Chapter 5: Empty Picture Frames

"Why are you so surprised?" Alex asked while she flipped through the stiff hot-glued pages of a scapbook that she was not supposed to have. "They were our best friends..." She trailed off, pausing on a elegant black and white page. She could hear Neal defiling her Wine Collection with petty tsk's and Doesn't even have a cork. Alex would never tell him where the true wine collection happened to be.

"What are you even looking at over there?" Neal walked out of the kitchen holding a decent wine and two glasses. He was not looking at her directly, so she swapped the books. Neal sits next to her with a smirk, "The book in your hand is on 100 cupcake, cookie, and cake ideas. Come on, the real book."

Alex pulled the book from under the couch, "I was looking at this" The scrap book's cover was made out of an expensive yellow silk fabric, with pearls hot glued in certain spots to make it look like diamonds. Neal had never spent much time looking at it in Italy, he found it stupid and girlish.

Alex found it beautiful, and sweet of Dianne.

"You were supposed to burn this with all the other pictures, Alex" He told her with a sigh, he looked at the fire burning and back at the book. He opened it to reveal the message in the perfect print.

To Stella, you are an amazing friend. -Dianne

"Unless you kept those too" He pointed out, "Why would you keep these pictures?"

"Memories" Alex admitted to him with a shrug, "That was a big part of my life, I wanted to remember it"

"It was a con, not real life" Alex looked at him to figure out if he actually meant those words, and once she realized he did she got a misty feeling in her eyes. Italy was not just a con to her. And if it was just a con to him, then he was conning her too.

"So, you're the only one that can fall in love during a con" Alex started pointing fingers at him. He had no right to speak his mind about Italy, he had no right to look at her and tell her it was a con.

"I didn't-" Neal said frustrated, "You always have to turn my words around don't you?"

"Yes you did" Alex did not even respond to the second part of his words, she just grabbed the book from his hands. "Get out." She told him, two words that could stab him easily.

"Alex, it's not like that." Neal began to say, but shut his mouth quickly "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings"

"Sure it is Neal, because you're the exception" Alex was mocking him, "You're not a con man anymore but every time you speak- it's a lie. You can run off and have a happy ending forgetting all your friends-but you're never home sick. Your smile will never fade." She infused one of Mozzie's favorite quotes into the sentence.

"I never said any of that!" Neal was outraged that Alex would call him out on what he thinks, "You don't know anything"

"You're right" Alex told him, "I don't know a damn thing. All I know is when they come after you, because they will, I will be sorry for what we did to them rather than myself."

Neal rolled his eyes, "Alright" He said "Be sorry, because I'm sorry that Italy even happened in the first place" His words were cold, and like a knife going through Alex's back. "It was a mistake" We were a mistake.

"If that's how you want to view it" Alex pretended the words did not hurt, "Then I agree with you. We were a mistake."

"I'm glad we can see eye-to-eye on something" Neal nodded towards her bitterly, looking down at his shoes as if he was about to take back his cold words. Alex never gave him the chance to even open his mouth.

"I'm glad that I can finally say I'm done, Neal." Alex walked out of the living room, into her bedroom- grabbing the painting. "I don't need this to remind me of what a mistake trusting you was"

"Alex..."

"I think I asked you to leave, Mr. Caffrey. It was a pleasure seeing you tonight." She said curtly, opening up the door for him to walk out with the painting. Alex's eyes followed the painting going from his hands to beside the stairs on the ground. "Good-night"