by Zoey Lennox
“Guys, this is Jed.” She motioned to the scared-looking boy at her side. “He’s having a rough time of it at the moment, so make him feel welcome please.”
Everyone turned to stare at the skinny boy and Alexis felt a wave of sympathy for him. She knew how intimidating that attention could be.
“Hey, Jed,” everyone chorused.
Alexis stood and offered up her seat.
Jed’s eyes were swollen and red and his chin was wobbling.
“Finally, another guy,” Corey said. “Sit down, man. Now there’s two of us, we might be able to get the girls to turn off this smut.”
Lacey narrowed her eyes and shot a hate-filled glare at him. “It’s not smut, asshole. Just because you’re not into pussy, it doesn’t mean everyone else isn’t.”
“Okay, that’s enough,” the woman ordered. “This is a safe place where everyone and their opinions are valued. You’re free to express your views, but you need to do it in a polite manner please.” Reprimand delivered, she frowned. “Come to think of it, where did you get this TV series from? If I remember correctly, it’s at least an eighteen certificate and you lot are definitely under that classification.”
Lacey huffed. “It’s mine. I got the boxset online. What’s the big deal? We’ve all seen it before. It’s not like it’s going to corrupt us or anything.”
The woman sighed. “Maybe not, but this centre is a charity, and I’m responsible for all the minors that walk through the door while I’m on shift. If it gets out that I’m allowing screenings of inappropriate material, this place could lose its license. How would you feel if we were shut down? Where would you hang out during weeknights and at the weekends?”
Lacey hung her head. “Okay, sorry, Kenya. I’ll turn it off.”
Kenya nodded in approval. “Thank you. And don’t worry, it’s not your fault. Someone should have been policing you.”
Alexis just about died when Kenya’s piercing gaze swung in her direction. This was her fault? She wanted to defend herself, say she didn’t sign up for any of this and was just waiting for Ramie, but she doubted that would score her any brownie points.
Ramie shot Kenya a wary glance. “Well it’s sorted now, regardless of blame. How about you guys help in the garden for a bit? It’s a lovely day outside, and Kenya picked up some supplies today to start our vegetable patch.”
This piqued the group’s interest. One by one, they followed Ramie into the back of the centre and seconds later the back door creaked open.
“I’m sorry,” Alexis said once she and Kenya were alone. She didn’t know why, but she had an irrational need to pacify this authoritative woman. “You’re right. I should have said something, but I didn’t think it was my place.”
Kenya studied Alexis, her jaw working. “You could have come and got one of us if you didn’t feel comfortable with the situation. We’re lucky enough to be entrusted with the care of these teens. Everyone must know what lines need to be drawn so this place is never put in jeopardy.”
“I know, and again, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Believe me.”
Kenya nodded resolutely. “Okay, I believe you, but it you’re not confident enough to enforce the rules around here, maybe it’s best you’re not left alone with anyone in future.”
Who the hell did this woman think she was? Okay, yes, maybe Alexis’s judgement with the TV show was a bit lacking, but it’s not like she was a member of staff.
“It’s all right,” Alexis assured her. “Today was a one off. I won’t be here again, so you won’t have to worry.”
Kenya laughed. “Oh, I highly doubt that. You’re dating Ramie, right? This place is practically her second home. She’s always here for one emergency or another, so you’d better get used to it if you’re going to stick around.”
Alexis started to tell her she’d got it all wrong but was cut off when Ramie came jogging back into the living room.
“Hey, sorry about that. Everyone’s settled out back. Ken, you might want to keep an eye on them. You know how clumsy Corey is with anything sharp and pointy.”
Kenya’s eyes softened. “Sure. No problem. You two better get going. I hope coming here hasn’t ruined your afternoon.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad I was able to be there for Jed. He seems like a good kid. Hopefully his parents will come around once we’ve had a chance to carry out some family counselling.” Turning to Alexis, she said, “How do you feel about heading to The Grill?”
“You’re quiet,” Ramie said sometime later as they browsed the drinks menu. “Did Kenya say anything to upset you?”
“No.” Alexis took a sip of the complimentary water. “Well…kind of.”
“Kind of? I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone with her. What did she say?”
Alexis fiddled with the edge of the menu.
“She said I should have found someone and informed them about the TV show everyone was watching. And that I shouldn’t be left alone with the kids in future.”
“Shit,” Ramie hissed.
“It’s okay. I probably should have done something. I think I was just a bit shocked that the show was even playing, to be honest.”
Ramie ran her fingers through her hair. “Ignore Kenya. What happened at the centre wasn’t your fault. You were a guest. You weren’t there to act as an authority figure. Kenya was the one in charge, and if I’m remembering correctly, the show was already playing when we arrived. If anyone’s at fault here, it’s her.”
Thank heavens for that. Ramie was on her side.
“Sorry if I’m being extra sensitive, but I guess she hit a nerve when she insinuated I couldn’t be trusted. I might not be trained in dealing with teenagers like the two of you are, but I would never deliberately set out to corrupt anyone.”
