AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Silence fell between them, broken only by the sound of Puzzle and Clue grumbling happily as they rolled around in the grass together.
“I need to see her,” Alexis finally said. “But first…” She slid a considering gaze in Ellie’s direction. “I’ve been dying to ask, what the hell is going on with you and Cal?”
Ah, there it was. She should’ve expected it. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. Something happened between you two at the wedding.”
Ellie looked down at her lap, picking at the frayed edge of her jeans. She thought about lying, but her sister would see through it. “Yes. Something happened.”
“I knew it! And…?”
“And what?”
“Was it good?”
“Oh my God.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
“I have nothing more to say about it.”
“Well, I do.”
Ellie sighed. “Lexi?—”
“No.” She held up a hand, stopping further protest. “I need to say my peace. You can’t keep holding my trauma over Cal’s head.”
“I’m not?—”
“Yeah, you are. You’re blaming him for what happened to me when he had nothing to do with it. It’s time to stop running and deal with it.”
“I need to stop?” Outrage burst through Ellie. “What about you? You always just charge on ahead. You focused on Shane’s problems and then Connelly and Veronica’s, but you never once took a moment to stop and process anything that happened to you.”
“That’s not true,” Alexis said softly. “I am dealing with it. In therapy. And in the middle of the night, with Shane holding me through the nightmares. The difference is I don’t want to dwell on it like you do. I don’t want it to define my entire life. I want to be known as more than just the only surviving victim of the Shadow Stalkers. I’m more than what they did to me. The fuckers. May they rot in hell.” Tears flooded her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She touched the thin scar on her throat where Jaxon Thorne’s knife had sliced open her neck. “And I’m more than what Jax did to me. He’s a very damaged man who was consumed by rage and drugs. I’ve forgiven him for it. Shane has forgiven him. Why can’t you?”
Ellie’s throat closed up. “He tried to kill you after you already went through the unthinkable. The Stalkers failed?—”
“Not for a lack of trying,” Alexis muttered.
“No, you survived them because you were smarter and stronger, and they underestimated you. They were never going to break you. But Jax… almost succeeded, all because he wanted to hurt Shane. He cut open your throat! You only survived by a fluke of luck.”
“Oh, Ellie.” Alexis pulled her in for a hug. “I’m still here, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.” She drew back and wiped away the tears Ellie couldn’t control. “You want to know what I think?”
Ellie gave a watery laugh and swiped at her running nose. “No, but you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“Yes, I am, and you’re not going to like it. I think you’ve been using what Jax did—and the fact that Cal took him on as a client—as an excuse so you don’t have to risk your heart. Because your heart is at risk with Cal. He’s so incredibly in love with you. Absolutely wild about you. And you love him, too.”
“I don’t?—”
“Stop,” Alexis said firmly. “You do. You have from the moment you met him.”
Ellie’s face flushed hot. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, searching for a counterargument but finding none.
“Come on,” Alexis prompted, bumping her shoulder. “Just admit it already.”
“No.”
“Ellie Mae, don’t you lie to me.”
