All Chapters of Switched at the Mafia Auction: Chapter 71 - Chapter 79

~ Avelyn ~The door closed behind Xander with that quiet, deliberate sound that always felt like a full stop like a line drawn I couldn’t cross.For a moment, I just sat there at the long dining table, fork still in my hand, staring at the untouched food that was now as cold as my mood. My chest felt tight, too full of words I hadn’t said and thoughts I couldn’t tame.He left me with his usual mixture of arrogance and riddles, and now all I could hear was his voice echoing in my head. “I don’t need to warn you about Kyle, do I?”My hand trembled around the fork. The nerve of him.I checked the time, it was barely past ten. I still had hours before practice, and that “three-day pass” he threw at me like a leash was burning a hole in my pocket. Fine. I’d use it. For once, not to follow his orders, but to do something that made sense.I changed quickly into simple jeans, a cream sweater, hair pulled into a loose bun and slipped out the door before I could talk myself out of it. The drive

The sound of Ariana’s blow dryer drowned out my thoughts.She stood in front of the mirror, flipping her red hair like she was in some music video, the kind that ends with a glitter explosion. I was sitting cross-legged on her bed, holding two lipstick shades in my hand and pretending to choose. Truth was, I’d already forgotten how to be this version of me who was girlish, reckless, alive.Cheap Thrills was playing through the Bluetooth speaker, and the room smelled like coconut oil and vanilla body spray. Ariana was humming along, wriggling her hips in her tight jeans. Her energy filled the room so completely that for the first time in days, the silence in my head felt… smaller.“Okay, babe,” she said, snapping her fingers at me. “Hair first. Then that red lipstick. Tonight, we’re not sad, we’re not tired, we’re not emotionally wrecked. We’re hot.”I laughed, shaking my head as she marched toward me with the curling iron like it was a sword.“I’m serious, Ave,” she said, crouching be

~ Xander ~The door shut with a heavy click that swallowed the noise of the crowd.The world on the other side faded away music, laughter, the roar of men who had no idea what kind of storm they’d just watched burn across that stage.In here, there was only her.Avelyn.She stood in the middle of the lounge like the echo of her own performance, her shoulders rising and falling, her chest still heaving from the dance, the gold of her dress clinging to her like sin and sunlight. Her hair fell in wild, shining waves down her back and when she turned, the overhead light caught in her emerald eyes, reflecting glassy, fierce and unsteady all at once. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence was a live thing, coiling between us and humming against my nerves.Her breath trembled with every step I took. It was sweet laced with whiskey and adrenaline.I had told myself I could watch her dance and feel nothing. That it was just a test, see how far she’d go when the world cheered her name

~ Avelyn ~The morning light hurt.It bled through the curtains in slow, accusing streaks, touching the bruises I didn’t know I had. Every muscle ached, my legs, my arms, even the tips of my fingers felt raw, like I’d been trying to scrub something invisible off my skin all night. Maybe I had.The clock on the wall said past ten. I’d fallen asleep sometime before dawn, on top of the sheets, still in my training clothes. My body reeked faintly of sweat and faint jasmine a scent that didn’t belong to me anymore. I sat up slowly, pressing a hand to my thigh where it trembled from overuse. I’d danced until I couldn’t feel, fought until exhaustion silenced everything. It hadn’t worked.My reflection in the mirror looked unfamiliar with tangled hair, eyes rimmed with red, lips still faintly stained with last night’s lipstick. The girl who stared back didn’t look broken. Just tired of pretending she wasn’t.The knock came before I could gather myself.“Come in,” I said, voice gravelly.The