Moving On [SwaggerSouls]

/Chapter Twenty-Seven/ Family Business (Part Two)

I carried Alyssa into our hotel room after the "interrogation" we held, laying her in the bed, and tucking her in. It went so much better than I'd originally thought it would and I wouldn't have traded Alyssa's reaction to the conclusion of it for the world.

She'd cried herself to sleep out of pure happiness. Like the rest of us, she was exhausted from tonight's trying events so I was surprised she didn't fall asleep during the whole ordeal. Among other things, I found myself feeling prouder and prouder of this girl by the second. Who the fuck even has the balls to cheat on their best friend? With their best friend? For months? That ain't family at all.

My eyes widened as my thoughts began to be consumed by sleep deprivation, I mean, Florida's not quite Alabama, but based on the shit you hear going on there maybe it's not too far off...

There was a knock on the door before my thoughts went to a much darker place. Half-asleep, I stumbled to the door, fumbling with the doorknob before noticing Ryan with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Hey buddy, ever heard of beauty sleep? PAX still exists you know." I quipped.

"Well, it's a damn good thing you wear a helmet," He retaliated, "I have something to discuss with you."

I sighed, softly closing the door behind me not wanting to wake up Alyssa, "Okay, Dad. Coming."

I followed him back to his hotel room where Mason was asleep in the second bed. I sat beside Ryan on his as he began to speak, "You can't sit here with a straight face and tell me you believed a word out of her mouth, right?"

"Uh. Yeah. I can. Which is why I raised my hand and said all those nice things about her and her situation?" I looked at him like he'd grown two heads, "Ever since the day I've met her, I've noticed something 'off' about her like I originally told you. I figured something shitty had probably happened to her, but I assumed it'd just blow over. Something like betrayal from those you call family though is a whole other story though, and although it's a little far-fetched, I understand her reasoning for moving here. She's gonna be scarred for life, man."

He shook his head, "Okay, and? Based on tonight's events, there is no clean slate for her here. Maybe there never was. Someone knows her- someone who possibly wants her dead. She told us a tale- we listened, but it was about cheating and betrayal. Perhaps something like that happened to her, but I don't think it was a boyfriend, best friend, cutesy, situation. She could've just used that as a cover-up for something else."

Mason gasped from the other end of the room, causing me to almost jump out of my skin as we thought he was asleep, "I think I know what she was trying to cover up, Mates."

"What's that?"

"Maybe Alyssa never was cheated on. Maybe she cheated someone else."

Ryan nodded his head vigorously in agreement, "See? This guy gets it."

"I think Alyssa cheated on Josh..." Mason blurted out as Ryan just stopped nodding, clearly not on the same page with him after all, "...With Kimmy."

I burst into laughter as Ryan just stared at Mason completely unamused, "You cracked the case, buddy."

"Don't be a dick, Mate. Even I believe in the Broad. And that says a lot." Mason told Ryan off, concluding his show with a yawn, "Goodnight, boys!"

"Night, buddy." I smiled at Mason as he turned away from Ryan and I.

"Seriously, Eric. There is no way in hell that Alyssa knows jack-shit about what happened last night. Like I said, maybe she wasn't cheated on, maybe she cheated someone else."

I raised my eyebrows at him, trying not to laugh again based on what Mason said about his statement.

"Hear me out: She had to have pissed someone off in order to get them to resort to actions as extreme as that. Someone with power, money, and reputation. There is no way in hell she could've been unaware of that. Yeah, she might not exactly know who, but she at least has to know what caused this to happen. And knowing at least the cause of the whole situation must've led her here: To Melbourne, Australia."

He got in my face yet again, "Home sweet home. Ironic, isn't it? Too bad those guys managed to find her right away though. She must be shit at covering her tracks."

"Fuck. You." I shot back, letting my anger get the best of me and returning his fire, "I think you've been watching a bit too much CSI buddy. Come back to reality already. I mean, I'm not shy when it comes to smoking, but I think you've somehow gotten permanent brain damage from your habits."

"I'm not the enemy here, you horny fuck." He fumed, "Unlike you, I'm actually using my brain. Sure, you want to protect this girl, but for what? You stick your dick in her one day, maybe invite her over for a few of our parties on occasion, but then you eventually get bored. Like you always have."

He gritted out the rest, "She's just another one of Swagger's Sluts, so I guess what I'm asking is: Why the fuck is she our problem?"

"Oh, cute. You have a name for the girls I choose to fuck." I purred, "And you claimed to have thought I was in love with Bee. You just love jumping to all the wrong conclusions, don't you buddy?"

"Answer the question, dipshit."

I sobered, pushing my anger towards the back of my mind in order to tell my truth, "She's our problem because she means a lot to me. You're the only one who knows this. Therefore, you also know that I don't know quite why this is yet. However, just the other day you claimed to support this whole-heartedly, as family does. I didn't know shit would get this messy and I'm sorry that it did, but we're in this now too, whether you like it or not. I know how fucked this entire situation is and I know how stupid it seems, but I'm a smart man, Ryan. I know the risks I'm taking. I know the consequences this could have. I don't know what it'll lead to, but what I do know is that I'm not letting it go."

Ryan leaned back, putting up his hands in frustration as I continued, "I understand if you want to step back from this whole thing, I really do, but I refuse to do so myself. I only want the best for you and the rest of the family, but just remember that everyone in that room asides from you believed her. In fact, they made her family as of just a bit ago. I'll support you in whatever it is you decide to do, as I always have, and even if you don't support me in this, it's alright. I just advise you not to get in my way because it won't end well for either of us."

I hoisted myself up off of his bed, satisfied with the point I'd made. Like Alyssa, my truth had come out tonight too. And now? It was time to get that beauty sleep in.

I made my way to the door as Ryan piped up once more from behind me, "Do you love her?"

I didn't even bother looking back as I replied, letting myself out of the room, "Go to bed, Ryan."

—————END OF CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN————

Don't forget to vote, see you soon!