"Gabby, are you not hungry?"

I look at Amelia who has her mouth full of food and her chin is covered in sauce. "No, I'll eat later." I give her a tight smile.

I'm ripping apart the napkin, tearing it to pieces. Ever since Alexander said those words to me in the morning, I have that nervous feeling at the bottom of my stomach, making me sick whenever I think about it.

I don't know what he wants to talk about, but I know it has something to do with everything that happened between us. And, yes, maybe I was ready to talk about that ... thing between us yesterday night, but today I'm not anymore.

Not after I threw all those words at his face last night.

I shouldn't have done that!

Like it wasn't bad enough that I kissed him. I had to dig an even bigger hole for myself. And there goes my promise of ignoring him and living like he doesn't exist.

"We can go outside if you finished eating," I tell Amelia.

She nods happily. She puts one more vegetable spoon in her mouth, wipes it with a napkin and jumps down from the chair, still chewing on the food.

"Swallow down first, Amelia," I remind her.

She stops in her tracks, turns around and makes sure I see her chewing on the potato and swallows down. She opens her mouth then to show me it's empty. "And now we can go!" I jump down from my seat and follow her outside.

•••

When I hear Alexander's motorcycle coming to the driveway, I swear I feel my heart jump in my throat and feel my lungs squeeze. I stop pushing Amelia on a swing and she almost bumps in me when I lose my concentration and my focus.

"Gabby!" Amelia squeals.

I push her again, but my thoughts are somewhere entirely else. I hope Alexander won't come back here. Or even better, I wish he forgot about the words he said to me.

I don't know why I'm so nervous. I was delusional if I thought he wouldn't want to talk about this.

I swallow the bile in my throat down and take a deep breath. I can deal with this – with him.

I feel the prickling at the back of the neck, that weird tingling. I put my hand behind my neck and look around.

I see Alexander standing at the house with his legs wide and his arms crossed over his chest, unmovingly staring right at Amelia and me.

Honestly, that guy is scary. With his intimidating eyes and deep look that I feel across all this distance and then with all his tattoos ...

"A word, Little one," he calls out, not moving an inch from his spot.

I break our stare to look at Amelia who's looking at him with curiosity. I know she's not used to Alexander since he completely ignores her and I think he's a mystery to her. I also think she might be afraid of him, especially after the last time that he snapped at her. And that was all my fault.

I look back at Alexander. "I can't right now," I call back with a steady voice. "It'll have to wait."

I see him lifting an eyebrow. Otherwise, he still doesn't move an inch, still insisting on that intimidating pose. "Don't you think I've waited long enough already?" he throws back.

I bite down on my lip. "I'm babysitting your sister. Or do you want to talk in front of her?" I use this as an excuse to buy myself some more time to put myself together a little more.

Alexander shrugs in response. "I don't give a shit."

"Well, I do!" I say back angrily. I can't believe how inconsiderate he truly is. Amelia is just a child! And cursing in front of her. He truly doesn't have any manners. And a heart, obviously.

Alexander unwraps his arms and lets them fall down at his sides. I see his lips curl up. "You can try running away from this all you want, Gabrielle, but I'm going to find you every time. I'll be waiting in my room." These are his last words before he turns and walks back around the house.

His words leave a hurricane in my mind. Literally. I feel disoriented and I just don't know what to expect from him anymore. He's hot and then he's cold.

"Gabby, catch me!" Amelia says, running away from me. I didn't even realise when she jumped down from the swing, I was so occupied with my own thoughts.

I stand up from the grass and wipe my knees to get rid of the mud. I look at the Amelia who's running as fast as her tiny legs will let her, looking behind her to see if I'm behind her.

I take a deep breath and run after her. "Oh, you just wait when I catch you!" I playfully yell after her, making her giggle and run even faster.

I don't know for how long we keep playing around in the back yard. Amelia makes me forget about the time and it's because of her I forget all about the thing with Alexander and basically everything else that I worry about otherwise. She's like a healer for my mind.

