Chapter 37: Chapter 37

Alexis paced back and forth in front of her bed fuming. She should have taken her mother's advice and pulled Odessa's hair. That damn woman was everywhere. She'd left home willing to give Ray a chance to explain himself. She was so ready to listen until she saw Odessa, sitting there and talking to him like she had every right to. But then again it was her fault, wasn't it? She'd served Ray on a silver platter when she'd told Odessa she could have him.

Even so, she didn't think Ray would fall for her tricks. They'd signed the divorce papers. So then why did he keep seeing her? Wasn't there a rule about not keeping in touch with exes or something? Dammit. Why was she letting that woman get to her? Her intention hadn't been to fight with Ray. She had carried the ring in the hopes that he'd get down on one knee and propose the right away after they'd made up. But that Odessa kept ruining things. She wouldn't even excuse herself when they were arguing. She sat there with a small smile on her face mocking Alexis, celebrating the fact that they were fighting. In front of her.

"Aarrgh bitch" Alexis kicked her bed then swore again. She had to get out of the house or she was going to harm herself. Or anyone who crossed her path. Moving to her closet, she took out the few dresses she'd left behind. She was going to go out partying and forget about Ray and Odessa. She wouldn't spend another minute thinking about those two. No way. If Ray wanted to be with that witch then she wasn't going to get in his way. He could have her for all she cared.

Two hours later, Her efforts were in vain. She'd hit the club with so much energy and had started by dancing with almost every man there. Most of them were eager to dance while others even asked for her number. But as usual, there were some who wanted more than just a dance. After dancing with two guys who couldn't keep their hands to themselves, she left the dance floor and found a sit by the bar. That's where she was nursing her second drink. The bartender was chatty and cute. He kept coming back to talk to her when he wasn't busy and Alexis had a feeling that he had a crush on her. That was good because she could use some attention. Just a little to make her feel special, anything that wasn't the jealousy she felt.

A tap on her shoulder made her swing her head back. "You?"

"Yes me. We seem to be bumping into each other a lot lately. What are you doing here?" Copeland asked and Alexis lifted her glass.

"Just having a drink"

"Alone?"

"Yeah. Why are you here?"

He pointed to a group on the other side of the club "I'm here with my friends. Do you want to join us?" any other day she would have jumped at the opportunity to make new friends. But today she didn't feel like meeting new people and pretending to be interested in whatever they had to say.

"No sorry. I'm not good company right now"

"Okay," he shrugged taking the seat beside her. "I guess I'll just have to be the good company then"

She shook her head "No you don't have to stay with me. I'm fine, Just go back to your friends and have fun"

"Alexis I can't leave you here all by yourself. You either come with me or I stay here with you. I don't mind"

"Are you sure?" she asked because drinking alone in a club wasn't fun. It was sad and she didn't want to feel sad. It would lead her to start thinking about Ray and then she'd remember their time together and how happy they were until everything went downhill. She had to wonder if they would ever go back to being that way. Was there a chance that he would get out of jail? And if he did would he still want her or would he go back to Odessa?

"Now I am. There is no way I'm leaving you alone. You look sad and sad people shouldn't be alone"

"Thank you. I don't want to talk to people but I also don't want to be alone"

"Say no more." he turned to the bartender "Another glass for her and a beer for me please" the guy nodded but his behavior had changed. He was throwing daggers at Copeland, probably because he'd interrupted their conversation. Poor guy.

She lost count of how much she'd drunk. Alexis vividly remembered Copeland helping her out of the club and into his car. After that she passed out, only to wake up in a strange house. She sat up slowly, aware of a headache pounding in her skull. It wasn't so much from drinking because she didn't really have hangovers. Maybe from all the dancing, she'd done the previous day. She looked around wondering where she was. Had she been kidnapped again? No. That would really suck and she'd get really mad this time. Retracing her steps yesterday, she remembered Copeland. Was this his house?

