The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  “Promise?”

  “Yes,” she said twisting the knob behind her back and pulling the door open. “Sorry.”

  Lexi rushed down the stairs and out onto the dark city streets. She had forgotten how different New York and Atlanta were. At any given second in New York, she could hail a cab to take her to any destination. Here people had to call for a cab and wait for it to pick you up. In New York, people were constantly on the streets and, where Lexi frequented, she could walk anywhere. In Atlanta, she rarely felt safe walking in even the classiest areas of the city during the day, let alone at night.

  She took a deep breath and dialed the number for a cab service. After a few minutes, the cab arrived and carted her to Chyna’s hotel. Lexi had the concierge ring for Chyna, but found that no one was in the room or else Chyna was incapacitated. Either was just as likely. Since she had no proof that she should be in Chyna’s penthouse, they refused to give her a key to the room.

  “If you won’t give me a key, can I stay in your lobby until she gets back?” Lexi asked exasperated.

  The woman looked at her condescendingly, taking in her smeared make-up and torn dress. “That is not typically permitted.”

  “Do you really want one of your A-list clients angry at you when Chyna finds out that you treated her best friend this poorly?” Lexi asked smoothly.

  Her face shifted into a line of worry. Individuals who came to the hotel and rented the penthouse suite were few and far between. “Very well. When Ms. Van der Wal returns and we can confirm your identity, then we can allow you into her room. If you would like a room of your own, we could arrange that. Otherwise you will have to wait.”

  Lexi sighed heavily and wandered over to a loveseat. She pulled her feet up onto the cushion and rested her head against the arm of the chair. All she wanted to do was forget that tonight had ever happened.

  A short while later she someone was shaking her awake and calling her name. Lexi’s eyes fluttered open and she realized, somewhat unbelievably, she had fallen asleep. Her neck was sore from the uncomfortable position, but her mind, at least, was still. She must have been exhausted to have fallen asleep that quickly.

  “You all right, chica?” Chyna asked looking at her anxiously.

  “A little sore.” What an understatement. “But I’ll be all right. Can we go upstairs?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Chyna agreed helping Lexi to her feet. “Did they give you any trouble?” Chyna asked staring daggers at the concierge.

  “No, they were fine. They did exactly as I expected,” Lexi replied following Chyna to the elevators.

  The two girls took the elevator to the top floor and Chyna let them into her suite. All Lexi wanted to do was to crash for the next several hours. She was both physically and mentally exhausted. Chyna had other ideas though. She obviously had all the energy from just getting laid that Lexi was lacking. And even though she needed her mandated seven hours of beauty sleep, she didn’t seem ready for that to begin.

  “Can you spit it out so I can go to sleep?” Lexi asked resting her head back against the couch.

  Chyna bit down on her bottom lip as she stared uncomfortably at her friend. “What the hell happened to you? You look like a train wreck. You should have seen the way those people were looking at you downstairs. God, you could have been a hooker for all they knew. A hooker wearing amazing clothes, but still…”

  Lexi rolled her eyes not caring much what others thought about her. “I had a rough night.”

  “I’ll say. Just look at you.”

  “Thanks, C. I got it,” she mumbled irritated.

  “Then what happened?”

  Lexi sighed wavering between a lie and the truth. “Jack and I slept together.”

  Chyna’s mouth dropped open. “No! When?” Lexi lowered her eyes to the floor. “Tonight?” Chyna squeaked. “How could you?”

  “You know the answer to that.”

  “You said you weren’t going to.”

  “I hadn’t planned on it. This obviously wasn’t planned,” she said gesturing around her.

  “But, Alexa,” Chyna scolded.

  “Don’t use that voice with me,” she growled. “Things didn’t go as planned anyway.” Things definitely did not go as planned. She hadn’t planned on sleeping with him. She hadn’t planned on falling for him…again. She hadn’t planned on her night with Ramsey. She hadn’t planned on any of it.

  “Did he hit you?” Chyna asked fear obvious in her voice. “You look like shit.”

  “What? No! God, no,” Lexi exclaimed running her hands through her hair. “He just…he was really cold to me afterwards.”

  “Like how?” Chyna asked concerned.

  “I don’t know. He said this didn’t change things,” Lexi attempted to explain.

  “What does that mean?” Chyna asked aggravated.

  “I think it means he needs more time to decide what he wants. It just came out wrong,” Lexi said trying to convince herself too.

  “I doubt it.”

  “Chyna,” Lexi said warningly.

  “No, you listen to yourself. He fucked you then pretty much told you that you didn’t mean anything to him. How could you think otherwise?”

  “He said he still needed time. He told me he wanted to be with me. Chyna, they can’t be together. I have to stop this. He can’t do what he did to me and expect not to have to make a decision,” she told her vehemently.

  “Alexa, stop. You can’t think like that. You cannot break them up.”

  “But he wants to be with me. A part of him still wants to be with me.”

  “You don’t actually believe him, do you?” Chyna asked scrunching her perfectly waxed eyebrows together.

  “He’s never lied to me before,” Lexi said but doubt was in her voice.

  “Are you sure?”