Rosalyn finds us back there when she comes home from work. Amelia notices her before me. "Mummy!" she squeals and runs to her.

Amelia hugs Rosalyn's knees. "Dear God!" Rosalyn says, brushing Amelia's hair. "You're all dirty. We need to get you cleaned up before your grandparents come."

Amelia looks up at Rosalyn and pouts. "Do they really need to come, mummy?" she asks in a small voice, not being happy about their visit.

Are they really that bad that no one wants them here?

Rosalyn puts her hands on Amelia's shoulders and looks down at her with a serious look. "Of course they have to. Aren't you happy to see them again?"

Amelia looks down at the floor and there's a small shake of her head. Rosalyn looks at me and I just stand there awkwardly, not knowing what to do and what to think. I think it's best if I give them both some privacy to talk about this.

I wave at Rosalyn in greeting and then point my thumb to the house, indicating that I'll just go inside. Rosalyn gives me a nod.

I wash my hands in the kitchen. When I look down at my sweatpants, they're covered in grass and mud. I only hope this is going to wash out.

I head up the stairs, humming a soft melody to myself. I wipe the sweat off my brow and think about just thinking a quick shower since I'm all sweaty from running around outside with Amelia. And the high temperatures don't exactly help, either.

I stop once I come at the top of the stairs and see Alexander's door being opened. That tight knot is back again in my chest and my heart beats wildly against my ribcage.

I silently walk towards my room, hoping that Alexander won't hear me. I put my hand on my doorknob.

"Come on right in, Gabrielle!"

I close my eyes and inhale sharply. Can't I have at least a bit of luck in my life?

Alexander appears at the doorframe then. Without a shirt, having his chest on full display. I swallow. Oh, he isn't going to make it any easier for me.

"Can't I go take a shower first?" I try to buy some more time.

Alexander looks me up and down, his eyes sweeping my body up and down quickly. "No," he says and gestures with his hand to go in his room.

I groan to myself and go past him. "You know, for someone who ordered me to ignore you and don't talk to you, you're doing an awfully bad job at doing the same thing," I mutter.

Alexander grabs my arm before I have the chance to get fully past him. "Don't fucking push it, Little one. We've already got enough shit to talk about, don't add any more," he growls, his voice close to me.

I don't look at him. I nod curtly so he releases my arm.

I walk into his room and go to the far corner, standing by the window and turning around. Alexander closes the door and that's when I really start to worry and panic in what situation I found myself in.

I try to keep my face neutral and try not to show any fear. He comes closer to me and I cross my arms on my chest when I feel chills run down my body.

We keep staring at each other for long moments, neither of us saying anything. I won't be the first one to say anything. I want him to start and see where we're at.

Alexander leans on his desk and crosses his ankles, putting his hand back on the edge of the desk for support. I absolutely ignore how this does wonders to his muscles, especially his biceps.

I lift my head even higher.

"Firstly, Little one, you're never going to speak to me like you did last night," he starts.

I'm not surprised he's addressing this first. I nod my agreement. "Sure. When you start being nice to me, I'll return the favour."

Alexander lifts an eyebrow at me, cocking his head on the side a bit. I notice how his eyes get a shade darker. "Do you think this is a negotiation?" he asks incredulously.

I shrug. "I give what I get. Don't expect me to be nice if you're not. Been there, done that, and it didn't get me anywhere. I'm changing my game and the rules now."

Alexander traces his eyebrow and looks down at the floor. "I don't understand what you're saying half of the time ..." He shakes his head.

I sigh in desperation. I know it was going to take a lot of my energy to talk to him, but, dear God, he is difficult. "You understand the basics. You don't have to understand more than that."

When he looks at me again I see he's thinking about something, I can see it when he purses his lips on the side, probably deciding if he should say something back or not.

"Fine. Any other conditions on your part?" he asks with heavy sarcasm.

