At night she always had agitated dreams that woke me up.
It was evident that something was worrying her. But what?
His attitude was unnerving.
That day, after lunch, I went to her room, where she always ran to study.
I knocked instead of using my cloned magnetic card.
Kira Yoshida and Lucas Scott opened the door for me.
"What do you want?" Lucas immediately addressed me with his usual grumpy and threatening attitude that awed everyone else.
"I'm looking for Alice."
"She's not here," Kira replied more politely.
"Do you know where she is?"
The two looked at each other for a moment.
"No," Kira replied, lowering her guilty gaze. It was obvious she was lying.
"I want to know what's going on with Alice. She has been acting oddly all week. If you know something, you have to tell me. "
"I'm sorry, but Alice asked us not to tell you anything."
"So, you know what's going on?" I raged, moving towards Kira, but her boyfriend got in the way.
"Get closer to my girlfriend and I'll break your legs," he threatened me immediately, taking me by the jacket and pushing me towards the door.
"Calm down!" Kira shouted when I started pushing and provoking Lucas. “Please, Easton, talk to Alice. In half an hour she will be back, and I will ask her to tell you everything."
"No, I want to talk to her now!"
"She's in the Smith dormitory right across the street now!" Lucas said to me.
"Lucas! Alice made us promise not to tell him anything!” Kira got angry.
In another dormitory? What was she doing there? Was she dating someone, and I didn't know about?
The thought made the blood boil in my veins!
"Does she have a boyfriend?" I asked, quivering with anger.
"No," Kira whispered uneasily, but I didn't listen to her.
Alice had a boyfriend and I didn't know it!
Maybe at that moment they were also fucking!
I ran out of the room.
"Hey," Lucas stopped me, catching up with me. "Alice asked us not to tell you anything, so I'm not going to tell you to run to the dormitory canteen nearby and punch those who deserve it."
"What?! In the cafeteria?"
“ You will understand. Go to her. You still have ten minutes if you want to see her. She made me promise not to do anything, but I never said I would stay quiet forever. I only regret not having done it before."
What the hell is going on?
Lucas' words put wings on my feet.
Within minutes, I was in front of the Smith dormitory.
I ran towards the canteen which was deserted.
I spotted Alice with another older student.
I went over to them and what I saw made me completely lose my mind.
***
ALICE
For two summers I had worked in an ice cream parlor in Seattle. It had been an incredibly positive experience and I had always received great compliments for my efforts.
When my father told me about the cost of repairing the electrical system, it had hurt me.
I knew he could never afford to face such an expense, especially now that he had just one job.
I had begged him to use Mitchell's money. We had almost fought but in the end, I had to bow to my father's pride.
Thinking of this, I had asked the university secretariat if there was a job available for me.
I remembered being in seventh heaven when they told me that a place in the dormitory cafeteria in front of mine had just opened.
I had to do wash dishes and take care of the cleaning.
It was perfect -- I knew I could do it.
With great optimism I had accepted the job on Wednesday, but after my first day of work I had fallen into discomfort because of the student supervisor of the restaurant service, Stuart Dowson.
I didn't know what had happened, where I had gone wrong, but Stuart had attacked me immediately.
On the first day of work, I had been washed the dishes.
I had been quick and precise, showing that I was up to the task, but when Stuart came to check on my work, he took the clean dishes and threw them back in the sink with the dirty water, telling me to start over and that, if that was the best I could do, then I was incapable and that I could resign the same day.
There and then I apologized, I had re-washed all the dishes and the next day I had worked even harder, but things got worse, so much so that Stuart then put me to wash the floor.
By now I spent all my time in anguish waiting to start my work shift after lunch.
I could no longer concentrate on studying because of Stuart's constant insults and reproaches, which echoed in my head from morning to night.
The only people I had confided in were Kira and Lucas.
Kira had advised me to resign, but I needed the money too much and I wanted to help my father.
Lucas, on the other hand, had offered to accompany me to Stuart and make him understand what the word respect meant.
I had to make him swear to do nothing rash.
I would have liked to talk about it with Easton, but he was too impulsive, and he was too used to having everything to understand my need to earn money, instead of using that damned credit card of his father’s, whom I now hated.
It had been difficult to keep the secret from him because he had noticed that something was wrong, but I had preferred to escape his interrogation instead of admitting that I was the victim of a bully who vented his frustrations on the latest arrival.
"Does this look clean to you?" Stuart raged, pointing to the perfectly clean floor.
"I have done my best."
"Don't you dare answer back!" He was even more furious, throwing the mop at me. "Go back to cleaning!"
Is it possible that he always had to make these crazy scenes five minutes after the end of my working hours?
It was unbearable but I couldn’t complain. He had the power to take me off the job and put a demerit on my record.
"It's already clean!" I dared to argue.
