Page 18

Chapter Eighteen

Summerville Lex

A fter Grayson and Ashley's wedding, Lex and Colt spent the next two days completely naked and wrapped in each other. It got to the point that Lex started to feel faint from lack of real food, and the two just finished burgers from the same place they brought Dani to before heading to the clubhouse.

Colt holds the door open for her, and they find a table near the bar. Rather than let Lex sit on her own seat, Colt pulls her onto his lap.

“I don't think I plan to stick around here long,” he says into her ear. “I need to take full advantage to having a child-free house.”

“You may want to get online and next day a wheelchair if we have too many more rounds within the next twenty-four hours. God, I forgot I had some of these muscles,” she says.

His fingers run through her hair, pulling her head to the side as his lips claim her neck. “You've been doing yoga again, haven't you?”

“How'd you know?”

“You are extra bendy.”

“I'm going to need that wheelchair,” she murmurs.

He gently nibbles at her skin, biting just hard enough to leave marks, and he whispers, “I think I'm drunk on you.”

Hushed gasps around them pull them from their little bubble of love, and both sober up quickly when they see Dani walk into the clubhouse with Dax. Even though she's been home for quite a while now, she still looks just as sickly and scared as the last time Lex saw her. They heard she was here a couple of nights ago, and she looks just as petrified as Everlee said.

“She doesn’t look good.”

“No, she doesn't,” Colt agrees, both keeping their voices quiet. “You'd think she was still locked in that basement. Jesus, poor girl.”

Even though Lex knew it would be an adjustment, part of her thought Dani would look more like the old version of herself that Lex once knew. Not quite back to the same, but not still the shell of a woman she had to coax out of a basement. It hits her like a ton of bricks, and it scares her. “That could have been me.”

“Lex-”

“It could have. If Melanie hadn't gotten out of the basement, that could have been me.”

Sure, the thought crossed her mind a few times, but seeing Dani like this really pushes the point home. What she would have been like had Scarface gotten her like he wanted looks nothing short of how Dani appears in Lex’s mind.

Colt's arms tighten around her protectively, and he nuzzles his nose against her neck. He hates talking about when she was kidnapped, and it's not on her list of favorite memories, either, but this could very well have been her. And Melanie, Autumn, and Heidi would be dead. It's a sobering thought.

Dax keeps reaching his hand out to Dani as she sits on the chair with her knees clutched to her chest by her skinny arms, and she moves away from his touch each time. There's no mistaking the devastation he feels at the rejection.

“I heard from Mac that Dani can't stand to be touched. All Dax wants to do is hold her and have her in his arms, but she can't let him,” Colt whispers in her ear.

Venom walks into the clubhouse, and the two of them make eye contact before he finds his spot along the dark wall. Lex knows he's been keeping an eye on things and being near Dax as needed.

“Has she talked about what happened to her?” she asks, her eyes going back to Dani.

His head shakes as his chin sits on her shoulder. “Not that I'm aware of.”

“He's pushing her, and she's not ready. He's going to push her away.”

“I don't know what I'd do in his shoes. I mean, I understand his feelings. All I wanted when we got you out of there was to hold you and never let you go. It would make me crazy if you wouldn't have let me touch you.”

Turning in his lap, she gives him a knowing look. He shakes his head, but she says, “I can't do nothing.”

“I can't talk you out of it, can I?”

“Do you really want to?”

“Depends. Is what you're going to do going to piss off Dax?”

She gives him a small smile but doesn't answer.

“I guess if he's too mad, we'll just move back to Griffin's Beach,” he says, and she knows he's been asked by multiple people since the wedding if they're staying. It's the first time he brought anything up, though.

Standing, she walks over to the President and his wife. Dani looks up at her with fear in her eyes before recognition calms her, and Lex is rewarded with a shaky smile.

“Hey, Lex,” Dax says.

“Hey,” she says, sitting in the chair next to Dani. “How are things going?”

“Fine,” he says and tries to reach out to Dani, but she flinches away from his touch. He forces a smile. “We're fine.”

Dani looks at the table and sighs. “I guess we're fine.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” Lex asks.

Letting out a chuckle, Dax shrugs. “I don't think we have much of a choice, huh?”

“No, not really,” she says with a smirk, butterflies kicking up in her stomach. This may go very, very badly. “I think maybe you two could benefit from some space.”

Dani's head shoots up, and for the first time, she looks hopeful. “Really?”

“I think having some time away from each other, giving you both some breathing room, might be beneficial.”

“No,” Dax says, his head shaking as he crosses his arms over his chest. “No way.”

Her heart goes out to the man, but she knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to get his wife back, but the wife he knew likely has gone... and she may very well never come back. “Dax, you can't give her what she needs right now. Not when you're pushing her to give you what you need. You're both on two different pages, and she needs somewhere without pressure.”

“You think I'm pressuring her?”

“Not intentionally, but you want something she can't give you right now. And she needs some space to process everything that's happened to her.”

“And where the fuck do you suggest she go?” he asks. “Your house?”

Shrugging, Lex says, “I have an extra room.”

Dax jumps up and leans over the table just inches from her face. Colt and Venom both move forward, but she holds a hand out to stop them. She's okay. Only slightly terrified, but she's perfected her poker face after all these years.

