Lexi
December 1st, 2016 | 5:00 pm
Lexi and Liam were studying at his house together, they had their semester exams coming up and Lexi was actually trying for a change. Although they were studying, Liam and Lexi were still chatting as they worked. Liam was currently telling her how he and his parents had been since he told them how he felt.
"They didn't realize how bad it was for me," Liam explained. "I suppose it was my fault, I never told them."
Lexi smiled. "It's good you did then," she said.
"Yeah, we talked a lot about how we felt," he said, nodding. "We even cried a bit, it was truly Oscar worthy."
Lexi suppressed a laugh at that. "I think that's really great, Liam. Did you guys figure out how to make things work?"
He nodded. "We're going to start eating at least one meal together a day, and they're actually really excited that I want to do pre-med. They are letting me shadow them at the hospital."
"My mom used to do family dinner with us," Lexi said, smiling faintly. "We always had breakfast or dinner together."
Liam gave her a sympathetic smile. "How's your dad doing?" he asked.
Lexi's calm expression faltered. She looked away. "I don't know, I mean I understand there's nothing they can do, but it still hurts to see him like this."
Liam exhaled deeply. This must have been killing her. "Where is he right now?" he asked.
"With my neighbor, I was too scared to leave him alone, I just felt like I couldn't," she explained. Lexi glanced over at Liam. "He seems at peace though, he finished putting all the pieces of the television back together and now I feel like he's happy, he just sits patiently almost as if he's waiting for it to magically turn on again."
Lexi felt tears pricking her eyes. "All right, distract me. I don't want to think about it right now."
Liam nodded. "Yeah, um okay, well, do you think I should apologize to Rachel?"
Lexi blinked away her tears as she pondered that. "Well, it is not my place to say, Liam, I think that's your choice."
Liam sighed, Lexi could tell that wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"But you know I would do anything to clear things up with Austin," she said looking up from her textbook. "I think resolution is another essential part of having good relationships with people. Even if talking to him just confirms that he hates me. I would do anything for some closure, good or bad."
"You haven't talked to him about what happened at the drug deal meeting?" Liam asked curiously.
Lexi looked at him like he was crazy. "Can you imagine how that would go?" she asked. "Hey Austin, thanks for saving my life back there, but hey do you work for that guy? Why would you lie to him for me?"
Liam shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to ask."
"So he can hate me even more?" she asked bitterly. "I still don't even know why he broke up with me in the first place. That last night we were together was such a blur."
"You don't remember anything from when you were last with him?" Liam questioned.
Lexi shook her head. "I remember getting high, I remember hearing sirens, but then the next thing I remember was just waking up in the hospital."
It was eating Lexi up inside that she didn't remember that night. She didn't want to admit it to Macy, but the only thing that really stopped her from getting high these days was knowing that it was because of all those drugs that she couldn't remember her last night with Austin. She would give anything to know what had happened.
"Maybe Maeve knows something," Liam said offhandedly. "She was there getting high that night with you, right?" he asked. "You know, if she was a good friend to you then she would tell you."
Lexi looked up into his green eyes. "Why are you so anti-Maeve?" she questioned.
Liam shrugged. "You once told me it's hard to trust new people, why do you trust her so much?"
"If I recall correctly," she said with a raised eyebrow. "You were the one who told me to learn to trust people."
"Yeah but they have to show they are worth trusting," he explained. "You don't find her still talking to your ex-boyfriend weird?"
Lexi looked down at her math textbook. Maybe that was weird.
After a while, Liam's parents came home. True to their word, they were going to go out for a family dinner.
"You're more than welcome to join us, Lexi," Liam's mother offered kindly.
Lexi must have looked apprehensive.
"It's no trouble," his father added. "We've love to get to know you better."
So Lexi reluctantly agreed and they made their way to a restaurant downtown. It wasn't fancy, Lexi appreciated that, she was only in a hoodie and jeans. Instead, they went to some burger place and sat down together in a booth in the back. They looked like a perfect little nuclear family. Lexi and Liam sitting across from his parents. Albeit, Lexi hardly looked like them. Her hair was much darker and her skin slightly paler. All three of them had Liam's green eyes while Lexi's were a dark brown.
Still, the waiter had asked Liam's father, "What would his daughter be having?" It made Lexi smile, there was a sense of kinship that she hadn't felt in a long time. Liam's parents were altruistically kind, she understood now where Liam got it from. She wondered why Liam had been so scared to tell them how he felt. They were both so easy to talk to.
