Page 6

Chapter 6

Blake

Alexis’s dorm is her safe space.

I know this, because the moment I close the door behind her, she silently falls apart until only the ghost of her is left. She sits on a fluffy pink couch, knees pulled up to her chin, arms pale with how tight she holds herself. The TV is on, but I can tell she isn’t watching.

Still. Unmoving. Unreachable.

I sit a few feet away, not wanting to leave her alone like this but also knowing my presence might be making things worse. I tried to ask her earlier, but she didn’t respond. Not to that, or the questions I read off the forms. Luckily she already filled out her part, so I let her be while I answer every tedious question listed.

“I think your tea is ready,” I say. “What flavor do you like?”

Slowly, her eyes move to meet mine, but she doesn’t say a word. That’s okay. They must have something in that tiny gray kitchen resembling tea. It takes some sleuthing, but in the last cabinet I try I find a little box of tea bags. I’m about to take out the strawberry flavor when I hear the smallest sound behind me.

“Cherry.”

“Excellent choice.” I trade in the strawberry for a cherry-flavored bag and make a mental note of the brand so I can stock up on them. “Do you want something sweet to pair it with? Sugar, honey, a pastry?”

Silence. I glance over my shoulder to find her curled up in a pink-dotted blanket, wincing as she flexes the fingers on her injured hand.

I raise a brow. Maybe I was wrong—maybe it’s broken after all. “Hey, you okay?”

She barely nods, so I don’t believe her. I pour some honey into her tea and carefully bring her the mug, placing it on the glass coffee table. I hover around, not sure where to go or what to do next.

I’ve never seen Alexis be loud or extroverted, but even I know this isn’t how she usually is. Maybe it’s time to call Levi or Alissa. They will know what to do, right?

And while they care for Alexis, I’ll make sure that son of a bitch pays for what he’s done. Yeah, that sounds good. Usually, I don’t like to show my anger anywhere else but on the ice, but Hudson has it coming. Big time . It might ruin my career, but I don’t care. It’ll be worth it. She is worth it.

But right now, I have to make sure Alexis is okay.

“You like books?” I ask, pointing towards the row of bookshelves pushed against the back wall. The green wallpaper is peeling, the paint chipped; even the air smells of mold. This truly is a poor excuse for a dorm. Maybe I can convince her to let me pull some strings, get her and Alissa a better place to live.

Alexis merely nods in response, but it’s a welcome first step. “Would you like me to bring you one? Or I can read you one. One you’ve never read, guaranteed.”

Her face turns to look at me. That caught her interest.

“It’s by a very obscure author. A quiet kind of genius really, written in the late zero’s. You’re going to love it. It’s called Crooked Crown by a guy named Blake Taylor.”

Alexis blinks, and it’s like her eyes gain color. “You…wrote a book?”

“School assignment,” I laugh. “It’s very, very bad, but hopefully it’ll make you feel better.”

She sits a little straighter, creating room on the couch, and I let myself fall right into it before handing her her tea.

And so begins the great reading of Crooked Crown , complete with terrible accents and dramatic reenactments. It’s somehow even worse than I remember it to be, but it brings a smile to her face, and that’s all that matters. I’m just glad I kept the PDF.

By the end I can barely hide my embarrassment, my cheeks burning and my face pressed into my hands as I force myself to continue. And that’s when I hear it.

A laugh. The laugh.

My eyes shoot to hers at the sound, never wanting to hear anything else. She looks at me, no doubt seeing my expression, and promptly laughs again.

“What did the penguin do to end up in the dungeon?”

“Nothing. Well, aside from the murders. But the penguin switched bodies with the king, so it’s the king who is in the dungeon in penguin form.” I smile at the quizzical look on her face. “Can you believe I got a passing grade on this? Just barely, but still.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that was oddly compelling.” Her brows knit together in thought, the sight needlessly adorable. “I mean, if you switch some things around and rework it, this could be a great children’s book. Why aren’t you doing something with this?”

I’m no novelist, and definitely not a literary genius. Hell, most days I’m barely a person. So what if I write poems sometimes, or a few short stories or bits of a longer story? That doesn’t make me a writer. My crap isn’t good enough for that.

Still, I can’t keep the smile off my face. Today, October 15th is the first time Alexis Moore has ever complimented me. It’s a rush I haven’t felt before, a tingly kind of feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I don’t think writing is the path for me.”

Alexis tugs at the blanket, pulling it tighter around herself. “So what is your path?”

