An Unexpected Start: A Prequel to An Unexpected Hunger

by Rosa, C.

  “Real mature,” I said, pulling back.

  She rolled the window all the way down, even though I had the air conditioner on full blast. “Lexy!” she shouted.

  I searched the lot for her face.

  Mia stuck her hand out the window and waved. Through the crowd, Alexa slowly approached the car without getting too close. I hadn’t seen her since I’d gotten myself expelled.

  “Why couldn’t Lex bring you home?” I asked, a little annoyed. I wasn’t even sure she knew why I’d gotten kicked out. Surprisingly, Brandon hadn’t run his mouth. Mia had told me the rumor was I’d kicked Brandon’s ass for hooking up with Devin Miller. I didn’t know how the hell that story happened, and I didn’t care.

  “She’s got graduation stuff to do before the ceremony tomorrow. Plus, she’s got to start packing.” She turned her attention back out the window. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Mia yelled. Alexa nodded and waved before walking off to her car.

  “Pack for what?” I started to drive back home.

  “California, duh.”

  “I thought she wasn’t moving until the end of the summer.”

  Mia shrugged like this news wasn’t a big deal. “She got accepted into this summer internship thing, so she changed her mind.”

  “What?” I yelped. I hit the steering wheel, which caused the car to veer a little off the road.

  “Damn, Ricky. Get a grip. What’s the big deal, anyway?”

  I ignored her question. Too complicated to answer.

  A few minutes passed before she said, “Why don’t you just tell her?”

  “Tell her what?”

  Mia scoffed and shook her head. “Don’t play stupid with me. I know you’ve been secretly drooling over her since you were, like, nine.” She popped a piece of gum in her mouth. “You’re totally lame at hiding it.”

  What the hell? Now she decided to open her mouth? Great fucking timing as usual.

  I just stared at the road. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  She rolled her eyes and continued to pop her gum. “Whatever. Just don’t come crying to me when it’s too late.”

  * * * *

  I had pretended to be annoyed when Mia asked me for a ride over Alexa’s house. She bitched and moaned about having to spend the entire summer without her best friend the whole ride there. I tried to tune her out. I had my own problems to work out in my head.

  I parked the car next to the curb in front of Lex’s house. My stomach flopped as I got out.

  “You okay?” Mia asked me.

  “Fine,” I mumbled. Shit. What was I doing here? What was I planning on saying? This was the stupidest idea I had all year. And I’ve had some pretty stupid ones.

  I thought about bailing and getting back in the car. Drew appeared in the opened front door, and it was too late.

  “Just in time,” he said. “My pain in the ass mom just left.” He walked deeper into the house, and Mia and I followed him upstairs. “Lex! Mia’s here.”

  Alexa appeared in her bedroom doorway. The smile on her face dropped the moment she saw me.

  This was off to a good start.

  “Hey, Lex.” I wasn’t going to wait for her to say the first hello.

  She looked at Mia. “I need your help.” She reached for Mia’s arm and yanked her in the room.

  I peered in, trying to catch a glimpse of what they were doing. They were huddled over a few opened suitcases, lying on the carpet. Alexa was mumbling something. I strained my ears, but couldn’t make out a single word. She bent over to pick something up. Damn. I did an internal groan. She glanced into the hallway and caught me staring.

  Shit. Act like you weren’t just looking at her ass.

  “Hey,” Drew said from behind me. “Want to play some Xbox?”

  “Sure.” I took one last look in the room before following Drew to the basement.

  “My sister’s lucky as shit,” Drew said, handing me a control.

  “Why is that?”

  “Two more days and she’s out of here. Home free.”

  I lounged back in the couch and took to playing the game. “She doesn’t seem too happy she’s leaving.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Drew yelled at the television, swearing the game was cheating. “She can’t shut up about it.”

  About an hour later, Mia and Alexa found their way downstairs. They took over the couch and complained about how violent the game was.

  “I can’t believe you’re leaving,” Mia whined.

  “You’ll have to come and visit me,” Alexa replied.

  “That would be awesome,” Mia said.

  “I cannot wait to get out of here.” Alexa sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

  My heartbeat rocked through my chest. This conversation wasn’t doing it for me.

  “Do you two mind?” I said.

  “What?” Mia asked.

  “Can you have this mindless conversation somewhere else?”

  “Ugh,” Mia replied. “You can be a real jerk sometimes.”

  They both grumbled, getting up from the couch, and disappeared upstairs.

  After a while, I had enough of Xbox and trudged upstairs with Drew. Mia and Lex were outside, sitting on the porch in the middle of another conversation I couldn’t make out.

  I sidestepped around them and stood on the sidewalk, getting a cigarette out of my pocket.

  “I’m getting a bottle of water,” Alexa abruptly said, standing up.

  “I’ll take one, too,” Mia said.

  “Make that three,” Drew replied, leaning back in his seat on the porch.

  She didn’t wait for me to add to the number—didn’t even look in my direction—and walked back in the house. I plucked the unlit cigarette out of my mouth and shoved the pack back in my pocket before following her inside.

  I cleared my throat and waited for her to say something.

  “What is it, Ricky?” Alexa said from behind the refrigerator door.

  “You didn’t wait for me to ask for water, so I thought I’d just come get one for myself.”

  “Here.” She threw me a cold bottle, and I barely caught it.

  Damn, she had a good throwing arm.

  She tried to walk past me with three other bottles in her hand, but I wouldn’t let her pass. Finally, she let out a huge sigh and gave up.

  “You’re going to leave like this?” I asked.

  “Like how?” she said with her eyebrows narrowed.

  “You think moving across the country is going to make everything better?”

  “Maybe, maybe not. But I’m sure not sticking around this place. There’s nothing here for me.”

  There it was again. That look that put me in my place. How did she fucking do it?

  I wanted to hate her. To forget about her. I couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or not, which was infuriating as fuck, but she knew how to gut me.

  I grabbed the bottles from her hands and thought about chucking them across the room.

  “Well, I hope running away works out for you.” I turned my back and walked out of the front door.

  I dumped the bottles on the porch and continued on to my car, my heart drumming in my ears. I ignored Mia and Drew calling my name. I ignored it all. Everything except the searing ache that burned through me. I didn’t know what my plan had been, or what exactly I’d come there to prove, but I knew I just blew my last fucking opportunity to do it.

  And who knew when I’d get my chance again.

  Want to read more about Ricky and Alexa? Check out An Unexpected Hunger, available now!

 

 

 
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