Take Me Away | ✔️

25. UNSURE OF EVERYTHING

THE FIRST THING THAT ALEX DID when he saw me was wrap his arms around my body and pull me close to him, acting as if no one was inside the house to see us. I knew that I should've pulled away and told him not to do it ever again but the urge to hug him back was stronger.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his neck, breathing his scent which reeked of cigarettes. The only time he smokes is when he's stressed and I'm guess it wasn't so easy this past few days for him either. "You stink, by the way."

He chuckled, laughing off the "mom voice" I had given him. "I just missed you, that's all. It's just one cigarette. I have it under control."

My brows furrowed at him, unbelieving. "That's what you said last time I told you to quit. I'll believe you when you don't stink of it and you're not hiding them in your jacket anymore."

I raised the packet of cigarettes—by just what I felt from its weight, I could tell already that he had managed to smoke half of it. He tried to swipe them out of of my hand but I had tossed it to Sean before he could, who caught it flawlessly. It's from all the training and games they had, made his reflexes and strength stronger.

There was no doubt that if my brother and I are put in a ring, he would easily win.

"I have never should have taught you how to pick-pocket," he said, chuckling a little bit which indicated that he wasn't angry with me taking his stash. "And you were gone for a week, I take two at most."

"Can we just eat?" Travis' voice boomed over us, immediately appearing by my side with his eyes narrowed at him.

I should never had told him what happened that night when I ran away.

"Oh, I don't know if I should tell you or not," we stared at each other, Travis waiting for me to say something but I already waved my hand dismissively. "It's not really important. Alex is going to be here any minute now."

Before I could turn around and walk to the door, he had grabbed my arm and spun me into facing him. "You do know that you don't have to keep anything from me, right? What is it, anyway? Is it about Max?"

I shook my head. "No. It's about Alex. Well, you already know so... he told me loved me that night at the hospital."

His eyes widened in shock, then, narrowed in slits. "He what?"

"I don't understand why you're mad," I stated, shrugging. "You were the one that told me that you could see that he loved me. I'm just telling you that he did say it to me that night."

"Yeah, but there's a difference with him not telling you and telling you," he replied, his arms now crossed on top of his chest. "If a guy tells you he loves you still, it automatically means that he's after you—he's not going to give up until you're back in his arms."

That's ridiculous. Alex would never do that. Well, because it's Alex and he knew if our relationship ended, that was it. No turning backwards and try to fix the relationship we had. He knew that all I would be able to give him is friendship.

I may have forgiven the fact that I saw him that night shoving his throat down at someone but I sure as hell do not forget that kind of thing.

"It's not going to be like that," before I could say more, the doorbell rang. Alex was here. "Please do not turn this into a pissing contest."

He just rolled his eyes at me and went out of the room first.

"Please, knock some sense into her and tell her she can't go," Sean pleaded with Alex, who was just observing all of us, especially me. "Max is out there and she should be here where your friends or bodyguards could watch out for her."