"Do as I said!" he shouted at me, kicking the bucket of water so hard that it tipped over on the ground. That fit of anger took place so close to me that his foot touched my pants and I found myself protecting myself, as if I feared that he could really hurt me.
In an instant the floor flooded, but I did not have time to assess the extent of the damage, because suddenly Easton stood in front of me.
I jumped in surprise. I hadn't even heard him coming.
For a moment, our eyes met. His gaze was flaming, his jaw tightened, and his lips tightened to whitening, enough to make me withdraw with fear.
I didn't even have time to blink. Easton turned to Stuart and, before I could stop him, punched him in the jaw.
"Easton, no!" I intervened when I saw another punch go towards the supervisor's stomach.
"Try to approach her again and I will tear you to pieces!" Easton threatened him, continuing to punch Stuart, who found himself suffering a violent and incessant attack, unable to react.
"Please stop!" I intruded again, grabbing Easton by the waist, and trying to drag him away.
What followed was a string of insults, threats, and promises of vengeance, but luckily the violence stopped, and Stuart was able to run away.
"Why did you do that?" I snapped angrily. "I will lose my job because of you!"
"Nobody should treat you that way."
"You do it," I reminded him, thinking about how many times I had found myself the victim of his threats when we were still at the villa.
"I can. I am the exception that confirms the rule. Rather, you ... what's going on in your head? Why the hell are you looking for a job? Isn't my father's money enough? "
“ Number one: I don't like being kept. I prefer to be independent. Number two: the money I would have earned was for my father to help him with his household expenses and for the electrical
system,” I explained sternly, trying not to be distressed by his peeled knuckles striking Stuart multiple times.
I had never seen a live fight and I was still traumatized by the violence and anger that manifested themselves in those situations.
"Well, forget about working here!"
"You don't decide what I should or shouldn't do."
"Yes, I do, since I just defended you from a bastard."
“ It was not necessary to use your fists. There is dialogue, you know?” I snorted irritably, going to get some disinfectant in the first aid cabinet.
"Not with certain people."
"Easton, I need this job and you're causing me problems with your impulsiveness. I will never forgive the spy who told you what I was doing. It was Lucas, wasn't it? On certain things you are remarkably similar. He also told me a few times that he wanted to beat Stuart hard. "
“ You should thank him. Thanks to him I intervened just in time and from now on you will do what I tell you.”
"Forget it!"
“ I decide. Obviously, you are not able to act lucidly during this time because of your father."
"That's not true!" I blurted out furiously. I did not allow anyone to judge my choices in that way, let alone command me. "I'm not your toy."
” You are mine and that's it. Nobody will have to come near you anymore," he said, as I finished treating his hand.
I looked him in the eyes. The determination I read in his face made me stop breathing, but when I saw him approach to kiss me, I stopped him.
“ I'm not yours. I never will be. Now go away. I have a flooded floor to clean and dry," I asserted, determined not to submit to his despotic attitude.
"Come with me."
"No, I have a job to finish."
"You don't work here anymore!"
"Who says?"
"I do."
“ You can’t decide for me. Easton, I need this job and if I lose it because of you, I will never forgive you. "
"Alice," he whispered to me, sinking his hands into my hair. “You can say or do what you want, but if I say that from tomorrow you will no longer work here, you will not. As far as your forgiveness is concerned, I know very well that you will forgive me very soon because you can’t hold a grudge for long," he said in a tone of voice so calm and confident that it made me think of the quiet before the storm.
I tried to argue, but his mouth took mine before I could even breathe.
It was a possessive, rude kiss, which did not allow replies, but at the same time it was soothing as if with that gesture all the stress and tension of the last week could be forgotten.
15
ALICE
"Alice, wake up," Easton whispered in my ear, making me abandon that beautiful dream in which I could let myself go with him. In reality I could never afford a misstep or a spontaneous gesture without then regretting it.
"What time is it?" I murmured sleepily. I had a terrible sleep.
"It's five in the morning."
"What the hell do you want at this hour? Today is Saturday and I have no classes, let me sleep."
"I want you to come with me."
"After what you've done to me, I'm not going anywhere with you," I hissed, irritated and furious at the memory of the university secretary's phone call informing me that my job at the Smith dormitory canteen had been canceled for major reasons.
Since when had Easton been a major cause?
"There are better jobs than that," he justified when I went to his room to insult him and spew out my anger on him.
"Do you think I didn't look for them? Right now, there are no openings! "
"Leave it to me," he replied, dismissing me with his usual haughty and superb air of a prince.
"Move or we’ll be late," Easton continued to torment me, as he took one of my bags and filled it with some of my clothes.
"Can you tell me what the hell you are doing with my stuff?"
"We'll be gone for a couple of days so I'm packing a change for you."
"Do you understand or not that I don't want to know anything about you anymore?" I burst out even more furious, after he turned on the lights in the dark room, blinding me.
"Haven't you forgiven me yet?"
