"Or a ghoul, but prettier," Jeff added.
Sam laughed. "Okay, I get it. We're off, and I'm breaking up with her when I get back." He didn't want to talk about Jessica anymore.
Even he had to agree that she was everything the guys described.
Jessica was his on/ off girlfriend. They were however off more times than they were on. It was one of those situations where you were with someone because you knew them. They'd known each other their whole lives because their parents were friends.
He and Jessica just sort of happened, and to be honest, he didn't even know how. They'd been going out for years, and she'd cheated on him at least five times. Five times that he knew of. He knew there were more times, but couldn't prove it.
It was perhaps the most flimsiest excuse, but he only bothered with her because his parents thought she was perfect for him. He'd given her another chance weeks ago only to end up in the same situation, so it was one of his tasks to end it with her properly when he got back home. It would annoy his parents to no end, but they didn't really know what she was like. She'd always put on that good girl façade when they were around.
Put simply, Jessica was one of those women who would always be attracted to men with wealth and money. Like Tom, Sam had never wanted for a woman by his side. But Sam was unlike Tom who flashed his wealth and looks around, charming women wherever he went. Sam was more than that, and he had big plans for himself.
He'd always dreamed of working for his father at the company, and had worked hard for the opportunity. This wouldn't be the case where Sam would automatically get a position in the company just because he had the St. John name. He had to earn his stripes, and had proved he was deserving of his internship. Once he got through it, he hoped his father would give him more responsibility. He dreamed of taking charge of some of the smaller companies under the St. John umbrella one day. That was his goal. That was all he had on his mind. That and of course sailing. Absolutely sailing. That was a part of him, and he'd always make time for that. He and Tom were going to the Bahamas in two weeks. That would be their last trip for the summer, and he couldn't wait.
"How about we start this fun weekend?" Sam smiled at them. They all howled with excitement and started making their way to the entrance of the hotel.
"Let's drop off our bags and hit the casino first," Jeff suggested.
Tom rested his hand on Sam's shoulder and leaned closer. "Hey cuz. Go wild this weekend man. No rules, no responsibilities, no nothing."
Although Sam laughed, he thought he might just take his advice. It was after all one last fling.
* * *
Think.
Lexie had to think. Things were bad, really bad, but she needed to stay calm and focused to be able to think.
This was what happened when you didn't have a plan, but in her case, she just had to run. You couldn't make a plan when you had to run for your life. Adam would have killed her if he'd caught her. She saw it in his eyes. Rage and anger at her defiance of him. There was no mercy or anything human left. No trace whatsoever of the man she'd fallen in love with. The soulless monster she'd seen would have killed her without much thought. So, this was better.
It was better to sit here in this hotel lobby without a plan and a cent to her name than be back in New York with Adam, or worse dead.
Whichever way she looked at it the significant point was she was finally free. Free to live, and free from him.
Her life had been complete hell with him, complete hell. She'd been with him for just over a year and a half, and in that time he'd managed to crush all her dreams, and all that she was. She still wondered how she could have gotten herself mixed up with someone like that. If Adam wasn't drunk or high on some drug, he was always in trouble with the law, or the most unsavory characters imaginable that he owed money to.
That wasn't how her life was supposed to turn out. Lexie was a science scholar who'd graduated top of her class and received a scholarship to go to MIT. She was goodie two shoes Alexandra Ramone who was always either in the library studying, or spending her evenings shopping with her sisters. Now, at only nineteen years old, she'd ruined her life. She wasn't the scholar she used to be and no longer recognized herself. She'd dropped out of college, and while she was at it, she dropped out of life.
Why couldn't she have had the courage to leave Adam months ago? No, actually she should never have been with him in the first place. For someone so intelligent she'd certainly made the mother of all mistakes by allowing a handsome face, and his stupid sweet talk to fool her. She allowed him to charm his way into her life and ruin it.
In the beginning, he treated her like a princess, but as soon as she moved in with him and he had control over her money she became little more than a rag doll and a house slave to him. Someone he could bully and keep under his control. Why couldn't she have had the courage she'd had two nights ago to leave before? To leave before things got so bad. Why did she stay with someone like that? Someone who would give no thought to killing her. Lexie had such a bright future ahead of her, and a family who loved her dearly.
Her stomach turned at the thought of what she did to her family, and the great worry she must have caused them. She could still hear her poor mother crying down the phone, begging her to come home. The same mother who worked two jobs so Lexie could live on campus. She couldn't even think about her already overprotective father who'd done the same, and her older sisters. She must have been such a big disappointment to them all. After all they did for her, she'd just disappeared on them. Disappeared, as if she never existed and like they meant nothing to her.
What kept her going was this. She looked down at the folded piece of newspaper she'd been staring at for the last hour as she sat here. This was what gave her strength to leave Adam two nights ago. It was a picture of herself in the missing person's section of USA Today. The main number was for the San Francisco Police Department, but there was another number which belonged to her family home.
She wished she could just call them, but she couldn't, couldn't bear it. That would take courage of a different kind, much more than leaving Adam. It was better to go home and face them. This piece of paper told her they hadn't forgotten her, and it gave her hope that maybe they could forgive her.
