Chapter 8
The next morning I woke up next to Troy. He was snoring lightly, his face peaceful, his lips turned up into a smile. I carefully got out of bed and took a shower. It was our third day in that room and I could no longer ignore that longing feeling in the pit of my stomach, I longed to hold Rose in my arms to make sure she was safe from any harm; my maternal instincts were kicking in. It was time to put my plan into action. When I came out of the shower Troy was starting to stir. I walked to the closet and dressed up in a pair of shorts and a comfortable tank top. I got the phone from his pants and proceeded to dial a number as I walked over towards the bed. I sat next to a half-awake Troy who opened his eyes when he felt the mattress move from under my weight. He crawled over to me and decided to find a comfortable position with his head laying snuggly on my outstretched legs. I held the phone to my ear with one hand while the other I used to gently stroke his hair and caress his face. My movements caused him to close his eyes once again yet I was sure that he was still listening. A few moments later someone picked up on the other line.
“Hello?” a female voice said.
“Bea?” I asked to make sure.
“Yes, who is this?” she asked.
“It’s Lexi.” I replied, using the nickname my friends from my former school gave me. With my name being Alexia they did not want to call me Ally – they said it was too common – or Alex – they said it was too boyish.
“Oh! Lexi, how are you doing?” She said. “Whose number is this? Did you lose your phone?” she asked.
“It’s Troy’s.” I replied wearily. “And no, I didn’t lose my phone. Marc has it and he also has Rose. He also has me and Troy locked up in my room.” I said with a deep sigh.
“Why would he lock you up?” she asked.
“Do you remember what we did to Ralph and Jess a few months ago?” I questioned.
“Yes. The one where you locked them up… Oh!!!” she finally said realizing what she had just said.
“Uh-huh. He took matters into his own hands.” I conceded grudgingly. “And now I need you help to get back at him. I’m about to do something that will need both of our acting skills.” I said then continued to tell her of my plan.
“Oh no, I’m really sorry Lexi but I don’t think I can do that to him.” She said when I finished explaining my strategy. I smiled to myself, she was already in character.
“Please?” I begged, slipping into my own role. “If not for me then do it for Rose’s sake?”
“Perfect.” She approved. I could almost hear the smirk in her voice. “I’m heading over there now but I have to run some errands. I’ll just drop something when I get to his room okay?” she suggested.
“Sure! See you later.” I managed to say just before the line went dead.
Troy’s eyes were still closed when I finally put the phone down. I didn’t know how much he heard or even understood but it didn’t matter since I needed his cooperation for my plan to work. I cradled Troy’s head in my hands; he put his hand on top of mine and rubbed my hand with his thumb.
“Are you tired baby?” I asked him.
“Mm-hmm.” He replied. “I never thought you could last that long.” He said his voice hoarse and husky. “I’ve never met a woman who could…” he trailed off seeing my pout. “I’ve never met a woman who had this effect on me.” He whispered huskily as he sat up until his eyes were on a level with mine. He kissed me passionately until we were both panting for breath.
“I thought you said you were tired?” I asked him with a smirk.
“Yeah, well, I’m not that tired.” He said smiling at me. He kissed me again and his hands started crawling all over my body. A deep-throated groan escaped my lips when I felt the warmth of his hand envelope my breast, even through the fabric of my top. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, he moaned in pleasure. We were interrupted by three rapid knocks on the door followed by a frantic voice.
“Al!” the voice called out my name. “Please, come out. I need to talk to you.” It was difficult to think especially with Troy still kissing me senseless. I heard the voice again and it pulled me back from the depths of my desire. “Damn! I forgot you two are locked in there. Wait a minute.” The voice said again then I heard footsteps rushing from the door down the hallway. I finally recognized the voice as Ralph’s, Marc’s younger brother. I put restraining hands on Troy’s shoulders and just in time too, because at that moment the door opened and Ralph came bursting in. He froze when he finally saw the position Troy and I were in. Troy cursed under his breath before finally rolling off of me dragging the blanket with him to cover the lower half of his anatomy.
“What do you want Ralph?” Troy asked the beet red boy who was standing in the middle of the room awkwardly.
“I’m so sorry Troy. It’s just I-um-I…” I chuckled at his reaction.
“What is it Ralph?” I finally asked to calm everyone down.
“It’s about Jess. She’s been acting really weird these past few days.” He started.
