Holding On (Memories) (8 page)

I tilt my head to the side. “Do we need to put a “city” in there? Can’t we just call her Crayola in honour of her make-up?”

Lexy snorts, covering her face with her hands. She bends forward, her whole body shaking. I grin again, fighting my own laughter.

Honestly, I’m so bloody brilliant I think people would pay to have my sense of humour.

I’m just saying.

Lexy sits back up, wiping under her eyes. “Yep. Yep, we could go for that.” She nods.

Alec strolls into the kitchen towards Lexy, and wraps his arms around her shoulders from behind. He rests his chin on her shoulder,
and her face automatically turns into his. I feel a stab of jealousy as I watch them together. I’m starting to really miss Carl – and as irritated as I am with him right now, I’d give anything for a cuddle.

“All right, Princess?” he says to her.

She smiles. “Yep. Just talking about tomorrow.”

Alec grunts, sitting next to her.

“Don’t be grumpy,” I playfully scold him. “It’s a party.”

“Yeah, well I can’t say I’m looking forward to seeing Adrian.” His jaw visibly clenches. Lexy leans into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He kisses the top of her head.

“It’ll be fine,” she soothes. “He’s not a bad person, he’s just… Used to getting what he wants.”

“Why does that sound like almost everyone I’ve met in this city so far?” Alec says dryly. I smile in agreement, amused.

Lexy sits up straight. “Excuse me?”

Both Alec and I raise our eyebrows, and she backs down, smiling sheepishly.

“Okay, okay,” she acquiesces. “But I’m not that bad. Anymore.”

“Unlike your brother.” Alec glances at me and smirks. My expression hardens.

“That is because Bing is an arrogant pillock,” I reply, mentally patting myself on the back for using one of my prepared words for him.

“She has a point.” Lexy shrugs.

“Off subject. Back to Adrian – remember that night at the Bonfire Party?” Alec reminds me, and Lexy looks down. I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m just saying I was ready to break his neck, okay? So forgive me if Adrian’s presence at the party tomorrow night stops me from looking forward to it that much.”

I sigh. “Like I told Lexy, if anyone tries anything, I will go country bumpkin ninja bitch on them. Sorted?”

Alec stares at me blankly for a second, and turns to Lexy. “Did you give her sugar today?”

Lexy shakes her head. “No. She’s just being normal.”

“I don’t think Jen knows how to do normal.”

I get up, grab my coat, and make to leave. I smack the back of Alec’s head as I leave.

“Ow! You-”

“Bye see you tomorrow!” I yell, grinning. I step out of the house, shutting the door behind me, and make my way to the bus stop down the street. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I reach for it.

Carl:
I have to work late tonight. Talk tomorrow instead?

Me:
Can’t. Si’s party.

Carl:
Right. Have fun.

Me:
With Bing? Not likely.

Carl:
What?

I smile slyly, tucking my phone back into my pocket. I know it was a petty thing to do, but I don’t care. Maybe that’ll get his ass up here.

A horn beeps, and I looked up to find a red Ford driving towards me. I purse my lips, recognising the car as Bing’s, and he pulls up next to me.

“Get in.” He pushes the door open.

“Why?”

“Because I’m heading your way, that’s why. But hey, if you want to wait for the smelly public transport and get two buses to your flat, be my guest.”

Ten minutes in a car with Bing, or two smelly buses. That’s actually a tough decision.

“Tick
tock, Jennifer,” he says in a bored voice. “I have a place to be.”

I huff and climb in. “Is that a single, double, or
kingsize?” I ask him dryly.

“What?” He frowns as he pulls away.

“The place you have to be. Is it a single bed, a double or a kingsize?”

“Oh, ha, ha,” he deadpans. “You’re fucking hilarious. Do
you have your spot at the theatre booked yet?”

I pretend to examine my nails. “No, but I’m working on it. Rest assured, Samuel, you’ll have front row seats. After all, you’ll be my inspiration.” I smile sweetly.

“Are you doing a comedy show, or a pole dancing one? ‘Cause I gotta say, Jen, I don’t think much of your sense of humour, but the pole dancing could be a win.”

“The only pole I’m likely to dance around is the one I’ll swing into your head.”

“Feisty.” Bing grins. “Just how I like my women.”

“Oh, Bing, honey.” I shake my head. “You could be the last man on Earth, and I still wouldn’t be your woman. Trust me on that.”

He stops outside my block of flats, and I unbuckle the seatbelt. I’m about to open the door when I feel his hand touching my back lightly.

“That’s what you say now, Jen,” I say in a slightly husky voice. “One day, when you’re done with your little boy, I’ll be there waiting to show you how a real man works.”

She freezes for a second, and
I feel her back heave as she takes in a big breath.

“Asshole,” she breathes out, shoving the car door open, and jumping out. She swings the door shut and it slams loudly. My lips curl up in amusement as she stalks towards the main doors. She turns briefly, her blue eyes meeting mine.

I raise an eyebrow. She gives me a look and turns, her blonde hair flying with the movement of her head. I hear the shut of the door, and turn the car around, driving back the way we just came.

So I lied. I didn’t have anywhere to go, I just
wanted to get her pissed again, but she did that herself. She annoyed herself by asking which bed I was in next.

I had no intention of pursuing her. Well, no solidified intention, anyway, but her reaction to me being with another girl makes me really
wanna go after her.

There are so many things
wrong with it. Carl, for one, but goddamn that girl is attracted to me. That isn’t my usual arrogance, that’s the flipping truth.

I pull into the driveway at home, climb out, and go back into the house. Alec and Lexy are still talking at the kitchen table, and I pass right by to go upstairs.