"I'll never forgive you! I thought I had been clear about that. "
"So, I have no chance of redemption?"
"You?! Never!"
"Even though I got my car fixed up yesterday, refueled, phoned your father, and organized a Thanksgiving weekend in Seattle, even though it's been three days already?"
Seattle?
Those words made me wake up instantly.
"You mean that…"
"Yes, I'm telling you I woke up at dawn just to take your ass to your father, so you will stop looking depressed and smile again."
"Really? You’re doing all this for me?” I stammered, puzzled.
“ I’m doing it for me too. I've never been to Seattle and I'm curious. Besides, I want to know all your secrets and I'm sure I'll find the answers I'm looking for there."
I didn't believe him for a moment. I knew that rather than admitting that he was doing something good for someone, he would pretend to be the usual opportunist.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are forgiven!” I screamed, jumping into his arms, and kissing him with passion.
"I thought you wouldn't forgive me! If I had known that this would make you so uninhibited, I would have done it sooner” he teased me.
I burst out laughing, taken with the euphoria and that kiss that always made my heartbeat wildly.
I ran to the bathroom to change.
In an instant we were in the car.
Easton had also brought me a chocolate milkshake and a hazelnut bar, since I had skipped breakfast.
I loved the little attentions he reserved for me.
They made me feel important and special to him.
Who knows if maybe he cares about me as much as I care about him?
The journey lasted five hours, but it seemed shorter to us. We spent all the time laughing, joking, talking, listening to music, and making fun of ourselves.
It was the most beautiful journey of my life.
I felt reborn, eager to let myself go, to savor life in all its facets.
Easton also seemed more relaxed and loose to me. It wasn't often I saw him with a smile on his lips.
When we arrived at our destination, I immediately saw Book coming towards us.
Finally home!
***
EASTON
It was an incredible journey.
I had driven a lot after a few hours' sleep, but I felt full of energy.
Alice seemed awakened from the numbness that had annihilated her in the last period.
She was beautiful, wonderful, fun, full of joie de vivre.
It was the first time I had spent time with a girl without making out. I always thought it would be boring, but with Alice it was incredible.
She was incredible.
Everything about her was wonderful, full of color and light.
I could have spent eternity listening to her laughter, her ironic and funny jokes.
I liked everything about her, even her voice out of tune as she sang and her passion for the books I detested.
Being with her was becoming an urgent need minute by minute, a real necessity.
Once she had told me she needed me, but the truth was that I was the one who needed her, her closeness, her warmth, the scent of her skin, her hair that caressed my shoulder, some her freckles for which I now had a strange passion, her smile that I would have paid gold to see every day ...
And then there was her character, her temperament. Every time she opened her mouth, she always managed to surprise me. It made me mad the way she managed to be hated.
Did I hate her?
Yes.
No.
Yes, and I liked it so much that I lost my mind.
Even our quarrels managed to unleash such enjoyment that I was pushe
d to provoke and tease her to the point of exasperation.
When we arrived in front of Alice's house, I began to understand her simplicity and ability to sacrifice.
Alice's father lived in a suburban neighborhood. It was not a nice place, but the houses were well cared for, all lined up with a small yard in the front.
Alice's house was a very small blue terraced house with white window frames.
The lawn was neglected and full of potholes. There was only one large doghouse placed on the left, while on the right was the garage with an old car inside.
"Book! How I missed you!” Alice shouted excitedly, running towards a lame old beagle, who at the sound of her voice began to wag her tail happily.
From the way Alice hugged him and filled him with cuddles and kisses, it seemed that dog was the most precious thing in the world.
"At long last! You’re here!” exclaimed a voice at the door of the house door.
In front of me was a man in his forties with thick reddened disheveled hair, gray eyes, and a face full of freckles. And with his right hand splinted and bandaged.
Alice's father, of course.
"Dad!" Alice exclaimed in tears, running to embrace him. “I missed you so much! How are you? Your hand? Are you eating? Can you sleep?” The girl immediately stormed him with questions, making the man blush, moved and embarrassed as he felt like h was her son and not vice versa.
"I'm fine, honey. I've already said. You always worry too much," he tried to calm her before coming to shake my hand. “We haven't met yet. I'm Barry Preston. You must be the ... "
Yeah, what was I?
Alice came to his rescue.
To my surprise, she squeezed my free hand in hers.
'Dad, this is Easton. He is ... “Alice intervened, but she was speechless for a moment and I challenged her with her eyes to try to say that I was her brother or some other bullshit. "He ... he is important to me."
"If you are important to my daughter, then you are important to me too. I also have to thank you for what you do for Alice. I'm glad she has a guy like you at her side.” The father eased the tension and my shock at what Alice had said. Nobody had ever told me that I was important and even less that I was smart enough to thank me. Generally, I was considered a disgrace by all who crossed my path.
Broken Rules (Love Storm series Book 2) Page 10