  “He hasn’t lied to me in six years. Why would he start now?” Lexi asked trying to force a sense of determination.

  “I just…don’t know,” she said biting her lip and looking away.

  “What are you getting at, Chyna?” Lexi couldn’t keep the venom out of her voice.

  “Look, maybe he never lied directly, but that didn’t mean that he was telling you the whole truth,” Chyna told her.

  Lexi sighed. She had thought of that. In fact, a part of her wondered if maybe everything he ever said had been in some part a lie. But she couldn’t let herself get caught up on that. He was the same Jack she had always known, and he loved her. No matter how difficult the past week…the past year and a half had been there was a part of him that would always love her. She needed to harness that affection and make him realize that was what he had always wanted…what he still wanted.

  “Did you forget that this was all your idea in the first place,” Lexi asked evading Chyna’s last statement.

  “Goddamn, chica, I sent you up here to get over the fucking douche bag, not to fall in love with him again.”

  “Well, I’m not sure I ever stopped loving him.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying,” Chyna said shaking her head miserably.

  “I know perfectly well what I am saying. I know exactly how I feel about Jack.”

  “You’re acting like a teenager. Pull yourself together. You don’t need this guy to feel loved. There are plenty…”

  Lexi interrupted, “Don’t feed me the there are plenty of other fish in the sea line.”

  “But there are!” Chyna cried. “Have you not seen the way Ramsey looks at you?”

  Lexi rolled her eyes, but her heart was aching at the admission. She couldn’t tell Chyna what had happened between them. The news that they had almost slept together would only fuel her passion. And she was stuck with Jack. No matter what he had done or how confused he was. He held her heart, even when it was breaking. “Don’t talk to me about Ramsey.”

  “Then don’t act like Jack is the only person who has ever looked at you like you’re a goddess.”

  “Just because Ramsey feels this way about me doe
sn’t mean it is reciprocated,” Lexi cried back.

  “Then explain what happened out on the balcony.”

  Lexi blushed. If Chyna knew the rest of what had happened, she would never hear the end of it. “That was a mistake.”

  “It didn’t look like it.”

  “I slept with Jack right afterwards. What does that tell you?”

  “That you are a very confused person!”

  “I’m not confused. I know exactly what I want.”

  “I didn’t want to have to tell you this,” Chyna said shaking her head fiercely.

  “What?” Lexi asked barely listening to her. All she wanted to do was get this conversation over with and sleep.

  “I heard some of Jack’s friends talking about him and Bekah,” she trailed off.

  “And?”

  “There are rumors of them getting married.”

  “Yeah. Isn’t that why I’m here in the first place?” Lexi asked dumbfounded as to why Chyna was even bringing this up to her again. She was here to convince Bekah that Jack was ready for commitment. Well, she certainly hadn’t done that. If anything she had confused him more.

  “I know, but I think he’s going to do it.”

  “What?” Lexi questioned staring at her like she was a Martian.

  “The guys were talking about planning a bachelor party,” Chyna whispered hating that she had to break the news to her.

  “It could have been for any of them,” she said but she hardly convinced herself. Doubt had crept into her voice.

  “I think they were all married,” she murmured.

  “No.” She shook her head and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Her sleep-deprived brain couldn’t process what Chyna was saying. Jack couldn’t be marrying Bekah. He didn’t love her. He didn’t feel for her what he felt with Lexi. There was no way this could be happening. “No. No, he’s not,” she said the weakness in her voice evident. She felt as if she had been punched in the gut. She was receiving just enough air to keep her upright.

  “What did you say? Alexa, you have to believe me. I’m looking out for you.”

  “No. I won’t believe it,” her voice coming out in a monotone.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want this to happen to you,” Chyna said feeling like the shittiest of shitty friend’s right then.

  “This cannot be happening to me.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetie,” Chyna said moving to her side. “Do you still want to be with him?”

  Even after that admission, even after Lexi’s first realization that Jack might marry someone else, she still wanted him.

  “Is Jack really what you want after everything?” She reached out and grasped Lexi’s hand affectionately.

  “You don’t understand,” Lexi said yanking her hand out of her grasp. “You never understood.” The feeling of losing Jack overwhelmed her body. The feeling was so familiar, that it could only be associated with him. Her heart felt as if it were being fed through a shredder, and then played back in reverse.

  “How could I understand?” Chyna asked vehemently. “Do you even see yourself? You’re a wreck. You look exactly the same as last time. You’re shutting down and shutting everyone out. You can’t let him do this to you every time he comes back into your life. Can’t you see that this boy has done a number on you that can never be undone, unless you let him go? You have to let him go.”

  “How can I let him go?” she asked her breathing coming out shallow. “How can I let him go, if he won’t let me?”

  “You have to find a way to be strong.”

  “No, I can’t be sure. I have to go to him and find out what the truth is.”

  “You think he’s going to tell you the truth?” Chyna asked dubiously.

  “He damn well better!”

  PRESENT

  Chyna managed to talk Lexi into getting a few hours of much needed rest. She needed to be of the right state of mind to talk with Jack. And, anyways, he would probably be sleeping at six o’clock in the morning, when Lexi was ready to burst into his apartment and confront him. The exhaustion that had crept up on her that whole night suddenly evaporated with the prospect of finally coming to a conclusion about her relationship with Jack. Restless sleep eventually overtook her, but it did very little to stem her anticipation.