Tomorrow night is Dad’s party. Tomorrow night Jen will be on my arm, all night, for everyone to see. Tomorrow night, I’m gonna have some fun.

“You’re not gonna like this,” Alec says, worry all over his face.

“What? What is it?” I look at him.

“Adrian got hold of my number somehow.”

“And…”

“And he has bigger balls over text than he probably does face to face.”

“What did he say?”

Alec sighs, putting his hand over his pocket. “Don’t worry. I shouldn’t have told you.”

“Damn right you should have told me!” I raise my voice. “What’s he said?”

“Princess-”

“
Nuh-uh.” I shake my head, pointing at him. “Alec Johnson, you tell me what he’s said right now so I can go and… Do something incredibly painful to him.”

Alec shakes his head. I storm acros
s the kitchen, smack his hand away, and take his phone from his pocket. He stands there in defeat, knowing he had no way to stop me. I scroll to his messages, clicking on a random number.

I scroll back, reading through them, and they’re all full of subtle threats. My throat closes up, and I wonder yet again if Alec coming to London was the best idea. I close my eyes, putting his phone on the table. I turn away, trying not to let the tears break free at the words I’m about to say.

“Maybe you should go back to Devon,” I whisper in a raw voice.

“What?” Alec's voice cracks.

“I said-”

“I know what you said!” he shouts. “Why would you say that? Why, Lexy?”

Tears brim in my eyes and I shake my head. “I just... After those texts, Alec… Maybe it's for the best. We could make it work, right? You said it yourself before.”

“Is that what you want? For me to go back?”

“It's your home, Alec.”

His stormy, grey-blue eyes meet mine for a second, and he crosses the room to look out of the window. “My home is wherever you are, Lexy. You are my damn home!”

I look down. “What if it’s for the best? What if being here in London is tearing us apart? All this bullshit with Adrian… Maybe it's making this harder than it has to be.” My voice is barely a whisper.

“No,” he says firmly. “No. No way.” He turns, swallowing the room with his determined steps. He grabs my face, his lips pressing against mine hard. I hold his arms and kiss him back, feeling what he's feeling. Desperation. Need. Hope. Love.

Tears stream down my face as he pulls away.

“I fought for you in Devon, Princess. I fought for you for weeks, and even when it all seemed hopeless, I kept fighting. I didn't let you go then. I followed you here from Devon. You know why? I followed you because there's nowhere else in this world I'd rather be than right by your side. I'm here, in London, with you. Because of you. I don't give a fuck if Adrian wants to punch me in the face or run me over with a bus, I'm not leaving this city alone. Not ever, Lexy.”

“Alec...”

“The only way you'll get me moving out of London is if you're by my side as my wife, Lexy!” he yells.

Tears fall harder, faster.

“It's you. It's always been you
, and it'll only ever be you! I'm not leaving without you. I mean it. When it's me and you, its forever, and no jumped up city boy is gonna get in the way of that.”

“It shouldn't be this hard,” I sob and fall into him. His arms wrap me tightly, and there's a desperation to the way he's holding me.

“Love isn't easy, Princess,” he says. “But it's what makes it worth it. Every day I fight for you because
you
are worth it. I won't stop, Lexy. I won't stop fighting for us. Tell me to leave, push me away, tell me you don't want this. You don't mean it. I know you. I know what you want, and it's what I want. Don't tell me I still have to prove it to you, even now?”

I shake my head. “You don't.”

He nudges my head up. His lips take mine, moving softly across them. “Then believe me when I say,” he whispers against my mouth. “...That I'll never leave this city unless you're beside me. Never. I won't let you go, Lexy, and I don't care who tries to make me. This is it. You are it. You are forever. Don't let him destroy this. We'll do it together, I promise. Just believe in it. Don't... Please don't let us go.”

I wrap my arms around his neck, and press my body against him, holding him to me. “I won't. I won't.”

He strokes my hair once before his arms circle my waist again. He buries his face in my neck, his lips brushing my skin. “We can’t give him what he wants. He wants me to leave, but I won’t. Tomorrow night, we’ll show him that. Just keep holding on, Princess. That's all we have to do.”

~

Lexy steps out of her room in a long pink dress. She fiddles with the bracelet at her wrist, and I smile. For all our bitching, I love my sister.

“Well, she scrubs up all right, huh, Dad?” I wink at him. Dad smiles widely, proudly.

“She ain’t bad, son. I still think me and you got the looks, though.”

Lexy looks up, smirking. “Yeah, okay, Dad. And Bing? Your tie isn’t straight.”

I look down, seeing that it is. “Bitch,” I mutter, as she stops in front of me. “When are Alec and Jen getting here?”

“Two minutes,” Mum says, leaving her room. All our eyes turn to her, and it’s clear to see who the most beautiful woman in the room will be tonight. With her dark hair curling around her shoulders setting off her floor length cream gown, there’ll be no competition.

We watch as the same look we’ve seen a thousand times comes over Dad’s face. His smile widens, and his eyes light up. He steps towards Mum.

“You’re beautiful,
Emmy,” he says, kissing her.

Lexy smiles, and I wrinkle up my face.

“Let’s leave the lovebirds to it, Lex,” I take her arm, and help her down the stairs.

She raises her eyebrows. “Who are you and what have you done with my asshole brother?”

I laugh. “I got the lecture earlier. Use my manners, be on my best behaviour, no chatting up the waitresses, no punching any guy that looks at you, and no swearing.”

She smirks again. “Third degree already, huh?”

“You know Mum. Etiquette is important.” I roll my eyes.

“Any chance of your trousers staying over your ass tonight, then?” Jen’s voice calls from the bottom of the stairs. I turn from Lexy, and look at her, almost stopping.