Faithfully (13 page)

“I want to hear the real story, not the politically correct version from a police officer.” I should actually check on the house or even Johnny’s cut, but I needed
the scoop.

“Really, it happened like the police chief said.” Johnny had his hands in his pockets.

“What exactly does appropriate force mean?” That was the real question I wanted answered.

“Johnny went to talk to him and Todd pushed him. Next thing I saw was all this kung fu shit.” Lexi was slicing her hands all around and making
sounds to go with the movements.

“Like he said, appropriate force.” Johnny had a smile on his face.

“Well, son, I’m just glad you were here, because if she was alone the outcome may have been different.” My dad reached out and shook Johnny’s hand.

“He was only mad because someone probably called him and told him they saw me in the store with a tall, blonde and hunky stranger.”
Lexi was trying to lighten the mood like always. “I think if I had been alone he wouldn’t have gone crazy. I think in his mind he thought I was moving on already.”

My dad
interrupted. “Even if you were, it doesn’t give him the right to go crazy.” He walked over and hugged Lexi. “I’ll call Bruce and we will get the window secured until it can be fixed tomorrow.”

We talked for another minute trying to figure out the evening plans. I then followed Lexi to her house to pick up a few things for the night. Once we got
there, I followed her into the house. Her usually immaculate house was torn apart. I told her she should call Logan and report this as well, but she said she just wanted things to be over. I started cleaning up the living room and kitchen while she gathered some things.

When she came around the
corner, she looked defeated. “What’s wrong?” I could tell she was upset.

“I think I’m going to sell the house. That or rent it
out.” She loved this house and it surprised me. I didn’t ask why, but I knew she felt the question burning in my head. “It feels cheapened. Does that even make sense? Almost dirty feeling.” I walked over and hugged her. “I know I didn’t have any real trauma here, but it just doesn’t feel like mine anymore.”

I understood her point of view, but it made me sad,
because this was her real first purchase. Lexi had a huge trust fund and not many people, if anyone, knew about it. She never touched it and lived off her paychecks, but she finally allowed me to talk her into buying this house with it. I was being selfish. I needed her with me, always and forever. That was what our friendship was even during the hard times.

“As long as you stay in this
town I don’t care where you live. Why don’t you stay with me this week until you figure things out?” She didn’t respond, but I knew she would. I knew her too well.

We left and I went to pick the girls up while she headed to the house. I was a little late, but I figured my mom took care of the story for me. The girls were finishin
g eating when I walked in. I felt horrible. The last two weeks were so crazy and their schedule was getting all messed up.

“I thought I would feed them
. I talked to your dad and knew not to wait.” My mom seemed concerned.

“Thank you
. I was going to order pizza, but this looks way better.” I was a tad jealous of the good meal the girls were eating.

“I put together plates for you, Lexi
, and Johnny as well.” My mom walked around the counter and handed me the bag with the rubber containers. She then hugged me. “How is Lexi holding up?”

“She is a
trooper. She’s staying with the girls and me for a few days, maybe longer.”

“I’m glad you found each other in life.” My mom pulled away. “Give her a hug for me.” I nodded my head. I was lucky to have
Lexi. She has always been a constant along with Derek.

The girls finished dinner and we headed back to the house. I told the girls that Lexi’s house needed some work and she would be with us for a few days. The girls didn’t seem to question it, but loved the thought of it. Johnny ended up coming over for a little while.
He and the girls played Alex’s guitar and sang songs until Lily had the great idea of playing Just Dance. It ended up being a competitive dance party in the living room and nobody wanted to lose. I finally ended things when Lily and Josie were yelling about picking songs. At that point it was shower and bedtime. I was happy about putting them to bed after the argument.

Lexi helped braid hair and tuck
ed them in; we divided them up tonight. I took the twins and she got Lil. Once we made it downstairs, we both sank into the couch. “Hey, care if I open wine?” I didn’t, and knowing Lexi she needed it to calm her nerves a bit.

“No
. You know where everything is.”

Lexi stood up and started walking towards the kitchen. “Want a glass?”

“No, it’s a school night,” I shouted over my shoulder.

“Stupid rule
.” Lexi was round the corner by now. Johnny was still at the house, but was getting ready to leave. He planned on staying in the main house at Alex’s since it was only boarded up. I tried explaining how safe the town was and that it wasn’t needed, but he left anyway. I thought maybe he wanted to get away from the wine or just give Lexi and I some time to ourselves.

Johnny left and Lexi and I sat in the living room and talked for hours. I had missed her. We rarely talked anymore, mainly just texted daily. She told me Todd was not a fan of mine and told her to stay away because I was a bad influence. I think it was his way of isolating her from her friends. I am just glad she was strong enough to pull away and end things. Who knows if the mental
and emotional abuse would have escalated to physical?

We finally crawled into bed
when my phone rang. It was Alex. With all the excitement of the day, I forgot to call him back. I left the room, talked to him, and filled him in on what I knew, mainly about Johnny kicking Todd’s ass. Alex filled me in on the fact Johnny was a fourth degree black belt. I was surprised, but my past encounters with him were with him stoned and drunk. Alex felt awful he wasn’t here to help with anything and promised he would be on the plane Saturday, if not Friday.

The week went by fast. Johnny was a squatter on the couch. He said he wasn’
t letting us stay at the house alone with Todd out of jail. The girls loved it, since he was teaching them to play guitar and giving them attention like Alex always did.

