Page 131 of The Perfect Spiral
“We’re not together, La—” Knox starts, but she cuts him off, pressing her lips to his and grabbing the back of his head. I hearthe sound of cameras clicking from the shore.
Knox pulls back as soon as he can, glaring at her. I look down into the water, watching my legs move in circles.
She kisses him again, wrapping her long, smooth legs around him. He pushes her away, distancing himself from her as quickly as he can.
“Stop doing that!” he grits out through clenched teeth.
“Um, I’m going to leave you guys alone. I’ll see you later, Knox,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Thank god, I didn’t want to ask. I just can’t keep my hands off him. You’ve gotten even hotter, babe. I didn’t know it was possible,” she purrs, trying to seduce him.
Knox reaches out to stop me, but I duck underwater and swim away. I reach the shallow part of the water without any interruptions.
I start to make my way out of the water, realizing the crowd is still waiting for Knox. I continue walking, hearing some girls getting a little too excited for my liking.
I turn around to see Knox swimming away from Lauren and coming after me, but I keep walking towards the towels to dry off. As I feel the sand beneath my feet, I’m immediately bombarded with questions from girls and reporters.
“Where did you get your swimsuit?”
“How do you feel now that Lauren’s back in the picture?” “Is it over between you and Knox?”
“Is it true you’re pregnant with his child?”
“How come you’re not wearing the ring he proposed with?”
“Did you have a fight? Is it over now that Lauren’s back?”
I only answer the first question, telling the young girl it’s a Roxy swimsuit, and continue walking towards my mom, who stands up when she realizes it’s me trying to get through the crowd.
I pick up my pace when I hear loud screams behind me. I know it’s him. I grab a towel and sprint away from the beach towards the house. I hear my mom calling out for me, but I keep running.
I reach the house and dash through the hallway, nearly slipping as I grab a set of keys. I hear Eric say, “I’m coming with you.”
I toss him the keys and run out to the car. He follows, and I can hear my brothers and Andy calling my name.
Eric starts to reverse out of the driveway, and my breathing becomes rapid.
I lean my hands against the dashboard, trying to regain control of my breathing. It’s a combination of the run and the onset of a panic attack.
“It’s alright, sweetheart. Just breathe,” Eric says calmly, rubbing my back with one hand while the other is on the wheel. He drives us away from the house, taking sharp turns as we race down the streets.
I have no idea where we’re going, but it’s away from the house. The car’s Bluetooth rings because Eric’s phone is connected to it. He answers it because it’s my mom.
If he ignored her, he’d face the wrath of Medusa.
“Is she okay?” she asks, urgency lacing her voice.
“Yeah, she’s just having a minor panic attack. I’m taking her somewhere to calm down. You’re on speaker, sweetheart.”
“Alex, are you okay, honey? I’ve never seen you bolt like that before!” Her words coax a laugh from me. I’ve never run that fast in my life either.
It’s like sprinting through a hotel hallway, your legs moving in a blur, feeling weightless, spinning like the wheels of a car. That’s exactly how it felt for me.
“You and me both, Mom. Yeah, I’m okay. I just... panicked. I needed to get away from all that.”
“Knox wants to talk to you, honey. Are you up for it?”
“Yeah, I’ll talk to him. I probably scared him half to death.”
