Stuck With Him

Chapter fifteen [ 15 ]

Chapter fifteen: Under My Skin

"You have got to be kidding", I accidentally said out loud. Was this his version of giving me 'space'? What had it taken him, a week? Did he think that was long enough to magically make me not hate him? Why couldn't he just leave me alone? Alex could have gotten any girl he wanted. Why was I such an obsession to him? Was it just so much fun seeing me miserable that he couldn't help himself?

Ian's head shot up from his hands that he had been staring at for the past five minutes. "What?" he asked and followed my gaze to Alex. Alex's expression changed when he noticed Ian sitting next to me. Something dangerous gleamed in his eyes as he eyed Ian.

"My, uh, my ex is here", I struggled to say and glared at Alex who put on his best innocent face. He had almost reached us by now, his cold gray eyes never leaving mine. What the hell did he think he was doing? And how did he even get here? Had Dahlia invited him?

"Hey, Natalie", Alex said as he sat down on a chair across from mine. I didn't respond, I was too angry. It's all a game to him, I thought to myself. He's just trying to see how far he can push me before I snap. I probably should have been grateful he hadn't dragged Miss String Bikini a.k.a Karlie Tyler here, too, just to spite me.

Alex turned his head to my left and flashed a cocky smile at my date for the night. "Hey there, I'm Alex Vega. And you are?"

His words were polite but the venom laced with them sure as hell wasn't. He looked down on Ian, tried his best to make him uncomfortable. He loved preying on people's weaknesses and it didn't exactly take a genius to realize that Ian's Achilles heel was his lack of self-confidence. Alex, on the other hand, had an ego the size of Texas. It wasn't going to be a fun night for poor Ian. Only two minutes ago I had thought of ways to leave the dinner party early but now I had to stay and try to save Ian from my merciless and often very possessive ex.

"I'm, uh, I'm Ian Gotham", Ian said already feeling uneasy. "I'm the hostess's cousin."

"How nice. And what do you do, Evan?"
I shot Alex a warning look. I would not let him ridicule Ian. "His name is Ian", I corrected him all the while knowing full well that Alex knew what his name was and had used an incorrect name just to belittle him.

Alex smiled sweetly at me. "Of course it is. Now, Ian, your occupation?" he pressed on.

Ian shifted in his seat. "I'm an accountant."

Alex snickered cruelly. Ian sunk even lower into his chair. I could see that he wished he was anywhere but here. I felt bad for him. He was only on the receiving end of Alex Vega's trademark cruelty because of me but at the same time I was annoyed. Why wouldn't he stand up for himself? Why was he letting Alex make fun of him? If you let people treat you like dirt, they will.

"Ian was just awarded the AAT prize for his CPD programme", I snapped. Whoa. Where did that come from? I guess I had been listening after all when Dahlia introduced me and Ian to each other.

Alex's eyes were unreadable. "Was he now?"

"And he graduated from Harvard with a 4.0. GPA last year. He speaks five languages, volunteers at a nursing home every Sunday and works as an accountant to the biggest law firm in Chicago. What was it that you do again, Alex?" I challenged him, my tone spiny. I tried my hardest not to let him get under my skin but he knows just what buttons to push to make me furious. If annoying me to the brink of death was his plan to get me to forgive him, he was going to fail miserably.

Ian interrupted my plan to humiliate Alex. He turned to look at me with wide blue eyes. "Don't you know? He's a rock star."

Alex's smirk had faltered a little but now it was back on, brighter and wider than ever. I scoffed. "A rock star? Try pop star, that'd be closer to the truth", I said although to be fair, Alex might have started as a pop star but he was nothing near to the sort anymore. His latest album was definitely closer to Linkin Park than Justin Bieber. But I said it anyway because I knew his insecurities and one of the biggest ones was his career. He was afraid to be remembered as just another boy band's member. He wanted to be something more, something bigger. Something special.

See, the thing about egos is that there is always a hole in them, some small crack that you can
strike until it all comes crashing down. Alex may know my weak spots but I know his too. You don't date someone for that long without getting to know them. It may have been just for publicity but all the best lies have some truth to them. I smiled a 'two can play at this game' smile to Alex. If he kept on harassing Ian, I'd crush him. Sadly, I knew just how to tear someone mentally apart and Alex Vega was the reason why.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

I didn't know I can type fast 💨 👩‍💻

Anyway...

Please COMMENT, VOTE AND FAN

Much love,

Ida 💋