Small chapter to help you through the weekend. (I didn't proof read, sorry)
39.
Alex was awoken from her deep intoxicated slumber by the annoying sound of the ringtone on her phone.
Glancing at the clock she not so happily answers the phone "It's fucking three a clock in the morning Cameron."
"No it's not. It is six a clock in the afternoon and you owe me ten bucks." The boy replies a bit grumpy not quite receiving the cheerful hello he was looking for.
"It might be six a clock in the afternoon where you are but where I am it is three a clock in the morning. I have explained the time differences to you before."
"Oh yes, I remember something like that." He pauses only for a second before he continues "So as you know my parents are getting married in a months' time and then they are going on holiday without me. Apparently that is how grown-ups do it when they get married." Alex can make out an annoying sigh coming from the boy on the other end of the line. "Alex are you still there?"
"Yes buddy I am here."
"So why are you not talking to me?"
"I am listening to what you are saying. Everything you are telling me I already know. What is the point you are trying to make."
"I will get to that. Mommy says you are not coming to the wedding. Why aren't you coming to the wedding?" He asks
"Because your mother is a pain in the ass."
"That is not very nice Alex and now you owe me another ten buck. Anyway, so while they are going on holiday without me mommy said that I can come and visit you but since I am only six I can't fly alone so what are we going to do about it?"
Alex is suddenly wide awake sitting up straight in the bed. Piper actually agreed for her son to come and visit her in South Africa. The last time she saw or even spoke to Piper was nine months ago in London. The last time they had a proper conversation was a year and a month ago last just before she left. She speaks to Braydon from time to time but he didn't give her any indication that their son would be coming to visit.
"Are you sure your mother agreed to this? I haven't spoken to your mother in months." Alex tries to clarify.
"Yes Alex the only problem is that I can't fly alone. Do you want me to put her on the phone so you can ask her yourself?"
"Hell no, please not. I believe you." Alex keeps quiet for a while trying to think about what to do. Cameron on the other end also stays quiet waiting for Alex to come up with the solution. "Okay." Alex continues "I will fly down there a couple of days before the wedding, catch up with my friends over there and then I will see you the day after the wedding at your house. Make sure your mother packs everything you need and has all your travel documents. If she needs something from me tell her to email me."
"Yes!" Is all Alex hears on the other side of the phone.
"Okay can I go back to sleep now?"
"Yes Alex, and thank you Alex. Thank you Thank you Thank you."
Alex can't help but smile at the excitement of the boy "it's not problem buddy. I wanted to come down and see my friends anyways so this gives me the perfect opportunity. Just tell your mom I said it's fine and I will come and fetch you. She will know what we need."
"Okay, goodnight Alex. I love you."
"Love you to buddy. Goodnight."
It took Alex a good hour after that to fall back to sleep. She was sure that Piper was probably pissed off with her because she didn't RSVP for the wedding. To say Alex was surprised when the couriers delivered the invitation was an understatement but she was sure that the invite was probably thanks to Braydon and Cameron.
Alex is not mad or annoyed by Piper anymore. The fact that she told Cameron earlier that his mother is a pain in the ass is just the grumpiness off being woken up in the early hours of the morning. She has nothing against the blond anymore and should she actually contact her to discuss her sons trip it would be no problem. Piper has moved on with her live and so has Alex.
She held very deep feelings for Piper at one time. Dare she even say that she actually loved her. The only reason she didn't want to go to the wedding is that she started moving on and didn't want to risk old feelings coming back when she sees Piper in her wedding dress.
She very much regretted her behaviour in London that night. The next morning when she woke up, she wanted to go to Piper and apologise to her but decided against it, knowing how short the blonds fuse was and she didn't have the energy for another fight. Instead she made sure to avoid Piper at all costs until she left. She wanted to move hotels, but it being Wimbledon at the time all the hotels were fully booked.
Three months after that she read that Piper and Braydon had set a date for the wedding. She was very surprised that she actually got the opportunity to read some information before Cameron could phone and tell her. The boy however was not very impressed when he told her and she just said 'I know'. He took it as his duty to inform her of everything going on and felt offended that the tabloid took that honour away from him. Alex promised to skip any page with something about Piper in any magazine from then on.
The next couple of weeks went by quite quickly. Alex didn't hear anything from Piper with regards to Cameron's trip with her so she assumed that all was in order. She asked the boy about it a couple of times they spoke and he assured her that his mother has everything under control. He also said that he does not want to ask her about it all the time because apparently she was on the war path all the time and saw fault in everything with regards to the wedding.