Ramie scooted her metal chair closer and then rested her hand on Alexis’s jean-clad knee. “Listen. I know we’re not dating right now, but I want to be transparent here. Kenya and I used to be an item, and I think her behaviour today is a direct manifestation of her bitterness about our breakup.”
Interesting. Could Kenya be the ex that Maddie had such a low opinion of? Alexis desperately wanted to ask why they had broken up but kept herself in check. She also hadn’t missed that comment about them ‘not dating right now.’ Did that mean Ramie believed they would at some point? Alexis didn’t know how she felt about that. Scared. Anxious. Excited, most definitely.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Alexis asked. “It would have been nice to have had a heads up. She obviously thinks we’re dating and decided to take her jealousy out on me.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. When she rang and asked me to fill in, everything happened so fast. I didn’t have a chance to think things through. I promise to keep you in the loop from now on. You’re not angry, are you?”
Angry, no. Annoyed, kind of. She hated being caught on the back foot. If she had been warned she was about to come face to face with Ramie’s ex, she would have been prepared for it. Better yet, she would have been able to make an excuse and save herself the whole embarrassment of meeting the woman. What was done was done, though. There was no point getting all worked up.
Alexis rested her hand on top of Ramie’s warm fingers. “It’s all right. She just took me by surprise, I suppose. What’s it like working with her? Kenya seems very strong minded. Does your history interfere with work at all?”
Ramie let out a breath. “No. We’re usually pretty good about separating our personal crap from work issues. Helping those kids means the world to us both, so we wouldn’t ever let anything interfere with that. I think meeting you this afternoon just caught Kenya off guard. She’ll back off once she’s seen us together a few times.”
“If you’re sure,” Alexis said.
Ramie gave her a sexy wink. “One hundred percent.”
Chapter 7
Alexis was at home in the kitchen munching on a piece of left-over pizza when Maddie’s name lit up her phone.
“Hey, Lex,�
�� Maddie’s cheerful voice chimed. “Just thought I’d check in and see how things are going as we haven’t had a chance to catch up this week. Ramie tells me the two of you met up again last Saturday.”
“Yeah, she was sweet enough to join me at the Ice Cream Shack to celebrate Patrick getting the boot. It was fun. I don’t think I’ve been there since I was ten.”
“I hope you had an extra scoop for me.” Maddie laughed.
“I did and thank you for your support. I don’t know why I was so worried to report Patrick in the first place. Marty handled the whole thing brilliantly. He’s even helping me out with my transfer if you can believe it.”
“Transfer?”
Oh right. She hadn’t told Maddie about that yet. “Yeah. I applied for a position in the university post office before this whole thing blew up. I think it’ll be good to get a fresh start somewhere new.”
“You’re leaving?” Maddie let out a soft sigh. “I’m not going to lie; I’m going to miss you in the office. I’ve come to enjoy our little chats and gossip sessions.”
“I’ll only be across campus,” Alexis reminded her. “We can still meet up for lunch and catch up.”
“I suppose.” There was a noise down the other end of the line and then Maddie’s voice became muffled. “Look Lex, I’ve gotta go, someone’s at the door. I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow.”
As she rang off, Alexis polished off the last mouthful of her pizza and deposited the crust into the bin, grumbling when she spotted pepperoni grease smeared between her fingers. She wiped her hands with a few sheets of kitchen roll and froze when her wandering gaze landed on a pile of Carol’s bank statements on top of the microwave.
Interesting…
Before she could stop herself, she was devouring their contents, and after a brief sweep, one thing was glaringly obvious. None of the household bills came out of Carol’s account.
What the hell?
With Carol’s relentless complaints about how expensive the household bills were, Alexis was certain she would be paying her share of the monthly outgoings. After all, wasn’t that the reason why she demanded so much rent from Alexis? Because everyone needed to pay their way?
“The snide bitch.”
As she continued to scan through the statements, her blood simmered. Clear as day, and evidenced in black and white, was a record of Carol’s spending habits. There were trips to nail bars and hair salons, as well as massage appointments and shopping sprees. Everything was detailed in a long list which began like clockwork on the 25th of each month.
A light bulb pinged on inside Alexis’s head. That was the day she handed over her rent money.
“I don’t believe this,” she hissed. “I’m working my arse off so she can pamper herself. That’s insane.”
As if conjured by Alexis’s fury, the front door opened, and Carol breezed in. She had a shopping bag in her hand with a fancy designer name emblazoned on the cream and gold paper.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Carol asked when she saw Alexis. She snatched the bank statements from Alexis’s hands and clutched them to her bony chest.
“I’m seeing where my rent money’s going. It’s nice to know I slave away so you can try and reverse some of the ugliness time has bestowed upon you.”
Carol’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that. You’ve gone too far this time.”
Alexis grabbed her phone from the microwave and headed for the stairs. “Don’t worry, I’m out of this house.”
She got no further than two steps into the hallway before Carol’s claw-like nails dug into her arm.
“Give me your rent first. It’s overdue, so you needn’t play the victim and say I’m overcharging you.”
