Again wonderousplaceforanecho is super helpful with editing and everything. I bow to your genius chica.
Alex was the first one up and four hours of sleep hadn't helped her mood. So she quickly and quietly went into her room to change into her swimsuit before grabbing one of her surf boards. The waves were small today, but had they been bigger Alex wouldn't have been able to concentrate hard enough to keep her balance.
When Marissa woke up, she was reluctant to get out of bed. She didn't want to face Alex. Marissa decided that she wasn't mad at Alex for not letting her touch her anymore. She was mad because Alex didn't say anything. The two short sentences that Alex uttered weren't enough to appease Marissa. So she decided to avoid Alex until the blonde was ready to talk.
Finally, Marissa was able to drag herself out of bed. Serena was in the kitchen cooking something that smelled fantastic to the taller brunette.
"Good morning," Serena smiled.
"Are you always this happy?" Marissa teased her newfound friend.
Serena shrugged, "Pretty much."
"It's not natural," Marissa opened the refrigerator and as she bent down to get the orange juice she covertly scanned the room. Movement outside caught her eyes and she saw Alex sitting on her surfboard in the middle of the ocean looking out at the horizon. Even from far away Marissa could tell that Alex was thinking fairly hard. She wondered what about for a moment before Serena crossed her gaze to get to the sink.
"I made breakfast tacos," Serena offered, "Want one?"
"Sounds great," Marissa set the orange juice on the counter, "Want some orange juice?"
"Sounds great," Serena echoed. She got out some tortillas and put the eggs and sausage she'd been cooking into them before wrapping them up. She handed Marissa a plate with two breakfast tacos on it. Then Marissa handed Serena a glass of orange juice.
Just as Marissa was about to sit on the couch, the back door slid open and Alex stepped in. Marissa looked her over and she looked exhausted. Her eyes were downcast and her shoulders were slumped. She didn't look like she usually did after a morning of surfing where she'd walk in smiling and then raid the refrigerator.
"Hungry?" Serena asked.
Alex shook her head and fell back onto the couch, not looking at Marissa. Marissa didn't want to be in that close proximity of Alex so she stood and walked to the back porch. She sat on the steps and enjoyed the warm ocean air while she ate her breakfast.
Serena put down her breakfast and walked over to Alex who was staring off into space. "What did you do?"
"Who says I did anything?" Alex asked, suddenly defensive which made Serena even more suspicious.
Serena sat on the coffee table and stared at Alex. "Alex, what did you do?" she asked her voice even and unusually intimidating.
"I had sex with her last night," Alex muttered knowing that Serena would find out sooner or later.
The shorter woman studied Alex for a moment before adding, "And? She's not going to avoid you for nothing."
Alex ran a hand through her wet hair, "I walked in, had sex, and left."
Serena could tell there was more and that Alex would need more prodding. Serena took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes, not to look angry but to make Alex feel as though she were being examined, "What else?"
"Jesus!" Alex stood up and walked to the back of the couch, "I wouldn't let her touch me. That's it."
Serena hung her head. She stood too and walked around to where Alex was, "God Alex! Do you have any idea what kind of shit that poor girl has been through?!"
"No! I don't!" Alex yelled back, but Serena wouldn't back down. Alex crossed her arms and sunk back into herself, her voice lowering considerably, "She won't talk to me."
"Have you tried talking to her?" Serena asked calmly.
The blonde shook her head, "No." She bit her lip and could see Marissa sitting by herself outside. Then she looked at Serena, "Did she tell you?"
After glancing backward at Marissa who was oblivious to their conversation, while she fed sea gulls the remainder of her tortilla, Serena looked back at Alex, "I think she was…" She hesitated telling Alex because she knew the blonde would be furious. "I think she was sexually assaulted." When Alex's eyes got wide, Serena continued, "She was really anxious around the guys last night and she froze when Kevin tried to touch her. At some points she looked detached and others it looked like she was having flashbacks. Classic rape trauma syndrome."
Alex felt her knees go weak and then her blood boil. "Are you sure?"
Serena nodded, "I've seen that look in her eyes. I know for sure."
Alex took a long, slow breath to try to calm herself. "Maybe you should talk to her."
"She doesn't need a shrink-in-training right now," Serena touched Alex's arm, "She needs you."
She felt herself get lightheaded. She just realized what she'd done. Her jaw immediately clenched, "I can't."
"You can and you know you will," Serena gently pushed Alex towards the door, "Go."
Alex let the momentum carry her to the door. She paused before opening it and stepping outside. Marissa turned around and the second she saw Alex, she stood up to go back inside.
"Riss, wait," Alex said quietly. Her voice was quivering from extreme anger and sadness.
Marissa immediately looked at Alex who she was particularly surprised that Alex used the nickname she had when they were together.
Alex could barely look at Marissa without feeling like she would cry, so she sat on the step Marissa previously occupied and patted the open part of the stair next to her.
