The Way Back To You

Chapter 33

A P R I L

I stand just outside the door, frozen in place with my arm still up where it was before. Maybe I shouldn't have sprung this visit on him. I just assumed he would be happy to see the guy who helped him out. I never considered that he might be less then willing to relive that moment. Seeing Alex...It probably kicked in some form of PTSD.

Why didn't I consider that before I brought him? I should have asked...I should have given him a heads up. Something. Anything.

I turn to face Alex and find him looking just as stunned as I am, moving his palms up and down the sides of his jeans.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"No, no, I should have let him know that you were coming."

He shakes his head. "I'm the one who told you I would meet him today."

"And I'm the one who invited you in the first place."

"Did he know I was in the area?"

I run a hand through my hair and step back. "No, no I never told him I knew you personally."

I pace up and down the hallway while he stands there, leaning against a banister looking worriedly at me. I stop and hold up a hand.

"Wait, what if he thinks it was all a set up?"

"What?"

"I don't know, maybe he saw us together and now he thinks I sent you to save him back then? That I was behind it?"

Alex pushes himself off the railing and shakes his head once again, trying to calm me down. "I think even your brother knows that's not plausible. We didn't even know each other when it happened."

"He doesn't know that!"

I take in a big steadying breath, trying to get myself composed. He stands there staring at me as if I might faint at any moment, and quite honestly, that's a possibility.

"Look, I'm going to leave-"

"No."

I grab his wrist and his muscles relax. "You can't leave yet. Just...I don't know, stay here."

I go up to the door again, hesitating with my hand pressed against the wood before I softly knock and jiggle the doorknob, sending Alex a pointed look that tells him to step back. The dead silence on the other end confirms that Ethan isn't taking this lightly and will probably not be coming out of his room for a very long time.

I rub my eyes and grab at the key that I know sticks out from the rut hanging just above the door, but I don't think using it to force my way into his room is the best strategy. I weigh my options, which include letting Alex leave, going downstairs and waiting Ethan out, or somehow coaxing him out on his own.

My only real option is the last one, but I don't know how to make that happen. I look around for help, wishing Yvonne was here so I could ask for her advice. She may not be the best person to go to for help in this situation, being that she's so hotheaded sometimes, but she's also the only other person who understands our brother the way I do. 

I sigh and bring my hands up to weave around my hair, turning on the spot to see Alex still standing there looking at me curiously. Before I can tell him we might have to go downstairs and wait it out he speaks.

"Let me try."

This surprises me, but I don't really have any other options and so I move back, letting him take my position in front of the door.

"Hey, kid? I just want to talk to you for a bit, I remember seeing you a while back but I never really got the chance to stop and have a conversation. I know what you're going through and I think this could be...Helpful. For both of us. I'm having trouble getting my mind off that night too, you're not the only one who was hurt that day."

I cock my head and look at him, wondering what he's talking about.

"Okay, yeah I sound like the typical adult giving you the 'I get it bullshit' but they're not, you know, empty words. And it wasn't a setup, whatever you're thinking. Your sister cares about you, you know? She invited me here and I think it would be a shame to leave without getting to know you."

I pause and wait, for a sound, for a movement, for the opening of the door. But none of that comes. Alex shrugs and turns to look at me and I'm surprised to see him smiling.

"Yeah, I didn't think that was gonna work. Kid's way smarter than that."

I raise an eyebrow and lower my voice. "Then what do we do?"

He gestures downstairs. "Why don't we order a cake or something."

"A what?"

"A cake. I don't know I just feel like eating cake right now. I had some the day I met your brother, before I went to the park. From that bakery across town. I was going to the trash to throw it out when I heard some kids betting each other they couldn't jump someone out of insecurity. It's how they all are, you know. I bet if they were on their own they wouldn't dare try anything, it's how you know they're wimps."

He doesn't bother to lower his voice and I can finally see what he's trying to do.

"Yeah, most bullies are. They'll grow up to be miserable saps, but that doesn't mean the people they hurt have to continue being miserable. The tables will turn eventually. I've seen it happen and its happened to me."

I nod and purse my lips, stepping away from Ethan's room. 

"All right then, Let's wait till-"

I pause, pricking my ears. I hear a creaking of bed springs and padded footsteps from the other side of the door. Alex turns, crossing his arms and giving me a wink. The door slowly cracks open and Ethan peers at us from around the bend, eyes switching back and forth from me to Alex.

"You guys said you were ordering cake from the bakery?"

Hey everyone who's still keeping tabs on this story, it's been like 8 months since I last looked at this and that's mostly out of life events and the fact that I never felt motivated enough to write, but it's starting to be more therapeutic and less of an obligation and so I've gotten back into the habit. As for an updating schedule-I don't have one. I only write when I feel like it and update when I want to, so I'm sorry I can't be more definitive on that, but I do plan on finishing this book and my other project that I am also currently working on.

If this is the first book of mine that you are reading and you want something in the meantime check out my other story "Sorry Not Sorry" which was finished and edited about a year ago. You can read it without having to wait for updates, which I'm sure is a lot more convenient. 

-Stay safe! xx