I smile at him with a fake smile and shrug. "I'll tell you if I remember any."

I see his jaw tick and see his muscles tense. "About my migraine and what happened in the room – you're not going tell anyone about it," he decides.

I cock my head to the side. I realise that now, talking to him, I'm not afraid anymore. "Oh, really?" I drag out to mock him.

Alexander opens his mouth and blinks at me, narrowing his eyes. He stands up straighter and takes a step forward, trying to intimidate me. I don't give him what he wants to see. He can't break me that easily. "Yes, really. And if I find out you said anything to anyone ..." He shakes his head. "You know what I'm capable of."

I let my arms fall down to my sides as I glare at him. "Your empty threats don't scare me anymore, Alexander."

"Empty?" he laughs. He comes even closer to me, closing the distance between us so he's just a few steps in front of me. "Do you want to really test how fucking empty my words are?" He says lowly, his voice quiet.

I roll my eyes. "Oh, cut the crap. I won't tell anyone about it. I'm not the one who's heartless here," I throw at him, saying the words without thinking them through.

His eyes harden and he clenches his jaw. I notice he balls his hands into fists and he starts breathing faster.

I quickly try to change the subject. "Can I say something now?"

Alexander doesn't answer me, he just keeps staring at me, letting me know that I better think twice before I say something stupid.

"I want to apologise for how I acted that ... other night. I think I don't need to point out how drunk I was, you were there. But I hope it didn't cause any troubles between you and Sophie. You can tell her that I'm sorry and I actually want to talk to her about it if she's willing to let me explain."

All trances of anger disappeared from Alexander's face and is now replaced with disbelief. He's staring at me like I just said something absurd. "Why are you concerning yourself so much with Sophie?"

"Uhm." I stare at him. "Because she thinks there's something happening between us that isn't?" I shake my head at even the idea of me and Alexander having anything. "Look, I don't know if she knows about what happened and if you told her, but tell her I need to talk to her."

Alexander puts his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his feet. He chuckles, looking at me funnily. "That's really interesting." I continue staring at him, waiting on him to elaborate while he's still smiling. "So you remember the kiss. But don't remember Sophie calling you a whore?"

I gasp. My eyes widen and I step back. "She ... she saw it?" I ask. That's what I feared the most. I hope Alexander isn't lying about this because I really don't remember anything about this.

He nods. "Yup."

"Oh. Oh, that's bad." I put my hand on my forehead. I swear if I created problems in their relationship, I'll probably just pack and leave and lock myself in some room so I never can cause anyone any troubles again. "I need to talk to her, she's thinking –"

"You don't need to do anything with her because what I do with others doesn't concern her."

I drop my hand from my forehead. "Aren't you dating her?" Is he messing with me? Is he doing this to confuse me?

Alexander scowls. "No."

I flinch at his harsh words. "But –"

"I was never dating her, would never date her and whatever there was between us, is not anymore. Now, stop crying about it. Fucking girls," he mutters.

I stare at him in shock, thinking his words through. "Because of me?" I ask quietly. "It ended ... because of me?" I'm almost too afraid to ask.

Alexander sighs. "For fuck's sake, no. We were already over that night."

Oh, thank you, God. I have the urge to just wrap my arms around Alexander and cry out in relief, thanking him in every possible way. I don't do anything that stupid, of course.

"Alex! Come down and greet your grandparents," Rosalyn suddenly calls from downstairs.

"Fuck," Alexander curses. He goes through his hair with his hand. "Fuck."

I watch him in silence.

"Go to your room and if you know what's good for you, don't come downstairs," he orders me, staring deep into my eyes. "Just ... stay up here, yeah?" he murmurs distractingly.

He wants to go out of the room when I notice he's still shirtless. "You're going down without wearing a shirt?" I call after him.

Alexander looks down as if just now realising he's not wearing a shirt. He comes back, grabs the first shirt he sees and pulls it over his head. He doesn't look at me again as he goes out, leaving the door open.

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