Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,69

I didn’t think he went out with college girls.”

I shrugged. “I guess he doesn’t. He blew me off. Then came home with another girl.”

My aunt cringed. “Oh, Alex. I’m so sorry.”

I expected the tears to gush again. But they didn’t. Maybe my body had finally learned to only shed tears over something sensible.

“You know…you and Hayden really aren’t so different.”

“I’d never stand someone up and make them look like a fool.” I didn’t mean to sound defensive, but comparing me to the guy who’d broken my already battered heart didn’t sit well.

“No, obviously you wouldn’t do that.” She ran her hand gently over my hair, the same way my mom had when I was a little girl. “But maybe you should talk to him. Hear him out. There may be more to the story than meets the eye.”

I tilted my head not buying it, but appreciating her efforts.

“I’m serious.”

“I’m going to need a little more than that.”

She worried her bottom lip. “I told you before, it’s not my story to tell. But if you were to learn of it on your own, say online under his full name and hometown of Beaumont, I wouldn’t be telling you now, would I?”

I stared dumbfounded, wondering why I hadn’t thought to do that. Then again, I only learned his last name recently. I jumped to my feet and gathered up the blanket.

“It’s no good having regrets.”

My eyes narrowed.

“I should have done something to stop the standoff with your mom. I should’ve forced her to talk to me. Now it’s too late.”

I nodded my understanding before heading toward my room. Halfway down the hallway I stopped and turned back around. “Thank you, Katherine.”

The glint in her eyes as she smiled told me she understood the depth of my words.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

HAYDEN

I’d parked my beaten ass on my sofa for a solid week. And while the bruises had faded and the cuts had begun to mend, the pain still lingered. Marisol had stopped by to check on me and confirmed my ribs were healing. Slowly.

A soft knocking on my front door drew my attention away from SportsCenter. Careful not to move too quickly, I pushed myself up and moved to the door, feeling as if I’d aged fifty years in a week. If Remy thought for one second I’d go anywhere with him in the shape I was in, I had news for him.

I lowered my eye to the peephole, then staggered back.

It wasn’t Remy.

Not even close.

I slowly pulled open the door.

Alex, in torn jeans and a flowy red shirt, clutched a folder to her chest. Instead of looking at me, her eyes peeked around me, checking to see if she’d interrupted anything. Once she determined I was alone, her eyes flashed to mine. “I noticed you haven’t been to classes.”

I shrugged non-committal.

A watched her swallow down a sassy comeback or her anger. Either one I deserved.

“Well anyway, Sophia works at the registrar. She got me a list of your professors. I stopped by and picked up all the notes and in-class assignments they didn’t post online.”

My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Why?”

Holding the folder out to me, she forced a smile. “Just being a good neighbor.”

I struggled to suppress a grin, especially when she threw my own stupid words back in my face. I reached for the folder, wincing at the sharp pain that ignited in my side.

“What’s wrong?” She jerked forward like she wanted to help, but quickly stepped back.

I couldn’t tell her I needed to lie down without her expecting an explanation. So I braced myself against the door frame and clutched it for support.

Alex gnawed on her lip. I could see the internal battle playing out in her eyes, but I really needed to sit. “So, I appreciate you bringing this by,” I said, prompting her to leave.

She didn’t move. She stood waiting for something. Something specific. I could see it in those expressive eyes.

My lips twitched in the corners as it hit me. “You’re swell.”

Her smile split in two before she turned and disappeared into her apartment.

What the hell just happened?

ALEX

The following day when Hayden opened his door, still sporting scruffy stubble on his face I wasn’t used to, I held up the container of hot chicken soup I’d spent the last two hours making. “Just thought you might be hungry.”

Hayden stared at me for a minute before stepping aside so I could enter.

I didn’t move. “It’s already hot. If you’ve got a spoon, you just need to eat it.”

He cocked his