Chapter 10: Chapter 10

She was behind a building waiting for him. What was taking so long anyway? He said he would meet her there in five minutes and that was ten minutes ago. He better have a good excuse for making her wait for so long. After a few more minutes, she went looking for him since patience wasn't one of her virtues. Rounding the corner, she realized that place looked familiar. Or was it the building? Alexis shrugged thinking she was wasting precious time instead of going to find him. Where was he?

She opened the first door and peeked inside. It was empty so she went to the next one. And the next and the next and they were all empty. She would have given up of the wind hadn't carried the sound of voices to her. A laugh to be exact. Following the direction of the wind, she walked and came to a stop on the other side of the building. Two people were talking and laughing and Alexis wanted to ask why they were there since this was her secret hideout but she froze when saw who it was.

"Connor?"

"Go away Alexis"

"Connor, I've been waiting for you and you were here all this time?"

"Are you stupid? I told you to go away"

"I'm not leaving until you explain what you're doing here with this girl. Who is she? Who are you?"

"I'm his girlfriend," the girl said flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"No, you're not. I'm his girlfriend" Alexis said trying to push the girl away from Connor but he grabbed her wrist to prevent her from getting to her.

"Stop it, Alexis. Leave her alone"

"But Connor you should be defending me. I am your girlfriend, remember?"

"Please stop with the drama. You were never my girlfriend. I don't love you and I never will so just leave us alone"

"Connor you can't do this to me. You promised to love me forever. You promised" she was now sobbing but the couple just laughed at her.

"Look at yourself, Alexis. Who will ever love you?"

"I do," a voice said from behind her. She turned around to see who it was but there was no one standing there.

"Who's there?" she asked wiping away her tears.

"It's me Princess"

"I don't know who you are. Show yourself"

"I'm standing right in front of you"

"But I can't see you. Where are you?"

"Right here, Princess.

"Here where? If you don't want to show yourself then don't bother me." she turned back to talk to Connor but he wasn't there. He'd disappeared. "Connor? Connor come back. You promised Connor. You promised"

"He doesn't deserve you, princess. Let him go"

"I can't. I love him and we promised to be together forever"

"Promises are meant to be broken, Princess."

"But..... But if I let him go then I'll be all alone."

"You've never been alone Princess. I'm here"

"But I can't even see you"

"That is because you don't want to see me. Open your eyes and look at me. Really look"

Alexis inhaled then exhaled slowly thinking that the only reason she couldn't see this mystery guy was because she was angry at Connor for breaking his promise. Jim had told her the breathing exercises worked for women who were in labor so they had to work for everyone else too. She smiled at that memory and slowly she felt the anger leaving her, seeping from her pores and disappearing into the wind. She opened her eyes and saw him materializing in front of her. From the shoes up to his legs, waist, stomach, chest, neck, jaw, lips...... A scream startled her awake. She shot up from the bed and immediately cradled her head. The massive headache pounding behind her eyes had her groaning in pain.

"Shit. Mom!" she called out rubbing her temples. "Mom"

"Your mom's not here," Ray said from the door making her snap her head up. Big mistake.

"Ugh. Go away Ray and on your way out tell Jayden to bring me some aspirin" she told him falling back on the bed. Laughing, Ray moved towards the bed and sat beside her.

"Here," he handed her a glass of water with two tablets. Without asking what they were, she swallowed them praying they would make her headache go away as soon as possible. "Feel better?" he asked taking the glass from her.

Alexis grumbled "No" then threw the covers over herself.

"Well next time you want to get drunk, think twice"

"Thank you for the medicine, Ray. You can go now"

"Go where?"

"Back to hole crawl out of every day" her eyes were closed so she didn't see him smirk.

"I wish I could but that hole is currently occupied. And now that you mention it, I do feel sleepy" Alexis wondered why he was telling her that. But this was Raymond so she was going to let him talk to himself while she went back to sleep. Her head was already feeling better and if she didn't move, she was sure the headache would disappear in no time. That was a good plan. Until she felt the bed shifting. Did he....? No. He wouldn't. Forgetting her head, Alexis spun her upper body around and came face to face with a grinning Ray.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Sleeping." he told her the corner of his mouth lifting up into a cocky grin.

"Not in my bed. That's for sure"

"Your bed? Look around. This is my bed. You're in my house Princess" he told her getting comfortable. Alexis froze remembering the dream she'd been having moments ago. She hadn't gotten to seeing the guy's face but she'd seen his lips. Her eyes darted down to Ray's lips to see if they belonged to the guy in her dream. Funny how she hadn't noticed how full they were. She must have been staring at them for a while because Ray leaned over her and rasped "Stop looking at me like that Princess."

"Like what?" she asked her voice coming out breathless. He inched his head closer to her and she couldn't help but drop her gaze to his lips again. Were they the same ones from her dream?

"Like you're asking for something you're not ready for" Ray was practically on top of her and Alexis thought that this is where she would normally push him away. But the hand he'd placed on her thigh made tingles of awareness shoot through her entire body and she swallowed, her throat having gone dry. What was happening? But more importantly, why wasn't she stopping it? "Alexis....." he started but the door burst open and Marjorie ran in, breaking the spell he'd woven around them.

"Oh my God Alexis...." she stopped midway realization dawning. "Am I interrupting something you guys?"

