Navaya was the first one to leave the office that day. Too angry to stay. Too frustrated to focus on anything anymore.
What the fuck was the world turning into? First, Becca agreed to help Raquel and now she heard that the witch herself was being friendly?
Hogwash! Raquel wasn't capable of being nice even if she tried. She was the embodiment of evil. Pure evil. And the infuriating thing about it all was that Becca was taking Raquel's side.
The mere fact that Becca was helping Raquel Gonzalez, the way she spoke about the witch a while ago made Navaya want to punch through a brick wall.
Bile rose to her chest and anger smeared her heart as she recalled all the wicked things Raquel did to her back then. Remembering how she always fought hard to defend herself and Becca from the bullying but look what was happening now. Becca had easily forgotten the hate they felt back then just because Raquel cried a few fake tears.
Navaya didn't care if she was acting immature and bitter, she still hated the fact that Becca was willing to forgive Raquel after everything.
The sound of Navaya's clicking heels could be heard as she flounced to the parking lot, almost crashing the ground underneath her feet with how hard she stomped on it. Grumbling under her breath as she marched towards her car.
With ten feet separating Navaya and her car, she continued advancing towards it but her way was immediately blocked by another car that had just driven into the parking lot.
Navaya glared at the car, wondering who was crazy enough to block her like that.
Fuming with rage and irritation, Navaya went around the car and was about to continue her angry match but paused when she heard someone calling out to her.
" Navaya," Johnny called out her name, coming out from his car.
She turned around to look at him, despite badly wanting to ignore him, but deep down still knew she couldn't.
" What?! Almost running me over wasn't enough for you?" She yelled then shut her eyes for a few seconds and let out a sigh. "Just leave me alone." She said before turning around to keep walking away.
" Navaya, wait," Johnny called out, going after her.
Navaya increase her pace as she heard him getting closer but her speed was no match for his long legs.
She knew she couldn't outrun him, not with those heels she had on, but she still tried and eventually ended up failing. Just as she reached her car door to leave, Johnny grabbed her by the arm and gently pulled her away from her car and closer to him instead.
Navaya's eyes widened as she stared at him. She instantly entered her defense mode and tried tugging her arm out of his grip but he didn't let go. Her jaw clenched as she tried pushing him away from her so she could make a run for it but the man was a fucking wall.
Johnny stared silently at Navaya as she continued her futile attempts to escape his clutches. Not uttering a single word as he watched the love of his life desperately trying to run away from him.
He might not have spoken throughout the ordeal but his eyes said it all as he patiently waited for her to calm down on her own.
After several failed attempts to escape, Navaya wore herself out and soon stopped struggling, dropping her gaze to the floor as she didn't want to look at him and didn't even like that he was here to see her this way in the first place.
" What's wrong?" Johnny asked, his gaze not leaving her for even a second. Staring at her with a concerned look on his face.
It wasn't the first time Navaya tried to run away from him but this time things were different. Navaya normally got enraged at the sight of Johnny but this time she was already angry before he even came. Something was bothering her and Johnny hated that it did. He hated that she placed something else with so much importance to the point that it infuriated her that much.
He hated that instead of running into his arms for comfort, she chose running away as the better option.
" It's none of your business." Navaya gritted, her eyes still fixed on the floor, and Johnny's gaze softened.
" You are my business, Navaya," Johnny said tenderly but all he got as a response was silence with Navaya still refusing to look at him.
Seeing as she was determined to keep staring at the floor, Johnny placed his finger on her chin, lifting it so she would look at him.
" What's wrong?" Johnny asked again, his voice sounding even calmer than it did before. Sounding like one a man would use when talking to a lover or probably to someone that meant a lot to him, the problem was Navaya didn't see herself as any of those things.
She wasn't his lover and not important to him. If she was then he would have considered how she felt when he got married to Nicky. He would have taken her seriously when she told him that she didn't like how Nicky was always around him. But what did he do? All he did was brush off the topic, saying she was overthinking things.
It was his fault they weren't together anymore. If he had just done what he had to do at the right time, if he hadn't been such a people pleaser, if he had stood up to his father's decision, then maybe they wouldn't have ended up let this. So distance.
She stared at him, at his eyes that used to be her favorite things to look at before tilting her head to the side, looking away.
" I just want to be alone." She said in barely a whisper, still looking away from him and Johnny let go of her arm, only to wrap his around her. Hugging her closer to him and she surprisingly didn't push him away this time.
With a man as determined as Johnny Ramus, Navaya already knew that any effort to fight his advances would be a complete waste of time so for the first time in five years, she let him hug her.
" You never wanted to be alone before, not even when you were sad so what's wrong this time?" Johnny asked, rubbing her back to calm her down.
His touch, his embrace, and the warmth she got from it were so... So big brother-like. Just like it felt when she first hugged him.
Navaya, being the only child of her parents, never got to know what it was like to have siblings but ever since she and Becca became friends, somehow on the way she and Johnny became so close that it almost felt like he was the older brother she never had. Except he wasn't.
Johnny was Becca's brother, her friend's older brother but her brain didn't see it that way.
No, her twisted brain chose to see him as family just to fuck her up and that was one of the reasons why Navaya felt so guilty for having a huge crush on him in the past. She was romantically attracted to a guy she was supposed to see as a brother and just the thought of it almost drove her crazy.
She knew it was weird, it was wrong. Her heart and brain were at war but she kept on doing it. She clung to her weird obsession and things only got worst when she found out she was in love with him.
Johnny's lips curved into a smile, loving how Navaya wasn't making attempts to escape his arms again.
The thought of her finally opening up and letting him in again warmed his heart beyond words.
" I want to be alone now," Navaya said in a low voice, the anger and defiance she felt wouldn't even let her look at him but all he did was smile at her behavior.
" That's not possible." Johnny's smile only grew wider when Navaya whipped her head to stare at him. Yep, his statement got her attention.
" Huh?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Hating that he was smiling while she was boiling with anger. Hating how good the smile on his face made him look.
" You heard me." He answered and Navaya snapped, smacking his arm out of annoyance. " Is that all you got?" He chuckled and she glared at him.
"Let go of me, I have somewhere to be." She lied and started wiggling her way out of his arms like a worm but she, unfortunately, didn't have any slime to help her slip out of his abnormally strong grip.
His grip wasn't even tight, just firm but she still couldn't break free from it.
"Now, where?" He chuckled again as if finding something about the situation funny. " Where will you go? Wait, let me guess. You will go and get yourself drunk again, is that it?"
" And again, it's none of your business." She retorted, frowning at him like an offended old lady.
If only she knew that the frown on her face made her look even more attractive. If only she knew the wicked, naughty things Johnny's brain was cooking up just by staring at her.
" How many times do I have to tell you that you are my business, Navaya. Even my actions show how much you mean to me."
" What action? What do you holding me against my will show?" Navaya gritted and Johnny took a deep breath, the smile on his face faltering slightly.
" Okay, you're upset about something that you deemed me unworthy to know. Fine, I'm good with that but can you please stop fighting with me every time we are together. It's getting exhausting." Johnny said and Navaya's eyes twitched for two seconds before she rolled them.
" I will only stop fighting with you when you stop holding me against my will."
" I would never hold you against your will. Think of it as me doing what's best for you."
Navaya cocked a skeptical brow at him. " The best for me, huh?" She asked and Johnny nodded.
" Sometimes people don't know what's good for them and need others to show them the right path, to give them the best." He hugged her closer and bent to whisper in her ears. " I am that person for you, Navaya.. I will give you the best."