Page 9 of Care: Part 1

"Twenty-three.”

Adrik was so close to her that if she lifted her head from her shoes, their lips would touch.

Johnathan slowly backed away from the two of them, leaving her heart to thump heavily in her chest. She wasn't sure what he was doing.

"Is she a virgin?" He asked.

Avelina wasn't sure what he said, but whatever it was, Anton widened his eyes before shaking his head back and forth.

Avelina took a step back from the intoxicatingly sexy man. He grabbed onto her arm before pulling her right back to where she was originally.

Johnathan only chuckled, leaving Avelina to frown.

"Sir—"

Anton tried to reason with his boss, but it was no use.

"Ask her," Adrik said with so much authority that it caused her to back up in a bit of fear.

"He asked if you are a virgin.”

Johnathan's eyes widened as he looked at the girl apologetically. Avelina finally looked up at Adrik to catch his eyes. His face might've been expressionless, but his eyes showed every bit of emotion. As she investigated the pools of gray, she could see his curiosity.

"Oh.”

Her cheeks coated a deep pink color. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and stared down at her feet. Adrik’s eyes were too intimidating, mostly because he was so close.

"Oh?" He repeated before raising his hand over to her neck.

She could feel him gently squeeze around her throat. Her eyes never seemed to leave his. She tried to pry his hand off her, but his monster grip never eased.

"Adrik, she's scared," Johnathan spoke up, taking a step closer to them.

"You're scared?" he asked with his Russian accent protruding quite a bit.

Avelina quickly nodded her head as she felt tears threatening to fall from her eyes. His grip slowly began to loosen.

"Good," Adrik stated.

He then let go of her neck completely and walked off with Anton following right behind him.

The second he was gone, she let out a shaky breath. Johnathan was fast to walk up to Avelina, who touched her neck at the realization that no one had ever gone as far as grabbing her in that way. She didn't know if she liked it or hated it.

"Don't be shy to tell him when he goes too far. He doesn't know," Johnathan said.

Avelina shook her head, her face still full of shock by what had just occurred. "I'm not sure this job is for me.”

He let out a sigh before gently grabbing hold of her arm. She didn’t say anything as he walked her towards the couch.

"Look, he can't help it. He often told me that I look ugly in blue suits or that I started to get fat. It's all a part of being on the spectrum. Yeah, he asked you if you were a virgin strictly out of his curiosity. He likes to know everything about everyone and what he doesn't know—he asks. His brain doesn't detect the fact that it was rude," Johnathan explained.

“I understood that. I researched ASD to the pinnacle last night. It stated that they tend to speak their mind without worry about how it would make others feel. When he asked the question of me being a virgin, did it take me by surprise? Yes, but it didn't upset me.”

Looking down at her fingers, she began to play with them in her lap. "I know that when that man grabbed my neck, it wasn't his autism. He did that simply because he wanted to. I'm sorry, but it's not something I signed up for."

"He's a lot to handle. It just takes some getting used to. Just please give him a try," Johnathan pleaded.

Her granny used to tell her all the time that she shouldn't give up on something without giving them a fair chance. That was something she wanted to stick by.