“Fuck you, Lex!” he shouts, spitting on her face.

“Already got that today, but thanks for the offer,” she says, her voice even. “Dax, you can't give Dani what she needs right now, and she can't give you what you need. If you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to push her away.”

He laughs before snarling and getting even closer. So close that Lex can tell he had pizza for dinner. Likely frozen. “I heard you were a bitch, but I hadn't seen it until now.”

“No, you still haven't seen the bitch in me. But keep pushing me and spitting in my face, and you will,” she says as Dani reaches out and grabs her hand. “Look at Dani, Dax. She's terrified. Is this really what you want to do to her?”

Stepping back, his eyes lock on his wife's hand clutching Lex's. It's clear he's assessing the situation, and it obviously hurts him that his wife inches away from his touch but finds comfort in Lex. He looks almost as scared as Dani. “Do you want to go and stay with Lex and Colt?” he asks Dani.

Nodding, Dani slides her legs to the ground and inches closer to Lex. “Yes.”

He grimaces and sighs. “Fine. As long as Colt's okay with it.”

“Colt?” Lex calls.

“Whatever you want, baby,” he says, and Dax's shoulders fall. He'd clearly been holding out hope Colt would disagree with Lex.

She turns to Dani. “I'll have Colt take me home to get my car, and I'll come back to get you. We'll stop by your house to get some things for you, and then we'll go to my house. Does that sound okay?”

Dani nods. “Thank you, Lex,” she whispers.

Smiling at her, she stands, and Colt meets her as they walk to the door. He holds it open for her, and they walk out to his bike. Dax bolts out after them.

“How long?”

“I don't know,” she says. “As long as she needs.”

“What makes you think you have any idea what she needs?” Dax challenges.

Colt tenses beside her, but Lex steps closer to Dax. “I can see how conflicted she is. It's in her eyes, Dax.”

“Conflicted about what?”

“She wants to let you comfort her... for you. But whatever she went through with the Kingsmen won't let her. None of us, other than Dani, knows what she went through with them, but it was clearly bad. Worse than bad. You're trying to get what you need, which I can't fault you for, but it's going against what she needs.”

“Lex-”

“You're going to lose her again if you keep pushing,” she says, deciding direct is the best option right now.

Running his hand over his face, he sighs. “I lost her for almost three years, Lex. You have no idea... this is really fucking hard for me. Do you understand that?”

Her hand reaches out and squeezes his hand. “I do. I can see how much all of this is hurting you, and that's why I'm trying to help save you from yourself. You'll know where she is and who she's with. You'll know she's safe, and she'll have the ability to just be. If she starts to process, she may need to talk about what happened. The difference with you and me is that I have no expectations for her. I have no one else for her to be except the version of Dani she is right now.”

“Will she get better?” he asks, his voice barely a whisper.

“I hope so. But I need you to think about something. Something you probably don't want to, and something that may make you hate me.”

His head snaps up, and she never releases his hand. “What?”

“The Dani you remember is gone, and she might not ever come back. You have to figure out if you can love the Dani she is now.”

“You think I don't love her?” he shouts, pulling his hand away from hers. “Are you serious?”

Colt steps in and pushes him back a little. “That's not what she's saying. You want her to be the person she was before everyone thought she was dead, and she might not be able to be that person again. The woman you knew as your wife. That's who you want and who you're trying to bring back, but that's not who she sees when she looks in the mirror anymore. Can you handle it if she’s not her?”

“I love her. I wanted to die without her, and I'll have her however I can,” Dax says, conviction in his tone.

“Let me spend some time with her,” Lex says. “I know you don't understand, but I do. You, Everlee, hell, even Kara, all have a version of Dani you see when you look at her. That's the pressure I was talking about earlier, but she doesn't have that with me. I'd only met her a few times before this, and you’re right. I didn’t know her. Not really. But trust me, going somewhere without people looking at you as though you’re supposed to be something more than you currently are can be so freeing. Plus, she'll be able to open up to a woman better than a man.”

“She better come back to me,” he says, his hands wiping at tears.

She shakes her head and sighs. “I can't promise you she'll come back, but I know how much you want her back, and I know how scary it is to lose yourself while everyone expects you to be the person they know. My first goal is to get her out of this mental prison she has herself in. My second goal will be to bring her back to you, but that is not the goal I'm going to focus on. She probably will never be who you remember, but I need her to see she doesn't need to stay this scared version of herself.”

“Yeah, okay,” he says and nods. “I trust you. Sorry for... calling you a bitch.”

“Hey, I suggested taking your wife away from you. Besides, bitch is not even in the top ten worst things I've been called.”

“She'll do everything she can, Dax,” Colt says. “I promise.”

Wiping more tears, Dax turns and walks into the clubhouse. Lex pulls Colt to her and kisses him. “I'm sorry.”

“For what?”

“Making us have to wear clothes during our child-free week.”

“This is more important. Besides, I can probably convince Mom to take the kids for a long weekend sometime in the future. It's not our only chance.”

She cups his face in her hands. “Thank you for always backing me up.”

“Always,” he says, kissing her again. “Let's go get your car.”