Page 123 of With Wine Comes War

“Yes babe, I have my wallet, let’s go pay your fine.” I was glad to have a more relaxed Alex for the moment at the very least.

I made plans with everyone to meet at my place so we could decompress. Alex’s dad declined the offer. She told him she’d talk to him later and Edward took him home. Amelia came up around five when she was done in the office. Bruce only stayed for a minute because he had to get to the studio. We ordered some pizzas and drank some wine that the Santoros brought. They seemed to be very gracious people, even knowing what I know.

Shay, Grant, and Alex were talking with the Santoros and my parents. Maggie, Abby, Jack and Matt were laughing with Harrison and Amelia. I was standing at the kitchen island trying to figure out who might be conspiring with Alex. I could only think of two people who would keep a secret like that for her, off the top of my head. That would be Grant or my mother. Grant already said he would never put her in harm’s way, which I believe, and my mom would have to oust Alex if it was something that could cause her harm. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Maybe it’s not something that could hurt her. Shit, Jack and Matt could know and wouldn’t be able to say anything either, as her attorneys.

I can’t keep doing this to myself, I need to go join a conversation and get this shit out of my head.

***

ALEX

That wasn’t so bad. No one was mad at me for my outburst in court, so that’s good. I mean, they weren’t happy with me, but I still have friends and family. After everyone left, I poured another drink. I was feeling the alcohol now and worried I could let something slip to Roman that would really piss him off.

Roman collapsed on the sofa next to me. “Finally. I thought they’d never leave,” he confessed.

“I’m glad they still want to be around me.” It was a total relief.

“Why wouldn’t they? Because you lost control in there?” He sounded irritated and goading.

“No, because I lost my cool and let them get the best of me.”

He started laughing and snorted, “Bullshit. You didn’t lose your cool or control. You knew exactly what you were doing. Everyone else was surprised.” It came out harshly, but I was going to have to face this at some point.

I laughed nervously. “I’m sorry for that.”

He wasn’t laughing. In fact, he looked pissed. “Sorry for what? Not trusting me with what you planned to say? I know you have trust issues, but this isn’t healthy.”

Ahh, here’s the Roman I thought I was getting earlier.

“I know what I’m doing!” I glared at him.

He threw his hands in the air and yelled, “Great! I don’t! I have no idea what you’re doing. You know why? Because you don’t think you can trust me enough to tell me.”

I have to be careful how I react. or we’ll get into a huge fight.

“I do trust you. I trust you to protect me and love me. I trust that if I tell you you’ll try and protect me and that’s not what I need right now. I need you to trust me enough to know you don’t need to know this. You need to be like my dad, and leave the room when you see or hear something you don’t like.” He got up and went over to the fridge and grabbed a beer, slamming the refrigerator door shut. I followed after but stayed on the opposite side of the kitchen island.

“Damn it Alex, what the hell is wrong with you? Why do you put people through this shit?” He slapped his palms down on the counter.I tried to reach for him, but he pulled away and I wrung my hands together, shocked at the blatant snub.

“Roman, right now there’s nothing to tell, so you’re getting worked up for no reason.” He didn’t like being told to calm down either.

“Oh really? No reason, huh! You tell me you provoked a lunatic on purpose in a courtroom and I have nothing to worry about,” he said through gritted teeth. I could tell by the look in his eyes he had too much to drink tonight, and nothing good can come from this.

“As of right now, he’s taking a plea deal of jail time and community service and he has to register as a sex offender.” I brought my tone way down and tried to be as calm as I could.

He laughed and took a big swig of beer and said, “Great, six whole months and some community service. A fucking slap on the wrist. You did a great job in there.”

I guess I’ll take condescending over yelling.

“Please just come back and sit with me.” I pointed to the sofa, tipping my head with the sweetest smile I could. “I’m feeling much better now that this court hearing is over.” He rounded the counter and grabbed my hand then dragged me to the bedroom.

Chapter 34

ALEX

The rest of the week I pretended to be fine. I knew I was in a waiting game. I had the week off from training and classes. Work was more fulfilling now that I had a purpose. I joined meetings with the potential investors for the non-profit and got together with Roman and his team on what it would take to implement my plan for the Burrow Township relocation project. The only thing left was to get the residents on board with it. Darius had managed to getmost of the families to agree to attend the meeting that Amelia had planned for the auditorium at King Construction. That was happening in just a few days. I was getting excited about that and had worked hard on the presentation intently. It held my focus while I waited for the other shoe to drop.

It’s been so long since I’ve had nothing to do on a Saturday. I felt like getting out of the house today— do normal things again. The fall weather was starting to creep in and that was my favorite time of the year. I couldn’t wait to go up to Lookout Park and see the changing leaves. The air seemed clearer and crisper in the fall too. A picnic seemed like an ideal distraction. I wondered if Roman had anything in mind to do today. I think he’s been avoiding me lately since the hearing. He goes to bed late, and we haven’t been going to the gym at the same time. He used to do all his work out in the kitchen if he was home. Now he's closed himself in his office. He didn't go running with me this morning and wasn’t worried about me going anywhere alone. I wonder if he thinks I’m safe now that Tanner’s going to jail?

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