Page 9 of His Curvy Temptress

I blanche at her words. What?

“I have no idea why you’re here. I told you when you called that I was fine and I’m working, I don’t understand what you’re doing here.”

Good. She wants to talk, we’ll talk, I’m also going to find out what the fuck she meant about how I made her feel.

“You ran away from your parents.”

She scoffs at my words.

“What the fuck, Alexis? The last I heard, you were happy with them.”

She nods, pain slashes through her eyes before she glances away and looks around the restaurant. “I was, I loved being with Maggie and Andrew.”

Maggie and Andrew, not Mom and Dad like she used to say. What the hell has happened?

“But things change, people change, or in this case, show their true colors.” She sighs. “I’m a big girl, Abel, I’m able to look after myself, I don’t need you or anyone else trying to save me.”

“You think that’s what I’m doing?” I ask, my brows knitted together. This entire situation doesn’t make sense. “You think I’m trying to save you? Baby girl, you’re more than capable of saving yourself, I was worried ‘cos my brother told me you ran away, your parents are beside themselves.”

She once again scoffs. “Parents?” she echoes. “Let me tell you what was said before I left, shall I?” Her eyes flash with anger. “Apparently, I should be grateful they catered to me for the past six years. Hell, Andrew didn’t even want to foster me, let alone adopt me. But then again, we should have all saw that coming, the only reason he agreed was because it made Maggie happy.”

I stare at her in shock. Never once did I ever get that impression. But fuck. That’s some bullshit if I ever heard it. Christ. Andrew is a dick for saying that shit.

“In fact, one of the very last things Andrew said before I left, and I quote, was. ‘Haven’t I given her enough? She lives here rent-free, I pay for her fucking car. What else does she want?’”

“The fuck?” I snarl.

“Whatever they’re telling you is bullshit. He doesn’t give a fuck if I was home or not. Yes, Maggie’s probably upset, but he’s not. Now, you know, can you leave?” she asks as she crosses her arms over her chest.

“No,” I reply. “We’re going to have some food, we’re going to talk, and then I’ll leave you be.”

Her nostrils flare as she waves her hand for me to continue. “Ask away,” she snaps.

“What started the conversation between you and your parents?”

“Have you noticed how thin Maggie’s got? How sick she looks?” she asks, and I nod. “Yeah, so did I. She spends most of her time on the sofa or in bed, not to mention Andrew’s home a lot more. More so than he’s at work. So I wanted to know what was going on.”

“What is it?” I ask, my gut churning. What the fuck is going on?

“Maggie’s got cancer, it’s bad. Really bad. She’s dying, and they’ve not told anyone. They’ve known for six months that there’s no cure, and God knows how long before that, she was actually sick. Andrew told me they wanted to be together when I asked what about me. She’s my mom, the only one I’ve had in years, he shrugged and said she was his wife.”

Tears fall down her face. “Baby,” I whisper, hating she’s in so much pain and knowing if I tried to touch her, she’d lose it.

“They made me believe they cared about me, that they wanted me. But they just wanted a daughter, it didn’t matter who it was. I’m so fucking stupid. But I’m done, I’ve had enough pain and rejection to last me a lifetime, I didn’t think they’d hurt me, but they have. I learned a long time ago, Abel, to cut off those that hurt you, and I’m done.”

The finality in her words has my chest hurting. “That include me?”

She sneers at me. “Let me see,” she says bitchily. “You fucked me on a table, taking my virginity, and then walked away. You’re so done. You were done the moment you walked away.”

That pain in my chest intensifies, it feels as though there’s something heavy sitting on it. Looking at Alexis, the heartbreak in her eyes guts me. I did this to her. I hurt her. That was never my intention. Never anything I set out to do.

I’m a fucking asshole. God. I’m so fucking stupid.

She gets to her feet and storms out of the restaurant, leaving me sitting here wondering how the fuck I’m going to make it up to her?

SIX

ABEL

---