Of course, it was. There was a frame with his photo on the nightstand beside the bed. It had to be a recent one because he was in a suit, looking like the boss he was. She saw the man she'd met that first day she had started working at his company. Hard and cold. Smiling she threw her legs off the bed. He was nice. Taking care of her the way he did last night when he could have taken her home and dumped her on her parents. She would have woken up to a never-ending lecture about the dangers of drinking too much alcohol. As if she didn't know her father was worse in his teenage years. Shaking her head, she got up. The house was quiet. Was Copeland still asleep? Wait. If she was in his bed where had he slept? The couch?

Alexis tiptoed out of the bedroom. It was a small apartment and she was glad to know the man was a control freak like her. There weren't dirty clothes lying around. It was neat and clean and empty. "Duke?" she called out heading to the living room. "Hello, anyone home?" silence. Had he left her in his house alone? Who did that? What was she supposed to do? Leave or wait for him? Make coffee. If he wasn't back by the time she was done, she would leave him a note, thanking him for taking care of her. Heading to the kitchen, she found the coffee beans easily so she opened a drawer looking for a spoon. The first one she opened had knives. The second was full of spoons.

"Bingo," she said taking one out. As she was closing the drawer, something shiny caught her eye making her stop. It was in the corner and she had to open the drawer all the way out to see what it was. She let go of the handle and jumped back when it fell down, everything clattering to the floor. She froze listening to the sound the spoons made when they made contact with the marble floors. "Oh my God" there in the middle of that mess lay her bracelet.

She'd lost it somewhere between the accident and the hospital. She had asked her parents if they'd seen it but they said no. Alexis had even gone back to the hospital and asked for the paramedics who had brought her in. They'd sworn she didn't have a bracelet when they found her so she'd thought Connor had taken. If he had, what was it doing in Copeland's house? In his cutlery drawer at that? Where had he.... She took a step back. Was he the one who killed Connor? And she was in his house alone? Run Alexis. Run.

She tried moving but stepped on one of the spoons and ended up tripping. She caught herself on the kitchen aisle just as she heard the front door opening. He was back. If he found out that she knew it was him, what would he do to her? She ran out, Her only thought to distract him from going to the kitchen. "You're back," Alexis said breathing heavily. She only needed a few minutes so she could escape.

"And you're awake. Sorry for leaving you alone. I went to get breakfast"

"Oh that's really nice of you" her voice was too shrilly.

"Are you okay? You sound weird"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Too much alcohol makes my voice sound weird"

"I'll get you a glass of water," he said making her jump in front of him.

"Oh no no no. It's fine. Let's have breakfast" dumb Alexis. You're trying to leave, not stay for breakfast.

"Okay. I'll get the plates then"

She took his arm and dragged him to the couch "Stop worrying. No need to be so formal. We're friends, aren't we?"

He smiled "Yes. You're right." he handed her a coffee and pulled her to sit beside him. "I brought doughnuts, bagels, and cupcakes because I didn't know what you liked"

"Doughnuts are just fine." he handed her one and she took it trying to come up with a plan. She couldn't let him go to the kitchen but he was bound to head there any second. "Duke"

"Mmm" when he smiled like that, he looked so normal. Alexis wondered what his reasons were for killing Connor. How did they know each other? What would drive him to kill a complete stranger? And should she be scared of him or was it just a one-time thing? But to kill someone in cold blood, didn't that make him a murderer?

"Thank you for not taking me home. My parents would have been disappointed if they saw me like that"

"It's not a problem. I would have taken you to your apartment but I didn't think it was a good idea to leave you alone"

She swallowed. How did he know about her apartment? Did Ray tell him? "Thank you. That was really nice of you"

"Anything for you my little bird," he said taking a bite of the bagel. It was the second time he'd called her that. She didn't want to know why he kept calling her 'little bird'. If she asked too many questions, she'd spook him. So she kept her mouth and ate her breakfast. Alexis was so busy trying to find a way out instead of actually eating, that she missed her mouth and spilled coffee on herself.

"Crap," she said standing up. Copeland did too.

"Don't worry. I'll get you something to clean the mess with" he said hurrying to the kitchen. She couldn't stop him this time so she did the only thing she could think of. Ran out the door barefoot. There was an elevator but she knew she couldn't waste time waiting for it so she took the stairs. She knew the second he figured out why she was running because he went after her.