All she had to do now was make it home. She was so close, just one more state to cross and she'd be there. She'd be in San Francisco. She'd traveled from New York to Phoenix on the last thirty bucks she had to her name. It was all she had left from waitressing at the Cozy Café. From Phoenix, she'd gotten a ride to Kingman and walked along Route Forty to where those guys picked her up.
Her journey had begun from the minute she fled the apartment with nothing more than a half packed bag, the newspaper clipping and the clothes on her back. That was after she and Adam had the worse argument they'd ever had, which started because she told him she was going back to her family. When he pushed her down the stairs, and she hit her head on the banister, she thought she was going to die from the pain. However, when she saw him coming down the stairs after her, she knew she would die if he ever got his hands on her. It was that thought that made her run despite the throbbing pain in her head and the blood running down the side of her cheek.
He chased her through the apartment complex and into the street, yelling, swearing, and calling her all manner of things. The last thing he said to her - to confirm her worry - was, "I'll kill you if I ever see you again." Then he only gave up the chase because he was too drunk to carry on.
But he meant it, every single word. He used to push her around a lot and hit her. Killing her would be easy. Lexie ran that night and never looked back.
Now, she had to be strong. She'd traveled for days, hitchhiked twice and was still alive. Hitchhiking was something that would normally terrify her. She'd been lucky to get two elderly ladies on their way back from a gardening convention on the first trip, but those rich guys were another story. Everything inside her told her not to get in their car. Especially after what th
e driver had said. She'd been apprehensive enough when the car stopped, and she saw it was full of a bunch of guys. Lexie wouldn't have gone with them if it wasn't for the one that seemed to be the most trustworthy. It was entirely strange to think about trusting anybody after what Adam put her through, but there was something about that guy that made her take the risk. It was something that made her look past his striking Hollywood good looks and deep sea green eyes. In the few seconds, she had to make the decision, she saw a friendly face and felt a comforting warmth that made her feel at ease.
She figured in that moment it was either she took the lift, or took an even greater chance that she'd end up getting stuck on the road in the dark and the oncoming cold. Chances were she'd freeze to death in these shorts, or she'd die of starvation as she hadn't eaten in days. At least she'd been right to take the chance. But now she was here. She was in Las Vegas, needing to get to San Francisco with no money, or food.
Lexie swallowed hard, and her stomach clenched as she noticed for the umpteenth time that the concierge had come by to straighten out the brochures on the wall unit. Each time he'd looked at her as he neatened each row and gave her a distinct look of scrutiny, assessing her. This time he gave her a harsher look, and she was sure he would ask her to leave if he came back next time and saw she was still here.
Fear and confusion knotted her inside at the disturbing thought. Right now she needed to stay here until she came up with a sensible plan. She was feeling incredibly weak, famished from the lack of food, and stressed from the journey and the whole situation. She'd come inside here to think and take a break. She thought it would be easier to get to Vegas because there were more opportunities here to get her back to San Francisco. The choices she had were finding a job somewhere fast or hitchhiking again. She wasn't sure which was best. If she found a job, she'd be able to buy a bus ticket. It would mean being here longer and trying to get a place to stay for a couple of nights too. That was a lot to factor in with no money, but probably safer than hitchhiking. She just didn't know what to do and thought it best to take the time to plan properly.
As casually as she could she crossed her legs over each other and reached over to the table beside her to grab a brochure, then she sat further back into the leather sofa and tried to steady her breath.
Okay, she'd give herself another hour to decide what she was doing. It would be dark soon, and it was wise to have daylight on her side.
* * *
Two thousand bucks. That was good enough for Sam, and all he'd lost was a hundred dollars. Last time they came to Vegas, he lost about five grand. Tom as always was on a super winning streak, Jeff had lost ten grand, and Pete was saving his money for the bar. While those guys were just getting started Sam decided he'd had enough gambling. They'd been playing at the Roulette table now for six hours, and he needed a break. He figured he would go back to the hotel for a little while, get something to eat and then link up with the guys a bit later.
Actually, maybe it was better to call his mother first and explain their absence at the wedding. He thought he'd just come clean with the truth, even though Tom would be mad at him.
As he walked past the reception area, his eye caught some sort of commotion in the lobby. He would have walked on if he didn't recognize the girl from earlier. A large security guard got her by her arms and was ushering her out despite her protest. She begged them to let her stay.
"This lobby is for guests or people using our services. You are neither." The concierge admonished, enunciating every syllable of his words.
Sam wondered what he should do. Earlier she'd said she was broke. So if she had no money where was she going to stay? He hadn't really given that much thought when they dropped her off. When the guard grabbed her arm roughly, and she winced in pain he knew he had to step in.
"Hey," he cried walking up to them. "What's going on here?"
The concierge and the guard only acknowledged him and released her because they knew who Sam was, or at least knew what his name represented. Aside from that, earlier he and the guys had spent over five grand between them to book the best rooms.
"Sir, this girl is loitering in the lobby like some kind of vagrant. I'm afraid we can't put up homeless people."
