ECHOES OF PAST

I didn't sleep after that call. How could I?

I keep staring at the ceiling, watching the shadows move across the room. My mind kept replaying that voice. Deep, Calm and Knowing.

*Someone who knows what you can do.*

What did I do? Read minds? Come back from the dead? What else was there?

The sun started creeping through the curtains. I heard Evan groan from the living room, then footsteps shuffling toward the bathroom. The shower turned on.

I stayed in bed, pretending to be asleep.

Evan comes into the bedroom, dripping wet with just a towel around his waist. He grabs his clothes from the closet and got dressed fast. Too fast, like he was in a hurry.

A click- It's morning already and the night seemed so short.

He glanced at me on the bed. I kept my eyes closed, my breathing steady.

A click- Where's this donkey brain? I hope she doesn't catch Emma and I. She'll be mad at me but what can she do? She told me she was going to see Lena and hasn't returned since then.

Wait. What?

I kept my eyes shut, my body still. He thought I wasn't home? That I stayed at Lena's?

"Aria? Aria?" he called out softly.

A click- Donkey brain? Empty skull?

I wanted to jump up and slap him. But I stayed frozen.

He shruggs and leaves the room. I heard him grab his keys, his phone.

The front door opened and closed.

I sat up fast and looked around. The apartment was empty. Silent.

I grabbed my phone. It was 6:30 in the morning. Where the hell was he going this early?

I jump out of bed and throw on jean and a hoodie. No makeup, no shoes, just socks. I ran to the door and yanked it open.

Evan was already at the elevator, his back to me. The doors opened. He stepped inside.

I run down the hallway, my heart pounding. I made it just as the elevator doors are closing.

"Wait!" I shouted.

But the doors shut.

Dammit.

I press the button frantically, waiting for the next elevator. It felt like forever. When it finally came, I jumped in and hit the lobby button five times.

The elevator crawled down. I tapped my foot, my pulse racing. When the doors opened, I ran out into the lobby.

Evan was just walking out the front door.

I follow him, staying far enough back that he wouldn't notice. He walked fast, his hands in his pockets, his head down.

He turns the corner and flags down a cab. I watched him get in.

Shit. How was I supposed to follow him now?

Another cab pulled up. I run to it and jump in the back.

"Follow that cab!" I say, pointing.

The driver looked at me like I was crazy. "You serious?"

"Yes! Please, just go!"

He shrugs and pulls out into traffic.

We followed Evan's cab through the city. My heart was pounding. My hands were shaking. Where is he going?

After fifteen minutes, his cab stopped in front of a tall apartment building. Expensive, modern, glass and steel everywhere.

Evan got out and paid the driver. Then he walked inside like he owned the place.

I paid my driver and got out, keeping my distance. I watch through the glass doors as Evan steps into the elevator.

I walked inside slowly. The lobby was huge, with marble floors and a fancy chandelier. A security guard sits at a desk, watching monitors.

I walked past him, expecting him to stop me.

He didn't even look up.

Weird.

I got to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors open, I step inside and watch the floor numbers light up on the panel. Evan's elevator had stopped on the tenth floor.

I pressed ten.

The elevator rose. My stomach twisted. What was I going to find up there?

The doors open, I step out into a long hallway with cream-colored walls and soft lighting. I hear voices coming from one of the apartments.

I follow the sound. It was coming from apartment 10C. The door is slightly open.

I creep closer and peek through the crack.

My heart stopped.

Evan was inside. And he wasn't alone.

Emma Lancaster was there. In a silk robe. Her hair was messy and her lips red.

They were standing close. Too close.

A click- I read his mind.

He puts his hand across Emma. Sweetheart, wake up.

Wait. Wake up? She was already awake.

I looked closer. There was a bed in the background. The sheets were rumpled. Two pillows.

Oh my god.

They slept together here last night.

I felt my chest tighten. My hands clenched into fists.

Emma smiled at him. "Good morning."

She stretched and sat on the edge of the bed, resting her back against the pillows.

"Can I get some tea?" she asked.

A click- Real men present a tray of tea on the table before a woman wakes up. She thinks.

I wanted to scream. Evan had never done that for me. Not once. I'd always made him breakfast, brought him coffee, done everything.

And now he was serving her?

Evan rushed to the kitchen. I heard cabinets opening, water running. He came back a minute later with a tray. Tea. Biscuits. Even a small flower in a vase.

He set it down on the bed like she was a queen.

Emma giggled. "You're so sweet."

A click- She's everything Aria isn't. Classy. Elegant and worth my time.

I couldn't breathe.

Evan kissed her forehead and went to the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on again.

Emma picked up her phone and started scrolling. She took a sip of the tea and smiled to herself.

A click- He's so easy to control. A few smiles and he does whatever I want. Pathetic.

I froze.

She was using him too?

This was insane.

I wanted to burst in there. I wanted to scream at both of them. But I couldn't move. I just stood there, watching.

Evan comes out of the bathroom, fully dressed. Suit and Tie. He looks like he was ready for a meeting.

"I have to go to the office now," he said. "I'll call you later."

