Chapter Ten
LEXI
One Year Ago...
I sat in the backseat, the fabric of my costume itching my skin. Coach wanted me to dress the part so I could get my confidence back, but it didn’t work.
The silence in the car was heavy; no one had the urge to talk.
Both of us were coming off a loss; I was moping in the backseat and Jake was moping in the passenger seat.
Jake and his team had lost a game, and I’d failed at getting back and being successful on the ice after my injury.
Dad was driving us home from the rink, and I’d been trying to convince him to take me back to get something I’d forgotten.
I sat up in my seat, “Dad, I need to get my headphones. They help me, I need my music to breathe.”
“I’m not turning around, Alexis. You can pick them up later.” His voice dropped into a dangerously flat tone he used when he was done with the conversation.
I sat back in my seat and huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. He didn’t understand.
He never did. The headphones helped with my anxiety.
Listening to music calmed me down and helped me get through the hardest times.
If I ever lost in a competition, I would listen to music all night to help me deal with the loss.
It was my safe space. And now I don't have that.
“Dad, please....”
“Shut up, Lex. He already said we’d go back and get it tomorrow. Let it go.”
I rolled my eyes, “You never take my side. You don’t understand either.”
That’s when he turned to face me, “Understand what? That you’re acting like a spoiled brat right now? You’re not the only one who lost. Stop acting like everything revolves around you.” His gaze darkened, and I wanted to slap him.
“I need my headphones, Jake. Not want, need. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t be this worried about it.”
Suddenly the air in the backseat vanished. The walls of the car were closing in around me, as my heart felt like it might leap from my chest.
My hand went to my neck, almost as a reaction to choking, but I wasn’t. I was trying to bring the air back into my lungs.
Jake’s eyes went from narrowed to big, his pupils dilating. "Dad," his voice cracked, the anger instantly bleeding out of it, replaced by something sharp. "Something’s wrong."
"Alexis?" Dad’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, wide and frantic. "Breathe with me. Count to three."
I couldn't count or see them. The edges of my vision were bleeding into a heavy black void of nothingness.
My heart hammered against my ribs, a wild, frantic rhythm that vibrated all the way to my teeth.
I reached for the door handle, my fingers trembling so violently I couldn't get a grip.
The child locks were on. The windows were rolled up.
I was trapped in a moving metal cage going sixty miles an hour down the highway.
I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
“Try and calm her down; help her focus on her breathing. I can’t pull over right now.”
“Breathe, Lex. Everything is going to be okay. Focus on your breathing.” I met his gaze, but I couldn’t speak. It was as if my ability to talk had vanished as well.
“Dad, she’s turning pale!”
My lips started to tremble, goosebumps spreading across my arms. I couldn’t control it. At the current moment, my body was not my own.
"Dad, you have to pull over! She can't breathe!" Jake yelled, his hands flying back to grab my shoulder. His grip felt miles away.
"I'm trying to get to the shoulder...." The turn signal started clicking. Tick. Tick. Tick. It sounded like a countdown.
I clamped my eyes shut, desperate to stop the car from spinning.
CRUNCH.
I never saw the truck. There was a violent, deafening roar of tearing metal that shattered the air right out of my lungs.
The world tilted violently. My body was ripped to the left, the seatbelt cutting into my collarbone so hard the bone creaked.
Glass exploded, raining down like a freezing, hard dynamic force against my skin.
Next came a blinding flash of white canvas as the side airbags deployed which sounded like a gunshot.
Then, nothing.
The panic attack was forcefully gone, shocked out of my system by sheer trauma.
In its place was a heavy, suffocating smell of baby powder and burning rubber.
My ears were ringing with a high, hollow whine.
I opened my eyes into a haze of white smoke, my tilted vision staring at Jake’s motionless arm dangling between the front seats.
There were screams and fierce yells that penetrated through my ears, vibrating my body and mind.
“Lex! Snap out of it!” My shoulders were being shaken, my vision coming to. I blinked rapidly, and Kayden’s eyes locked on mine, burning with an intensity that held me completely still.
