Chapter 14 #2
Bets? This made the situation even trickier.
Alex had already bet a few coins on certain fighters as a joke.
But he'd never noticed that there were bigger bets in their circle.
Two more guys emerged from the shadows. Alex wasn't going to make it out of here like nothing had happened.
He put out his cigarette. This is going to hurt.
***
“Alex, what happened?”
Alex struggled to open his eyes. Xavier, the bar owner, was crouching down opposite him, his face taut with worry.
Alex must have lost consciousness at some point because Robbe and his buddies had disappeared.
His whole body ached. He tried to stand up, without success.
Xavier put his hand on his shoulder and forced him to remain seated.
“I'll tell Matthew to take you to a doctor.”
No way. Alex shook his head. He wanted to protest and say he'd manage. He always did. But every breath he took was painful.
“At least let me call someone to come get you.”
Alex handed him his phone before letting his head fall back against the wall. He wouldn't make it home alone.
Someone touched his cheek. He'd probably been unconscious again. He blinked to find Elena in front of him. She looked sad. Alex tried to smile to reassure her, but ended up grimacing. His lower lip was split.
“Bring him to my car,” an unfamiliar voice commanded.
Alex wanted to retaliate. He didn't want to leave with a stranger.
Elena silently pleaded with him. “Please, let us help you.”
Finally, he nodded. Two men helped him up and into a car that smelled of new leather.
Alex tried to see who the driver was, but he was getting dizzy.
It had been a long time since he'd been in this state.
He had hoped to keep Elena away from this part of his life.
Now it was too late. He didn't want her to think he'd thrown himself headlong into a fight when he was trying to do better.
Alex didn't understand why he cared so much about what she thought.
She turned back to him, her blue eyes filled with worry.
“How are you?”
“I've been better.”
Elena and a pretty woman who must have been in her late twenties took him out of the car and into his room.
He heard his mother panic, but the blonde woman seemed to know how to reassure her.
Once Alex was lying on his bed, she came and sat beside him.
Elena followed her like a puppy. There was a strange resemblance between them.
“Hey, Alex, I'm Jade. I'm a doctor. May I look at your wounds?”
Alex glanced at Elena. She had called a doctor. Elena beckoned him to accept. Alex merely nodded. He was too tired.
“Don't worry, his wounds are superficial. Alex, I’d advise you to stay in bed for a few days.”
Once the treatments were over, Jade kissed Elena and Lexi goodbye. Who is she?
***
Rays of sunlight illuminated the room, waking Alex from his sleep.
His whole body was numb with pain. It would take weeks to fully heal.
He turned his head to find himself face to face with Elena again.
The dancer was sleeping peacefully. Her head rested on her arms, and Alex felt warmth spread through his chest. She'd been watching over him all night.
How she had managed to fall asleep while sitting on the floor was a mystery.
Before giving himself time to think, Alex stroked her cheek.
Elena startled awake. The moment she caught sight of Alex, her face broke into a broad smile.
He smiled back. She stretched and yawned, revealing a piece of skin that looked so soft.
He already knew she was beautiful and hot, but the more time they spent together, the more Elena seemed to become his type again.
Who was he trying to fool? She was totally his type; she always had been.
“How are you feeling?”
The question snapped Alex out of his thoughts. He shook his head. Alex had to stop himself from staring at her like a hungry animal. “A little sore, but fine.”
If Elena knew he was lying, she made no comment. She reached for the first-aid kit on the bedside table. “I'll take care of your wounds, okay? Jade said they had to be cleaned the first few days.”
“Who's Jade? You seem to trust her.” Alex began to understand her way of thinking. Elena didn’t easily trust others. The people she did trust had to be exceptional.
“Jade is my mother's younger sister. She's actually a gynaecologist, but she's a good doctor.”
Elena looked at her hands for a second. She seemed to want to add something, so Alex gave her time to organize her thoughts.
Elena shook her head and took the sanitiser out of the kit. “You know, I was really scared when we found you all bloody and panting.”
Alex frowned. His pulse quickened. “I don't want to talk about it.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just need you to know how I feel.”
She began to clean the cuts on his face. As usual, Elena showed him gentleness and kindness he didn’t deserve. He couldn't help but wince when she placed the alcohol-soaked cotton on his lip.