"Okay, baby." Emma blew him a kiss.

He leaves the apartment, walking right past me.

I pressed myself against the wall, holding my breath.

But he didn't see me.

He walked straight to the elevator, humming to himself.

Wait.

He didn't see me?

I look down at my hands. They are there. My body is there. But Evan looked right through me.

What the hell?

I waved my hand in front of my face. Nothing. I am here, but I am not.

I was invisible.

Oh my god.

First, I could read minds. Now I could disappear?

What was happening to me?

I didn't have time to think about it. Evan was getting on the elevator. I ran and slipped in just before the doors closed.

He stood right next to me, checking his phone.

A click- These guys need to hurry up with this thing before it begins to attract neighbors. He thinks.

He made a call. "You guys need to hurry. Yes, tonight."

He hung up and sighed.

The elevator reached the lobby. Evan walked out and got into another cab.

I followed him again.

This time, we ended up at his office building downtown; Sleek and Tall. The kind of place that screams money.

Evan walks inside. I stay close behind him.

The receptionist smiles at him. "Good morning, Mr. Grayson."

"Morning, Janet."

He walks past her and headed to his private office on the twentieth floor.

I follow him inside. He shuts the door behind him.

I stand at the corner, watching.

He sits at his desk and pulls out a file; Big, Thick and Official-looking.

I move closer, leaning over his shoulder.

The file had "Henderson Property - $80,000,000" printed on the front.

My eyes went wide.

Eighty million dollars? What the hell was this?

I needed a copy of this.

Evan opened the file and started reading through the pages. Contracts, Permits and Signatures. He nods his head.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and started snapping pictures. Every page, Every signature; Everything.

Evan didn't notice. He couldn't see me.

When I finished, I looked at the file again. I needed to take it but how?

I reached out slowly and grabbed the file off his desk.

Evan frowned.

A click- In his mind-

What the hell? Where did it go?

He looks around, confused. His eyes scans the desk, the floor, everywhere.

I held the file tight and moved to the corner of the room. My heart was pounding.

I opened the file again and took out half the pages. Then I grabbed a pen from his desk and started tearing the remaining pages into tiny pieces.

Rip. Rip. Rip.

Evan stands up.

A click- I swear I just had that file. Am I losing my mind?

I placed the shredded pieces back on his desk in a neat pile.

Then I sat down in the chair opposite his desk, still invisible, and crossed my legs.

A few seconds later, Evan turned around.

His eyes fell on the shredded paper.

"What?" he screamed. "Olivia!"

A woman rushed in. Young and Nervous; probably his assistant.

"Yes, boss?"

"Why did you fucking do this?" He pointed at the shreds, his face red with anger.

"I... I don't... I didn't do this. I don't know what you're talking about, sir." Her voice shook.

"You brought this file in this morning and now you suddenly shredded it to pieces? How dare you?"

"I swear, I didn't-"

"I'm about to attend a meeting to present the content of this file. I need to submit our company's proposal, but look what you've done!"

"Sir, please, I didn't-"

"This is a very wicked act and I won't tolerate this. You're fired! Get out of here!"

Olivia's eyes filled with tears. "Sir, please-"

"Get out!"

She runs out of the office, sobbing.

I felt a little bad but not that bad.

Evan slumps into his chair, holding his head.

A click- What the hell is happening? This deal is everything. If I lose this, I'm done. He screams in his mind.

Good. Let him suffer.

I stood up and focused. I want to be seen now, I wanted him to know.

Slowly, I feel the air shift around me. My body becomes solid again - Visible.

I knock on the door frame.

Evan looked up, startled.

"Hi, Evan. How are you? Is anything the matter?" I asked sweetly, walking in and sitting where I'd been moments before. This time, he could see me.

"Oh, hi, Aria. Good morning." He forced a smile. "Nothing is wrong. I was only searching for a file, but I'll find it soon."

A click- What the hell is she doing here? She just likes to stalk me every time. Doesn't she get it straight that I don't love her anymore? Gosh. He detests her in his mind.

I smiled and stood up. "I only came to say hello."

"You didn't sleep home last night," he said, trying to divert my attention.

"Yes. I came in this morning and didn't find you at home. I knew you'd be busy with work, so I decided to sleep over at Lena's place."

"Oh yeah, I was damn busy. It's fine."

I glanced at the shredded paper on his desk. "So the file you're looking for?"

"What about it?" he asked.

I pulled the half of the file I'd taken from my bag. The pages I hadn't shredded.

His eyes went wide.

"How would you feel if I told you I have it?" I said, holding it up.

"What?" He jumped to his feet. "Aria, give that back. Now."

"Why? It's just paper, right?"

"That's an eighty-million-dollar contract! Please, Aria, don't do this."

I smiled. "You know, Evan, revenge can be very sweet. Isn't it?"

His face went pale. "What are you talking about?"

I didn't answer. I just stared at him, the file in my hand, and watched him squirm.

"Aria, please. This isn't funny."

"Who said I was joking?"

For the first time since I came back, I see fear in his eyes.

And it felt amazing....