“What...what happened?” I asked, breaking eye contact and looking around. Several pairs of eyes were on me, making me want to go crawl in a hole and not come out. We were right outside of Spades on the strip, and I was lying down on the sidewalk.
“You fainted. Fuck, I’m not even sure what happened. One minute you were walking away from me, the next you were on the ground.”
The sun’s rays were a little too bright for my eyes, so I tried to sit up, but that made my head hurt worse. “Ow.” I placed my hand on the back of my head. I must’ve fallen to the ground hard.
“Come on, let’s get you some water.” Why was he being so nice to me? Was this all a ploy? Why was I walking away from him? What did he do now?
He placed my arm around his neck, and his arm went around my waist. Sparks raced up my spine, another reminder of how irritating he was.
There were a few tables out front, some for Spades and an ice cream shop that was right next to it. Kayden helped me get to one of those tables, pulled out a chair and had me sit down.
“Oh my god, Lex! Are you okay?” Hazel came running up to us, and the whole situation got even more confusing.
“I’m fine. I thought you were inside?”
She put her hands on her hips, “Yeah, well, I was until there was quite a bit of commotion out front. Everyone in the bar stopped what they were doing to figure out what was going on. We thought there was some type of fight.”
I sighed, knowing this was going to be plastered all over the university’s gossip page. Especially with Kayden around, they were sure to put something of interest down for their readers. So much for flying under the radar.
Kayden had disappeared and so had most of the crowd. Hazel sat down beside me. “Are you okay?”
I bit my lip and nodded. “Yes.” I was playing dumb. I knew exactly what happened. I’d seen the broken glass, and blacked out.
I wouldn’t tell her what had been going on, though, nor would I tell anyone else. They didn’t need to know how much that day haunted me. How the wreck was all my fault.
Her eyebrows pulled together, her gaze narrowing. She was looking for any fault with my words, but she wouldn’t find it.
A glass of water was placed in front of me, and surprisingly, Kayden sat down in the other chair. “Drink.”
Such a demanding asshole.
I took the glass of water and drank until it was gone, feeling slightly better now that I had some liquid in me. I looked at Hazel, suddenly tired from the whole situation. “Can you take me to the dorm, please?”
She frowned, and I instantly felt bad for spoiling her night. Again. “Of course.”
“I can take her back.” Kayden piped in, his gaze meeting mine. He was so difficult to figure out. One minute he couldn’t stand to be around me and the next he was being...nice? What’s he playing at?
“That’s okay...” I said, not wanting to be around him anymore.
Thoughts of what we talked about before I fainted rushed back to me.
He wanted me to be his pretend girlfriend.
It was the strangest idea I’d ever heard of.
Putting two people in a room who literally couldn’t stand each other, and be all lovey-dovey?
I didn’t want our parents together anymore than he did, but there had to be another way around this.
“We still need to finish our conversation, so let me take you back.” His eyes locked with mine and a slow, reassuring smile had spread across his face.
My lips morphed into a frown. He’s laying it on real thick.
“Oh, and what do you have to talk about that you can’t do with me around?” His gaze broke from mine, and he glared at Hazel. Ah, he wants to keep this from her. Nope, not happening.
I leaned back in the chair, and fixed my hair, putting it back in a bun. “He’s wanting me to be his fake girlfriend to break up our parents.”
Her eyes widened, “Holy shit. I didn’t think you had it in you, Daniel.”
He rolled his eyes, meeting my gaze. “Thanks for that.”
I grinned at the chance of making him uncomfortable. “You’re welcome.”
Hazel’s lips formed into a truly wicked grin. I already knew where her mind was going.
I shook my head, and put up my finger. “Don’t even say it.”
“Come on, you have to do it!”
“No.”
“Think about it. Dating will drive your parents crazy. They’ll be desperate to end your relationship. Tensions will rise, they’ll argue, words will be said, and before you know it, they’ll break up. It’s actually quite a plan.”
This was a bad idea written all over it.
“I’m not going to beg you, but this is the best way to ensure they don’t stay together. Once this is finished, we can go our separate ways. Deal?”
There were so many things wrong with this, but if it got rid of him quicker, then I guess it was time to suck it up.
I rubbed my hands over my face. I was going to regret this. “Deal.”