"Alexis stop!" he bellowed running down the stairs after her. She didn't look back. Alexis ran into the street not caring that she was barefoot. The dirt and stones digging into her feet might have hurt but she didn't dare stop. With Connor, she knew the worst he would do was beat her. If she pushed him enough, he might have attempted to rape her. It wasn't something any woman should go through but she knew for a fact that she would have fought him to the end. Even talked him out of it.

But Copeland? She didn't know him at all. If he was capable of killing Connor, what would he do to her? Call her stupid but she wasn't going to sit around and wait for him to kill her too. She didn't want any explanations. The cops would have to find out why he did it. All she wanted was to get away from him. His feet thudded behind her and she knew he was close. Too close. Without thinking, she darted to the street, in the middle of the road. Time slowed down. Copeland stopped watching as the driver in the car coming towards her stepped on the brakes. Alexis' eyes were on him. She used her eyes to convey that she knew what he'd done and that she would rather be run over by a car than spend another minute with him.

The car knocked her a few feet back. In her peripheral vision, she saw Copeland running back to his apartment before she landed on her back. "Son of a bitch" she swore groaning. The driver had gotten out of the car and was looming over her. "Miss are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm...." she stopped talking as the sound of another reached her ears. Copeland had gone to get his car. He was the one who drove her there from the club, and she'd left everything back in his house. Even her phone. Jumping up, she made a split second decision. She bolted to the car that had hit her and was glad to find the driver's door open and his keys still in the ignition.

"Hey what are you doing?" the man asked banging a hand on the window. Damn, he was fast.

"Call the police," she told him driving away because Copeland's car was right behind her. The guy called her a few names taking his phone out. Alexis hoped he was calling the police. She had never wanted to be caught so much than she did at that moment.

Copeland was on her tail, yelling at her to stop so he could explain. Like she was that stupid to actually stop. Since it was still early in the morning, the traffic was light but soon the streets would be filled with cars. Alexis stepped on the gas, overtaking a car that was going too slow. All of a sudden she remembered that last time she'd raced with Ray. That had been fun especially since he'd dared her. It seemed like it happened years ago when it was just a few months back. Time sure flies. She thought, passing another car. The drivers honked at them, yelling profanities but she couldn't care less about them. If that man, who's car she'd stolen had called the police, they should have been there already. What was taking them so long?

This is what happened in the movies. The cops took too long to arrive and the protagonist died. Am I good person? What would people say about me if something happens? Why was she thinking about that? Because she'd made mistakes. One of them being Connor. Getting him kicked out of school should have been enough. She didn't have to frame him and send him to jail. It was a stupid mistake that had led to that exact moment. If she had let him be, this wouldn't be happening to her. She wouldn't be fighting with Ray. He wouldn't be locked up. Copeland wouldn't be a murderer. So much was happening because she couldn't accept that Connor had stopped loving her. Which made her wonder, what would people say about her? If this was the end for her, what would her parents, siblings, friends, Ray, say about her?

She must have slowed down because Copeland was behind her, bumping into her tail light. She jerked in her seat. Was he trying to run her off the road? Shit. She drove faster. Without knowing, she ran a red light and missed colliding with a truck. Too shaken up to scream, she stopped just as she heard another car colliding with the truck she'd missed. Alexis turned, looking at the rear windshield in horror as Copeland's car flew in the air then landed on the pavement upside-down with a resounding thud, glass shards flying everywhere.

Knowing an accident had happened was one thing. But watching it happen? It was life-altering. That could have been her. One minute late was all it would have taken for the car she was driving to flip through the air like that. As the sirens blared from the distance, all she could think about was she could have died today.

What was the last thing she told her parents before leaving the house? And her brothers? Ray? When was the last time she'd told him she loved him?

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Anyway, that was unexpected. I wasn't going to kill Copeland. It just happened and I think it's for the best. He was like a loose end that would have come between Alexis and Ray. But I can revive him if you guys want. Just say the word