Just Like Sugar
Why hello again, lovers! I have been coerced into the writing of the next chapter. The threat of being ambushed by small felines just doesn't quite appeal to my allergies.
Besides, I need a pick-me-up after writing that pathetic last chapter.
Oh and btw, italics, are Alex, they will always be Alex. Unless in quotations. I that case, it'll be emphasis.
Now, let's do this…
7
/
Where to begin, where to begin? Once Mason had run off, Alex realized that she'd gathered quite a bit of useful information. It was a new record, brain function before 11:30. Quickly, Alex hurried back over to her window, there was no way she'd be able to catch Justin in time. There was however, plenty of time to take care of a few other things. Taking a seat at her desk with a pen and paper in hand, Alex began jotting down a list.
IMPORTANT
1. Mason suddenly interested in me?
2. Mason gets really tense via Juliet.
3. Why'd mason come up last night? See number 2
4. Justin, morning jogs.
5. GUEST HOUSE- MINE!
6. talk to Juliet, ASAP.
7. Justin… do something about Justin.
The brunette sat back in a huff. There was no way she would have been able to keep all of that in her head, not this early in the morning. Alex could only make so much mental progress at a time.
First things first, talk to Juliet; that would get her through at least numbers three and five. As Alex headed over towards her door, she crossed in front of her mirror.
"Ew," she mused, touching her hair forlornly. She would shower before she did any damage. Three years ago, whether or not Alex showered wouldn't have mattered. But give her credit, in that respect (hygiene that is), she'd grown up. It would have to be swift however; Alex needed to talk to Juliet before Justin got home from his run.
/
Alex waltzed into the kitchen smoothly, dressed in clean clothes, fresh out of the shower. She took a seat at the island and eyed Juliet carefully. She stood with her back to Alex, her phone latched onto her ear. Tossing her blonde hair aside, Juliet spoke in hushed tones over the phone, "I know, but what they don't know won't hurt them."
Interesting, Alex quirked an amused eyebrow, and perked her ears up to listen.
"Justin isn't in charge of the finances, Harper," Juliet continued after a moment. The soft mumble of Harper's voice could be heard over the receiver. Alex struggled to keep silent; she'd have to add Harper to her list, too.
8. What the fuck was Harper's deal?
"Exactly," the blonde droned on mindlessly, "he's an idiot when it comes to handling our money responsibly. He acts like Alex."
Without a sound, Alex poked out her tongue in childish response.
"It's isn't harsh, I doubt highly that Alex even has a dollar to her name," Juliet whispered as she reached into the cupboard. With any luck, a jar of pumpkin spice would topple overtop her head. And to be fair, Alex did have a dollar to her name, and more than one, thank you.
"And besides," Juliet, unrelenting in her point (whatever it may have been), went on, "I have my own little account set aside for myself and the girls. There's at least 75,000 dollars in there."
At that moment, Alex's eyes went wide open. A secret banking account with seventy-five thousand dollars in it? Why would Juliet need to keep away that much money from her husband? Did she even have the right to withhold that kind of money from him? And why would she anyways? Not only that, it had occurred to Alex that Juliet was in control of their monetary finances, so was she stealing a little bit off of Justin paycheck now and then?
9. Juliet's secret account. 75 grand in total
Alex had heard enough, it was time to speak up now. There were more important matters at hand. Guest house.
"Ahem," she finally cleared her throat readjusting herself in her seat, "Juliet."
Juliet whirled around noticeably caught off guard, eyes narrow, nutmeg in hand, "Alex, good morning."
"I guess," Alex shrugged.
"Harper, I'll call you later, Alex is here," she spoke carefully into the phone before hanging it up and setting it aside. "How long have you been sitting there?"
Here it was, the moment where Alex held complete control. She could tell Juliet just how much or how little she heard, regardless of the truth.
"Oh not long, maybe a minute, no more than that," she said manipulatively. She felt a grin slide across her face; it wasn't long before it was gone again.
"Really? What exactly did you hear?"
"I don't think that's really relevant," Alex sighed contentedly, "I mean, I could have been sitting here for your entire phone call, and you wouldn't know."
