Chapter 22
OWEN
We were drenched by the time we reached my car. Jumping inside, I cranked the heater and shook out the water from my hair.
Alexis giggled… Fucking giggled.
I drove back to town with an inner hesitance. We didn’t say a word, but it wasn’t uncomfortable—more contemplative.
I learnt a lot about Alexis, but also about myself. I hadn’t realised I was holding on to such resentment towards her. And although I had no right to, I couldn’t help the words spilling from my tongue. But she gave it back in kind, in the truest form she could.
It was complicated, messy—a downright trainwreck. But it was also pure . Of all the turbulent emotions running through me, one stood firm.
I was relieved.
We had finally initiated a conversation that was four years overdue, and we survived.
After that heavy exchange, the torrential downpour almost felt symbolic. That, alongside our tears, helped the storm cleanse away all our old grievances.
As I pulled up outside her parents’ house, Alexis didn’t move to leave, the rain secluding us in our own little place where the outside world didn’t exist. We were both caught in a spell, unwilling to break that new frequency we had found ourselves.
I let her company lull me as I spoke into the blank space.
“What are you thinking?”
She remained quiet, sorting through her thoughts before she answered. “I’m… sad ,” she whispered. Her body was turned away from me, so it was barely loud enough to hear.
All the previous fight, all the fire that had been there before was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the woman next to me appeared exhausted and entirely drained.
“Talk to me, Lex,” I coaxed.
She sighed, then tipped her head back to hit the headrest. “She was my friend. She was supposed to be my friend. I’m the reason you went there in the first place. If I never asked you to go and help her, it never would have happened, and we wouldn’t have lost each other. Lost so much time…”
Her words tapered off on a subtle clearing of her throat, and I took advantage.
“Nope, we’re not playing this game. The ‘what if’ game. I know all too well where it leads, and it doesn’t end up anywhere productive.”
Then, she turned her head and gave me her true eyes. For the first time since she had left me, I was granted full access behind her impenetrable walls to see to her very soul beneath. And what I found practically totalled me to the ground.
Despair. Guilt. Sorrow.
The exact replica of myself when I knew I had lost it all.
“ I’m sorry, Owen ,” she said, so broken and so real. She aggressively rubbed her knuckles against her sternum. “ Fuck , I’m sorry for putting you in that position. I’m sorry for what you endured. I’m sorry for what she did to you.”
“Did to us , baby.” My hand pulled on hers, wanting to stop the repetitive, bruising motion.
She relented, but as I went to retreat, she latched on to my hand like a lifeline, lacing her fingers with mine. Alexis was squeezing so tight her knuckles turned white. But I didn’t care. As long as she wanted me, I was hers.
“You’re a victim too, Lex.” As she tried to shake her head, I raised the back of her hand to my mouth so I could seal the truth into her skin. “Not in the same way. But you ended up being collateral damage through no fault of your own. Whatever happened back then, you were a part of the fallout from the gigantic bomb Everly manufactured and dropped on us.”
Alexis straightened, a spark igniting from the mention of the devil herself.
“Tell me she suffered, Owen. Tell me she didn’t get away scot-free.”
“Of course she didn’t. I sent the bitch to jail.”
Alexis’ jaw dropped, then she gestured for me to continue.
“After I found out everything, I-I kind of lost it,” I said. “I first reported the sexual assault, which didn’t get the desired outcome. They had no evidence to convict her, so it was my word against hers. And Everly was still fucking delusional enough to claim it was consensual. Then, I was truly on the warpath and nothing could satiate my thirst except for the destruction of her world. At that point, I didn’t care who got railroaded.
“Barry claimed that when he hit me, it was in reaction to his baby and the mother of his newborn in distress. Since he had no previous record, he was discharged without conviction. I was frustrated at first until I found out he had no knowledge of Everly’s lies. He didn’t know she was pregnant until the day she delivered. He was also lost with misinformation, trying to piece everything together. He did apologise to me, and I accepted. They were extenuating circumstances, and I understood he was just trying to protect them in such a vulnerable state. He didn’t know the extent of who I was.”
“Agnes, Everly’s mother, was fired from her job. She claimed Everly used her credentials without her knowledge, but that still didn’t go down well. And Everly… Well, she was charged with fraud and forgery. In the end, she was sentenced to twelve months.”
I knew Alexis was overloaded, but I felt like they were important components for her to know. We had to follow through to the very end. Have it all out, every piece of microscopic information forthright and blatant for the other to absorb. And that’s what she was doing, her mind working overtime, as told by her severe expression.
After a few long minutes, she asked, “Where are they now?”
I shrugged. “After Everly was committed, Barry ran off with his daughter, and Agnes left town so fast she didn’t even settle her estate. As soon as they were gone, I crumbled. It… It took a heavy toll on me. Although I was successful in ruining her, I ruined myself in the process.”
My mind wandered, stuck in the past. “My family had to step in and practically bullied me into getting help. They took care of me, helped me recover, helped me heal. So, when that toxicity was removed from my life, I never looked them up again. I left them behind where they belonged.”
I was shaken out of my thoughts by Alexis. She was absent-mindedly massaging my hand, smoothing the tension from my palm, my nerves sparking from the caress.
It was an old calming technique she’d use if I was stressed or emotional. And just like back then, all that negative energy just seeped away from the mere form of her touch. I didn’t even think she was aware she was doing it.
“I wish I was there. To help you recover, to help you heal,” she said, her tone filled with regret.
“I’m glad you weren’t.” Her expression dropped before I continued. “You had your own demons to deal with, Lex. You couldn’t tackle mine alongside your own. Although I was dying without you, I found peace in the knowledge that Everly got some form of the justice she deserved.”
“Except for one thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Corporal punishment.”
I chuckled. Alexis didn’t.
Right then, I had no doubt in my mind that if Everly happened to walk past at that exact moment, she wouldn’t make it out alive.
I was unsure on how much time had gone by, but we remained in the same positions, just processing and coming to terms with all that was said.
“What… What happens now?” Alexis whispered.
“What do you want to happen?”
“I honestly don’t know. What do you want to happen?”
I paused. That was a dangerous question. She wasn’t prepared for my answer—nowhere near ready to hear about my ongoing obsession.
Then, she cut in. “Don’t think, Owen. Just be honest… Please.”
Shit. She would never have to ask that of me again. Blowing out a long exhale, I gave her what she asked. Every fucked up, fixated corner of my being that always screamed out for her.
“I want you , Alexis. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I want to kiss your lips. I want your smiles. I want to make you laugh. I want to show you how much I love you, how much I’ve always loved you.
She nodded. “I… I appreciate your honesty.” Pulling back, she went to remove her hand. I held on tight for an extra second before letting her go. Her gaze remained stuck where our fingers just separated. “I need time. Time to process… Everything . Can you give me that?”
“I’ll give you anything,” I whispered, speaking a promise I meant with all my heart.
Then, she opened the car door and closed it behind her, breaking the spell and leaving me alone yet hopeful for the first time in what felt like forever.