ISLA~
I had arrived at the house late. The day had been a mess, lawyers, arguments, with unnecessary back and forth that led nowhere.
The rest of it was spent getting my wrist and forehead checked which came with a lecture I barely listened to.
By the time I got into the car, I just wanted silence but unfortunately, the world was a freaking megaphone.
The radio came alive the moment I started the engine.
"...and in what many are calling the most controversial nomination this cycle, Elara Jones has officially been listed for Album of the Year at the Obsidian Awards."
My grip on the wheel tichtened.
I turned the volume up.
"Despite the ongoing investigation surrounding her name, her latest album continues to dominate global charts. Voting officially opened an hour ago, with early public metrics already surging in her favor"
I switched it off. The news had thrown my entire algorithm off. There was the scandal and now this.
I was thankful for the silence but as I drove I kept thinking about it. Not the award. Not the scandal.
Her.
Come to think of it, elections were closing in, so how were people still able to care this much of her.
I had solved cases for pop stars, even actors. But it's either they were a no name or up coming and if they were ever as popular as she is, it wasn't ever this loud.
The moment I got to the penthouse then the living room I fell onto the couch where I immediately dozed off.
I don't know for how long I slept, but I woke up to her singing, soft at first then louder. I sat up slowly, listening.
And just like other days when she sang, she'd stop halfway through a verse, curse a little then start again.
I listened for a while. When I noticed a smile creeping in. I decided to go to my room.
I stopped by the start of the stairs and found myself ascending it. Halfway up, I almost turned back.
I didn't. I reached her door which was slightly open. She was sitting on the floor, back against her bed. Papers everywhere, Her phone lay beside her, looping the same instrumental as if it were stuck in time.
Her glasses caught my attention, I loved when she had that on, and that alone almost made me leave. She paused for a while going through one of the papers.
"Planning on standing there forever?" she asked without looking up.
I pushed open the door and leaned against the frame.
"Was I that obvious?"
"I felt a presence and figured" she glanced up briefly. "Can't sleep?"
I studied her before answering. "You could say that, and you?"
"Working." She tapped the paper beside her. "Want to hear it?"
"Without the cursing please" she let out a small laugh. The first real one I'd heard from her.
"By the way, about this morning?" I began as she scrolled through her phone.
"Sorry for the way I acted. I don't like people seeing me like that" she apologized.
If we were forgetting that I had seen her like that twice or thrice already then fine that was enough to justify her behaviour.
She restarted the instrumental, and began singing.
Of course she did pause a few times after verse one and what sounded like the chorus. She then groaned really loudly and threw her head backwards.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
She sat up, looking frustrated.
"No. Writing has never been this hard." She rubbed her face. "I usually have the next inspiration ready before I even finish a track. Now... my brain just feels foggy."
The instrumental faded, and the room fell awfully quiet. I didn't know what to say that wouldn't sound like a cliché, so I chose silence.
I don't know how long we stayed like that but I finally spoke.
"By the way," I said finally, "you've been nominated."
She frowned slightly. "For what?"
"Album of the Year. Obsidian Awards." That got her attention. She sat up properly now.
"You're... joking."
"I don't joke about things I don't care about." She stared at me then with the row of her eyes got up.
"Voting opened already." I added. She froze in her steps like she was trying to figure out if this was real or another problem waiting to happen.
"With everything going on?" she asked quietly.
I held her gaze, no she held mine. Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!
I had glanced at the bed, the wall, the possible places I could pin her down to and make her scream my name breathlessly. I was tripping, she looked away first and I swallowed.
"Goodnight, Ms. Jones" without waiting for a response I walked out.
I wanted to kiss her. The thought came out of nowhere.
Why was her voice so alluring?
Why did she look hotter with those lens?
Why did I get myself hurt for her?
Why did my heart beat so fast when I got close to her?
And Why did I get nervous too?
She's a job, a client. A case.
Since the pool, I've been having wild thoughts. For fucks sake Isla she's going through a scandal, get your head together.
I looked up from where I stood and realized two things. I hadn't left her room, and the 'goodnight' I thought I had said, never left my throat.
"Leave before you do something stupid" I muttered to myself.
"Talking to me?" Elara asked, I turned towards her and I met her eyes only to nervously look away.
God, those eyes. It felt like magnets pulling me closer, and I was nothing but scrap metal.
"Want to spend the night?" she asked suddenly.
"What?" I had heard her but really, where did that come from.
"Never mind, it's nothing." She walked into the closet.
"Do you want me to?" The question left before I could even reason it. The filter between my brain and my mouth had officially disintegrated.
Her head popped out and she looked surprised, I was too.
"The company would be nice" I studied her for a while before answering.
"I'll think about it," I said.
I finally managed to walk out, closing the door gently behind me. I leaned against the wall in the hallway and took a ragged breath. I already knew the answer. There was no way in hell I was going back in there.