Sam narrowed his eyes at the concierge and looked over his stout frame and balding head. Sam thought about the man's words. Vagrant?
How incredibly rude, he couldn't stand people like that. Those who were rich or used to serving the rich and thought they were better than others.
"This is my girl," Sam declared staring the man down.
Relief and surprise both filled the girl's beautiful face as she looked at Sam.
"Oh God. I'm so sorry." The concierge's face colored fiercely with embarrassment and guilt. "I thought she was just loitering in the lobby." He stuttered
"It's a lobby, who cares what you do?" Sam snapped.
"She's been in there for more than six hours."
Sam looked at her and noticed how tired and frail she appeared like she might faint.
"Claire," he said the first name that came to mind. "Why didn't you call me?"
"I... lost my phone." She played along.
He looked back to the concierge and the guard. "Is this the way you treat your guests?" They might not have wanted her there, but there was surely a better way to deal with her, and not just throw her into the street.
"Come on doll. Let's get out of here." He beckoned her to come, and when she did he took hold of her delicate hand which felt lost within his, and cold. Cold like she'd been walking outside in the winter without any gloves. "I'll deal with these jerks later."
She looked pretty shaken up by that whole ordeal, so he ushered her outside, not bothering to look back at the concierge or the guard to see their reaction.
He stopped when they got just outside the entrance by the revolving door. She stumbled then steadied herself by grasping on to the railing between the steps. When she wobbled again looking like she was definitely about to faint he caught hold of her just as her knees buckled.
"Hey, I got you." He helped her sit down on the steps.
"Everythings ... spinning." She stuttered clutching on to his t-shirt. He moved closer to her so he could help her to stay up.
He noticed that unlike earlier her skin looked pale and clammy, and the dark circles under her eyes looked even more sunken in.
"When's the last time you ate?" It occurred to him that she might not have eaten anything while she'd waited in the lobby, and they'd taken an hour to drive to Vegas. That was a good seven hours that he'd known of without any food.
She shook her head, and a tear ran down her cheek. "Days ago."
Sam widened his eyes at that. No wonder she was practically fainting on him. It was a miracle she'd lasted this long.
He remembered he had a bar of Snickers in his jacket pocket, so he retrieved it and held it out to her to take. Everyone was always telling Sam off for his sweet tooth, but now it came in handy. She looked up at him with sad eyes.
"Eat it. It's not fruit, but it will help." He offered, trying to make light of the situation.
"Thank you." She took it, tore at the wrapper and shoved the whole thing into her mouth.
Their eyes met for one awkward moment, but she looked down with embarrassment. When she started to shiver against the cold night air, he took off his jacket and spread it around her shoulders. The gesture seemed to take her by complete surprise.
"Thank you." Her voice sounded tired and weak.
He nodded and continued to watch her. His curiosity was building by the second, and he wanted to ask her outright what her story was.
"So... if we're going to keep running into each other like this, you should probably tell me your name. Or else you'll have to stick with Claire."
She looked up at him nervously with those liquid brown eyes surrounded by long sweeping lashes, "It's L..." somehow hesitation set in and she stopped herself from continuing. "Claire's not bad."
She didn't want to give him her name. If that wasn't suspicious, he didn't know what was. Particularly since he'd just saved her from being thrown into the street.
"Okay then," he agreed.
The wind picked up her hair and lifted it away from her face allowing him to see that the blue mark he'd seen earlier was just the start of an angry looking bruise that reached back into her hair.
"That's a mean looking bruise you have there," he noted, eyeing her with suspicion.
Her eyes darkened with pain. "I should go. Thank you for helping me." She stood and pulled the jacket from around her shoulders to hand back to him.
"You'll freeze in that top. Keep it." He held up his hands. "Where are you going?"
She stared at him with wide, frightened eyes. "There." She pointed down the road to nothing in particular.
"Where's there?"
She frowned and then bit the inside of her lip as she brought her hand up to her temple. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she attempted to wipe them away, but more came.
"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but are you in some kind of trouble?" He decided to just ask as it was pretty clear now that she was, and didn't have a clue as to what she was doing.
She stared up at him with her huge brown eyes and bottom lip trembling and nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it over dinner? It's on me." Well, he was involved now, and he might as well eat with her since he was going to grab something to eat anyway.
She nodded.
Chapter 2
Lexie tried not to eat like a pig in front of him but failed miserably.
He'd taken her to a fancy diner and ordered a feast of double cheese burgers, curly fries, and extra, extra-large milkshakes. Even when she was full, she continued to eat because the feeling of being stuffed was so satisfying. She hadn't eaten this much since she left college. Most nights if she didn't eat at the diner she'd starve.
It was great to finally have a hot, decent, delicious meal, but as the food began to work its nutrition into her the panic she felt earlier came rushing back, and she remembered how truly stuck she was. Lexie still didn't have a plan on what she was going to do. Waiting in that hotel lobby had got her nowhere. It just lost her time. Now it was night, and it was cold, and she was still in Las Vegas. Not moving forward, just standing still.
Complete Me Page 2
