Chapter 25 – Alexis
25
The Beans are Spilled
Alexis
I’VE NEVER SEEN my brother like this.
Leo paces through my apartment, pausing occasionally to rake one hand through his already messy hair. Each swipe sends it standing taller and taller, making my fingers itch with the need to repair the damage he’s done. But the bags under his eyes and the tight line of his mouth make me think the style of his hair is the least of his worries.
“Do you want to sit down?” I point to the sofa and immediately regret it. I know what’s transpired there, and I can’t imagine Leo would be thrilled to find out he’d parked his ass in the exact spot my thighs were against his best friend’s ears.
“No. I can’t stay long.” He completes another pass, turning to face me when he reaches the front wall. “I need your help with Maddie.”
That has my brows lifting. “My help?” I’m not sure how useful I would be against a violent ex-husband, and I’m also not sure how entangled I want to be in the rift between Leo and my parents. Especially since I can understand both sides. “In what way?”
“She’s so fucking alone, Alexis.” Leo’s big shoulders sag. “I want to be everything she needs, but I can’t.”
“What about her parents? I thought they were a close family?” I don’t know the Millers well. Like the rest of my parents’ friends, I always did my best to avoid them so I didn’t get dragged into some long-winded—and exceedingly boring—conversation about the weather, or—God forbid—sports.
“They are, but it’s not the same.” Leo comes my way, reaching me in two long strides. “She doesn’t have any friends. When she was married, he did his best to cut her off from everyone, and now she doesn’t have anyone to talk to about what’s going on.” He grabs both my hands, holding tight. “I thought maybe you and your friends could sort of take her in. Be like a tribe or something for her.”
My heart squeezes for Maddie. I know how important my friends have been to me. They’ve helped me through things I couldn’t—or didn’t want to—discuss with my family, so I see where Leo’s coming from.
Still.
“Maddie might not want you trying to force friends on her.” I stop short of pointing out that while he might be well-intentioned, this is just another form of controlling her friends.
Leo starts shaking his head immediately. “I wouldn’t do that. I told her about you and your friends and asked if it was okay for me to talk to you.” His expression hardens the smallest bit. “I know you and Mom and Dad think I’m fucking everything up, but I really am just trying to take care of her and keep her safe.”
“I know you are.” I keep my tone gentle. “And Mom and Dad know that too.”
No one thinks Leo’s trying to cause problems for Maddie. And it bothers me that he thinks we do. Makes me think Maddie isn’t the only one feeling a little alone.
He snorts. “ Right .” The sarcastic cut of the single word is sharp. “Honestly, I don’t give a shit what you think of me as long as you’ll be there for Maddie.”
I hold his gaze, guilt making me wish there was more I could do about the mess he’s in. “Of course. I’m more than happy to help Maddie in any way I can.”
Leo jerks his head in a nod. “Thank you.” He releases my hands and digs his phone from his pocket. He taps across the screen and a second later my own phone vibrates. “I just sent you her number.”
“I’ll reach out to her today.” Looks like my plans of relaxing on my couch and trying to wrap my brain around the fact I spent the night with Gavin again are shot all to hell.
In a surprising move, Leo grabs me, squeezing me in a genuine hug instead of the bone crushing, done only to annoy me, variety I’m usually subjected to. “Thank you.” He releases me and backs toward the door. “I owe you one.”
I manage a weak smile, because I’m afraid the one he’s going to owe me might cause just as much turmoil as his relationship with Maddie Miller. “Okay.”
Leo lets himself out and I stand there for a minute, putting off the inevitable as long as I can.
Then I open my phone and begin my least favorite thing.
A flipping group text.
“THANK YOU SO much for offering your house up.” I drop down into one of the stools surrounding Hazel’s kitchen island. “I figured going out in public was probably not a great idea, all things considered.”
Hazel’s eyes widen and she shakes her head. “It sounds like she’s been through some wild shit, and I can understand not feeling safe.” My friend tips wine into a glass and offers it up. “I wouldn’t want to risk him figuring out where she was and showing up.” She gives me a wicked little smile. “But it would be kind of fun to watch Isla murder him with her bare hands.”
“Honestly, that would solve a lot of problems.” I blow out a breath as I lift my glass. “It’s so scary to think someone can be like that. I can’t imagine what she must be going through.”
“Right?” Hazel shakes her head. “I’ve dated my fair share of assholes, but none of them has ever threatened to kill me.”
“Exactly.” It’s unfathomable to me. Impossible to wrap my mind around why anyone would do something like that. “She’s a few years older than us, so I didn’t really know her well growing up, but she’s always been nice to me. It’s hard to imagine anyone hating her enough to threaten her.”
“It’s not about hate.” Hazel’s lips flatten. “Shit like that is always about control.”
The doorbell rings and I take a deep breath, hoping I can pull off what Leo wants from me. I haven’t had to make a new friend in years, and I’m a little concerned I lack the skill set to actually be of any help to Maddie.
Setting down my glass, I force on a smile. “Here goes nothing, I guess.”
I follow Hazel down the hall, smile frozen on my face as she opens the door. Leo texted me a few minutes ago letting me know they were on their way, so I’m expecting to see Maddie outside. And she is out there.
But so are the rest of my friends. Seeing them all huddled around her, offering compliments and the warmth I lack, makes me so fucking proud to be a part of our little girl gang.
Even though they love a good group text.
Hazel takes a sip of the wine she carried to the door as she eyes the crowd on her doorstep. “You guys might want to give her some breathing room.”
