Incomplete

Chapter 49, Alexander

My index finger gently traces the outline of Lacey's soft-mauve lips. Her eyelids flicker a little in her sleep and I take my hand away before I wake her up.

I study her face until I know every single part of it. The contour of her jawline. The shape of her eyebrows. God, this girl is going to be the end of me. I bite my lip.

I exhale and place a strand of her red hair behind her left ear before crawling out of the bed. My eyes scan for my clothes which are spread all over her room. I move quietly around in the room, picking up all of the fabric pieces. Then I get dressed into the same dirty clothes I was wearing all yesterday, and the day before that.

I walk to her desk and start to write a note for her.

Dear Lacey,

Thanks for everything. I wish I could stay longer but I need to head home now.

Hope to see you soon.

-Alex

Now I don't appear as an ultimate douchebag.

My hand search for the handle in the dark room. When I finally find it, I push it down and open the door. But my feet can't seem to move. The events from last night hits me in the face like a sledgehammer.

The long lost mother of mine decided to show up after all these years. Only the thought itself makes me boil with anger. I can't comprehend how she had the fucking nerve to do that. I squeeze the handle harder until my hand shifts to a lighter color.

I lift my gaze up from the floor and look over to the bed where a dark silhouette lies.

Lacey.

The tension of my body slowly washes away as I watch Lacey peacefully breathe in her sleep. My stomach does a weird flip and I can feel the corners of my lip forming into a smile. I kissed her. And she kissed me back. Alexander Gray kissed Lacey Miller. A shiver runs through my spine as I reply it all in my head, her body pressed against mine, my hands pulling her closer by the waist.

Shit, stop Alex, you fucking creep. I shake my head, gathering my not pervert thoughts, and start to sneak downstairs to my dad's Tesla.

***

I stare at the blankness of the night. Not a single soul is moving anywhere. I check the time from my phone. 5 AM. Great, I've been sitting in our garage now for an hour straight.

I sigh and unbuckle my seatbelt I've kept on this entire time. I step out of the car. Then I slowly open the door which leads to our house. The door crackles. Crap. I would explode if I had to deal with my mother right now. If she decided to stay, that is.

My eyes survey the open space in front of me. The white walls almost appear grey in the moonlight that is shining through our big windows. The chandelier also reflexes small dots all over the dining hall.

I try to orient the way to my bedroom as quietly as possible. With my clumsy body it isn't the easiest task. I pitter-patter upstairs where I'm met by a tired looking Jonathan leaning against my room's door.

"Is mom here?" I whisper, not wanting in any circumstances to wake her up. I take a better look at my brother and notice that his eyes are bloodshot. He has dark circles underneath them and his hair sticks out everywhere.

"No," Jonathan replies with his voice flat. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me.

"Okay, good," I state and motion with my hand for him to move away from the door so that I could enter. But he doesn't flinch. I take a step back and meet his eyes. He isn't just tired, he's upset too. Which is completely understandable. I sigh for what feels like the hundredth time in these past 24 hours. "Could we talk about this tomorrow?"

"No," he says and takes a step closer to me. "You left me here alone to handle this shit with mom."

I gulp. He's furious.

"I couldn't handle it at the moment."

"And you thought I could?" Jonathan asks and clenches his fist. He never does that.

"I'm sorry." I look down at my feet. I never apologize, especially to Jonathan, but this is just too much for one night.

He studies me for moment before letting out a laugh that has no emotion in it.

"You're sorry? You have no idea what this night has been for me! I was worried sick about you! It's the same every time. You leave the house upset and I immediately know what's going through your head: alcohol. I never know when the day will come when we get a call home that you've died in alcohol poisoning or overdose!" Jonathan screams right to my face. My body tenses up. I'm so glad that my dad's out of town.

"We're both upset here. You need to calm the fuck down," I raise my voice, now irritated. He always expects the worst of me. "And for your record, I haven't drunk a single drop of alcohol since homecoming."

"Then where the heck were you!?"

"At Lacey's!" I shout back at him, even though that's none of his business. Jonathan shakes his head at me.

"She's too good for you. You're gonna break her heart and you know it! She doesn't need somelike like you to screw with her feelings."

"I'm not screwing with her feelings. I like her." Jonathan let's out the same emotionless laugh again.

"You like her? Bullshit! And if you actually did care for her, you'd leave her the hell alone!" He continues yelling.

I'm about to fire back but I can't seem to form words because I know what he's saying is true and I hate it, I hate it so fucking much. I knew it from the beginning. She's too innocent and I'm just a rich broken boy who drinks too much and gets into fights. I don't know how I imagined that there could ever be something between the two of us. I don't date, never have, never will. I'm the kind of guy who hooks up with someone and then tosses them aside the next day.

"You're right," I say. Suddenly my legs feel weak and I have the urge to sit down. My eyes start to water. I can't do this to her. She deserves so much more than somelike like me. "You're so fucking right."

***

Thank you so much for reading our story! If you enjoy it, please leave a vote and a comment. We appreciate it a lot!♥️ / ChasingChampions