"Yes," Ray growled jumping off the bed. "Next time try knocking first," he told her and then he was gone.

"Wow. Sorry" she yelled at his retreating figure then turned back to Alexis. "You won't believe what just happened"

"What?"

"There was a man in my bedroom"

"And?"

"He is drop dead gorgeous."

"Where did he come from?" Alexis asked finally paying attention.

"Dropped from heaven I hope. And you should hear him talk Alexis. I almost had an orgasm when he opened his mouth"

"Almost? Are you sure you didn't go all the way?"

She sat on the place Ray had just vacated and Alexis felt a sliver of irritation. If Marj hadn't interrupted them would he have kissed her? Did she want him to kiss her? She tried remembering how it felt the first time Ray had kissed her. She was sixteen, and since it was her first kiss -which he had stolen BTW - and she hadn't been concentrating on how he made her feel. All she remembered was how his lips moved against hers. The act but not the emotions.

"Stop daydreaming and listen to me" Marj snapped her fingers in front of her face.

"Uh. I'm listening. Where did the guy come from?"

"He's Ray's friend. And he has an accent. Remember how we used to listen to the guys talk back in London?"

"He's British?"

"Oh yeah" Marj answered eagerly. "Did I mention how hot he is?"

"No you didn't" Alexis humored her waiting for the detailed description.

"Okay. So he's this tall" she pointed upwards and Alexis wondered if the guy was a giant. "Sexy, more than Ray sexy, in a... What's that color?" she pointed at the nightstand beside the bed.

"Burgundy?"

"Yes. Burgundy suit, light brown hair and well groomed. Don't get me started on how he smelled because we'll be here all day." Alexis didn't doubt her friend could talk all day. That's how Marjorie got when she was excited about something.

"Now I want to meet this guy that's got your panties in a twist"

"Oh,you can see him alright. But I call dibs on that one. I have plans for him. Delicious, sinful, wicked plans" she licked her lips probably imagining all kinds of dirty thoughts.

"He's all yours Marj. I'm not interested"

"Why? Because you're interested in Ray? Don't think I didn't see what was happening when I walked in"

"Nothing was going on"

"I am not blind Alexis. If anything, you're the blind one between us"

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean look at Ray. The man will probably walk on fire if it would make you happy. But what do you do? Run after that idiot Connor that doesn't even care about you. What is wrong with you?"

"If you think Ray is so great then why don't you take him."

"I would have Alexis. If he wasn't so in love with you, I would have tried to make him mine. But he can't see past you. Don't you see that?"

"No. And I don't want to" Alexis snapped throwing the covers off her so she could get up. She was done talking to Marjorie about things that didn't concern her.

"I never pegged you for a stupid person. You're smarter than this Alexis"

"Drop it Marj. I'm not interested in your guy or Ray so let it be"

"I am your friend and I have a right to snap you out of your stupidity when the need arises. The relationship you had with Connor is over. He's clearly moved on and so should you"

"I'm going to say this for the last time Marjorie. Stay out of my life. If I want to fight for Connor then I'll do it because it's my choice. Not yours"

"A stupid choice is what it is" she retorted and Alexis walked to the bathroom. She was done talking about Connor with Marjorie. Opening the door with more force than necessary, she slammed it shut, muffling whatever Marj was saying. That should teach her to stay out of other people's business.

Leaning on the door she noticed her attire for the first time. The dress she had worn yesterday had disappeared and in its place was an oversize T-shirt. It had to be Ray's since they were in.... She stopped. Where was she? This wasn't her house or his. Actually it looked like an apartment. Did it belong to his friend? Crap. He'd taken her to his friend's house while she was drunk? Why would he do that? She would have preferred to be in familiar surroundings. What did his friend think of her? Christ Alexis. Why do you care all of a sudden? Who cares what Ray or his friend thinks of you?

She straightened from the door. Last night she'd seen Connor again, kissing someone else. She was sure it wasn't the same girl because the one from the restaurant had brown hair. This one had blonde hair and was tall. Too tall that she towered over him. How many girls did he have? She had called him before going down to dinner and he'd said he was still studying for his exams. Were the answers down that girl's throat? She felt mad all over again. Connor was exactly what Marjorie had called him. A con. His promises were not worth a dime and she was going to make him regret ever lying to her.

Contrary to what Marj thought, she didn't want him back. He was a liar and a cheat. Who in their right mind would want to fight for a guy like that? She wasn't stupid. Ignoring the first incident was childish of her. A part of her had wanted to believe that he'd only looked for someone else because he missed her. For a long time she'd held on to his promise of loving her forever. He had been the one person who'd understood her need to flee from the place that reminded her so much of Jim. He'd told her how it felt when he lost his own grandfather and she felt like they were kindred spirits. Of course it was going to be hard for her to let him go.

Not anymore. After seeing him last night, she had understood that he was only playing with her. What he didn't know was that she could play too. Connor deserved what was coming for him. She wasn't just a Rutherford. A small part of her had come from a devil incarnate. A man so evil she never wanted to associate herself with anything to do with him. But at the end of the day, that man had gathered her. His blood and maybe a sliver of his cruelty ran through her. And she was going to unleash it on that bastard. He wouldn't know what hit him.

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Uh oh. That doesn't sound good