Chap. 2
POV- Paige M.
Meet the Princess
It's 2am, and I can't sleep. That's been the story of my life, lately. For the past few weeks, I just haven't been able to get to sleep. Even in the protective arms of Dom. My beautiful Dom. I remember the day Andrea introduced us. She needed help setting up a show, and he was one of the models. Wavy blond hair, light green eyes, tan skin, lean muscles…he was like a fashionable lifeguard with an oh-so-adorable British accent. He was the only model WILLING to come early and help the movers bring in some of the heavier equipment. We ended up spending most of the day together. I would say something witty and he'd laugh that dimply laugh with his perfect white teeth. He asked me if I'd show him some of Toronto's attractions. It was the sweetest, most romantic date I'd had for a while. That was over a year ago. We got a place together and things have been running smoothly since then.
Every now and then, I think about Alex. I wonder how she's doing. How she and her mom's cousin are getting along. How her mother is.
Chilly nights like this make me think back to that night I found her walking...
My shift had been over for an hour and I was finally on my way home. I was so relieved. Without Alex, shifts seemed to go by painfully slow and Meeri's bitchiness would be, like, ten times worse than usual. The whole night, she kept APPEARING out of nowhere to make me clean the nacho thing, even though hardly anyone ordered nachos that night. I couldn't help but sulk a little over my ruined manicure My poor manicure… It was one of the few times I had decided to splurge and get French tips!
Once I got "off", she sent me to sweep between the seats and pick up the candy wrappers in the screening rooms. Then, she granted me the "privilege" of cleaning the break room. That place was so filthy. I always thought they should've hired someone on salary specifically for "break room management".
I cranked up the radio and smiled with anticipation. My only thoughts were of my waiting bed. Mmm, yes… my nice comfy bed in my nice comfy room with no plastic cheese and no Meeri. I couldn't wait to shed that "polyester turd" and shower so I could hop in bed and get some sleep.
My thoughts came to a halt as I saw a familiar figure walking along the side walk. I could recognize that walk anywhere.
That walk that had the uncanny ability of conveying aggression and nonchalance at the same time...
I watched her for a bit, then I wondered if anyone else had been doing the same. I began to panic for her.
It was well after midnight. I wondered what she was doing on this side of town... Why she didn't have a jacket… How long she had been walking. Without thinking any further, I pulled up beside her. We barely knew each other. We'd just gotten over hating each other and I was acting as if we were the best of friends. At the time, I didn't really know why I did it, but I'm glad I did. Anything could have happened to her.
I rolled down the window on the passenger's side and felt the cool autumn breeze invite itself into my jeep. I couldn't help but shiver a bit at the unexpected change in temperature. Hugging myself, I leaned into the passenger seat and called out to her.
"Alex!" I shouted over the radio.
She stopped walking and I saw her tighten her grip on something in the pocket nearest me. Instantly, I began to feel uneasy. She turned and looked at the jeep before bending slightly to see into the window. Then, I saw her loosen her grip before flashing that trademark Alex Nunez smirk. I relaxed, letting out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
"Hey, Princess," Alex greeted me with less amusement in her voice than usual.
As I started to respond, I noticed a nasty cut on her lip and a deeper one under her left eye. She looked like she had been in a fight, but, strangely enough, didn't seem very proud of it. At the time, I didn't know for sure what was going on. All I had was my gut, telling me that something didn't seem right. But, I know now that the cuts and bruises I saw were the product of an angry Chad.
I continued the interrogation.
"Hey. Alex, what're you doing out so late?" She gave a small laugh and rolled her eyes at this.
"Well, I WAS walking." She replied, putting emphasis on the "was". Her smirk had become a full-on grin, at this point.
It irritated me that Alex found my concern so entertaining. I rolled my eyes and tried my best to shrug off her sarcasm. "Alone?" I asked.
"Yes, MOM. I can take care of myself. Why are you so worried about me being out late? Wait. Lemme guess... Meeri was really laying into you tonight and you missed having me around to ease the suffering?"
"Sorta,"I admitted, with a smile. I did miss Alex's witty commentary that night. I think I might've just missed HER altogether. I saw something flash across her face. She looked like she was remembering a joke. I braced myself for more inappropriate humor, but it never came. Instead, I heard her chuckle before continuing, "I thought your license was suspended?"
I shrugged. "A girl's gotta get to work, hun."
"So, Paige Michalchuk DOES have a rebellious streak? I'm impressed" She was doing that smirk again. After spending so much time with Alex at work, I'd actually become quite fond of that half smile. Some of my best laughs had come immediately after that very smile. There was another strong breeze and this time, I REALLY felt it.
"Alex, can we finish this conversation inside? Like, with the windows rolled up? If I'm this cold, I know you've got to be freezing…"
"Paige-", I could already see her starting to protest, but I cut her off.
"I mean, I could take you home…" I offered, still trying to sell her on the idea of getting in the car with her ex-nemesis/co-worker/barely-a-friend.
"Paige!" She raised her voice to get my attention. But, she said the last part quietly. "I'm fine. Really…" Her voice cracked noticeably and she cleared her throat to hide it.
And, that was the chink in the armor. The joking, the smiling… I was almost convinced until that. I finally decided that I was going to get her out of the cold. And I wasn't taking no for an answer.
"Get in."
"Paige, look-"
"HUN? This isn't debatable. GET IN." I cut her off, raising my voice a little so she knew I was serious. I must've been pretty convincing, because there was no protest. She only raised her eyebrows and got in.
At school the next day, I found myself replaying the events of the night in my head. I really didn't get much out of my classes that day.
All I could think about was why Alex had been out so late. Why was she walking alone? Why was she always so bruised up?
I remember how peaceful she looked in the passenger's seat, and how I could FEEL her tense up as I asked about the fight and about home. I pulled into my driveway and cut the car off before taking a look at her…. a REAL look. Sure, on the surface, all you'd see was a beautiful misfit. But, if you looked a little deeper, you could see something was definitely wrong. I saw four little bruises going down her arm. It looked as if someone had grabbed her arm a little too forcefully, and left fingerprints. I looked up at her face, willing her to turn and talk to me, but she'd already put up a wall between us.
There was one moment when she looked back at me before I invited her in to stay. At that moment, it was like I was seeing her for the first time. I'd never seen so much pain in a person's eyes. I figured she wouldn't want to talk about it, so I told her I knew it wasn't any of my business what was going on. I didn't want to seem too obvious about it, but I really wanted her to stay.
It wasn't originally my plan to pick her up and bring her home, but it was getting really late and I could tell she didn't want to go home.
I gave her some of Dylan's clothes to sleep in. She looked grateful and almost timid walking around my room. It was definitely a different side of Alex. At the time, I couldn't help but giggle a bit at how unexpected it was. It was almost "cute".
I remember how she thanked me as I put pillows between us and cut off the light.
I was woken less than an hour later by what sounded like her having a bad dream. I rolled over to see for myself. Thanks to the full moon that night, I was able to see her face. Her eyes were still closed and her breathing was still somewhat even. I would've thought she was fine if I hadn't seen the tears lining her cheeks. Occasionally, I heard her call for her dad ever so softly. My heart ached for her. I wondered what happened to her dad. I felt myself wanting to reach out and touch Alex. She needed to know that whatever she was going through, she wasn't alone. But, I could never let her know what I just witnessed. I was afraid she would never talk to me again. She wasn't exactly the most open person when it came to emotions…
Dom's snoring loudens, bringing me back to reality. He pulls me closer and nuzzles the back of my neck. It's almost as if he can sense that I'm thinking about Alex. Like he's holding on to me. Trying to keep me close.