After studying Alex for a minute, Marissa stayed standing, "I'm going to take these dishes inside and I'll be right out, okay?"
A weak, "Okay," was the only response from Alex.
Marissa walked inside, trying to figure out what was up. She saw Serena thoughtfully doing the dishes and when Serena saw her, the shorter brunette took the dishes from Marissa with a forced smile. Marissa frowned and wondered what was going on with her two housemates.
When she got back outside, Marissa closed the door and sat next to Alex. She scanned the horizon before looking at Alex who had tears running down her cheeks.
"What's wrong?" Marissa immediately asked.
Alex quickly wiped away the tears, "Nothing."
Marissa paused, wanting to hug Alex, but still trying to stay mad at Alex for what she did. Her resolve was diminishing by the second. Alex hated to cry in front of people, even Marissa. Especially Marissa. So this must have been a really painful reason.
After building up her bravado again, Alex looked over at Marissa and finally asked, "Did someone hurt you?"
She felt like the wind had gotten knocked out of her. Marissa now realized why Alex and Serena were acting so strange. They'd figured out what happened…or someone told them. "Who told you?"
The surfer shook her head, "No one." After a short pause Alex added, "Serena works at a counseling center and is working to get her Ph.D. in psychology. She knew. I'm…I'm sorry I didn't see it."
Marissa dropped her head, "I should have told you." She suddenly felt like she could support her own weight even though she was sitting so Marissa rested her head on Alex's shoulder.
"Who was it?" Alex asked, carefully as she put her arm around Marissa's waist.
If she closed her eyes, she could see his face vividly, "Trey. Ryan's brother."
Marissa felt Alex's whole body tense, "Did he…uh…"
Trying to hold back tears, Marissa shook her head and leaned more into Alex, "He almost did. I…I have nightmares all the time that he actually does."
"Is he still in Newport?" Alex's voice was getting eerily hard and quiet.
Marissa nodded, "I helped him get into your old apartment." Marissa bit her lip and added, "Our old apartment."
There was a long silence before Alex finally said, "I'm so sorry for what I did last night…If I would have know…I shouldn't have done it anyway."
Marissa pulled away from Alex to look into her crystal blue eyes, "Last night was the first time someone has touched me and I didn't see Trey. If anyone tried to hold me like you are now, I'd…have a panic attack."
Tears welled up in Alex's eyes again. She blinked them away when she saw tears fall out of Marissa's eyes. She slowly reached up to Marissa's face, waiting for Marissa to flinch away. When she didn't Alex gently wiped the tears away.
Marissa slowly stood up and took Alex's hand, urging her up. Marissa sniffled and held tightly onto Alex's hand. "No one has been able to hug me since it happened."
Alex knew what Marissa wanted her to do, but she didn't want to send Marissa into a panic attack or a flashback.
"Please?" Marissa asked, pleading in an almost child-like voice.
Dropping Marissa's hand, Alex slowly wrapped her arms around Marissa. Alex let out the breath she was holding when Marissa relaxed into her arms and slid her own arms around Alex's waist.
"Thank you," Marissa breathed.
A few minutes later, Marissa pulled away and Alex immediately let go not wanting Marissa to feel trapped. Marissa trailed her finger along Alex's side and watched the blonde squirm away.
"I forgot how ticklish you are," Marissa smirked.
Alex chuckled, "No fair."
Movement down the beach caught Marissa's eyes and she froze. There was a man wearing a green sweater walking toward them.
This reaction was caught by Alex and she turned around. Her first thought was Trey was on her beach, but when Alex took a longer look, it was a man who lived a few houses down. His name was Randy or Ricky or something like that. Alex turned back to Marissa, "C'mon, baby. Let's go inside."
Marissa looked at the ground and nodded, walking inside and letting Alex follow her.
Serena was sitting on the couch and Marissa sat in the place on the couch she staked out a long time ago. They both looked at Alex who was still standing. Alex was staring angrily at the ground. She felt eyes on her and added, "I'm gonna go put clothes on."
The answer seemed to satisfy the two brunette women because Serena flipped on the TV to some medical drama rerun.
When Alex emerged from the bedroom she was in a white muscle shirt, comfortable looking jeans and a her black Converse. Her hair was up and her jaw was set.
"Going somewhere?" Serena asked. At this Marissa looked over at Alex.
Alex grabbed her keys as she walked with purpose to the door, "I'll be back later." Her voice sounded like she was struggling to keep it under control.
"Alex!" Serena stood up and trotted to the door after Alex, but it was too late. Alex had thrown her Jeep in reverse and sped off.
Marissa appeared at Serena's side and watched the Jeep disappear around a corner. "What's she doing?"
The shorter woman was afraid to know what her best friend was going to do, but she knew that this point there was no stopping her. Serena closed the front door and added as she walked back to the couch, "If she's not back tomorrow, we'll go find her."