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
When she was done tending to his face, she helped him sit up to remove his shirt.
In other circumstances, having Elena undress him would have been much more pleasant.
And Alex would be lying if he said he didn't want it to happen in this particular other context.
There was no reason to lie; she was gorgeous.
In fact, Elena had set the bar so high that no one else could match her.
But Alex couldn't say such a thing to her.
Their friendship was complicated and fragile enough as it was.
Elena sat down beside him, making him feel as if she'd just punched him in the stomach with her sad eyes.
Alex could hardly swallow. He hated those looks.
They were the same ones his mother and friends had given him for years: sadness, compassion, pity.
Alex felt something inside him break. Of all the people in the world, he didn't want Elena to look at him like that.
He didn't want her to see him as weak and vulnerable. Anger and shame bubbled in his chest.
Elena continued to look after him in a heavy silence. Why did everything always have to be so complicated between them? Her gaze lingered on Alex's wounds for a few seconds too long. Elena reached for his face, and Alex snapped. It was too hard. His anger boiled in his veins.
“Don't touch me!”
Don't look at me like I'm broken. He turned his gaze to the ceiling and tried to master his breathing.
It was a lost cause. Why was he so weak?
As his thoughts spiralled out of control, his panic grew by the minute.
He just wanted it to stop. He gasped when Elena put her hand on his shoulder.
Alex tried to pull away, but couldn't. He turned to Elena.
Her hands trembled slightly. She was still afraid, but this time, Elena wasn't trying to get away from him. Her gaze was resolute.
“Don't push me away.”
Was he ever going to stop screwing things up when she was around? His eyes burned. Elena took him in her arms and he burst into tears. How had he managed to sink so low? Shame left a bitter taste on his tongue.
“You’re okay. I’m with you.”
Her heartbeat was strong and calm. Despite the pain in his limbs, Alex clung to her. He followed the rhythm of her breathing and waited for the panic to dissipate. Elena stroked his hair, softer than ever. Maybe when she was around, he didn't have to pretend to be okay.
“One day, my father was more violent than usual and pushed my mother,” she confessed.
“Mom couldn't get up. I don't know if you've heard, but at the time I couldn’t speak.
I was freaked out, so I called Jade to come and help us.
I wasn't sure if a sound would come out of my throat when I called her, but my voice came back.
Since then, it's always Jade who looks after us whenever anything happens.”
Alex moved away slightly so he could look her in the face. Elena smiled at him. She must have been an angel in another life.
Today, more than ever, he was grateful to Maura for putting him back on Elena's path. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Maybe you'll feel better in my presence if I'm more open with you?”
Maybe he needed to open his heart, too. There was no way someone as perfect as her would put up with his bullshit without knowing why. But Alex was terrified. He hadn't opened his heart to anyone since...
“Don't feel you have to tell me anything just because I shared a piece of my life. That's not how it works.” Elena dabbed his cheeks and eyes with a tissue, avoiding any wounds.
“But you want to know what happened.”
“True, but just because I want to know doesn't mean I have to know.”
Since when was she so docile? Unless he'd misjudged her? “Since when are you so understanding?”
She laughed. He was relieved she wasn't taking it the wrong way.
She continued to run her fingers through his hair. “In truth, I'm not the type to meddle in other people's affairs.”
Alex raised an eyebrow and immediately regretted it. It hurt. Elena, who didn't want to meddle in other people's lives? Yeah right. “Are you sure we're talking about you here?”
“I know I insisted a lot with you, but that was only because you know everything about me, and I know nothing about you. I just wanted the situation to be more balanced, but insisting wasn't right.”
“You wanted to know more about me simply out of principle, not because you were curious?”
Elena rubbed the back of her head. It was a habit of Alex's that she had taken over. Adorable.
“I guess? I'm interested in your life, but it's not in my nature to stick my nose in someone else’s business. I'm sorry I pushed you.”
“And I'm sorry I called you a hypocrite.”
“Maybe it's time we learned to trust each other if we want this friendship to work, don't you think?”
Alex nodded. It was time he accepted that Elena had managed to worm her way into his heart and make a place for herself there. As if she understood what he was thinking, she tightened her arms around him.
“Thank you for helping.”
“Always.”