The kitchen was large and their words seemed to echo off of the two large bay windows. There lay the perfect view of the Hudson Bay, that was the Hudson Bay, right, and the docks and across the water, other abnormally large homes and yachts and such. Placed between the two windows, separating them from each other, was a set of 14 square cupboards centered around a flat screen television (or was it just a fancy oven?). The island where Alex sat was low, shiny and brilliantly white accustomed with a double tub sink, a flat stovetop, and of course your everyday essentials such as a pepper grinder, salt shaker, vinegar, and napkins. And then there was the grand white frenchdoor refrigerator attached to the adjoining pull-out freezer. Everything was so perfect and pristine and it all felt so housewife-in-the-Hamptons with Juliet around. Beautiful, yes, but Juliet kind of ruined the picture. Especially with the conversation Alex had just overheard, it was all too Lifetime Movie Network.
"Late night last night," Juliet sighed heavily bustling over to another cabinet, "I caught Mason trying to sneak out of my house this morning."
"Not my problem," Alex snorted, "hey, can you toss me one of those apples?"
Juliet looked across from where she stood to Alex, "Green or red?"
"Surprise me."
With ease, Alex caught a Granny Smith in her hands as Juliet continued to do… whatever it was that she was doing.
"Alex, I know your staying here and there isn't much I can do about it, no matter how much it upsets me, but, I have two daughters, two young, very impressionable daughters and—"
"You don't want Auntie Alex sending the wrong message." Alex couldn't hide her smile now; this conversation was going exactly where she needed it to go.
"Right, exactly, and I really don't want riff raff in and out of my house all hours of the day… and night," Juliet spoke quickly, "could you pass me that recipe book from the counter over there?"
"Mason isn't riff raff," she said, tossing Juliet the seemingly aged book, "and besides, I have the perfect antidote."
"You do?"
"Yes, I'll move out," Alex declared.
She watched carefully as Juliet's eyes brightened. It was the perfect solution, and sure, Juliet would agree. In fact, from the look pasted onto her face, she did agree.
"That's a great idea, Alex. I know you just got here and everything, but I'm sure this will work out better for everyone instead. Have you talked to your—"
"I know, that's why I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me move into the guest house," Alex finished proudly taking an exultant bite of her apple.
Juliet stopped short, stubbing her toe against the stove bottom, "The guest house, who told you we had one?"
"No one, I saw this morning, when Justin went out on his run," she said shrugging thoughtfully.
"Oh, Justin went on a run?"
"Shouldn't you know that?" Sure, she sounded it critical, but Juliet was only doing it to herself. She was beginning to ooze stereotypical blonde stupidity. It was rather amusing.
"I don't think I can allow that, Alex."
God, can we stick to one subject?
"Why not—"
"Because you can't!" Juliet screamed as she slammed her fist down against the tabletop.
Alex leaned back, now she was the one who was startled. Her lips parted to let out a counter-yell but just as she prepared herself to do so, the sound of doors opening interrupted them. Into the kitchen came Justin, all sweaty and (oh my goodness, that's my brother!) out of breath. He looked between the two nervously, automatically sensing trouble.
"What'd I just walk in on?" Justin asked as he removed his ear buds and shut down his iPod.
"Alex would like to move out," Juliet said sardonically, looking up to her husband with calm eyes.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Justin's eyes shot towards Alex. Slowly, he made his way towards her, "Alex?"
Alex scoffed, with a roll of her eyes she said, "I asked Juliet if I could move into the guest house, Justin."
There was a temporary stretch of silence, and then it was the sound of a sigh of relief that was echoing off of the bay windows.
"Thank God," Justin relaxed, "that's a great idea. Why didn't we do that in the first place?"
Juliet was hunched over a drawer filled with glassware, "I don't know, didn't cross my mind," she said, her statements laced with sarcasm.
"But Juliet," Alex said sweetly, looking directly at her brother, "you told me that I couldn't."
Slowly, Juliet raised upright, a pan in hand, averting her eyes from the both of them.
"Honey, why would you say that," Justin asked reaching for his wife's hand.
Alex hopped down from the barstool, knowing that she'd met with success. Thank you, Justin. That's all you're getting. A mental thank you. "Justin, I don't know if you've noticed but, your wife is a bit of a—"
"Alex," Justin spoke warningly, "don't push it."
