Beautifully Twisted (35 page)

She sighs and decides she’ll go deal with them and get this over with. Might as well say everything she plans to all at once. Her mind is made up and no one is going to change it. “Alright, James, I’ll go up.”

He smiles and watches as she hits the up button. She steps on and dreads the situation she’s about to step into. The doors open and she steps off, surprised to see Oswald, Martina, Brett, and Scott sitting in the hallway by her door. Scott jumps up and rushes towards her but she holds her hand up, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t,” she says, firmly.

“Alexa…” Scott says, but she immediately cuts him off.

“No! You have no right to be here. Any of you.” She pulls out her key and unlocks the apartment door. “But since you are here, you can come in because I have a few things to say. I’m going to say it once and let me just be clear, this is a one way dialogue. I am not interested in what any of you have to say about it, especially you,” she says, pointing at Scott.

Everyone files in behind her, nervously standing in the cold, dark living room. Alexa flips on a switch and soft lighting fills the room. Everyone watches as she sets her handbag down and removes her coat. She walks into the living room and sits on the couch.

“Sit,” she directs. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about things the past couple of weeks and I’ve made some decisions. Tomorrow, I’ll be resigning from my position at Patrick Collins Media…”

Martina’s loud sob interrupts Alexa’s speech. Brett gently places his arm over her shoulder, in an attempt to comfort her. Alexa’s face remains stoic. She reveals zero emotion. She’s got her heart locked safely behind a wall where no one is going to get to it again.

“Pull yourself together, Martina. You’ll be fine. Oswald, I’ve appreciated your service for the time I’ve been in London. I do hope you do well in the future.” She shifts slightly towards Brett and Scott. “As for the two of you, I hope you’re both happy. I have little to say to either of you, and I want this meeting over as soon as possible so I can begin planning the next phase of my life without either of you in it.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “So, now you’ve seen me. I’m alive, so call off the search and rescue mission and leave me in peace.” Alexa glares at Scott and if she could will him to disappear, she would. He could look at her with his intensity all he wanted; she wasn’t going to break down in front of him. Not again.

Brett stands and lifts Martina to her feet. “I think we all need to respect Alexa’s wishes and leave now.” He turns towards Alexa. “I have many words I would like to say to you, Alexa, and maybe someday you’ll hear them. I realize words are not what you need at this moment, so I will leave you be. I hope you’ll reconsider your resignation. None of us wish to lose you.”

Alexa remains cold and neutral, slowly blinking her eyes without saying a word. Martina sobs as Brett and Oswald walk her to the door. Finally, Scott stands in front of Alexa and for a moment, she wonders what he could possibly have to say for himself. The expression on her face is pure hostility and he knows there is nothing he could say that would fix things.

He turns and joins the others at the door, looking back at the love of his life, before turning and walking out the door. Alexa sits quietly on her sofa. There couldn’t be anything more painful than watching him walk out that door again.

She stands up to get another glass of whiskey before she goes to take her bath. She hears a shuffling outside her door. Opening it, she is shocked to see Scott sitting at her feet. “Why are you still here? I told you to leave. Don’t make me call security because I will. I do not want to see you.”

Scott looks up at her, a deep sadness in his eyes. “I’m going to sit here, Alexa, until you at least hear me out. If it’s the last thing I do on this earth, you will hear me out.”

“I don’t give a shit what you have to say. You have said plenty. I have listened to you more than enough. I should have never let you come back into my life.”

“I deserve every hateful thing you say to me. I deserve your anger. I just want you to hear my side. It’s the last thing I’ll ever ask of you.”

“Well you’re going to be sitting there a long time, Scott,” she says, and closes the door. Leaning back against the door, she’s positive he really will sit there and she’s just not sure how she’s going to handle it. For now, she’s taking a bath and going to bed
.

“Beautiful and twisted, just like us.”

~ Alexa

Alexa peeks out her front door and exhales when she doesn’t see Scott. She’s happy he decided to be reasonable and leave. Or is she? Walking into the kitchen, she starts the coffee machine and leans against the counter before she hears the same shuffling noise outside her front door. She walks back and opens the door. Sure enough, Scott is standing there, holding a bouquet of flowers and fresh coffee from her favorite place.

“I told you to leave, Scott.”

“I told you I would when you gave me a chance to talk.”

“I don’t want that stuff.”

“It’s yours anyway.”

“How do you keep getting up here?” she demands.

He shrugs. “I guess James is a romantic at heart.”

“You’re not going to charm your way out of this.”

“I’m not trying to. I’m trying to show you how important you are to me.”

Alexa rolls her eyes, takes the coffee and says, “Goodbye, Scotty,” and shuts the door in his face. She calls down to the front desk and asks to speak to James. “Why do you keep letting him come up here, James?”

“Miss Drake, you have to see the man. He’s in love with you.”

“You should stay out of my personal affairs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” James replies, chastised. “Would you like me to have him removed from the premises?”

Would I?
“I’ll deal with him, James.”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, Miss Drake.”

“It’s fine.”

She hangs up and realizes that she doesn’t actually want Scott to leave.
Oh shit, really, Alexa? You’re even considering talking to this bastard?

Alexa goes about her day, staying inside her apartment, she on her couch with a book and Scott sitting on the other side of her front door. She hears him taking calls and ordering food throughout the day. After several hours, she decides to call Martina and see what’s happening at the office.

