by S. J. Smith
Well he did. Just not about being angry at his best friends.
Ex.
Ex-best friends.
Best friends wouldn't have gone behind his back like that, lying for however long they were going at it. They betrayed him. They betrayed Marty. He doubted either of them would care about Marty's feelings though. But right then in that moment, Brennan felt like Marty was his only friend in the world. The only person who had never betrayed him.
So now Brennan would be a good friend to Marty. He'd tell Marty what had happened before he heard it from someone else. Marty and Seth weren't exactly good friends. They only really hung out because they were in the same friend group.
As for Alexis, Marty had been holding a grudge against her ever since she broke up with him. He'd told Brennan once that after they broke up he saw her true colours.
Brennan supposed that now he had too.
Chapter 27
Seth was furious. The secret was out and he was certain that Alexis had been the one to spill it. She was always running her mouth about something. Commenting on things that weren't her business to comment on. So what if the girl he liked had a boyfriend? Jess and Aaron weren't going to be together forever and when they did break up, he would be there for her like he had been since he met her.
Alexis was just trying to ruin his chances with Jess. That was it. She was jealous that Jess spent more time with him than with her and she was trying to ruin it. Everything always had to be about her.
Alexis had actually asked him once if he had been thinking about Jess while they were hooking up, if he wished it had been her friend instead. He had refused to answer, knowing that truth would likely end things between them.
It wasn't that he hadn't liked Alexis, he did. She was feisty and hot. The first time he'd hit on her, he hadn't even known who she was. A few months later she'd been dating Marty and all of a sudden he was the bad guy. The terrible friend who had a thing for his oldest friend's girl.
So he'd tried to move on. It was during the three months that Alexis and Marty had been dating that Seth and Brennan started hanging out with Jess more. It was Summer break and Aaron was off working one of those fruit picking jobs with his friends. It was character building or some bullshit like that. And that was when it had happened. When he'd fallen for Jess.
Now both the girls he had a thing for had boyfriends. Until one of them didn't. Marty had been pretty bitter about his relationship with Alexis when she broke up with him. Seth had been a shoulder to cry on and just like that his crush on her was back. Conveniently at the same time that Aaron came back from the orchards and Jess was once again unavailable.
Alexis hung out with him and Brennan more and more. And whenever Brennan had to leave early or couldn't come at all, Seth was still there with Alexis. They had danced around their attraction to each other for weeks. It was like a game of chicken. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore and he'd kissed her. She'd kissed back. They'd agreed to keep it a secret for a little while. Her and Marty had only broken up a few months before then and he was still sensitive about the whole thing.
Then Brennan had confessed that he liked Alexis, and Seth knew that whatever their relationship was, it could never get out. His life would be ruined. They even tried breaking it off at different points but they'd given into their hormones time and time again.
There was one thing that Alexis and Seth had agreed on though, no one could know about them.
Had he been dying to tell someone that he'd hooked up with Alexis Angelo? God yes. Before Brennan had confessed to his own feelings, it had taken all of Seth's will power not to blurt out the truth.
Clearly, Alexis had no such will power.
◆◆◆
Seth spotted her as she walked by the dark hallway he was waiting in. Alexis was a creature of habit so it wasn't hard for him to pinpoint where she'd be at a particular time of day.
"Alexis," he called out. She turned towards him, her wariness clear on her face. He had reigned in his anger before waiting for her. He knew that if she felt threatened from the start then she wouldn't agree to talk to him, then he wouldn't be able to get her to admit that she'd told people about them.
When she'd finally stepped into the hallway, he led her further down towards a dead-end of locked doors to rooms that no one used anymore.
He could see her eyes darting back and forth like a cornered animal. He took that as her first admission of guilt. After all, if she hadn't spilled their secrets then she wouldn't have any reason to be nervous around him. The wary look she was giving him made him even more certain that she was guilty.
"What's up Seth?"
"So I heard something today," he paused, watching her face, "about you and me." There it was. The slightest pursing of her lips, the eye roll she couldn't contain even if she tried. He waited for her to say something, anything to defend herself or even give herself away.
"Who did you tell?" he felt the mask slip from his face, his eyes hardening, his mouth turning into a sneer.
◆◆◆
A fire sparked in Alexis' blood. He was blaming her for their secret getting out. Jess had been the first to tell her that the secret was out. She'd also been the first to promise that she hadn't spilled the beans.
