AN: Hey guys, sorry for the little wait for this chapter, and apologies in advance for the wait you'll have for the next one. I'm making some pretty big decisions for this stories and just trying to figure out how I want to write it. This is just a short, sort of in between chapter, before we lead you into the more fun and important things. Thanks for the comments/follows/favourites, as always, and keep it up!
Change Of Heart
Chapter Nine
"Hey, kid."
Upon hearing that low, husky drawl, it was like no time had passed since I had spoken to Alex last. My heart fluttered in my chest as my stomach did summersaults and I sat down heavily on one of the stools placed next to my kitchen bench. It drove me crazy that she could affect me like this, it always had, the way she could set my skin on fire with only a few words and could turn my brain into a pile of gooey mush.
"Hey," my voice was slightly hoarse and I cleared my throat before continuing. "How have you been?"
It seemed like such a stupid question but her warm chuckle caressed my ears like a summer breeze and I couldn't help but smile at the sound of it. "I've been kind of shitty, but I'm feeling better now. How are you?"
"I've been okay," I said and it was the truth. The past few weeks definitely hadn't been the best of my life, but they hadn't been the complete worst either. "Are you still at home?"
"No, I left last Tuesday, thank fuck," I could hear the relief in Alex's voice and I nodded in sympathy, even though she couldn't see me. "I had to get away from all those assholes, so once I was finished with everything at Mom's house; I left Aunt Ruth to deal with the rest of those blood suckers. I picked up a couple of groupies though and we're in Jakarta now."
Jakarta. That explained the gentle crackling of bad reception. "Groupies?"
"Yeah," that chuckle warmed me from inside out, every fucking time. "You remember those girls from mom's funeral? Nicky and Lorna? Well, they decided to tag along for the next couple of drops, until we get back to the States."
So, she was back at work already. The thought of Alex's job turned the warm tingles into cold chills that worked their way unpleasantly down my spine, reminding me of exactly why I hadn't wanted to keep in contact. Even the thought of Alex coming back to the States, possibly back to New York where her main apartment was still situated, did nothing to abate the uncomfortable feeling. "I see."
I could practically feel Alex's smile disappear as she let out a heavy sigh, followed by a somewhat awkward silence. I could feel the conversation coming to a close and I found myself almost even wanting it to end as the silence lengthened, broken only by the soft crackles from Alex's bad reception.
She's bad for you, that little voice whispered into my ear, speaking the painful truth. She's a drug dealer who's proven how willing she is to pull you down that dark road with her. You're a nice blonde lady and she works for an international drug cartel.
It's just not meant to be, Chapman.
"Well," I spoke softly into the phone, gently tracing patterns on the marble bench top. "I have some things that I've got to do, but I'm glad that you're feeling a little better, Alex."
The silence seemed to last forever and I would have thought that Alex had hung up already if I couldn't hear her breathing through the line. Her voice was a few octaves lower than normal when she finally spoke, and I could practically hear her readjusting her glasses, in that adorable nervous habit she has. "Right, well, I'll speak to you later? Maybe you can tell me about some of the things you've got going on next time."
It sounded almost like a question, as if she thought that there might not be a next time, and I wasn't entirely sure either. "Yeah, maybe. Enjoy Jakarta and tell Nicky that I said 'hi'."
"I will."
When nothing else was said, I sighed and pulled the phone away from my ear before ending the call. I gently placed the cell back on the kitchen counter before standing up and making my way back to the couch, my thoughts a thousand miles away in Jakarta.
/
I took a shower to help clear my thoughts after my phone call from Alex, letting the water soothe away the furrows in my brow and wash away the tension I could feel in my muscles. Every time I thought that I had rid the dark haired woman from my mind, the sound of her voice would echo through my head and I finally had to exit the shower once I started to fear the water bill that would surely send me broke.