She laughed, "What? I was just going to say that your wife's a bit of a bat," Alex smiled turning her back to her brother and Juliet's scornful eyes, "I'm going to go get my things!"
/
Alex fiddled about with her hanger, frustrated at her sweater that she couldn't seem to hang. This sweater would never hang and sadly, it was her favorite. She'd had it since she was sixteen. Grandma. Just as the end seemed to near, a knock sounded from her front door.
"Ugh," she huffed, happy to toss the sweater aside, "coming!"
As she made her way towards the main living area, Alex peeped out of the window, her window, and into the backyard. It was dark outside, not much to see. Other than the gaping wide blue pool and the cabana and the outdoor kitchen and the Jacuzzi and blah, blah, blah. Alex reached out for the doorknob and wrenched it open.
"Hey," Justin smiled, welcoming himself into Alex's new humble abode.
She stood to the side, pushing the door closed, "Why yes Justin, do come in," she chimed.
"You've done the place justice, I see," he continued on, ignoring his younger sister's comment.
Alex looked around, brushing a stray strand of hair back into her high ballet bun. There was some serous damage control she had to take care of earlier, to make the place presentable. With a shrug she answered, "Yeah, simple enough. I just threw out all of her stupid shit."
Justin snorted, "I feel like this is a good place for you. A solid twenty or so walls between you and Juliet, it's wonderful."
"Justin there was so much crap in here, I wanted to puke," Alex whimpered, "how in the hell do you put up with her?"
"She's the love of my life."
Alex cringed, she's nothing compared to me, "She's the mother of your children," the brunette corrected pulling at her oversized t-shirt.
"Stop being a little brat," Justin frowned following his sister into the small kitchen, "anyways, I think this is a good place for you to stay. One bedroom, bath, living room, kitchenette, essentially, it's perfect."
"Justin, you sound like a real estate agent, shut up," Alex cracked as she opened up her refrigerator. Empty.
"You need groceries," Justin declared lamely.
"Gross, responsibility, I'm going to my room."
It felt good, Alex decided, to be with Justin alone, without pressure for once. Just like old times. She wasn't sure how long it would last, but for right now, she was hoping for it to last well into midnight.
Alex hurried back into the closet and went back to hanging and folding her clothes. Justin plopped down onto her bed and picked up the sweater she'd thrown aside earlier, "Oh look, it's the 'sweater that wouldn't hang'!"
"You remember that?" Alex giggled placing her final pile of t-shirts on a top shelf.
"Of course, how could I have forgotten, it was hilarious. You had to use a spell to get it to stay on a hanger."
A smile graced itself on Alex's face, "I missed your smile," Justin said in a low tone.
"You're such a dork," Alex chortled looking around her room. The lights were dim and the pastel blue walls were sweet against the glow. It was nothing in comparison to her Snow White room back in the main house, but that fact alone only made it better. A low roll of thunder boomed outside. Moments later, the soft pitter-patter of rain greeted the window.
Alex stood against the window, watching curiously as rain washed away the Hampton's perfection. Cleaning it, making it better for tomorrow. Suddenly, Alex felt a warm pair of hands wrap around her waist. Justin's breath was warm as he leaned his head down into the crook of her neck.
"I missed you, Alex, really, I did," Justin spoke huskily. Another smile crept onto her face as she melted into his hold, "Is it good if I sleep here tonight?"
"Juliet," Alex croaked weakly.
"Won't be the first time she wakes up alone."
This is too much. Alex focused her eyes on the window again, the images outside blurring and melding into one another all wet and soupy. Finally, the brunette found the strength to separate herself from her brother. She could only handle so much alone time at once.
"C-couch," she stuttered, pointing to the doorway.
Justin smiled and before leaving he said, "Goodnight Alex, I love you."
"I love you, too… dork."
/
Eeep. And there it goes. I'm proud. I'm making good time. I hope you enjoy!
Review my lovelies, I really want to know what you think!
And there's this one particular part in here that one of you predicated down to a T!
(You should know who you are!)
Anyone ever realized how much of a horror film the Titanic really seems to be? I have. It was my favorite when I was four. Now it's just scar—
BYE YOU GUYS! Review soon.
:)(: Mikki