Fire Meets Ice

Chapter 20: Our Flaws

Megan was excited about the voice call with Alexa and her friend Anya. Lying beside her boyfriend Axel, she gushed and emphasized how amazing it was to hear her friend's voice and the fact that Anya followed them both on Instagram.

Megan: Babe, I'm very happy for Alexa. She seems much happier with her new friend Anya.

Megan: But I'm getting a little impatient with her admirer, Marcus Karlsson. He should be a little faster with confessing to her.

Axel: Marcus Karlsson, huh? What type of guy is he, honey?

Megan: The typical active, on the go, hands on type guy that loves getting dirty.

Megan: Not gonna lie he gives off that hot Jackie Chan vibe.

Axel: He sounds like the reckless trouble type if you ask me, my cutie fox.

Axel: Spontaneous guys are good to befriend, but sometimes they gotta learn to stand on their ground firm and not be flaky with what they want.

Megan: Oooooh my baby is jealous! Oooh, Oooh, Oooh!

Axel: Honey, I'm not jealous. I'm protective of you.

Axel: I would definitely keep an eye on that Marcus dude if he and I were to meet face to face.

Megan: Oh, I forgot to mention! He plays basketball like you and works out a lot.

Axel: That's "impressive". Don't think I can't beat him in any game that involves hands or legs.

Megan: Of course that ego of yours never falters with anyone else except me.

Axel: I dunno why but I have a feeling your friend's crush is a bit clueless or aloof if he's taking a bit too long to get her.

Axel: He needs to be more of an action taker when it comes to love, not just gym and sports.

A few weeks passed since Alexa met Axel through the video call with Megan. She tried to get herself to stop thinking about seeing a guy naked for the first time while facetiming with her friend. She was indeed very happy for her friend, but like her, was also wondering when she will get into a relationship with Marcus, if at all. As the thoughts entered her brain, suddenly she felt something thick drizzling down in her underwear. She suddenly felt heavy with stomach cramps and the thick liquid continued to drip. She went to the bathroom to take off her clothes and underwear.

Alexa: On the inside. I knew it! My menstruation had just begun this month.

Alexa: On the inside. But damn it...I forgot to bring pads with me.

Alexa: On the inside. Guess, I'll have to go out in a bit...

It took her only 15 minutes to reach the Gallerian mall. She searched for the aisle that sold pads in the Feminine Care and selected the premium pack since her bleeding was heavy. Then she took out her phone to open up her Meet You app to record her monthly period.

Alexa: On the inside. I should take note...My period for this month started today. November 15th.

Alexa: On the inside. Alright...I'm gonna go purchase this.

She waited patiently in the check out line along with other girls who bought a variety of clothes and purses since they love to spend on anything luxurious.

When she was finally out of the supermall, she didn't notice the stairs in front of her that she tripped and fell down. To her surprise, Marcus was nearby and her body fell on top of his. They both fell to the ground with Alexa on top of him. They stared in each other's eyes for a couple seconds before they got up.

Marcus: Are you okay, kitty? You didn't hurt your knee did you?

Alexa: No, I didn't. Sometimes I get ahead of myself...Can't help my clumsiness.

Marcus: Nah, you're good. What were you doing at Gallerian?

Alexa: She smiled. I was buying some pads. My period finally came!

Marcus: Never seen any girl happy about their periods arriving every month...That's a first coming from you.

Alexa: Yeah, well. When I was with Hayden at my undergrad school, I lost my period for 6 months...

Alexa: He stressed me out to the point my period cycles were blocked. I was diagnosed with PCOS.

Marcus: Good thing you got that f**ker out of your life. He didn't even deserve your attention from the beginning.

Marcus: Too bad not every frog you kiss becomes a prince. Sometimes they become ogres like him.

Alexa giggled a bit.

Marcus: He was a failure for not filling you with honey. Instead he filled you with poison.

Alexa stopped and thought deeply about what Marcus said. "He filled you with poison" statement really hit hard. She always thought herself was the reason why she was always withdrawn, disconnected, and emotionally blocked. All because of the way her parents raised her and supported her financially, but never provided enough mutual understanding towards her. Like every other awkward encounter they had, they went together for a small drink. As they sat silently without taking their glances off of each other, Marcus finally opened up about his failed experience with love.

Marcus: I never told you this, but I wanna say you weren't the only one who dealt with a bad hand in a relationship.

Marcus: I had an ex 3 years ago...Delilah. I fell for her, and I thought we had a lot in common.

Marcus: I was 17 when me and her became a thing.

Marcus: Everything was fine at first, until we realized more of our flaws. We couldn't ground each other...

Marcus: She got clingy and got jealous whenever another girl came to talk to me for something casual.

Marcus: But I didn't think much about it. I only thought I had to try harder to get her to stop doubting me.

Marcus: This was until...when my dad had cancer and was hospitalized.

Marcus: I was under a lot of pressure balancing school and basketball practice plus my family trying to downsize everything.

Marcus: When I was 20 and winning the final season of basketball competition, I felt overjoyed and wanted to tell Delilah.

Marcus: Only to catch her cheating on me with some random player from the opposing team.

Marcus: I was devastated and at the same time my dad was passing away in the hospital.

Marcus: Without thinking, I called her out in front of everyone and broke up with her...

Alexa: I'm very sorry to hear that, Marcus. You must've been very close with your dad.

Marcus: Yes, I was. He wasn't only my dad, but my best friend.

Alexa: I don't think you were in love with your ex in the first place. You were probably only attracted to her looks.

Alexa: There was no effort or passion involved between the two of you. It just shows she wasn't the one.

Marcus: I don't know why, but for some reason I feel like I could tell you anything and you wouldn't judge.

Marcus: I never told anyone exactly how I felt back then.

Alexa: Not even Oscar or Anya?

Marcus: No, I struggled to. I didn't want anyone to blame me...

Alexa: Same for me. You're the first guy who truly gets me.

Marcus: He touched her hand. I want to do better...Starting with you.

Marcus: Because I think you know me too, kitty.

Alexa still had a hint of reluctance about starting all over again, but deep down her gut kept telling her, "It's time to get over it. No more hiding, lying, or drowning." She knew Marcus was the right one to restart with.