Alexis shook herself free and continued towards the stairs. “Not gonna happen. You’ve had enough out of me. If you’re that desperate for cash, why don’t you try working more than fifteen hours a week? Oh, hold on a minute. That would mean you’d have to actually get off your arse then, wouldn’t it?”
Carol’s hand flew to her mouth. “How dare you!”
“No, how dare you take advantage of me.”
Alexis climbed the stairs to her bedroom and slammed the door. This was it. She was really leaving. For so long she’d dreamed of this day but now the time had finally arrived she found her hands trembling.
Was she really ready to leave her bedroom behind? It was one of the few places in the world where her mother’s presence still clung.
Her gaze rested on the blue and pink paisley wallpaper they’d spent a fun-filled weekend hanging. Alexis, being sixteen at the time, had taken an age to decide on the design, but her mum, being her patient and loving self, hadn’t minded at all.
If she moved out, she’d no longer wake to the intricately patterned walls and be reminded of her mum. Could she handle that? No matter how hard her day was, she always knew she could come back here and snuggle beneath her duvet. When she squeezed her eyes tight enough, she swore she could even feel the whisper-soft touch of her mother’s arms.
“It’s okay,” she said, taking a deep, cleansing breath. “You can do this.” Now was not the time for sentiment.
It took no time at all to fill a couple of overnight bags with essentials.
“Alexis!”
She startled at the sound of her father’s voice and looked at her watch. 7pm. He must have just arrived home from work. Hiking her bag over her shoulder, she descended the stairs.
“Can you come here for a moment, please?” Richard called from the kitchen.
Alexis bristled with indignation and moved to stand in the doorway. Her father sat at the table with his arm around Carol, who was dabbing at her eyes with a bone dry tissue.
“I think tempers might have gotten the better of you both,” he surmised. “Everyone needs to calm down so we can have an adult discussion.”
“There’s nothing to discuss,” Carol said. “You should have heard the way she spoke to me. She was out of line.”
When her father raised his eyebrows, Alexis scoffed.
“What’s out of line is her spending my rent money on pampering sessions. It’s supposed to cover my share of the bills, not her beauty treatments.”
Richard turned to his wife. “Is this true? I thought we agreed it would go into a savings account to help Alexis with a deposit when the time was right for her to get her own place.”
Alexis did a double take. This was news.
Carol broke eye contact with her father. “You know I never agreed with you on that. The reason that girl has so many problems is because she’s been babied too much. If she’d been my child, I would have made sure she was independent from an early age. All the years her mother spoiled her has ruined her, I tell you. It’s no wonder she’s stuck at home at the age of twenty-four while her peers are off living productive lives.”
The mention of her mother was too much.
As if it had a life of its own, her hand flew out on a collision course with Carol’s cheek. She managed to halt its progress before it made contact, but the damage was already done.
Holy shit.
“Did you see that?” Carol shrieked. “She was going to hit me, Richard. I want her out of my house. Now!”
Alexis’s father appeared pained as he decided which camp to plant his feet in.
Come on, Dad. Are you really that lonely that you’ll let her kick me out?
When her father sat immobile, she sighed.
“You know what? I’m going to make things easy for you and leave. I’ll be back to collect the rest of my things when I find somewhere permanent to stay.”
She half expected her father to get up and stop her at the door, but of course he didn’t.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this,” his strangled voice called out. “Let me know when you’ve found somewhere to stay, okay?”
Lauren’s boyfriend Todd opened their front door and ran a hand through his mussed-up ginger hair. His body was
bare save for a pair of boxer shorts, and he plucked at them uneasily with one hand.
“Hey, Todd. Is Lauren in?”
“She’s out with her mum but should be back any second. Why don’t you come in and wait for her? I’ll make us a cup of tea.”
Reluctantly, Alexis stepped over the threshold and lowered her bags to the ground. She had traipsed the streets for over an hour before deciding Lauren was her best option. Ramie and Maddie were both tempting choices, but she didn’t want them to see her in such a pathetic state. They were adults, leading successful lives, and she already felt juvenile and insignificant enough in their presence.
Todd eyed her bags. “You going away or something?”
She sighed. “I guess you could say that. Some shit went down at home so I’ve decided it’s time to finally move out. I’m on the hunt for a place to stay until I can find something more permanent.”
Todd rubbed the back of his neck as his gaze flitted around the hall. They had never been alone in each other’s company; Lauren had always been present to act as a buffer between them. Struggling to break the awkward tension, Todd suddenly seemed to remember his undressed state and took off up the stairs like a speed demon.
“I’ll be down in a sec. I’m just going to put some clothes on. Make yourself comfortable in the kitchen.”
As he disappeared, Alexis groaned.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
She should never have turned up unannounced. Although Lauren and Todd had been a couple for a few years now, they had only bought this place together a few months ago. Her presence was sure to be unwelcome.
By the time Todd came trampling back down the stairs, Alexis was opening the front door.
“Actually, I think I’m going to go. Tell Lauren I said hi, won’t you? I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
With Todd seemingly at a loss for words, Alexis bolted. She made it all the way to the end of the drive before Lauren appeared at the gate. She took one look at Alexis’s dejected state and then grabbed her arm and ushered her into the house again.