In Cameron's own words "This day her dress is to tight then the next day daddy's tie is to green. We went to taste cakes yesterday. One of the cakes was the same colour green as daddy's tie and we all agreed that that was the nicest one. This morning she lost it because she said she told them she wanted the red velvet. We all heard her say she wanted the one that looks like daddy's tie but we weren't going to argue with her. She is scary like that, so daddy said we will go and sort it out and send her for a massage. We just got back home from the bakery. Mommy is still at the spa."
Alex couldn't help but smile when he told her this and she believed every word. In her mind she knew that Piper would be the perfect example of a bridezilla. This conversation happened last week. It is now a week before the wedding and Alex is currently sitting at a coffee shop at the airport with Riley waiting for the boarding call of her flight.
"So you haven't changed your mind about going to the wedding yet?" Riley asks. Alex shakes her head no. "You are there Alex. I don't see why you don't just go. I mean you are over her. You made it clear that you will never abandon Cameron because he holds a special place in your heart, so she is always going to be a part of your life in a way. Why not just make peace with her and try and be friends."
"There is no peace to make Riley" Alex snaps "I am not mad at her. I just don't want to go to the wedding. Weddings aren't my thing."
"Okay whatever you say. No need to snap at me. I am just trying to make conversation."
Feeling a pang of guilt Alex reaches over the table taking Riley's hand in her own "I know, I am sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." She offers the red head a small smile. "I just don't want to go. There is no reason except for I don't want to."
Riley nods, deciding to drop the subject "Okay, so I will pick you guys up in two weeks' time, Saturday. I will go and do some shopping the Friday before." Alex tries to interrupt but Riley just holds up her hand. "Alex you are not going to feed that child Pizza every single day he is here. I am going shopping and I will do the cooking. We can have Pizza maybe once a week."
"Yes mother." Alex rolls her eyes.
"It's almost time for you to board, so I am going to go now. Have a save flight, enjoy the trip and behave." Riley laughs
Alex offers her a cheeky grin "Don't I always."
"No, no you don't. I don't think you know the meaning. Piper owes me big time for being around while her son is here otherwise I don't know…."
"Are you saying I will make a bad parent?" Alex enquires with a raised eyebrow.
"If it wasn't for me living with you, you would have pizza every day of your life, three times a day. Maybe not a bad parent just not very good in the feeding department."
Shaking her head in acknowledgement Alex agrees with that statement but she won't let Riley win that easily "you know pizza is not so bad. Some of them even have veggies on them."
"Mushrooms, pineapple and peppers are not veggies." Riley argues back.
With a disgusted face Alex replies "Who the fuck puts pineapple on pizza anyway."
"Not the point and you might want to practice easing up on the swearing starting now otherwise you will be broke by the time that little Chapman leaves."
"That might just be the truest and most clever thing you have said all day. I thought you are leaving."
"I am. Love you, bye." Riley stands up and plants a kiss on Alex's head. "Call me when you land."
"Love you to."
The week leading up to the wedding Alex had the best time catching up with her friends. She had very little contact with Cameron that week because she didn't want him to try and convince her to come and see him beforehand. She knew he would want her to take him to the tracks so she can see the progress he has made with riding. She also knew that she couldn't say no to him so avoiding him was the best option. She would love to see him ride though, which is why they will only be leaving a week after the wedding. So they can do some of the things they used to do.
She did explain to him that she will not have a lot of contact with him because she will be hanging out with friends all the time and he will be too busy helping his mother with the wedding. He was very impressed by the fact that Alex acknowledged the fact that he is working hard on this wedding. He swore he was never getting married because "It is just to much work for one day and I don't want my girlfriend to turn into a monster like someone I know." Alex recalls him saying. She cried from laughing so hard at that last statement.
The wedding day eventually arrived and Alex was awake earlier than normal. In actual fact she hardly slept the night before. It was very annoying to her seeing as this was the one day she didn't have any plans with anyone. Her plans were to just sleep all day. Watch a bit of TV when she couldn't sleep anymore and then sleep again until she had to go and get Cameron the next morning before his parents left for their honeymoon.
After tossing and turning for another hour she got up, took a shower and left the hotel. She had no idea where she was going, instead she just drove and drove and drove waiting to see where she would end up. Two hours later she was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, breathing in the fresh air, watching the water of the waterfall cascading down into the blue pit. Unbeknownst to her if she had arrived ten minutes earlier she would have found a certain blond standing in almost the exact spot, breathing the same air, watching the same water.
This has been Pipers go to place when she just needed to get away from it all or when she wanted to clear her head…. Or when she missed Alex…
