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"Sure, sure. What do you think this looks like?" Zach bit out, the tension between them surrounding us all. The tension was almost too much to take, and suddenly I was afraid that perhaps Drew had been right in trying to defend himself.
I could see the tension in my brother’s body, and without thinking, I stepped between them, trying to stop a fight before it even started, but knowing full well that I wouldn't have a chance if it did. "Both of you stop right now. I'm an adult, Zach, in case you've forgotten."
"Never said you weren't."
"Then what is your problem?"
Zach didn't take his eyes from Drew for what felt like an eternity, and then started to shake his head, appearing to let the situation go. "Look, honestly, I don't give a shit about what goes on between the two of you, but I highly suggest that you both think twice about it. It's not a good idea."
I frowned at my brother. I was more than pissed off with him. I was furious. "How dare you say something like that, Zach. Drew, let's go." I turned and grabbed Drew's hand, pulling him with me, but the instant my eyes met Drew's, I knew from the look he gave me that whatever had happened here wouldn't happen again.
"Drew?" I pleaded as he stood there glancing between my brother and me.
"Lexi, I'm sorry, but I just remembered I have something I've got to do." He looked down at me and dropped my hand.
I stood there, not sure what to say, as I watched him back away from us, finally tearing his eyes from mine. As he walked away from me, I fought the tears and the need to run after him. I felt like I was glued to my spot, my feet heavy and my heart hurting.
"Lexi, I'm sorry," I heard Zach say as I glanced over his shoulder to see if I could still see Drew, but he was already gone. Zach cleared his throat, pulling my attention to him. "Lexi, I'm sorry. I came over because I saw you earlier and wanted to talk about Mom and Dad and the situation with the house."
I tore my eyes from the direction Drew had gone off in and glared at my brother. "Look, if they want to move, who are we to stop them," I bit out. I was angry and now worried about Drew.
"I just figured you'd be upset, and that between us, maybe we could figure out a way to help them keep it."
I kept my focus in the direction that Drew had gone off in. "We'll talk at home. I can't do this right now. I have to go."
I ran from where Zach and Ann Marie stood and headed in the direction Drew had gone off in, sure that he was probably already long gone. I walked in a panic up and down the streets, stopping to ask a few people if they had seen someone by his description, but no one could help me. I spent the next forty minutes basically walking the same blocks in desperation to find him, but he was nowhere to be found.
After another forty minutes, I finally stopped. I was cold and exhausted. I was back at the coffee shop and decided to go inside to see if Drew was there.
I wandered in and took a seat by the fireplace, removing my jacket and letting the heat sink into me. I pulled my phone from my pocket, quickly checking my text messages, praying that he had messaged me, but there was nothing from him, only from my brother. Defeated, I let out a breath, quickly sent a text, and then headed to the counter to order a coffee.
Chapter 15
Drew
The only soundI heard was the crunching of the snow under my boots as I slowly walked up the hill back to the house. It had gotten colder in the hours that I'd been gone, and snow was falling harder now. I zipped my jacket up and wrapped my scarf up around my ears before placing my hood over my head. I shoved my gloved hands into my pockets, trying to warm them.
I was glad when the house came into view. The windows were all dark, Lexi probably having gone to bed long ago. The driveway was now empty. Zach must have come and picked up the car and was still with Ann Marie, and Barb and Jim had gone over to a charity banquet and were spending the night there.
I made my way quietly up the front steps and sat down on the rocking chair that always sat outside the front door, regardless of the season. I glanced at my watch. It was close to midnight; I should have been in bed hours ago, not out wandering the streets. I let out a deep sigh, listening to the silence around me and thinking about how good a hot shower and coffee would be right about now as a shiver ran through me.
I had walked around town for the last three and a half hours thinking about tonight and the situation that Zach had found Lexi and me in. I thought long and hard about what I was going to do. I knew I had made the right decision and that was to move on and pretend that nothing had ever happened between us, but that already felt wrong. As soon as I had resigned myself to that decision, the memories came back and I thought back to tonight.
Watching Lexi had been amazing, and so was spending time with her. There was something so light and refreshing about her presence that it calmed the endless ache in me. Spending time with her also completely ended the thoughts of Laura, something that hadn't happened in the last six months, no matter how hard I had tried to shut it off.
I thought back to the moment when I had realized I was going to kiss her, how calm and relaxed I had felt. It was our first kiss. Surely there should have been nervousness with it, but there was nothing. Instead, everything just ebbed and flowed in perfect harmony. She had felt perfect in my arms, and as my lips danced across hers, I felt my soul ignite with something I had never ever felt before.
That all ended when I had heard Zach clear his throat. That fire had died and was replaced with a feeling that I had been caught doing something that I shouldn't. Even though I knew we were both adults, I could tell by the look in his eyes that it bothered him to see me with his sister. Zach had been my best friend for years. The whole family had welcomed me with loving arms, and the last thing I wanted was not to be wanted. They were all the family I had.
I leaned back in the rocking chair, rubbing my legs with my gloved hands, trying to get some feeling back into them. This was going to be the hardest two weeks of my life. Staying in this house with Lexi right across the hall from my bedroom, practically within arm’s reach. There was no way I could do it, I decided.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked up local hotels. There had to be somewhere that I could stay. The longer I thought about it, I knew there was absolutely no way I would be able to stay here and not kiss her again. I wouldn't be able to look at her every morning and evening across the dinner table and hide what I was thinking every single second. Plus, if I ran into her in the kitchen again or crossed paths as she left the bathroom like I had done the other day, I would be in big trouble.
I pulled my hood tighter around my head and scrolled through the first website I came to and punched in the respective dates I was looking for and hit search. No vacancy flashed on the screen. By the time I got to the tenth hotel's website, they already had the words “no vacancy” clearly printed right on the front page, saving me the time. It was as if the universe was trying to tell me something. I decided to stop looking within town and began looking up hotels on the outskirts, but again there was nothing.
I pocketed my almost-dead phone and stood to unlock the door and go inside when something caught my eye. A light from the upstairs front window illuminated the snow on the front yard. Lexi was still awake, no doubt waiting to hear from me. She had texted me earlier, and like the scum I was, I’d just ignored her message. There was no way I could go inside now; I didn't want to be confronted by her.
I let out a breath and pulled my glove from my pocket, sliding my hand back into it. Then I tucked my hands into my pockets and sat back down, trying to ignore the fact that I was freezing. Watching the flakes dance down to the ground, I redirected my thoughts away from everything, and that was when I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket.
