It was a chilled Sunday morning in December. The suburbs of New York City lay in peace; Covered in a thick blanket of snow that reflected the sun and gave everything an angelic, almost unearthly, sense of beauty.
Alexa Bliss lay prone on her stomach, face buried in her pillow. She used to wake up early on Sunday's, but she never really did anymore. The faint, yellow sunlight peaked through the curtains but it gave no disturbance to her. The young woman's pet Yorkie laid curled up in a ball at her feet. Both of them were in a deep sleep with nothing to do for at least another hour or so.
A sudden blast of sound jolted Alexa awake and caused her dog to launch of the bed in a fit of furious barks. It was Alexa's phone, that's the conclusion she came to when the sense of awareness came back to her.
"Shhh, Biscuit, it's just my phone," she laid her hand on the yapping pup's head. A soft growl escaped its throat before she settled back down.
Alexa picked her phone up from the bedside table she had.
"Yeah?" She answered after reading a number she had grown to memorize. "No, it's Jeff's turn to run the meeting today... I did Tuesday... Oh, shit, I didn't know. Um, yeah I can be there soon. Thanks, Lita."
The blonde woman let out a heavy sigh.
"Why me?" She joked with herself. She looked at her small dog. "Why me, puppy? Why does mama have to do this to herself? Why was mama an alcoholic?"
Biscuit rolled to her back and stuck her paws in the air.
Alexa chuckled. "Yes, you are a good girl, Biscuit."
A quick belly scratch and Alexa was on her feet. Now that she had to actually do something today, Alexa collected a suitable outfit and headed for the bathroom for a warm shower.
Alexa parked in her usual spot outside the hospital. The spot was shared with her and Jeff Hardy, but he would evidently not be there today.
Once inside, the maroon haired receptionist greeted Alexa with a smile.
"Thanks so much for covering for Jeff today," Lita thanked. "I didn't know what else to do. I would've, but I can't leave my spot."
Alexa shook her head but smiled. "It's no worries, Lita. I'm glad I could help."
The hallway that led to the Addicts Anonymous room always made Alexa nervous. She ventured down this hall many times in the past. Sometimes it ended with something good, but the vast majority was usually negative.
The small conference room was already full with some people; Some Alexa recognized but some she didn't. The number of unfamiliar faces increased by the day and Alexa was happy that was happening.
"Better them being here than hurting themselves," Alexa always thought.
After fixing herself a cup of coffee with extra creamer, Alexa took a seat at the head of the circle.
"Where's Jeff?" Naomi, a sober former addict of close to seven years, sat to Alexa's left.
Alexa sighed. "Relapse. Last night, brother took him in this morning."
"Jesus..." Naomi muttered.
"I know," Alexa solemnly replied. "Nearly twenty years of hard work thrown away in one night."
The other members of the meeting took their seats in the circle. Alexa allowed them to get situated before beginning the meeting. She liked that the hospital staff set the chairs in a circle so they all felt equal. Alexa led the meetings, but that didn't mean she was better than the others.
"Good morning everyone," Alexa addressed the group with a warm smile. "For those of you who come to our Tuesday meetings, you already know me. For those of you who don't, my name is Alexa Bliss. I was an alcoholic. I am coming close to six years sober. Before leading these meetings along side Jeff, I was a member of the group up until I was two years sober, so..." She paused a moment to let the group clap. "Thanks, guys. Anyway, would anyone like to start? Usually we'd like a new member or someone who missed the last meeting to share."
As expected, no one raised their hand right away. Usually that was because of the fear of being criticized by others. Which was strange, because they were all there for relatively the same reason.
"It's ok, guys," Alexa assured. "This is a judgement free zone. If your ten days or ten years sober, we all support each other."
Almost directly across from her, a woman with her sweatshirt hood pulled over her head raised her hand.
"Ok, we got one," Alexa said. "Go ahead and tell us your name."
The woman nervously looked around the room as she stood up. Gradually, she pulled her hood down. Alexa took a second to examine the woman's features. She was pretty, admittedly, and she had a sense of childlike wonder in her eyes. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun. She kept nervously popping the knuckles on her hands; A usually tick Alexa saw in most addicts.
"I'm Dakota," the woman told in a thick Eastern Pacific accent. "I... Jeez, I don't know why I'm so nervous."
Alexa smiled. "It's ok, sweetie. Take your time."
Dakota nodded her head. "Well... I'm almost seven months sober. Heroin ruined my life. I've been in rehab twice, relapsed twice, and now I'm here. I was hoping these meetings would help get the idea through my thick skull that I need this to work. My girlfriend left me a few months back, and I'm praying getting clean will make her come back to me."
Alexa, as she clapped with the rest of the group, felt a little twinge of jealousy come over her at the mention of a girlfriend in Dakota's life. Alexa was unmistakably attracted to the woman already, but the mention of her sexual preference just made that all the more difficult to shake the feeling.
