I don't even know how long I sat with a book in my hand in bed and my head in the clouds.
I was pulled out of my fantasy by a knock on my door and an attempt to open it. Yes, an attempt, since they were locked because I hadn't stuck my nose out of the room today.
I put my book down on the bed, unfortunately stopping in the middle of the page, and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I stood up and headed for the door.
With each step, a different question crossed my mind and an answer immediately followed.
Is that Dad? No, he wouldn't knock.
But what if he needs something? Certainly not from me.
Did someone break into our house? They probably wouldn't knock.
I unlocked the door and opened it with a slight discomfort in my chest, but it disappeared immediately when I saw Jeremy standing on the other side of the door.
"How did you get in?" I frowned, but I was glad to see him.
"The door was unlocked and there was a key in it." I took a shaky breath at his words. "I locked the door and put the keys where they belong before I went up. You need to be more careful Lexi. You never know who might randomly open your door."
I stepped back from the door so he could come in, and so he did.
As he walked to my bed, I thought about telling him that I know I locked the door last night, and since it wasn't me, that meant Dad was gone.
"And also, you didn't text us yesterday." He threw himself on the bed, narrowly missing my book. He folded his arms behind his head, his muscles tensing automatically, and he crossed his legs.
"Sorry." I closed my eyes. "I was tired and..." I walked over to him and picked up my dead cell phone. "And you couldn't call me either." I breathed out hard. "I'm sorry."
"Believe me, I don't mind stopping by, I have nothing to do anyway." He sighed happily and reached for my book. "So this is how you spend your day off, huh?" He raised an eyebrow before opening the book to the pages where the bookmark was. "Again."
His eyes skimmed over the lines on the pages, and I was only glad he hadn't arrived a few minutes earlier, two chapters ahead of what he was reading.
"Stop judging me." I snatched the book from his hands and put it in the small bookcase with a silent promise to return to it.
"I'm the last one that should". He snorted, insulting himself. "So, since you're free," he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat down, "and I'm free..."
"Because you don't have a job." I completed it and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and stood up. "We can do something. Lunch. Or..." He scanned me from head to toe. "Breakfast in your case."
"Don't you really have anything better to do?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me, but a date with you is more important than anything else. We haven't been on a date in weeks." He looked at me with puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
I swear Jeremy is just a friend. Yes, he calls me babe, hugs me more than anyone else, and calls our lunch/breakfast dates, but that's just how our friendship is and I'm totally fine with that.
"Fine." I succumbed to his eyes and immediately went to the closet to choose something.
I looked out the window to see what the weather was like since for the past few hours I had only seen letters on a few pages and finally decided on a blue skirt with white flowers, a blue tank top, and a thin white shirt on top.
I left Jeremy alone in my room while I went to the bathroom to change and fix my hair and face a bit. When I returned, I found him standing by the window with a hoodie in his hand.
Oh no.
"Whose is it?"
"It's new." I ran to him and snatched it from his hand.
"It smells like cigarettes and I'm pretty sure that's blood on the sleeve, you want to try that again?"
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What should I say? I have no head for excuses.
"Lexi." There was a slight hint of warning in his voice.
"It's nothing, I promise." He raised his eyebrow as if he didn't believe me. "Actually, I was planning on returning it today." That is if I find the owner. "You can come with me if you want." I raised my shoulders and smiled a little.
I don't know what I'm doing here.
And where is here? In a bistro where there is one waitress who steals all the space in my head.
I was trying to get her out of my head yesterday. And for a little while it worked. The pain quieted my head for a moment.
But then, when I went to hide from the rain at the bus stop, suddenly she was there. All soaked in thin clothes and shaking.
I wanted to stay away. Leaving immediately when I noticed it was her.
But I had to give her my hoodie, so I saw her up close. Again. And again, it was something that could not be forgotten.
Her eyes were etched in my memory. I couldn't sleep because the moment I closed my eyes, she was there.
A small part of me was hoping she'd want to return the hoodie, so she'd come to her work, which is where we both hang out.
And another, even smaller part knew that I didn't really care if she returned the hoodie, but that I saw her.
I had been waiting since early morning in the bistro, at my usual place in the corner.
"Eleven minutes," I said to myself as I looked at the time on my cell phone.
Eleven minutes and I'll leave.
Every minute was like an hour. There was no end to it.
As I was about to leave, I heard the bell above the door ring and I swear the whole bistro lit up when she walked in.
Her sweet laugh reached my table, but I couldn't help but notice that she was covering her mouth with her hand.
When she took another few steps, I found the reason why she was laughing. Her boyfriend.
I wanted to leave at that moment even more than before. To get up and be gone before she even notices me.
But it was too late.
She tore her gaze away from her boyfriend and scanned the bistro until her green eyes landed on me.
I didn't try to take it personally that her hand and smile immediately dropped.
Her boyfriend noticed that she was looking somewhere, so he followed her gaze.
If looks could kill, none of us would be here.
She turned and said something to him, to which he merely nodded and gave her a small smile before going to sit on one of the tall stools by the bar.
With a deep breath, she turned back to me and started walking in my direction.
It wasn't until she was walking towards me that I noticed the black hoodie in her hands.
She stopped by my desk, obviously slightly nervous.
Why is she nervous?