  The thoughts swirling around in her brain only managed to make her more nervous about her upcoming appointment with disaster. She couldn’t fathom that Jack had lied to her. They had always been up front about their feelings and how they were going to work…no matter how dysfunctional everything else turned out to be.

  When she finally awoke the next day, she found that somehow she had managed to sleep through a good portion of the day. She wasn’t certain how that had happened, but was grateful for the break from her earlier thoughts. Except that left her with only a few brief hours to accomplish everything she needed to get done. She canceled her flight that Jack purchased for her earlier that month, reimbursing those funds to his card. With Chyna’s arrival, Lexi decided to leave on her private jet. A flight that would leave that very night. A flight that Lexi was not certain she was ready to get on.

  She groggily got out of bed, reaching for her phone. Beyond the two messages from Ramsey making sure she had made it home all right and apologizing for his inappropriate behavior, there was nothing else. Jack hadn’t called. He hadn’t texted. He had made no effort to get in contact with her after their escapade.

  Lexi lazily tossed the thing back into her purse and strolled into the bathroom. After a scalding hot shower to clear her mind, Lexi did some extra pampering. She needed to look her best when she spoke with him. If she looked as shitty as she felt, then she would lose a good deal of the confidence that she needed. She let her loose curls go about their business and applied some make-up to highlight her golden skin and large brown eyes. Her hair covered the damage done to her back, but she had to touch up her neck where a few hickeys were beginning to show. A thin layer of lipstick hid the bruising on her bottom lip. A purple dress that was simple yet appealing was her first choice. She paired it with black strappy sandals. She hoped it was enough.

  Her first instinct was to go by his apartment, and with Chyna’s approval, she took the town car across the city. As she approached the entranceway, the attendant who had been on duty when she had stayed the night at Jack’s less than a week ago was exiting the building. “Oh, excuse me,” the attendant said almost running into her.

  “No problem at all. Hey, I think I know you,” Lexi said.

  “Oh, yeah,” the girl said pointing her finger at Lexi as if she were placing her. “You know Jack, right?”

  “Yeah. Do you know if he’s in right now?” Lexi asked taking a step closer to the doorway.

  The girl seemed to mull it over. After a second of contemplation she answered, “I don’t think he is. I remember him leaving this afternoon.”

  “Do you happen to know where he was going?” Lexi asked knowing she sounded snoopy.

  “Look, I don’t really like to get involved,” she said crossing her arms across her chest uncomfortably.

  “Oh no, I totally understand,” she said immediately. She had to be quick on her toes or else she wouldn’t get any information. “It’s just his girlfriend is freaking out, because he won’t answer his phone, and she asked me to come by since she couldn’t.”

  “Well,” the girl began tilting her head sideways.

  “I swear I wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t an emergency,” Lexi said lathering on the desperation.

  The girl sighed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “He came down earlier and looked a bit bummed out. Said he needed to get some things accomplished at the office, but don’t tell him I told you so,” she said racing down the remaining stairs, across the street, and into a parked Civic.

  With more direction than when she had woken up this morning, Lexi piled back into the town car to make her way to Bridges Enterprise. She knew the building well from
her long history in the city, but had never ventured inside. All she knew about the business was that the Bridges name had been around for a long time. It comprised of attorneys, accountants, and any other form of business that could assist you with your troubles, and they charged a fortune for their rather successful services.

  The town car dropped Lexi off at the base of the monumental staircase leading up to the building. After climbing the flight of stairs, she stepped into Bridges Enterprise, an enormous, emasculating building covered almost completely in glass. The high-arched, sleek entranceway opened into a clean, marble tiled lobby with forty-foot ceilings, plush leather sofas, and high-glossed counter space. Every person was impeccably dressed in the latest fashions as well as physically fit and attractive. The women all wore knee-length skirt suits with high heels while the men wore suits each with a different color tie. It was terrifying being in a room with so many well-groomed individuals. Lexi’s simple dress suddenly felt out of place, but she held her head high regardless.

  She cautiously approached a tiny Asian woman working behind the reception desk. People milled around the lobby. Some entering and exiting elevators, stopping to chat with an associate, or waiting patiently for their important meeting. With a company this large it was necessary to have the office available to clients seven days a week.

  “Thank you very much. Here at Bridges Enterprise we do everything we can to bridge the distance between you and your troubles. Have a wonderful day,” she said hanging up the phone before looking up at Lexi. “May I help you?” the woman asked, a genuine smile crossing her face.

  “Yes, I am here to see Jack Howard,” Lexi told the woman hoping to make it see more of a demand than a request.

  The woman smirked and glanced down at the monitor in front of her. She clicked a few buttons before returning her eyes to Lexi. “Do you have a meeting with Mr. Howard?”

  “Not exactly,” she admitted, “but I do need to see him.”

  “Mr. Howard is a very busy man. I hope you understand when I say that you would have to have an appointment to see him,” she stated firmly.