Chapter 91: Call From Aeri & Sara
The apartment was a quiet haven after the storm of the last day, the soft afternoon light filtering through the living room window, casting a warm glow across the hardwood floor. The faint scent of Aeri’s lavender candle lingered, mixing with the clean smell of fresh sheets I’d changed out after Raya and Kalina left.
My body was heavy, the weight of the night—the brothel, the subway fight, the heated chaos with the girls—still aching in my muscles as I trudged to my bedroom.
*Plop.* I dropped onto the bed, landing on my back, the mattress sinking under me, the new dark blue bedsheet cool against my skin.
"Phew, feels so relaxing," I said, my voice soft, my hands spreading out to feel the bed’s familiar comfort, my eyes closing as the tension in my shoulders eased.
The silence was a relief, the city’s distant hum muffled, the chirping of birds outside a gentle backdrop. "Umm... what should I do now?" I murmured, my thoughts drifting. "Jonathan hasn’t called, so no clients today, and Aeri’s with Sara." I sighed, long and heavy, the emptiness of the apartment settling in, Aeri’s absence a quiet ache in my chest. The bed felt too big without her, the room too still without her laugh.
Exhaustion won out, my eyelids growing heavy, and just like that, I drifted into sleep, the world fading into a soft, dreamless haze, the weight of everything finally loosening its grip.
*RING* *RING*
The sharp ring of my phone jolted me awake, the sound slicing through the quiet of late afternoon. "Ahmm..." I groaned, my eyes blinking open, the room bathed in the golden glow of 5 p.m. light, the shadows longer now.
I fumbled for my phone on the nightstand, my hand brushing a stray book as I grabbed it, the screen glowing with Aeri’s name. My heart lifted, a sleepy smile tugging at my lips as I answered, rubbing my eyes with my free hand.