Never Too Late

Chapter 7.2: Stay Away

I followed Alex up to his room as he raged his way. He slammed the door as he got in. I actually had to open it again to see him, and I closed the door so no one could hear us. Alex sat on his bed out of frustration. I could feel the heat from his body.

"Alex." I started.

"He always does that!" he yelled. "Whenever he doesn't want to talk about things, he just walks away! It's why we never got a chance to talk anything out in the first place."

"Look, Alex." I said as I approached him. I kneeled down to him and held his hand. "I think you really need to talk to him."

"Yeah, that's a lot easier to say than to do."

"You're dad's scary, I know." I insisted. "But the only way you can truly get over this is by ending things the right way. You need to talk to him."

"He's right, you know." He said. "I took Josh away from them... and I wasn't even there for mom. I'm the worst son ever."

"You're not, Alex."

"Don't patronize me, Liyah!" he yelled as his tears were falling down. That hurt me a little, but I understood why he was feeling so angry. "I made this about myself! I went back to New Jersey to win you back. I hadn't realized the consequences. Dad's right. This is my fault."

"This isn't your fault-"

"Can you please stop sugarcoating me, Liyah!" he continued to yell. "There's nothing right about me and this family! Why are you even here? I'm such a mess. You shouldn't be associated with me."

"You're my friend, and I'll be here for you 'til the end, okay?"

"I don't even deserve you as a friend. You need to get away from me. I'm a walking pain." He pushed my hand away from his hand as he stood up and walked away.

"Alex, please. You don't deserve this." That was all I could say before he reached the door. I didn't know what else to say. He turned and looked at me.

"I do. Didn't you hear dad? I'm never there for the most important people. It's the reason why we broke up, remember? You should just stay away from me." he said, and I was totally shocked. I didn't even know what to say. All I wanted to do was to comfort him, but it seemed like I was failing. Alex opened the door as he walked away.

I lost track of Alex as it took me some time to fully absorb what he said, but I wanted to look for him, yet I failed, so I just went back to the guest room with Laura and Harvey. It was a little refreshing to see them, just sitting and napping around. Harvey was just sitting there, and Laura was asleep, so...

"Hey, Harvey." I took a deep breath and sighed as I sat on the bed.

"Hey, Liyah." He started to wonder. "You look... bothered. What's up?"

"Ugh... nothing." I sighed again.

"Hey, can I ask..." he walked towards me and sat on the bed with me. "Have you told Alex the truth yet?"

"No..." I looked at him and shook my head. "I haven't. I figured I shouldn't make this about myself. It's his mom's funeral tomorrow."

"I mean, not even before? That thing with Winnie was weeks ago. You could've told him a lot sooner." He chuckled.

"I know. I just got a little prideful, that's all. I'm sorry." I rubbed my forehead with all the stress.

"Can I give you a little advice, you know, from a friend to a friend?"

"Okay." I chuckled back. Harvey brightens the mood sometimes.

"I don't think pride matters." He said. "You may not know it, but Alex needs you more than you need him. It just doesn't matter what your pride tells you to do. You said you want to be there for him."