I left the bathroom, wrapping a towel around my body as I considered going for a run, even if it meant I'd have to take another shower when I got home. The water bill would be worth it, I decided, if it meant that the run would clear my thoughts. I changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, and I was almost finished lacing my shoes when I heard a knock at my front door.
"Seriously?" I growled to myself, standing from my spot on the bed as I stalked towards my front door. I opened it to reveal Larry's smiling face and I stood there in shock for several minutes before speaking. "Larry? What are you doing here?"
"Hello to you too," Larry gave me a grin, running his fingers through his short curly hair. "I came to pick you up, actually. We're supposed to be at Polly and Pete's place in half an hour."
"What? Why?" I asked in frustration, searching through my brain as I tried to remember agreeing to this meeting.
"We're supposed to be going there for dinner and to discuss more wedding plans," Larry gave me a tentative smile as I continued to stare at him blankly. "Don't you remember? You said you'd come when we were at that restaurant the other day."
"More wedding plans?" I sighed, assuming that I had answered Polly's invite whilst I had been lost in my memories. "Seriously, the wedding is still more than three months away!"
"I know," Larry chuckled in response. "But its Polly and I think she's excited. Do you want me to tell them that you're not coming?"
"No, no," I mumbled, shaking my head as I wandered back inside my apartment. I didn't want to incur Polly's famous wrath which was known to rival my own. "Come on in, It'll only take me ten minutes to change."
"Cool," Larry said as he closed the door behind himself and followed me into the apartment. I hardly spared him another glanced as I walked into my bedroom and immediately started searching for a new pair of clothes. I pulled out my nice pair of jeans and black shirt and quickly changed before rushing to the bathroom to put on some light make up. I wandered into the lounge room when I was finished and smiled when I saw Larry standing in front of my bookshelf, studying the spines of my books. "You ready?"
"Oh, yeah," Larry turned around with a grin, turning to point at one of the books on the shelf. "I didn't know you were a big fan of reading, I was just checking out your collection."
"Yeah, I am," I smiled, letting my eyes run over my collection of books that I had accumulated over the years, mostly while I had been travelling with Alex. "Ever since I was a kid, I always loved to read."
"Me too," Larry grinned in return before shrugging his shoulders and nodding towards the door. "Come on, Polly will lose her mind if we're late."
"Right," I laughed, following him to the door and finding myself thinking about the book that Larry had been looking at when I entered the room.
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
/
I stood in Polly's kitchen, drying each plate that my best friend handed me without much thought. My mind had been on Alex since our phone call and I had hardly participated in conversation during dinner and apparently it had been noticed.
"What's going on with you?" Polly prodded me as she passed me the bowl she'd just finished washing. I looked up into her brown eyes to find her studying me curiously and I knew that I was busted.
"I spoke to Alex today," I murmured, feeling the weight of Polly's stare as I turned my gaze back to the bowl in my hands. "She's in Jakarta."
"Supercunt?" Polly asked, her voice a mixture between surprise and confusion. "I thought you said that you two weren't going to be friends?"
"We're not," I frowned, placing the bowl back in the cupboard before taking the cup Polly automatically passed me. "I mean, I don't think we are, but I promised her that I'd still call her."
"Doesn't that kind of ruin the whole thing about not being friends?" Polly's voice dripped with confusion and my frown deepened.
"I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time."
"That's because you're a stupid lesbian," Polly agreed, shrugging when I turned my head to glare at her. "What? You totally are."
"Thanks for talking me through this, Pol, you're a great help," I grumbled, turning around to lean against the kitchen counter and looking into the dining room, where Pete and Larry were still seated at the table. Larry seemed to feel my stare as he spoke to Pete, looking over his shoulder and flashing me a grin, which I returned, before turning back to his friend. I turned back to Polly, who was watching me with raised eyebrows and frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," Polly said, her tone too bright and cheerful to really be nothing, but I let it go. My thoughts were too dark and swirly to really try and delve into Polly's confusing brain right now, anyway.
