Chapter 5

Samuel's POV

The sound of heels fades, and suddenly there is an eerie silence. However, I never heard Ariana's apartment door closing. This forces me to go check on her.

Earlier I had planned to check on her later, as I wanted to give her some space, but now it seems a bit unnecessary.

Opening my door, I find her sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. She is resting her head on her knees.

She raises her head when she notices me standing in my doorway. Quickly, standing up, she wipes her tears.

"I am sorry, all that noise must have disturbed you." She apologized while not meeting my eyes, as she figured that I might have heard everything.

Suddenly, the thought of Justin comes to my mind.

"Where is Justin?" I ask, not trying to hide the fact that I didn't hear anything, feeling worried that little boy might have heard all this.

"He is at his friend's house." She sighs, "Thank God he was not here. Even though this would not have been the first time he might have witnessed something like this," she says quietly, feeling embarrassed.

My heart sinks, thinking about the hurt Justin might have felt by hearing such stuff.

"I have to go and pick up Justin." Cleaning her face to get rid of remaining tears, she goes inside her apartment and comes out a moment later carrying her car keys.

"Can I drive you to Justin's friend?" I ask her because I don't feel okay letting her drive all by herself when she is still upset because of the argument she had with her mother.

"Please, let me." I quickly add when I feel she is going to decline my offer, "Because I don't think you should drive when there is so much going on your mind."

"Thank you." Giving me a small smile, she hands me her car keys.

I start driving to the address which she has given me, as we sit in silence. From my peripheral vision, I notice she fiddles with the ring which she is wearing on her thumb anxiously.

"I am not that much of a bad driver, and I promise you will make it back home alive." Momentarily, I glance at her, "However, I can't promise you will be walking away unscratched." Intentionally, I press the brake abruptly, making the car slightly jerk, then start driving normally.

Her nervous expression turns frightened. And I can stop myself from laughing at her terrified face.

"Asshole." She slaps my arm and then starts laughing as well.

Just a few minutes have passed when she exhales loudly.

"Dad adopted Justin when he was one year old." Without looking at me, she suddenly starts speaking, "He completed our family. I was so happy and instantly fell in love with him the moment Dad handed him to me. I clearly remember not being able to put him down for the entire day. When dad died, I was so lost, even though he was hardly four years old, but he took care of me. He used to sit in my lap, hugging me until I felt better. He used to sleep with me at night because he didn't want me to feel alone. When my own mother was not there for me, he was there for me." She sniffles.

"Then how can she says he is not my brother?" She starts crying, "He is not a burden. He is my life."

Pulling the car off the road, unbuckling my belt, I pull her into a hug. After a few moments, her crying subdues, and she leans back in her seat.

"I am sorry..." She looks embarrassed.

"It's okay." I smile at her, letting her know I don't mind her crying.

"This means we are officially friends." Raising my eyebrows, I point at my shirt, which is wet from her tears, "So don't gross out when I wipe my snot on your shirt while crying over the loss of my favorite football team." I joke, which earns me a smile from her.

Watching her smile gives me a sense of comfort. Even more, I feel glad that I was able to bring back a smile on her face.