Things had come so close to ending badly for her after Seth's antics at Aaron's party two weeks ago. When the adrenaline had worn off, she had been a mess, something she was once again feeling while standing in the hallway. A hallway that Alexis couldn't help but notice was far too dark and secluded for her liking.
"For fucks sake Alexis, just admit that you told someone." Seth took a step towards her, forcing her to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. The bruising from his broken nose was still there, faint, but there.
"I don't have to admit anything to you."
"We both promised that we wouldn't tell anyone."
"We also both promised that we'd end things before hooking up with someone else. Who broke the promise first, huh Seth?" she could see the anger building in his eyes, the way he clenched his jaw.
"Seriously, you told everyone about us because I hooked up with Anna? Grow up."
"Jesus, you're a dumb shit. You actually think I wanted everyone to know about us?" Maybe once upon a time it was yes, but things had changed. While there were still too many secrets between Alexis and Lucas for things to be perfect, she was actually happy now.
"You don't want me with Jess. That's why. You're jealous and selfish and don't want us to be happy together, so you had to try and ruin it."
Oh God, he's actually lost his mind.
"Whatever you think you and Jess had, it was all in your head. Her and Aaron aren't breaking up any time soon and even if they did, you're the last person she'd end up with." She knew her words would cut deep. She knew they'd make him angry. The adrenaline was running through her blood so hard that she'd forgotten about being afraid of what he might do. What he'd tried to do.
"She kissed me, but I bet you didn't know that."
"Yeah she told me about what happened after I left that night, all of it. I wonder how interested people would be in knowing that you took advantage of a passed out drunk girl." Blood pounded in her ears and she didn't give him a chance to say anything before she continued.
"Get it through to that rock you have for a brain, I'm not the reason that our secret got out. You seem to have forgotten that shit you pulled at Aaron's party. Most of our year was at that party. Don't you think that maybe someone saw you pull me into that room against my will? Saw me run away. Saw you stumble out with a broken nose. Maybe other people aren't as willing to stay quiet," she ground her final words out through clenched teeth. Just mentioning the events of that night had her heart pounding, setting her blood on fire like it was gasoline.
Seth was quiet for a few moments as they glared at each other. The moment he sucked in air, she knew that what was about to come out of his mouth would be idiotic.
"I swear to God Alexis, if you don't deny
everything between us and stop telling people that I took advantage of Jess then I'll-" Seth cut himself off, but Alexis sneered as she egged him on.
"You'll what, Seth?"
"I'll tell everyone that those rumours about you being a spoilt mafia princess aren't just rumours."
He didn't disappoint. For once.
Alexis bowed her head. Her shoulders started to shake. He probably thought she was crying. Until she lifted her head and laughed in his face. It was a sadistic laugh that promised nothing good.
It was his turn to look at her like she'd lost her mind. But no, it wasn't her mind she'd lost, it was her patience. Her patience for Seth's bullshit had been limited to begin with and now it was non-existent. Her laughter stopped and her eyes turned to steel.
"You stupid fuck. You actually think for a second that you can blackmail me? You've got nothing on me Seth. The only one who matters is Lucas and he knows everything about us, about me. And let me just put this out there – if I were a spoilt mafia princess as you put it, then it would be pretty goddamn braindead of you to threaten me. Don't you think?"
Her words seemed to give him pause, made him backtrack and realise that he'd just ruined any and all chances of getting her to agree to help him.
"Fine, but what about Brennan, this hurts him too. He wouldn't believe me when I told him that the rumours are wrong. You know how he feels about you. If you don't convince him that they're lies then he'll hate us both." Seth was grasping at straws now. Anything he thought might convince her to lie for him again.
"You know, you didn't seem all that concerned about Brennan's feelings when you had your tongue down my throat and your hand up my skirt."
Without another thought, Alexis turned and walked away from him. She saw the anger building in him again as he realised he'd lost.
The last straw had broken.
Chapter 28
The warehouse was dark and cold. It was actually warmer outside, which wasn't at all surprising since the heating had been turned off months ago. Another torture tactic.
"Mum?"
Silence.
"Mum, are you here?"
Her mum was meant to be here. She'd promised. It was her sixteenth birthday. They were meant to be at the restaurant in an hour.
"Alexis..." That wasn't her mum's voice sing song-ing her name from the darkness.
"Hello?"
Alexis stepped further into the warehouse her mind conjuring an endless stream of horrible things she might find.
"Who's there?" she called out. She waited but the voice didn't speak again. Alexis kept going. Step by step the darkness felt like it was getting denser, more suffocating.
She had to find her mum.
