You're bleeding on my couch."

Elijah smiled weakly. "I'll buy you a new one."

She narrowed her eyes. "With what money?"

The smile faded. "I'll make more money, Aria, I just have to sell some of my music."

Aria rolled her eyes. "The same music you've been trying to sell for four years now."

"I also have a gig next week at a new club's opening."

"And you think you have enough time to come up with the money?"

He shifted, then winced in pain.

"Then you're gonna let me stay here till I can come up with the money."

"What if they find you? How long do you think you can hide from them"?

"As long as I can"

With that, he pulled the blanket over his face and went to sleep.

Aria was left thinking of how to get her brother out of this jam. She has been the one taking care of him since he was six years old, when they lost their parents to a car accident.

The next day, while walking to the Subway station, a Shiny black Lexus rolled to a stop beside her. She stared at the tinted glass for a few seconds before the driver wound down the back seat window, and staring back at her with a neutral expression was Damian Cross.

She was surprised but hid it by greeting him warmly,

"Good morning, Mr Cross."

"Get in."

Aria looked at him intently as though expecting her eyes to pass the message. "Thanks, but I don't need a ride."

"And I'm not offering one."

"So what are you offering"?

"A way out of your brother's predicament"

That took her off guard; she never expected anyone to know about that, especially Him.

"Elijah is fine; he is not in any predicament."

He scoffed

"Are you sure about that"?

She shifted her foot, crossed her arms over her chest, and maintained eye contact.

"Yes, Mr Cross, I'm sure.

He gave her a light smile and nodded.

"Find me when you're ready."

Then, without waiting for a reply, he leaned back and the driver sped away, leaving Aria wondering what the hell that was about.

At the gallery, Aria couldn't concentrate; she kept thinking of ways she could raise the money to clear off Elijah's debt. Her strange conversation with Damian also kept replaying in her head. Cassandra noticed she was distracted, and knowing Aria to never be distracted, called her aside.

"What's going on, Aria"?

Keeps a straight face and fakes a smile, Aria replied

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"I can see you're distracted, and you're never distracted. So talk to me."

Aria noticed that Cassandra's concern was a bit fake and didn't want to give her the pleasure of hearing her complain about her brother's issues. She said,

"I'm just thinking about the strange interaction I had with Mr Cross on my way to work, it's nothing serious."

Upon hearing Damian's name, Cassandra straightened up, looking shocked.

"Damian?"

"Yes, why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Cassandra ignored her question.

"Where did you meet him?"

"I didn't meet him, he met me."

"What did he want?"

"Nothing?"

"He can't want nothing, he wouldn't meet you if he didn't want anything."

Aria shrugged

"Well, he didn't tell me what he wanted."

"He must want something. I need you to stay away from him."

Looking at her from head to toe and with a condescending tone, Cassandra added, "You can't possibly have what he wants". Then she walked away.

Aria was taken aback by the sudden change in Cassandra's attitude towards her. She asked herself, "Who exactly is this Damian Cross.

Cassandra, having known Damian for years and secretly loved him and tried everything to make him notice her in the same way, felt jealous that he would be coming to someone like Aria. She knew exactly what he wanted and how he always got what he wanted. She made up her mind to discourage Damian from having anything to do with Aria.