Shit. I was hoping she wouldn’t go there. My mind wanders to all the times our housekeeper slash my mother figure, Maria, asked me that question, and the little smile she gave when I admitted I didn’t know.

You will, in time. And it will be so obvious you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it before, she always said. I always thought it was bullshit, meant to soothe an anxious child. But when Alexis meets my gaze, I'm not so sure.

“Right now? To keep you safe and look hot doing it.” I wink, but this time, that adorable blush I chase is nowhere to be found.

“Blake,” she says sternly.

I fake a wince. “Oops, I’m sorry, Sunshine. Tragic backstory cannot be unlocked until you’ve reached Level One Girlfriend.”

“Fake girlfriend,” Alexis mumbles as she rests her head against the back of the couch.

“Semantics.”

“Fine. How do I reach level One Girlfriend?”

I tap my chin with a finger. “You can come to my game on Friday. Then we can do that cliché romance movie thing where I score and then point to you in the crowd so everyone knows you’re mine.”

“That sounds radical,” she says, her voice small again. “You know, if you do that, there’s no going back for you.”

“Are you having second thoughts? Because my offer of just giving you the money still stands.”

“No, no—it’s just…I don’t want you to regret this.” Her face is unreadable, but there’s a sadness in her voice I would recognize from miles away. The sound of it tugs at something I’d long buried, and I feel my walls crumble fast.

“Hey,” I gently place my hand on her lower leg, slow enough that she could easily swat it away. She doesn’t. “I made you a promise, and I’m not breaking it for anything.”

“Why not?” Alexis meets my gaze, and the sight of those silver-blue eyes glossy with tears is my undoing.

I don’t have an answer. In theory, I could make captain without Levi’s help, and though scamming the school out of a couple of grand is a great joy, it’s not like I need it to breathe. So why did I agree?

With a start, I realize it’s because I want to do this. For Levi, who aside from Raf is the closest thing I have to a friend. But more so for Alexis.

Sweet, clever Alexis, who despite me being everything she should despise is constantly checking on me, if I'm sure about doing this with her. Who, even without knowing me, somehow feels responsible for my happiness and is willing to sacrifice herself to guard it. Who is one of two people who actually believe in me and what I can do, with no strings attached.

A strange feeling rushes through me as I study the pattern of freckles on her cheekbones and nose, the way their warm color offsets her eyes.

God, how pathetic. Up until a week ago she probably didn’t even know my name, and my attraction to her was kept in a locked safe far from reality. How is it that a girl this quiet can be so enchanting?

I used to think it was the fact that she didn’t seem to care much about me or the guys, or that she never really responded to the flirtations thrown her way. That it was the challenge I was after, not her specifically. But now…

Now I know better.

“Because you’re my girl now,” I say. “And I know that it’s technically a fake title and that you think it means nothing. But it means something to me.”

Alexis releases a breath, her head slightly tilted as she takes in every inch of my face. I move my arm to lean on the headrest as I hold her gaze, but her eyes flit away to the empty space at my side.

A flutter passes through my chest as she crawls forward to curl up into my side. For a moment I’m breathless, the move so unexpected it leaves me frozen in fear of upsetting her. But then I push that fear aside and pull her into my chest, my lips brushing the top of her head.

My voice is barely audible, but the words are more for me, anyway. “I’ve got you.”

I’m not sure how long we stay like that, her body curled into my side, the TV the only thing breaking our comfortable silence. But I never want it to end.

Which is why, when Alissa slams the front door shut and Alexis jolts, I want to curse the former for ruining a perfect moment.

“That’s by far the least exciting form of foreplay I have ever seen.” Alissa throws her coat onto the back of a chair, shaking her head. “Really, guys. What if someone looked through the window? They’d think you were just friends.”

“We are, though,” I say, and though Alexis stays quiet she does something even worse: she retreats into the corner, far away from me and the arms that miss her already. I sigh.

“I’ll let you two talk,” I tell her quietly. “Text me if you need anything, okay?”

I wait for her to nod before rising and crossing to the door, pausing at Alissa’s side for only a moment. “She hurt her wrist. Keep an eye on it, will you?”

Alissa stares at her sister for a moment, her pink-tipped hair grazing her shoulder as she looks back at me, her expression telling me she knows exactly how it happened. “I will.”

“Thanks,” I say, and as my gaze slides back to Alexis I can see the faintest blush on her cheeks. “Good night.”