Crossed [COMPLETED]

Thirty.

EDITED.

The sound of the clattering of the forks and spoons filled the not so large house, the noise drowned out by the sound of the chatter and laughter lingering in the air. 

"So Tyler right? Can you tell me more about yourself?" Mum asked out of nowhere as she chewed on her food carefully.

"Well..." he trailed off. "I like to cook and-"

"Cook?" Mum repeated as she raised an eyebrow at him. "You can cook?"

"Yeah. I cook some pretty awesome dishes if I shall say so myself," Tyler said smugly and I scoffed loudly beside him. "What?" he asked as he turned to look at me, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly. 

"What?"

"What was that for?"

"Nothing," I said with a playful wink.

"Ugh, stop flirting for once, please. I am trying to eat here guys," Nathan remarked loudly as he fake gagged, to which I responded with a punch in his arm. 

"So...What do you cook?" Mum asked after our brief exchange.

"Mac & cheese, pasta and burgers. These are just some of those though."

"Ooh Mac & cheese, I like this guy even more now," Natasha commented with a smirk on her face to which I responded with a playful eye roll while Tyler let out a laugh beside me.

"Anyway, where is your dad?" Tyler asked as he looked at me. "Because Nathan here is acting like your dad all day long," he joked, without knowing that those words would soon bring silence and cause tension to hang heavily in the air. 

"Daddy is in outer space, in a big cool space ship!" Alexander exclaimed innocently, that was what mum had told him at night in bed, whenever he asked about dad.

And just like I have predicted, everyone fell silent, even I myself did too. I didn't know what to say or how to react if I was being honest.

"Erm, did I say something wrong?" Tyler asked, confusion evident in his chocolate brown eyes.

Words finally left the tip of my tongue as I registered what just happened. "Tyler, I need to talk to you," I whispered to him as I pulled him towards my room. "I'm sorry guys. We will be back."

Once I got into my room, I closed the door and plopped onto my bed. I looked at Tyler who was standing by the door, I have never seen him looked this lost and confused at the same time. "Hey Ty, come here," I said as I pat the seat next to me.

He walked over and sat down next to me, looking at me. Guilt was written all over his face.

"What's wrong? I mean I don't even know what went wrong out there Al."

"Hey, hey Tyler," I called out, my voice ever so soft and gentle. I held onto his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "It's fine."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so lost."

"Don't apologise. You did nothing wrong, you didn't know about it that's all. I should have told you earlier," I said with an apologetic look as Tyler merely nodded and I took that as a sign to continue speaking.

"You see, my dad left us a few years back when my mum was pregnant with Alexander. My mum became ill after she gave birth to him. We don't have much money left since my dad was a gambling addict. He lost everything. I had to drop out of college since I cannot afford it. My whole family is depending on me."

"I was taking two odd jobs but I was still not earning enough for the family. That's was why I was so desperate for this job as a bodyguard. I mean who can say no to one million dollars. When I saw the poster, I just seized the chance and decided to go for the job interview. And I'm sorry that I lied about the professional wrestler part," I said as I added a laugh to lighten up the mood.

"I knew it wasn't true the day I saw you," Tyler teased as he let out a small chuckle.

"But anyway, ever since my dad left us. The whole family just couldn't function properly. It was like we were missing something, like a piece of the puzzle. The family felt so incomplete and no matter how much I tried, it just never feels complete to me. The house was lack of any form of laughter or any ray of sunshine in our lives at that point of time. Everyone was crumbling, our worlds were shattered. Especially my mum. When dad left, she refused to eat anything or even sleep. She would just locked herself in her room and every time I would hear her soft cries behind the closed door. It really broke my heart Tyler," I said and I added a sad smile as I looked into his eyes. "Family is important to me."

Tears were welled up in my eyes, threatening to escape any second as I recall the incident about dad. Tyler quickly embraced me in a tight hug, something I really needed at that moment. I took in a deep breath as I leaned on his shoulder for a while, blinking back tears.

"I know that was a lot to take in but I think you deserve to know all these. About what happened earlier, you just accidentally tapped on their sensitive spots. That's all. Don't worry too much Tyler," I said with a reassuring smile on my face as I pulled away from him.

"Thank you for telling me all these Al. I'm glad I get to know more," he said with a small smile. "Though, it could be under better circumstances," he teased lightly and I laughed.

"Yeah, no worries. Come on, let's head out." I grabbed Tyler's hand in mine, walking back out to see everyone just chatting as if nothing had happened earlier.

"Hey guys, sorry it took us quite some time but we are back," I announced, singing only the last three words.

"It's alright Al. I am sure he meant no harm, you probably didn't tell him, did you? Anyway, it's okay Tyler. We were just kind of taken aback that's all. It's all good," Nathan said as he turned to look at Tyler.

"Thanks for being so understanding about this," Tyler said as he shot Nathan a grateful smile.

"Yeah, if you didn't already realise, we are actually very nice people," Nathan teased Tyler as he quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, yeah of course."

A/N:
Hey, so this is a rather short chapter but it's pretty intense? I guess. So I guess it kinds of make up for the short chap heh. It's quite a lot for everyone to take in. But I do hope this chap gives you an better insight to Alexandra's life in a way :)
I hope you like this chap! If you do, do give it a vote and leave a comment :D I love to know what my readers think ♥
p.s. the pic you see at the start of the chap is a fan art! haha it's from one of my besties, thanks omg I love it @twelvewonderingstars ♥ I'm considering to change that as my new cover, I will think abt it!
p.p.s Special dedication to @LineyForever3 for being such a lovely individual! Her comments always manage to make my day, seriously ♥ Hope you enjoy the story! I updated early for you dear :)
Much love,
Rachel xx