After the meeting, Alexa chatted with a few members as they left. The last ones in the room were Naomi, Baron, and the new girl, Dakota. Alexa watched her pour herself a cup of coffee. She was slow and careful with her movements, like she was worried she was going to drop the coffee pot or something.
"Good meeting as always, Lex," Baron praised as he left. Naomi also said her goodbyes before following Baron out the door.
"Everything ok?" Alexa asked the introverted woman.
Dakota nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, sorry, I was just getting some coffee. I can leave if I need to."
Alexa shook her head. "That's ok. You can keep me company while I stack the chairs."
She thought she saw a faint smile come across Dakota's lips, but Alexa wasn't really certain.
"Where are you from?" Alexa asked. "That accent doesn't sound like it's from New York."
"New Zealand," Dakota simply put.
Alexa nodded her head. The awkwardness in the air hung like a blanket as thick as the snow outside. Dakota's silence made Alexa a little uncomfortable, but she knew she had to be patient with the newer participants.
"You like New York?" Alexa asked.
Dakota nodded. "It's a nice city. I really like that diner across town. Big Dave's, I think?"
"Oh yeah? I'm a waitress there," Alexa said.
"I know. I've seen you before," Dakota turned away from Alexa like she was ashamed to admit that.
Alexa cleared her throat. "Big Dave's pretty cool. I used to work there with my girlfriend and a few other friends. Been almost ten years at that place. I mean, I had a few breaks in-between for rehab and a couple... Other things, but it's been pretty good for the most part."
"Girlfriend?" Dakota asked.
"Yeah, been gay since the day I was conceived," Alexa joked.
The joke brought a small giggle from Dakota. Alexa smiled, realizing she was getting through to the new girl.
"So..." Dakota dropped her gaze to the floor. "Would it... I dunno, be inappropriate to let... Me take you out?"
"Very," Alexa said. "I'm not permitted to have relationships with the people that come to these meetings. But you are very pretty, just so you know."
Dakota smirked. "Thanks."
Alexa made small talk with Dakota for a little while longer until the custodians came to collect the folding chairs from the meeting. Dakota said goodbye and mentioned she'd be at the next meeting. Alexa told her she'd definitely see her there.
The house that once housed seven people was a lot bigger with just Alexa and her puppy. AJ continued helping her with rent, even though he, Eva, and Charlie moved out years ago. That was all the contact she really had with AJ anymore. Finn called her every now and again just to shoot the breeze, but Alexa knew he'd rather be living his life with Becky and their two children.
The thing that hurt the most was how distant Bayley had become. After she moved in with Ember, Alexa saw less and less of her ex-fiance. She tried time and time again to set up "friend dates" so she'd get to see her, but something always came up to stop them. Eventually Alexa just gave up trying and let Bayley live her life with Ember.
Even after all this time, Alexa still wondered if it was too late to get Bayley back. She lived by the motto 'It's never too late' but she often wondered if the hugger would take her back. The last time she spoke to Bayley was AJ's Christmas party the year before. She stuck to Bayley's side most of the night and hugged her whenever she could. But things just felt odd between them.
After coming home from the AA meeting, Alexa noticed she forgot to check her mail from the previous day. It was mostly taxes, but the last envelope had her name neatly written on the front. Alexa immediately recognized it as Bayley's handwriting.
She tore open the letter. Her heart sank to the ground when she read the title of the card inside.
"You're invited..." Alexa whispered with teary eyes. She didn't even need to keep reading to figure out what she was invited to.
Cuddled up with her puppy on the couch, Alexa tried to distract herself from her pain with a marathon of her favorite Netflix shows. She also scanned her social media accounts; Anything that would numb her brain that didn't involve alcohol or any other stimulants. The house was scary when it was this quiet; Just the noise from the tv, her pup's snoring, and the occasional sniffle from crying recently.
Alexa scrolled through her Facebook. She still had a few pictures of her and Bayley; Back when they were still together and Alexa felt like a complete person. It was the typical selfies as they went about their day at work, home, and anywhere else. Bayley's bright, toothy smile while Alexa's tight lipped smirk was almost the complete opposite.
The next photo was one of Bayley and Alexa only with their lips locked. Bayley must've uploaded this one and Alexa never noticed.
"Love is a funny thing. But I know I love you, Alexa." The caption read.
Alexa chuckled tearfully. She agreed with that claim. Love is a weird thing. Loving your best friend since you were twelve is pretty weird to some. But it made sense to Alexa.
Just before she set the phone down, she received a friend request. The name read 'Dakota Kai'.
Alexa wondered if that could be the same person from AA that morning. She clicked on the profile. Sure enough, the profile picture was that of the shy girl she met the morning.
Smiling slightly, Alexa clicked the accept request button. Deciding to get a much needed nap in, she set her phone on silent and laid down on the couch.