“Okay then, why don’t you tell me what happened?” I suggested then I turned to Troy. “I’ll be back okay?” I said. Troy glared daggers at Ralph who in turn cowered under his murderous eyes. I captured Troy’s chin and turned his face towards me. I kissed him then I told him, “Why don’t you go back to sleep? I don’t know how long it’s going to take me so rest, since you’re so tired.” I whispered, he growled at me in response. I giggled at his reaction then I turned to Ralph. “Come on, Ralph. Let’s go.” I said as I got up from the bed. I looked at Ralph who was still flinching under Troy’s
watchful eyes.
“I am really sorry about this Troy. I just needed her help, desperately.”
“So what is going on?” I asked as we started walking towards the door.
“Jess is acting weird.” He started then continued when he saw my questioning eyes. “She’s been eating a lot, she throws up in the morning and she’s always tired.” I froze when I heard what he said. I looked back at Troy and we exchanged knowing glances.
“How long has she been acting like this?” I asked.
“About a week.” He replied.
“Let’s go.” I said and with that we left the room; but not without a final teasing from me to Troy. “Sleep well my love, you need it.” I said with a mocking smile. He threw a pillow at me but I closed the door just in time. I dragged Ralph to his room but stopped right at the door. “Now I’m going to ask you something and I need you to answer truthfully.” I told him seriously. “How much sex have you and Jess been having since you got together?” I asked. He flushed different shades of red and I could see the turmoil of emotions going on within him through his eyes.
“I-um-I-um…” I glared at him, bemused at his reaction. “The first was about two months ago; after the party at Jake’s house.”
“I didn’t ask when the first time was I asked how often.” I snapped at him.
“Often,” Was his single word reply. He blushed even darker at this.
“Protected?” I asked.
“Yes, but… um… the first was not.” He confessed. I shot a murderous glare at him and he raised his hands up in defence. “We were both drunk.” He whispered. His statement made me slap my forehead in exasperation. “Do you think she’s um…?” he trailed off.
“I seriously don’t know.” I answered him truthfully. “I’m going to check to make sure.” I opened the door but at the last minute swivelled around to hit him upside his head.
“Ouch!” he exclaimed. “What was that for?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head.
“For not being careful.” I replied then I went in. “Stay here!” I told him. “She might not want to talk if you’re around.” I finally closed the door.
Inside the room Jess was alone; she was sitting on the bed reading a book. She heard me when I came in so she looked up from her book.
“Hi Al!” she greeted cheerfully. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be locked up in your room with Troy?” she inquired, teasing.
“Yeah, well…” I trailed off “Ralph let me out.” I said.
“Oh.” She replied suddenly expressionless. She started to sob. I went to her and enclosed her in a protective embrace.
“Jess, tell me.” I coaxed. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I don’t know.” She said her voice was muffled as she had pushed her face into my chest. I let her cry. “I think I’m…” she never finished what she was going to say as her sobs wracked her body. I opened my mouth to say something but she spoke before I could. “But I don’t know if it’s Ralph’s.” she exclaimed, crying harder on my chest.
“I thought you told me he was your first?” I asked confused. “Was that a lie?”
“No, that was true.” She defended. “But then we had a fight just a week after.” She cried harder, mumbling some things but she was incoherent. I understood, they had a fight, she was mentally and emotionally unstable and someone took advantage of that weakness.
“Who was it?” I asked, trying to calm myself so as not to scare her.
“M-m-m-m-m-marc.” She finally stuttered out after a pregnant pause. She peered at me from behind the curtain of her
hair. I suddenly felt so many different emotions within me: shock, confusion, worry and finally anger. I was outraged.
‘How could he do this?’ I thought to myself. She must have seen my reaction because she said something again.
“But, i-i-i-it wasn’t h-h-his f-f-f-fault.” She said. “I-i-it was m-m-mine. I burst in his room after Ralph left, I needed to talk to someone, anyone, and I couldn’t think clearly. Apparently he too had a fight with Bea because he was drowning his sorrow. He sobered up when he saw me and we actually talked about our problems. Everything was going fine until he kissed me. Then, we both lost control, things just got out of hand.” She quickly explained. “It was an accident!” she said hysterically. “Please, don’t tell them. Please!” she begged.
“Jess, why didn’t you call me that night?” I asked her.
“I-I-I-I don’t know.” She answered frustration clear in her voice. “Al, what am I going to do?”
“First we’ll get you checked up.” I told her “I’m going to get some things from my room, okay?” she nodded in reply. She pulled away from me and laid her head on a pillow. “Does Marc remember what happened?” I finally asked.
“I don’t know. If he does remember he didn’t confront me about it.” She paused and I waited patiently for her to continue. “I left early the next morning.” She said by way of explanation. I nodded in understanding. They were both lonely and they found solace in each other’s arms but it was a mistake and Jess was ashamed of what happened.
Loving it!
