Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,106
in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes.
My head whipped over my shoulder. A tall brunette and the guy from Alex’s picture strolled into the café. “Fuck.”
I turned back to Alex. Her eyes shot to her lap. It took no more than a second, but gone was the girl who seduced me in the shower. Gone was the girl fishing for compliments. Gone was the girl excited over having a damn panini for breakfast. In her place sat a sad timid girl defeated by life. Defeated by the mere memory of her past.
I reached across the table and grabbed her limp hands, holding them tightly in the center of the table. “Hey.”
Her eyes remained in her lap.
“Alex, look at me.”
Her eyes lifted the slightest bit.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Her eyes shot back down. “I need to be here.”
It was as if she decided she’d done something wrong and needed to pay the price. It broke my damn heart.
My head shot back over my shoulder. The two stared from across the room, whispering to one another. My skin buzzed as my adrenaline kicked in. I jumped to my feet, but Alex held onto my hands so tightly her knuckles whitened. “I’m fine. We’re fine. Let’s just stay and eat.”
My pulse pounded in my ears as I dropped back down into the chair.
Her ex was hurt. I got that. He’d lost his parents. But Alex had, too. How long did he expect her to take the blame? To be his punching bag? I hated the looks they’d given her. Hated the fact that my strong girl had transformed into a shell of herself. But what could I do? I didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was.
And as much as I wanted to help, it wasn’t my battle. I needed to let her handle it her way.
When our food arrived, Alex didn’t say a word. She focused on her meal, taking a few sips of the milk shake and barely touching the panini. It was torture.
When the waitress brought the check, I grabbed it and threw down some cash. I seized Alex’s hand and pulled her to her feet, evening my eyes with hers. “I love you.”
She nodded, but not in a way that said she believed me.
So while it might’ve been childish, I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her in the middle of the crowded restaurant. It wasn’t a passionate kiss by any means, but it made my point to her and everyone else in that room. Someone loved her. Someone cared about her. Someone knew what an amazing person she was.
I linked our fingers, keeping a strong hold of her hand as we made our way to the door. When we passed her ex, I stared him down, stopping him from even thinking about uttering a word.
As quickly as her flip flops would carry us, Alex tugged me away from the café and down the sidewalk. Once we were a safe distance away, she exhaled a giant breath, like she’d been holding it in the whole time we’d been inside.
“You did good in there.”
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and looked up at me. “How can you even say that?”
“I’m serious. You didn’t run. You stayed.”
“Yeah, but I obviously didn’t—”
“Alex,” a deep voice shouted from behind us.
Alex’s shoulders tensed.
Her ex made his way toward us, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans. “Hi,” he said from a distance.
Alex turned to face him. “Hi.”
He inched a few steps closer. “I didn’t know you’d be coming back.”
She shook her head. “I just had some things to take care of.”
His eyes shifted to me, giving me the once over. It wasn’t malicious, more out of curiosity. But I still wanted to give him the finger then pummel him.
“This is Hayden.” Alex moved her hand between us. “Hayden, Preston.”
“Nice to meet you,” the idiot said, like he actually meant it.
I didn’t say a word.
Alex crossed her arms. “Did you want something, Press?”
He shrugged, his face uneasy. “Just wanted to see how you were doing.”
She scoffed. “I’m guessing just about as good as you.”
He nodded, a slow pathetic nod.
“But at least you had people to lean on. People to mourn with. I’m guessing no one stopped returning your calls.”
Nice one, Alex. Go right for the jugular.
“I…” Words abandoned him as his eyes jumped around, searching for something to say.
“Don’t. Nothing you say will make it better. But know this.” Her voice was