The floor beneath Alexis' feet became wet... and sticky. The suddenness of the change made her start, almost falling. She didn't dare crouch down to feel the floor, to try and figure out what was making it wet. She had a feeling she didn't want to know.
"You came," the Voice spoke again. It echoed through the dark and empty warehouse.
"Who are you?" Her own voice was calm, even. She had no fear to feel. How? She didn't know and she didn't question it.
"Your mother said you would be joining us. I'm glad to see she wasn't wrong. Though it does make all of this a bit awkward," the Voice said.
"She does know me best, you should've listened," she replied. Where was all of this confidence coming from? How was she standing up to something that she couldn't even see?
"Yes, I suppose we should've. However, maybe if you'd gotten here sooner there might've been at least one for you to leave with."
Alexis was suddenly confused. What had the Voice meant by us and what were these ones she was meant to have left with? Before she could voice the questions swirling around in her mind the Voice spoke again.
"Everyone tried so hard to protect you and in the end they all paid the price."
"What are you talking about?"
"This!"
With a snap the warehouse lit up with a thousand lights. The sudden brightness blinded Alexis. When her eyes finally adjusted, she wished the lights had never come on.
Panic bubbled up inside of her, a scream rising in her throat.
Blood.
So much blood.
All around her were bodies.
Her friends.
Her cousins.
Lucas.
Her mum.
They were all dead.
◆◆◆
Alexis bolted upright in bed a scream bursting from her lips. Slapping a hand over her mouth she felt the wetness on her cheeks. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it might break through her rib cage.
"Lex!"
"Bambina!"
She heard her parents running down the hallway but she couldn't move. Within seconds they were both bursting into her room.
"Alexis," her mum breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to turn to her, but all she could do was sit there shaking, with tears running down her face.
It had been so real. The blood, the bodies, everything. The faceless man. The man.
Oh god.
She remembered the faceless man. In the seconds before she woke he was the last thing that she'd seen. He was tall and bald, dressed in a suit but that was it. His face had been like a doll's before the features are painted on.
"Sweetheart, it's okay. Everything is okay," her mum soothed her. She could feel her dad's hand stroking her hair, her mum sitting beside her, holding her shaking body.
"What happened?"
Alexis tried to speak, to explain. When she opened her mouth though, no words came out. Once she'd taken a few deep breaths to calm down, she started to feel stupid. It had just been a dream but she'd screamed like she was being attacked. She'd scared her parents for nothing.
"Nothing. It was just a bad dream. I'm sorry." She didn't dare meet their eyes. She felt ashamed that she'd let her subconscious shake her so wholly.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Shaking her head Alexis just leant more into her mum's embrace. Looking over at her dad they locked eyes and she could see the understanding. She knew in that moment that while his nightmares might be different, they had the same outcome.
Death.
Blood.
Loss.
Being alone.
"I think I'm just going to try and get back to sleep."
"Do you want us to stay with you until you fall asleep?"
In that moment she was four years old again and she almost accepted the offer.
Almost.
"Thanks mum, but I'll be okay. I don't even remember what it was I dreamt about," Alexis lied. She didn't think she'd ever be able to forget the sight of her mother's lifeless body. Or her friends. Later on, when she woke again from a sweet dreamless sleep, she might wonder about why her dad hadn't been a part of the carnage in the warehouse.
With one last tight hug from each of her parents, they said their goodnights and their 'I love yous'.
Before the bedroom door shut completely her dad poked his head back through.
"Happy birthday bambina."
Chapter 29
When Alexis awoke hours later, the nightmare that had her screaming into the night was little more than a fuzzy memory. That is until she went downstairs for breakfast and her parents asked if she was feeling better. It was then that she remembered the horrors her subconscious had conjured.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream I guess," she said looking down at the breakfast in front of her. Raspberry and white chocolate pancakes with whipped cream. Her mum only made them on special occasions claiming they were too unhealthy to have all the time. Alexis didn't mind, it meant whenever they were made she enjoyed them all the more. Her parents were unusually quiet as she dug into her pancakes, probably exchanging looks about her.
"So, guests won't be arriving until four-ish so what are your plans for the day?" her mum asked.
"Um nothing really, help set up and then get ready."
"You don't need to worry about that, everything is about ready to go, we just need to put the snacks out on the tables before people arrive. Dinner will be ready by six-thirty because God forbid your aunts eat any later than that. There's nothing else for you to do except relax and get yourself ready."
"But-" Alexis tried to argue but was quickly cut off by her dad.