For sure. Thankfully, Maddie doesn’t look irritated, but she does seem somewhat shell shocked by my friends’ overbearing nature. I tried to warn Leo that once the girls found out about Maddie’s ex-husband problem, they would go into support mode. And while I love the shit out of them, their support mode can be a lot.
Wren has one long arm looped over Maddie’s shoulders. “She might as well get used to it now. We don’t want her to think we’re all as reserved as Alexis.” She gives me a wink to soften the statement.
I angle a brow at her. “Someone has to be reserved. Can you imagine what would happen if I wasn’t around to be the voice of reason?”
Hazel wrinkles her nose, stepping back so everyone can come inside. “Then I would be the only one who has any chill, and there’s no way I can keep you guys in line all by myself.”
Isla is at Maddie’s other side, a wild look in her eyes. “Maybe we should kick you and Alexis out. Just for a week so we can get a little unhinged.” She tips her head not-so-discreetly at Maddie. “Take care of a few things.”
I roll my eyes Hazel’s way. “I think staying in was probably a good idea.”
She snorts, closing the front door behind everyone. “Agreed.”
We all move together, following the hallway to the back of the house before collecting around the island like we always do. Since our little meet-up was pretty impromptu and no one had time to make anything, I placed an order at our favorite sushi restaurant and picked it up on my way over. Rolls of all kinds line the counter, and everyone chats as they begin plowing through rice and fish.
I’ve just popped a California roll into my mouth when my cell phone buzzes where I left it face down on the island. I discreetly lift it, peeking at the screen.
What do you think?
The message is accompanied by a photo of a large wire and wood enclosure. There’s a glowing light in one top corner and what look like branches zigzagging from side to side.
Looks great. I’m glad Grant knew someone who could help.
After Leo left my house, I texted Gavin, letting him know I was going to be busy most of the day and evening. I expected him to reply back with a simple acknowledgment, but it’s almost like I opened the floodgates. Gavin has been texting me all day. Nothing emotionally deep or overbearing, just little tidbits of what he’s been doing since I left his place.
And it seems like he’s had as interesting of a Saturday as I have.
“What are you doing?” Isla creeps in at my side, bumping my hip with hers.
I shove my phone into the pocket of my wide-leg jeans before reaching for another piece of sushi. “Nothing.”
“That smile on your face does not say nothing .” She waggles her brows at me. “That smile says you just got a text from a certain long-haired rugby player.”
My stomach drops as my eyes flash to where Maddie sits, hoping she’s not paying attention to me or Isla. Sadly, the widening of her dark eyes as they meet mine crushes any hope I have that my entanglement with my brother’s best friend will stay on the down-low.
Isla continues on, oblivious to the mess she’s spilling. “You went home with Gavin last night, didn’t you?” She leans closer, lowering her voice. “Did you have to leave because he nutted on your dress again?”
My stomach drops as shit keeps getting worse and worse. “I…” This is not how I want my brother to find out what’s going on between me and his best friend. I wanted to wait for a while. Let this whole thing with Maddie blow over before explaining the overlap in our personal lives.
And I sure as shit don’t want him to find out from someone other than me.
My loudest, and most oblivious, friend finally seems to notice everyone has gotten very quiet. Isla’s brown eyes go wide, her skin paling as she realizes what she’s done. “Oh fuck.” She looks from me to Maddie, then back to me again. “I sorta forgot we had a new addition here.”
I don’t know what to say. How to fix this. I know Isla didn’t mean to spill the tea about me and Gavin, but I still want to throttle her. Just a little.
The silence drags out until finally someone breaks it.
“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t hear a single word you said then.” Maddie gives me a cautious smile. “But if I did, the only thing I would have to say is good for you.”
Isla’s shoulders drop as she lets out a loud sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
I look my redheaded friend over. “I’m still mad at you.”
Isla grins at me. “No you’re not. That’s just how your face looks.” She turns to Maddie, leaning an elbow on the counter. “Well, since we can’t talk about Alexis, and no one else here is getting laid, why don’t you tell us how you and Leo got together.”
Maddie presses her lips together, eyes flicking to me before darting away. “Leo and I have known each other for a while. Our parents are friends.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket again, and I pull it out, keeping it below the top of the island so no one else can see.
You were right. Your boss knew exactly who I should talk to.
I tap out the response before refocusing on Maddie as she talks about how great my brother is.
“Never in a million years did I think I would want to have another relationship. Especially so soon.” She gives me another quick glance before looking away. “But it just sort of happened.”
Her explanation makes me huff out a little laugh. “I understand completely.”
I’d left my teenage dream of being with Gavin behind a long time ago. Even when we started messing around, I still didn’t see it as anything long term. I figured it would just be a quick little fling. Enough to sate my curiosity and fulfill a fantasy.
My cell phone buzzes again, and my eyes drop to the screen to find a picture of Gavin holding the iguana in one arm and Cilantro in the other. Another text pops up almost immediately.
I think they might be starting to like each other.
Normally, getting a steady stream of text messages starts to annoy me. Makes me feel overwhelmed and inundated. But every single one of the peeks into Gavin’s adventures today has left me with a smile on my face.
They’ve also left me a little… Perplexed. Off-balance. Uncertain.
I feel like I bought vanilla ice cream and got home to discover I actually had peanut butter fudge ripple. Way more than I expected and planned for.
It’s not at all what I anticipated. But it might be even better.
As long as I’m brave enough to take a bite.