“Oh my gosh, Alexa,” Martina exclaims, “How are you?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” she says, which is possibly the biggest lie she’s ever told. “How are things at the office?”

“The same but I want you back here so bad. Please, don’t quit, Alexa.”

“That decision has already been made. The only reason I’m not there is because Scotty is camping outside my door until I talk to him. I haven’t decided how I’m going to handle him yet.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. Fucker. He has some nerve. He’s so arrogant and mean and…and…”

“
And
he loves you enough to drop every ounce of pride he has to sit outside your door. I don’t know about you but that would at least get me to listen to the guy.”

Alexa’s voice turns colder than cold. “You have no idea the things he has done to me.”

“Not entirely, but…” Martina pauses for a moment before she makes her next brave statement. “You’ve done things to him too. Isn’t there room to talk and see if you can forgive each other?”

Alexa sighs. She wants to be mad but Martina is absolutely right. “I don’t know yet. Anyway, I’m going to be in eventually and I’ll deal with work then. I appreciate that you’ve been keeping things together.”

“Of course. Um, I have another question,” Martina says.

“Okay.”

“Would it be upsetting to you if I dated Braveheart?”

“What? Date Brett?”

“Well, yeah. After all this with you, he’s been around a lot and he asked me to dinner last night and we really hit it off. I really like him. I think he likes me too. I just don’t want to upset you though.”

Alexa is shocked. “It’s your life, I don’t care. Besides, I’ll be out of here inside of a month anyway. Do whatever you like.”

“You sound mad,” she says, softly.

“Well I’m not. I’m just not sure you know what you’re getting into with him.”

“I do. He told me about his, um, preferences.”

“On your first date?”

“Alexa, I know you think I’m some goody-two-shoes, but I’ve lived a pretty cool life too. I’ve had plenty of sex and I’m pretty much open to anything. Brett told me because he wanted me to know what he was into before we got involved.”

Alexa shakes her head. “Okay, I mean, I’m a little surprised but again, it’s your life and if you’re down with that, it’s cool with me.”

“You’re like my big sister, Alexa, and you mean a lot to me. I want your approval and I want you to stay.”

Alexa softens and feels tears well up again. It was nice to hear that she was important to someone. “You mean a lot to me too. We’ll stay in touch, I promise. And you have my blessing if you want to date Brett. I honestly don’t care.”

“Are you gonna talk to Scotty?”

“I’m going to have to at some point.”

“Alexa, he loves you. You should have seen his face when he got here. He looked like he lost his best friend. He let me and Oswald talk shit to him and he accepted it. His only focus was finding you. A man doesn’t act like this unless he’s in love.”

“Martina, I know he loves me. It’s just that it’s twisted and fucked up and wrong. There is nothing good about this love. It shouldn’t hurt to love someone and it does.”

“Maybe it is twisted and fucked up but it’s not wrong. The two of you are so meant to be, it’s ridiculous. Everyone can see it. So yeah, okay, maybe it’s not easy and maybe it is twisted, but it’s beautiful and perfect sometimes, isn’t it? This is just the kind of love that you and Scotty have.”

“Oh, great, a twisted, fucked up, beautifully perfect love. Sounds like happily ever after to me,” Alexa says, sarcastically.

“But it’s your love, and I bet Scotty the hotty has a lot more in him. He just needs to find his way with you. He needs to learn how to love you.”

“It’s too late.”

“I hope not. You love him too. If you didn’t you would have already called the police and had him arrested. I know you, Alexa.”

“I know you do. Listen, I’ll call and let you know when I’ll be in the office.”

“Okay. Thank you for calling.”

“Yep. Thanks for being there.” Alexa hangs up and sits back on the sofa.

Twisted and beautiful? That’s exactly what being with Scott Patrick feels like.
More hours pass and when she’s ready to go to bed, Alexa looks out the peek hole and sees Scott still leaning against her door, the flowers long wilted. Is he really going to sit there until she talks to him?

The following morning she wakes up and checks her door and there he is–a fresh bouquet and a cup of coffee waiting for her. She starts to open her door when the intercom rings. “Hello?”

“Miss Drake, this is the front desk. Some of your neighbors are complaining about the man that appears to be camping out in front of your door. Are you aware of his presence?” the front desk manager asks.

“Um, well yes, I am aware of him. He’s quite harmless and we’re just having a slight disagreement.”

“Well, your domestic disputes should most certainly not affect your neighbors.”

“I understand. I’ll take care of it right now.” She hangs up and paces in front of the door for a minute. She knows Scott will stick to his word and sit there for days if necessary. She sighs and opens her door. Scott looks up with an expectant look on his scruffy, unshaven face. “I’m listening,” Alexa says.

“Can I come in? I promise with all my heart, I won’t touch you.”

“All your heart? Well, that’s reassuring since it’s such a big one,” she says, sarcastically.

“Alexa, I swear.”

“Fine,” she says, stepping back and allowing him to pass. He pulls himself off the floor and walks back inside her apartment. She shuts the door and walks to the far side of the living room, as far away as she can get and still be in the same room. “Say what you need to say and make it quick.”

“Alexa,” he lowers his head. “Look at me. Do I look okay to you? Do I look the like the same man you’ve known all these years?”