Page 146 of She Wolf

Lexie doesn’t pull any punches, she just tells it as it is. She’s strong and kind, loyal, and the best friend anyone could wish for.

Putting her life on hold and flying home to be with me when it happened, she stayed for as long as she could after the funerals. How this wonderful free-spirit manages to thrive in such a cut-throat profession as a defense lawyer is beyond me, but that’s what makes her so special. One day she’s wearing ripped jeans and converse, the next she’s strutting around in power suits and Louboutin’s. Also, her brain works at a faster pace than most people’s, so she’s got that going for her as well.

I bring the now frosty glass to my lips, which she tips with her finger, encouraging me to take a bigger gulp. Winking when I do, she does the same, only she nearly finishes hers.

“Okay!” she exclaims. “Let me show you to your room. We’ll hang your clothes and then I’ll tell you what I have planned for the next few days.”

Walking through the doorway she’s pointing at, I can’t help the gasp that escapes me.

“Lexie! It’s beautiful.”

A fluffy grey throw encases crisp white bedding, not one but three vases of fresh flowers are placed around the room, along with rose-gold-colored picture frames that hold photos of us throughout our lives and of my family.

I pick up one of the two of us with my little sister. Alice smiles brightly at the camera as we kiss her cheek, her mossy green eyes brimming with life. In this, she’s about ten and we’re eighteen, leaving for university.

Lex puts her arm around me and squeezes tight. “I wanted them to be here with you. I wanted to remind you that you haven’t left them behind.”

I’m only given a moment to process before she’s clapping her hands again as if to snap me out of my daze and gets busy unpacking, throwing my stuff all over the bed.

“Lex?” I ask, but she continues. “Alexa, stop! Some of the folded stuff is okay.”

She smirks and I know then that she was messing with my bags on purpose, to distract me from my thoughts and the rabbit hole of sadness I can easily find myself in. I open the drawers and she starts to hand me my underwear, t-shirts, leggings, jeans, and shorts as I place them all neatly into my dresser.

Once it’s all put away, the nicer stuff hung up in a cavernous wardrobe, I take my wash bag into the bathroom.

After taking the opportunity to freshen up, I change into the light spaghetti strap top I left out. Lex is sitting on the bed, typing on her phone, and looks up when she’s done.

“Theo said he and a few friends are going to the game and asked if we want to go. I’ve told him we do, and he’s getting our tickets.”

I’m about to take a breath and stop her, but she’s on a roll.

“No. We’re going. Today is about us, and you settling in. Tomorrow morning is me showing you what a proper New York brunch is all about, and then Saturday night, we’re meeting the boys. You’ve done enough hiding, and I want you to spend time with Theo. He’s going to become a good friend to you. You’ll love him.”

I nod, knowing she’s right again.

“He knows all about what happened, obviously, and will be there for you if you need him. But he’s also got nice friends and an amazing family who are a lot of fun and very…erm…embracing. Yes, that’s what we’ll say. So drink up.” She passes me my now half-empty glass. “We need to push through the time difference, so we’re going out for a bit. I’ve got some food here, but I think we’ll need to hit the ice cream section at the store.”

She’s extra Lexie this afternoon, extra bossy, but I’ll take it over her walking on eggshells around me any day.

After finishing our drinks, we leave the apartment. Not making it two steps out of the building, she starts peppering me with questions.

“What did you have to eat on the plane?”

“Erm, well I pretended to be a vegetarian because the chicken looked a bit grey.”

“Safe. You should have bumped to first class. Nicer options.”

“I was fine where I was, and I had some snacks anyway.”

She doesn’t need to know I’m having trouble eating full meals. “So did you read or watch anything?”

“I bought a few glossy mags at the airport and flipped through them on the flight. Don’t worry, I kept them for you.”

She claps and bounces a little. “Yay, thank you. I haven’t read an honest-to-God, hold-in-your-hand British edition of Vogue in forever.”

“Yep, Marie Claire and Glamour, too.”

She nods approvingly.

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