Day By Day

Chapter 21

~~~Ivy~~

After I ate my delicious pizza, I followed Alex into his dad's office. When we got inside, my mother was already inside, waiting for me. She had a small smile and I can tell she was nervous by the way she played with the hem of her cardigan.

The man siting at the desk looked up from the papers he held in his hands and gave mea small smile.

"Ivy! It's wonderful to meet you. I'm Alex's legal guardian", he said as he got up and started walking towards me.

Guardian? I thought Alex said he was his dad?

"Likewise", I replied as we shook each other's hands before I sat next to my mom. He took his seat as well as Alex and took a deep breath.

"So how are you feeling? You must've been hurt pretty bad to be knocked out for 4 days", he says with a worried expression. I shrugged.

"I'm okay. I don't feel any pain as of right now", I said and he smiled.

"That's good. Do you remember anything that happened after you got hurt?" he inquired. Both Alex and my mom looked at me and I felt the tension surfacing. I shook my head no in response, not wanting to talk because I felt lazy. Suddenly, the tension disappeared, and he smiled.

"Now that we got the pleasantries out of the way, let's get down to business", he said in a serious tone. My mom grab my hand softly, and I looked at her.

"Honey, do you know where we are right now?"

"New York, right?"

She smiled sadly and shook her head.

Wait, what in the actual fuck?

"We're in California", her response made my jaw drop to the floor. She could sense my uneasiness and gave my back a light rub.

"We were not safe in New York. You were right, we should've gone somewhere farther. Mr. Grey is a good friend of mine and he's offered for us to live with him for a while", she explained. I wanted to fight back and tell her that I could take care of myself. But the look on my mom's face made me stay silent. 

I knew that she didn't want me to get hurt again, and her seeing me hurt and wounded must've scared her even more than before. 

Alex's dad, then, ushered me and Alex out of the room so that he could discuss the living arrangements with my mom. Alex was escorting me to my room and we walked in silence. But when we reached the staircase, I turned around to face him and was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"When did all of this happen?", I finally asked, sitting down on the stairs. 

"Two days ago. When you were unconscious. It's best if you two stay here with us, so that we can protect you", he said. 

"Why", I muttered out, staring into Alex's eyes. But before I could even get response from him, a familiar voice interrupted us.

"I can tell you why, bella~" 

Both of us turned our heads towards a familiar figure who was standing at the front door and staring hard at Alex and me. I felt a sudden whoosh of nausea when I looked at the person and Alex was immediately by my side, wrapping his arm around my waist.

Nick let out a small chuckle before stepping inside the house, looking around. 

"Nice place, Alexander"

I looked back at Alex was silently glaring at Nick who seemed to be making himself at home. The atmosphere just shifted and there was tension in the air. 

It was so thick that you can cut it with a knife and it wouldn't even put a dent in it. 

"What are you doing here, Vienna?" Alex snapped. Nick looked at Alex with an amused smirk. The two both stared at each other for a while before Nick broke the silence.

"Today's Meeting Day. You didn't forget, did you?", he inquired. Alex let out a forced chuckle before answering him, "Of course not. My deepest apologies, Vienna. I'll meet with you shortly" 

"Sebastian"

A very tall man stepped into the room, wearing a tailored suit and a pair of white gloves. 

"Yes, Young Master."

"Please show our new guest to the game room", he said with a forced smile. 

"Of course, Young Master"

With a playful look in his eye, Nick followed Sebastian out of the kitchen. As he walked behind, Nick sent me a wink towards me that made me break out in a cold sweat. Alex took notice of that simple gesture and tightened his grip around my waist. I let out a breath when Nick was finally out of my sight and I tried pulling away from Alex, but he kept his grip on me. 

"Um. Alex. You can let go now", I said. 

He ignored me and looked over at Brandon, Kassidy and Damon.  They all nodded and left, leaving me and Alex alone. Alex finally let me go when he noticed my efforts of trying to pulling away. I turned to look at him, about to question what just happened, but the look on his face as he stared at me stopped me from doing so. 

He looked at me with so much worry and confusion, it made my heart ache. But the next thing that flashed across his eyes made me confused. 

Sadness

What? 

"I'm sorry"

Whoa, what the fuck?

I just heard his voice in my head and I stared at him with even more confusion. He just stared at me and waited. He sounded so heartbroken. 

But what was he sorry about? 

Just then, the memories from the incident came flooding back to my head, and I realized. 

He blamed himself for me getting hurt. 

He thinks it was his fault. 

I frowned and wrapped my arms around his waist, placing my cheek in between his neck and shoulder. His body grew tense and I held him closer. 

"It's not your fault, Alex. There was nothing you could've done. You didn't know", I said quietly to him. After a few minutes, I started to pull away but instantly,  I felt Alex's arms embracing me tightly. I let out a gasp of shock and his head was in the crook of my neck. 

His body felt warm and I was tempted to pet his head. But I didn't want to ruin a good moment, so I let him hug me, for comforts sake.