"Hi." She said so quietly I almost didn't hear it. "I wanted..." She didn't finish, she just put the hoodie in front of me. "Thank you and I'm sorry, but I didn't have time to wash it."
I looked at her like she was crazy. How can someone like her exist? What kind of world does someone like her have to live in to be so nice?
It looks like there are people the real world hasn't reached yet.
"Something else?" I said harshly, giving her a slap in the face called reality.
She looked at me like she couldn't believe what I said before she spoke. "Yes." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Learn some manners or find another bistro."
"I'm sorry?" I snorted. Where did that come from?
"Just when I think you're going to say something that won't sound so bad, you quickly prove to me how wrong a person can be. Just because you're having a bad day, or in your case, a bad week, doesn't mean you have to ruin it for everyone else." She lowered her arms to her sides and began to spin.
But before she could even take a step, I jumped up from my seat and grabbed her wrist.
I don't know why, but I did it.
And when she hissed in pain the moment I touched her just a little, I immediately let her go, thinking that I had hurt her.
Grabbing her own wrist, she pushed aside the part of the white shirt that covered the bruises.
I was glad it wasn't me who hurt her, but if it wasn't me, it had to be someone else.
She looked scared when she noticed that I saw her wrist.
"Just leave." She almost whispered and slipped past me.
I would stop her again, but I couldn't move. The image of her bruised wrist was still in my mind.
When I looked at her boyfriend she was walking towards I saw red.
I walked towards them with one thought in my head. I will kill him for touching her.
He didn't see me and I got to him before she did.
I grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to look at me. I pushed him into the counter and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" Before he even knew it, my fist was flying toward his jaw.
I let go of him with my other hand, and he fell from the impact, dragging one of the chairs behind him.
"What the hell!" He screamed and grabbed his jaw while sitting on the ground.
"Don't ever fucking touch her again." I pointed my finger at him while my waitress just looked at her boyfriend in fear. Ex, I hope.
"What the hell are you talking about?" With one hand still on his jaw, he stood up. "Lexi, what's going on?" He frowned at her.
"Lexi, is there a problem?" Another voice called out, this time from the kitchen.
My waitress, Lexi, looked around the bistro, all attention on us. "Out. Both of you. There are families with kids." She started walking outside and we both followed her.
It took everything in me not to hit him again.
If he thinks he can touch a woman with no consequences, he hasn't met me yet.
"Lexi, you want to tell me why he hit me?" He asked as we left the bistro and stepped back a little further.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Look at her wrists." My jaw clenched.
Without hesitation, he jumped up to her and carefully took her hand, rolling up the sleeve of his shirt. "Lexi, what the hell is this?"
What?
In most cases, I'd say he's trying to save his own ass, but it really looked like he was seeing it for the first time.
"When did it happen?" He asked while she pulled back her sleeve.
"It's nothing. And you," she looked at me, "you had no right to hit him."
I wanted to say something, but he cut me off. "Yes, he did, if he thought I did that to you." He turned to me. "Good right hook, but I'd like it if you never used it on me again."
Stunned, I stood still at his words. What did he say?
"Lexi." He looked at her again. "Did he do it?"
I don't know who he is, but I'd like to talk to him for a bit.
"Please leave it, Jeremy." She hugged herself like yesterday when she was shivering from the cold.
"You should report him. And if you don't, I will."
Just so I wouldn't feel left out of the conversation, I spoke up. "Your boyfriend is right.
They looked at me at once before they both spoke. "My what?" She said before he said, "her what?".
"I thought..." I glanced between them in confusion.
"No." She shook her head. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Aw, you're hurting my feelings, baby." He clutched his chest, but he had a smaller smile on his face. "Jeremy, by the way." He gave me his hand. "One of Lexi's bodyguards."
I looked at her, looking for some answers in her eyes, but I didn't even know what question I was looking for an answer to.
But I know one thing. I beat myself up for being attracted to someone who had a partner, but I was wrong all along.
I don't think I've ever been so glad I was wrong.
"Finn." I took his hand but didn't take my eyes off Lexi.
"Now back to you." He turned back to her.
"Please, Jeremy, don't tell the others. It's really nothing."
I clenched my jaw, stopping myself from saying something. I shouldn't be here, but I'm standing here anyway.
"Lexi." He exhaled heavily.
"Please." She walked up to him and grabbed his hand. "I promise it won't happen again. And if it does, I'll come right to you."
I was looking straight into her eyes, and even though he couldn't see it, I did. She's lying.
"Please." She bit her lip. "Jerr."
"Okay." He lowered his head with a sigh. "But if he hits you again..."
"That won't happen." She interrupted him.
"I recommend it. Because if Lincoln gets to him first, the police will be the least of his problems."
"Thank you." She almost whispered and let go of his hand. "And I'm sorry you were dragged into this." She looked at me. "But I meant what I said inside. I'll see you later, Jerr." She gave him a small smile before turning and walking away, leaving the two of us standing on the sidewalk with our gazes on her back.
"You owe me a beer," Jeremy said next to me, his gaze still on Lexi.
"What?" I frowned.
"You hit me so you owe me a beer." He patted me on the shoulder before walking past me back to the bistro. "Hurry up!" He shouted at me after a while.
"What are you doing Finn?" I said to myself and walked after him.
Another chapter because why not ;)