Dopamine | Adrenaline Book Two

21- Alexandra

Charles managed to reach his hotel unnoticed, relying on sunglasses both to avoid recognition and to mask the despair etched across his face. His teeth were clenched, the tension in his jaw the only thing holding back tears. But the moment he stepped into his room, his composure crumbled.

Tears poured down his cheeks as Charles flung the sunglasses to the floor, burying his face in his hands. Sliding down against the door, he hugged his knees tightly, letting out deep sobs. He hoped releasing his anguish would somehow ease the heartbreak that consumed him.

Max's approach—to do everything to win—made sense, but if losing Charles didn't weigh on him as a loss, maybe they were never truly aligned. Charles never intended to hurt Max. After all the intimate nights and whispered confessions, he had hoped Max would see things differently, just this once, to keep their bond intact.

In between his sobs, Charles hadn't noticed that he wasn't the only one in the room. It wasn't until the water in the shower shut off that he realized it was ever turned on.  With no time to collect himself and pick himself up, the door swung open revealing a giggling Alexandra, stopping dead in her tracks at the sight of him, wrapping the towel tighter around her body.

"I don't understand why you won't just change in here with me," another voice followed from inside the bathroom, causing his girlfriend to look at him in a panic.

"Charles I-," was all she could say before another figure followed her out the room, the smile erasing Rebecca's smile at the sight of him as well.

"I can explain," the shorter girl's voice was soft and shaking, her own eyes about to mirror his own in their tear streaked nature.

"Get dressed first," Rebecca whispered to her, a hand on her waist as she guided her to the restroom, avoiding Charles' gaze as she grabbed a pair of clothes for her.

Charles wished the universe hadn't chosen that exact moment to reveal why his girlfriend never seemed bothered by his nights away. He knew he would be a hypocrite to be upset, but the timing couldn't have been worse.

With both girls in the restroom, Charles could hear feigned whispers and panicked hushes. Fighting the urge to yell or release his pent-up emotions, he swallowed them down instead. There wasn't much time before they had to be at the paddock, so with a numb feeling taking over his body, Charles got ready.

"I can stay," Charles heard Rebecca whisper.

"I think it's best if you don't," Alexandra replied shortly after. Charles wished there was another room to escape to, but instead, he pretended to still be getting ready, hoping it would seem like he wasn't eavesdropping. He avoided looking at Rebecca as she stepped out of the bathroom and hesitantly made her way out, clearly not wanting to leave the other girl to her own devices.

With the door fully shut, a newfound silence enveloped the room, leaving both of them unsure of what to say. Charles and Alexandra had always shared a similarity in their quiet moments, and as the silence stretched on, he realized he would have to be the first to speak up.

"Are you two together?" he asked, his voice sounding too loud in the barren room.

For a moment, there was no response. Charles turned to face her, grappling with the realization that he might not even have the right to seek an explanation from her after returning home from having his own heart shattered by the person he considered his true partner. He felt a pang of guilt for not ending things with Alexandra sooner, knowing he had been unkind to her. As he looked into her watery, saddened brown eyes, he sensed her turmoil and felt responsible for putting her in this situation.