AllFreeNovel
Share Us
THIRTY-EIGHT
ALIZE
The last fewdays on campus pass quickly.
True to his word, Alex teaches me how to use a gun. We spend a few hours each day on a secluded part of campus, where he takes me through the paces—gun safety, the different parts, how to hold it, how to discharge it. He even promised to get me my own once we’re in England.
He’s a great teacher, though I might be just alittle bitbiased. I’ve always been a fast learner, but being rewarded with kisses and sex after each lesson definitely helps. With classes and exams complete for the semester, there’s a lot of time to spend together.
And each second I spend with him makes me more sure that I want to give our relationship another try. It doesn’t feel the same way it did before our breakup. Things actually feel better. It’s not like Alex’s changed that much.
I’m the one who has changed the most.
We still argue, but I hold my own more. I challenge him on the things that are important to me, and I’ve decided I’m never going to hold my tongue at the expense of my feelings. Sure, he pushes me around all he wants.
But I can do it too, and I’ll do itworse.
That’s the secret to a better relationship—keeping him just a little bit scared of me. He’s not terrified enough to be anxious all the time, but there’s just enough fear there that he’ll think twice before hurting me the way he did before.
Though Cassidy is the literal scum of the earth, she did me a favor leaking my identity. Now I’m on the other side of it all, I’malmosthappy it happened. The situation gave me a chance to become the woman I am today. Staring down death was what I needed to uncover the parts of myself I had kept hidden from the world, from myself even.
I like the person I’ve become.
“Did they find her in time?” I ask Alex.
We’re sitting in the lounge of the private airport, waiting for the jet to be refueled for our flight to his home country. Tara, Nya and the boys should be here soon too, so we can say our goodbyes and go our separate ways for the holiday.
He looks up from his phone, raising his eyebrow. “Who?”
I swipe across my neck with my thumb. “The bitch we left in the basement.”
“Oh.” Recognition flashes on his face. “Yes,” he says. “I forgot to send you the link to the article.”
Now I’m intrigued. Part of me hoped she would die—and I didn’t even feel all that bad about it, either. I can’t imagine a universe where Cassidyisn’ta racist psycho. The world doesn’t need people like that.
Alex pulls up in the article on his phone.
Lady Cassidy Coldwell Admitted in Serious Condition after Drug Overdose in Switzerland.It’s a typical salacious article from a British tabloid. Too many irrelevant ‘facts’ that sound like lies from ‘sources,’ and not enough actual journalism.
I’m skimming through the paragraph describing her family’s unceremonious fall from grace after her father was arrested for swindling some aristocrats in their social circle out of millions when Alex’s phone starts ringing.
It’s an unlisted number.
He pulls the phone away quickly, ending the call.
“Who is that?” I ask.
There’s a hint of annoyance on his face that makes me think he knows the number. “Probably my brother,” he huffs.
The one that he says ran away? “Why didn’t you answer?”
He rolls his eyes. “Because I don’t feel like talking to him right now, Alize. Now, do you want to finish reading the article, or should I send you the link so you can read it on your own time?”
I don’t like the edge in his voice.
But, I know I can’t exactly grill him on why he doesn’t want to talk to his brother—or if it reallyishis brother. It’s clear Ezra hasn’t told him about the conversation I had with my father yet, and I don’t want to do anything that might make him want to.
He might have promised me that he wouldn’t but I’m no fool. He’s Alex’s friend first, and friends always look out for each other.