Lexi remained my
bedmate, but she still had no plans on what she was going to do in the upcoming weeks. I offered her Lily’s room and to move Lily into the twin’s room, but she wouldn’t have it. I even tried talking her into staying at Alex’s with Sam, but that was a no go, too. Lexi got the personal protection order, and Logan and I went to Lexi’s while Todd moved his things out. The good thing was Lexi had decided to fly out to her parents on Sunday for a week, and said she would have things straightened out by then. I was hoping the time away would do her some good.

After school on
Friday, the girls and I headed home. When I got there, I saw Alex’s Jeep in the driveway, and the girls got excited to see Johnny. I barely had the car pulled in when they were out the door. I was gathering my bags and about to head in when I was pulled from behind. I was startled until I smelled the familiar and yummy smell of Alex. I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. I was surprised to see him here, and shocked the girls weren’t monopolizing his time from when they saw him.

“I’m so happy to see you
. You have no idea how you have made my week a shit ton better.” Alex was coming in for another kiss.

“I’m surprised to see you
. Happy, but surprised.” I moved my arms from his neck to his waist and rested my head on his chest. I was just breathing in his smell. “Where are Sam and Johnny?” 

“Entertaining the girls
. I wanted you to myself for a minute before I had to share you with everyone.” I hummed as I squeezed him even more. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “Let’s get inside so we can discuss the plans we already made for the night.” I was wondering who
we
was, but guessing it was him and Sam, maybe Johnny. He grabbed my bag and purse and carried them in the house for me.

When I walked
in, I heard what sounded like guitar playing. I was guessing Lily was trying to show Sam what she had learned, and the twins were showing Johnny their Friday folders with all their work from the week. He was acting very interested. I had to give him credit. The house was so loud, but seeing all the craziness made me happy.

When everything seemed to settle
down, Sam took the girls upstairs to their bedrooms. She said they all had something to do and I didn’t question it. I went into the kitchen to figure out what to make for dinner. Alex and Johnny followed me in, which made me a little suspicious.

“Okay, what the hell are you up
to?” I felt like there was something shady going on.

“Give us a little credit
,” Johnny said as he pulled out a bar stool from the island.

“Fine, then help me figure out what to make everyone for dinner.” I was looking in the cabinet.

“No, we aren’t eating here.” Alex was leaning back on the stove.

“Really
? Where are we eating?” We still hadn’t fully adjusted to going out much because of all the staring and people gawking at us, and I hated exposing the girls to it. To them, he was just Alex.

“My house.” Alex had a smile on his face.

“Last time I checked there was no food there, and this one,” I pointed at Johnny, “has been eating most of his meals here, so I know there isn’t food there.”

“That is correct,
which is why we will order pizza.” Alex walked over to me and put his arms around me from behind. “Now you get to share the rest.” He was talking to Johnny.

“Since nobody wants Lexi
alone, and with Sam and Alex here, the couch and house here is crowded.” He paused a second. I wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted me to respond or add dramatic flair to the conversation. “We are all staying at Alex’s. The girls each have a room. I’ll still crash at the guesthouse, and there are two rooms left for Lexi and Sam.” It was actually a really good idea. “Think of it like summer camp.”

Alex interrupted. “The best part
of it is that Sam and I picked up sweatpants and sweatshirts for tomorrow.” I turned and looked at him, confused. What was tomorrow? “We are hanging out and watching movies all day, and I mean all day.” I was actually loving this idea, but wasn’t sure if I should let them know or not.

“I suppose
. Let me go pack a few things and get the girls ready.” I was turning to head up the stairs.

“No need
. Sam is helping them pack a few things, but you all have stuff in the closet and drawers. If you would stay more, you would know this.” Alex was giving me an annoyed look. I knew I had stuff there from the past nights I had stayed, but the girls had never really stayed, and I wasn’t sure if they would have everything that they would need. I decided to trust him and roll with the punches.

“Fine, I’ll grab my purse and keys.” Alex shot me a wide smile.

“This will be fun.” Johnny got off the stool and headed for the stairs.

When the girls finally
came downstairs, we divided up and split into the two vehicles. I called Lexi and told her the plan. She was going to head over after she stopped at my house to pick things up.

Once we got in the
house, the girls ran to their rooms. The twins loved Alex’s house because they didn’t have to share a room like at my house. The house was big. There were six bedrooms in the main house and they all had their own bath off each room. Alex had everything updated when he bought the house. Even with the updates, he managed to keep the charm of the place.

I went up to Alex’s room and looked for something to change into
. I wanted out of my work clothes. I opened the closet, and there had to be as many clothes in it as in mine at home. Almost all still had tags on them. He bought the clothes to try to lure me into staying and moving the girls in with him, but it was going to take more than clothes to convince me. I finally picked out yoga pants and a loose long sleeve shirt. I found the UGG slippers he bought and slid my feet into those to complete my loungewear attire. 

We had a fun night. We ate pizza, played board games
, and Alex and Johnny played the guitar and sang for us after they built a fire in the fireplace. The girls fell asleep on us and the guys carried them to their rooms. We didn’t stay up much longer.

When I entered the
bedroom, Alex grabbed me from behind, spun me into him, and started kissing me. He shut the door as he devoured my mouth. I had missed him horribly while he was gone. I longed for him and his touch, and I started to tear at his clothes. When Alex broke away to help take his shirt off, I paused and started coming to my senses.

Whispering,
I said, “We can’t do this, there is a house full of people, and the girls are down the hall.”

“Don’t
worry, we can be quiet, plus Lexi and Sam said they would tend to the girls if they got up.” Alex leaned in to kiss me again. I placed my hand on his chest.