Lexi
October 2nd, 2016 | 3:00 pm
Lexi was trying really hard to keep her anger at bay as she took off the sheets of all the beds and put them in the washing machine. Obviously, there was nothing Lexi could have done about the fact that he knew. She couldn't change that. However, not only had he befriended her out of sheer pity, he felt guilty about his father's part in what happened to her father, Lexi didn't need or want that.
She continued to clean though, it seemed like Rachel left because Lexi had come so she felt obligated to finish. She picked up the last of the beer cups and moved the bed sheets to the dryer. As she waited for the dryer to finish she thought about her parents.
Laura Cross. She had dark hair like Lexi's. She had these big brown eyes that made you want to spill whatever thought was on your mind. Lexi would talk for hours and hours and her mom would listen patiently, never once getting bored. She would teach Lexi how to cook and draw. All of the things her mom had once loved to do. Their house may have been small, but Lexi's mom made it feel full of love and warmth. Without her, the house was cold and dark. She would often hold Lexi at night when she was scared. Her mom would kiss the side of her head and sing her sweet songs until Lexi fell asleep. Lexi loved her mom, every day without her was just another ache in her heart.
Her father too, Henry Cross had always been happy. He was always cracking jokes or making Lexi smile. Even on the hardest of days, he would always make things better for Lexi and her mom. He would watch movies with Lexi and later act out all the funny bits again for her.
Life had been good before all hell had gone loose.
Her father and mother had always been so full of life and joy. It was horrible to see what had happened to them. Lexi was only sixteen when it had happened. She had been with Austin that day. By some miracle of God, Lexi had let Austin ask her out. That day was ingrained in her memory like it was yesterday.
June 25th, 2015 | 4:00 pm
Sophomore year had just ended and Lexi was walking home. Lexi couldn't wait to get home and start her summer. It had been a particularly hot and gross day out. She was wearing ripped jean shorts and an Arctic Monkeys t-shirt. Her hair was half down and the other half was up in a messy bun. Lexi had always worn some makeup and even though it was hot, thanks to her mother, she had learned how to keep her makeup looking good even on hotter days when she was melting from the heat.
She was halfway home when a boy from school had caught up with her. He walked next to her for a while matching her stride which was funny to her considering he was half a foot taller than her and had longer legs than her. She peeked a glance at him. He had this messy black hair and it was clear he ran his hands through it to mess it up more. He was also wearing an Arctic Monkeys t-shirt.
"You're Lexi Cross, right?" he asked.
Lexi glanced over at him again and made eye contact with him this time. A girl could fall in love with those gorgeous blue eyes. She smiled.
"Yeah," she said softly. "And you are?"
"Austin West."
Lexi nodded but didn't say anything. She recognized the name, he was in her grade.
"I saw your Arctic Monkeys t-shirt from across the street," he said.
"Yeah I noticed yours too," she said.
Lexi turned left at the corner and Austin continued to follow her.
"You know, this may be considered a little stalkerish, should I be scared you are following me?"
He chuckled lightly. "Are you?"
"No," she said with a small smile playing on her lips.
He smiled and tugged lightly on the sleeve of her shirt. "Favorite song?"
"Dangerous Animals," Lexi responded quickly.
"Fluorescent Adolescent," he said grinning.
"Good choice," she said smiling.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked her.
"Okay, what?"
"How come you don't hang around that many people?"
Lexi was thrown off by that. "You pay enough attention to me to know that I prefer to keep to myself?
He chuckled again. "I think everyone notices you," he said with a smile. "You attract attention."
Lexi blushed a bit. "Fine, I guess no one really gets me, why be friends with fake people, you know?"
Austin took a while to digest that. "Okay, so if you only hang out with people who get you, what would you say to dinner with me?" he asked boldly. "Just to get to know you, of course."
Lexi tried to hide her smile now. "Is that all it takes? The fact that we are wearing the same band t-shirt and suddenly you're asking me out?"
Austin grinned. "You're also really pretty, and I'm not too bad looking myself."
Lexi couldn't hide her smile anymore. "When?"
"Now?"
"Now?" Lexi repeated.
"Why not?" he shrugged.
Lexi stopped walking and looked up at him. He paused and stood across from her.
"One condition," she said.
"Name it."
"You better not hurt me."
Austin had been true to his word that night. He took her out to the diner and they talked for what felt like hours. She told him about her life and he told her about his. They got along so well it amazed Lexi. No one, not even her parents understood her as well as he did. She found herself so comfortable and safe with him.
After dinner, Austin offered to walk Lexi home. He had so casually taken her hand, she barely noticed they were holding hands the whole way home. They talked and laughed the entire time. Considering how lonely school typically was for Lexi, it was so nice to hang around with someone who understood her. They had just gotten around the corner when they heard the police sirens and saw the cop cars in Lexi's driveway.
Austin stopped in his tracks. "Should we go a different way?" he asked.
Lexi was staring at the cop cars. "That's my house," she said shakily.
She dropped Austin's hand and rushed to her home with Austin following on her heels. She stopped in front of the house.
"What's going on?" she asked the cop.
The officer looked at her. "Are you Alexandra Cross?" the cop asked.
"Yes," Lexi said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We're going to need you to come with us, it's your parents."
Lexi didn't really remember much after that. It felt like the world was spinning, she remembered Austin taking hold of her as the ground shook beneath her.
"What happened?" she asked in a tiny whisper.
She barely heard the words coming out of the cop's mouth.
"Car accident...hospital...surgery."
Lexi barely registered what was going on or what they were saying to her as she and Austin were getting in the back of the cop car. All she remembered was arriving at the hospital and talking to the surgeon. Austin had his arm around her waist steadying her as the surgeon told her what had happened, Lexi barely processed it. All she had processed was that her mother was dead and her father was nearly dead.
Lexi buried her face in Austin's chest as tears silently poured down her face. Austin held her tightly but she was still shaking. In her head she kept thinking, no, this was not real. There was no way this was happening.
Looking back on the memory now, Lexi could remember a pair of green eyes watching her from the side. Liam had been there and his father had been the one who operated on her father and left him like this.
Lexi was startled by the noise of the dryer. She quickly took the sheets out and made the beds in a daze. She shouldn't have thought about it, she never thought about that night. As soon as she was done, she went downstairs slamming the door behind her.