"So Lexi, do you have plans after high school?" Liam's mother asked as they ate.
"I don't really have a definite plan yet," Lexi admitted. "I was just going to go to the local college until I found something I was interested in."
Liam's father smiled kindly. "That's smart, no point in wasting money, college is a scam anyway."
"Victor," his wife chastised. "Don't say that, we both went to college and have successful careers now."
"Monica, we have successful careers because we went to medical school, the undergrad is a waste of time."
Liam laughed. "How inspiring, Dad."
"Speaking of inspiration, Liam told us you wrote something really special about human connections and soulmates," Liam's mother said.
Lexi's ears reddened and she looked down at her food. "It wasn't that inspiring," she mumbled.
"It totally was, the whole class and even the teacher were obsessed with it," Liam said proudly.
"Have you ever considered writing, Lexi?" Liam's mother asked kindly.
Lexi shrugged. "Maybe, I like philosophy and I enjoy literature but I don't know what you would do with that."
"Oh? With your mind? You could get a PhD and just spend your days teaching at a university," Liam's father suggested. "Perhaps inspire more potential writers."
Lexi listened intently. She hadn't really considered it before. It would be nice to work with the things she considered a hobby.
Towards the end of the night, they were leaving the restaurant when Dr. Summers got a phone call.
"Yeah, I'm five minutes away, what's up?"
Lexi looked over at Liam with a questioning look. Liam only shrugged in response.
"No I'll be right there," he said, glancing over at his wife apprehensively. "Uh no don't bother, I have her right here with me."
He sighed and his wife went to his side. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Victor looked over at Lexi with a pained look on his face. "Your dad was brought into the hospital."
Lexi's breath caught in her throat. No, this wasn't happening. She froze, no surely he was fine. This was a mistake. Her heart sank deeper as Liam guided her into the car. Lexi was not going to lose the only family she had left. Her vision was blurred with tears as they walked into the hospital.
Victor went to get caught up on the brain scans and discuss with the doctor who checked Lexi's father in. Liam's mother signed them in and got them visitor badges, they found Henry's room and Lexi immediately ran in. Her father was laying in the bed, he wasn't moving. If it weren't for the heart beat monitor, Lexi would've thought they were too late. Liam and his mom hung back at the door while Lexi went to her father. She tried not to let her tears fall. The door opened and Liam's father came back into the room, wearing his white doctor coat this time.
"Lexi," he said softly. She turned around and looked at Dr. Summers, bleary eyed and still dazed. "Your neighbor said he became non-responsive, the paramedics brought him here but there's not much that can be done. He's just slowing down."
"So what's going to happen?" she asked, trying not to let her voice break.
"We'll keep him comfortable," Dr. Summers said quietly. "Not much else can be done."
"Is there a chance he'll wake up?" she whispered.
"It's hard to say," he answered grimly. "If he does, I can't imagine it would last."
Lexi suddenly found herself unable to breathe again. Liam came over and tried to help her, but she quickly moved out of his embrace and ran out of the room. She wasn't sure where she was going but she had to get out of that room. She couldn't watch her father die. Not after losing her mother. Not after losing Austin.
She found herself walking down a hallway near the waiting room. She paused in front of one of the more grander looking doors. Lexi read the title on the door: multi faith space.
Lexi sighed as she stared at it. She had never really gone to church after her mom died. Her mom used to make the whole Cross family attend church every Sunday. Lexi's father used to come to please her but he wasn't too big on religion. He used to tell Lexi in private, what he really thought about the church.
Lexi's mother, however, was very religious. Not in a stern way, but she definitely believed in God and His goodness. Lexi had never really understood God or His religion for that matter. She didn't understand how there was so much division. How could there be so many different ways to love the same God? Christianity, Judaism, Islam and all three had their own sects within their religions. Then there were the many other ones all worshiping some other high power. Lexi never understood. So, she never tried to. After her mother's funeral, she had never walked into another church ever again.
She peeked into the window anyway, her curiosity getting the best of her. There was an old man sitting inside. She quickly looked away, he looked like he was deep in prayer. She leaned against the wall opposite the door and slid to the ground. With her head in her hands, Lexi tried not to cry again. She felt so alone, who was left now? Lexi wasn't sure when Liam had found her but when she looked to her right, he was sitting silently next to her.
"I'm so sorry, Lexi," he said softly. Lexi couldn't even respond, as tears flowed down her face she buried herself in Liam's shoulder.
"I'm going to lose him, aren't I?"