Always Sunny: Mac Finds Love

The Fallout (Continued)

She had only one thing on her mind—confronting the man who had just made her world feel like it was coming apart at the seams. Her chest tightened with a mix of confusion, hurt, and rage, but she didn't let it show on her face. As she approached the bar, Frank was still yammering on, practically dragging Dennis into a nonsensical conversation. "I'm just saying, if you want to treat a girl right, Dennis, you can't go all fast food on her. You gotta cook up a real meal, you know?" Dennis, seething at this point, snapped at him. "Frank, I really don't need your advice on relationships. I'm not some... needy idiot who needs a lesson in romance from you. Please, just stop talking." But Alexis wasn't interested in Frank's ramblings. She stood in front of Dennis, hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger. "Dennis," she said sharply, her voice low and controlled, "we need to talk." Dennis froze, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. "Oh. Alexis. Didn't see you there." "Oh, I'm sure you didn't," Alexis shot back, her voice dripping with venom. She wasn't in the mood for games anymore. The night before, she had thought Kira was just running errands or doing something on her own, but now the truth was crashing down on her in a way that felt like a punch to the gut. "Where is she, Dennis? Where is Kira?" Dennis smirked, leaning back in his chair as if he were in control of the situation. "She's fine. Kira's a grown woman, Alexis. She can make her own choices."

Alexis's fists clenched, her fingers digging into the sides of her jeans. She forced herself to take a deep breath. "You didn't have to make that choice for her, Dennis. She's with me. You... you knew she was with me. And yet, you... you did this." Dennis's smirk wavered, just for a moment. He shifted his weight in the chair, and the cocky façade he'd been holding onto began to crack. "I wasn't... I didn't plan for it to happen like that," he said slowly, almost defensively. "It just kind of did, you know? We were having a good time, things just... escalated." Alexis stepped forward, her gaze unwavering. "So you took advantage of her when she was vulnerable?" Dennis stood up then, his posture defensive but stiff. "I don't need to take advantage of anyone, Alexis," he said, his voice cold. "Kira came to me. She wanted it. And I gave it to her." Frank, who had been sitting idly by up until this point, leaned over the bar with a grin plastered on his face, trying to inject himself into the conversation. "Oh, hey, uh, you know—if I'm gonna be honest here, I think Dennis handled the situation like a pro. It's, uh, not really his fault if Kira couldn't keep her hands off him."

Alexis's eyes darted toward Frank, her anger flaring up again. "You stay out of this, Frank," she hissed, her voice rising slightly. Frank recoiled, suddenly realizing he had overstepped. Charlie, still at the back of the bar, winced. This was spiraling fast. He glanced back and forth between Alexis and Dennis, unsure of how to de-escalate the situation. He shifted on his feet, but all he could think to do was awkwardly murmur, "Maybe we should all just, you know... talk this out like adults? Calmly? Like, maybe... have some coffee?" But no one was listening to Charlie. Dennis took a step toward Alexis, his face hardening. "You don't get it, do you? It wasn't like that. I'm not some... monster. She's an adult. And you"—he jabbed a finger at Alexis—"need to stop acting like you own her." The words hit Alexis like a slap. She blinked, the sting of his words surprising her. She had known Dennis was self-absorbed, but hearing him speak about Kira like that—like she was just some toy he could play with—sent a rush of hurt and fury straight through her. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Charlie suddenly stepped forward, his voice panicked. "Wait, wait! Look, Alexis, I don't want to make this worse—just, just listen to me."

She turned to Charlie, confused. "What? What's going on, Charlie?" Charlie, who had been feeling the weight of his role in this disaster, took a deep breath, his words coming out in a rush. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but... Kira wasn't really honest with you. She's... she's not the one who left last night. She—she stayed with Dennis." There was a beat of silence as Alexis processed his words. Her eyes narrowed, her voice growing quieter. "What are you talking about? Kira wasn't with Dennis. She went out to run errands or... or something." Charlie sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "No. I saw them together. Dennis and Kira. They were... they were all over each other, Alexis. They stayed the night. And Mac doesn't even know yet." Alexis's knees went weak. She took a step back, as if the ground beneath her had suddenly disappeared. She hadn't expected this. She hadn't wanted to believe it. But now that Charlie had said it—there was no denying it. Her world, just for a moment, felt like it was spinning out of control. Dennis, noticing her shock, made a move to close the distance. "Look, Alexis, it wasn't planned. It wasn't some grand scheme. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I—" But Alexis cut him off, shaking her head slowly, her voice hard with disbelief. "You're unbelievable, Dennis." Her lips trembled with the words that followed, her hurt now exposed. "I trusted Kira. I trusted both of you. But you didn't care, did you?"