Episode 7
"How's the leg, Pops?" Lexi asked as she entered her parents' home. It had almost become a ritual. She would walk in, see her father sitting in the living room and ask him the very same question. He would always smile and then say,
"It's still hanging on." He pushed himself higher up on the sofa and gestured for Lexi to sit down beside him. "So you finally decided to come see us, huh? That Keating woman's been keeping you pretty busy. You haven't been here since you brought that boyfriend of yours over for dinner."
Lexi shrugged. To be honest, the David Allen trial had affected her so much that she'd wanted to see her parents the very next day. She curled up beside her father and rested her head on his shoulder. "His name is Asher, Pops. And you could have been a little nicer to him, he really tried that day."
Lexi's father rolled his eyes. "He was a little full of himself, wasn't he? Fancy judge father, nice suit… I don't know if he's your type, sweetheart. Something tells me he's got his head in the gutter."
"Pop. You've said that about every guy I've ever dated."
Lexi laughed and lifted her head off her Dad's shoulder as her mother came into the room. She'd brought a few medicines and a glass of water and she smiled at Lexi. "Oh, darling, here you are. We were wondering when you would come around again. How is college?"
Lexi shrugged. "It's fine. We've had a couple of stressful cases recently, with Keating. She's defending one of the people accused of Lila Stangard's murder. In fact, I have to get to the office right now. We're preparing the witness."
"Well, you could come over for dinner," Lexi's mother suggested brightly. "Why don't you bring that boyfriend of yours over again? Such a charming young man, complimented every dish about thrice-"
Lexi's father scoffed loudly.
"Pops!" Lexi scolded him, lifting her head off his shoulder. "Be nice. Anyway, I'm going to head out. I don't want Keating on my case."
"Don't get too influenced by her!" he called out as she left the house. "Nobody likes a scheming bitch!"
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Lexi shifted as she sat on the arm of Asher's chair, watching Rebecca practice what she was going to say on the witness stand. There was something about their client that disturbed Lexi. Maybe it was the way she sounded when she spoke; distant and haunting. Either way, Rebecca wouldn't be getting much sympathy if she continued talking in that way.
"Griffin said he had some pot, so we went up to his room to smoke a bowl," Rebecca was explaining. "Next thing I know, we're kissing. Um, we had just started when Lila came in. Apparently I texted her, which I have no memory of. I just remember Lila yelling, hitting me. Griffin pulled her off. I tried to find her to explain what happened and apologize but I couldn't. Until I got to the roof." Rebecca paused for a minute and Lexi felt her heart skip a beat. ""Then I strangled her and stuffed her in a water tank."
Lexi jumped, her eyes widening in shock. She exchanged a glance with Asher, who looked equally disturbed. Was Rebecca lying? Had she honestly murdered Lila? For half a second, Lexi was almost certain that she had. Just as Lexi felt Asher's hand grip her thigh on the armrest, Rebecca chuckled.
"Oh god. You guys are so gullible," she was laughing. Lexi's grip on her pen tightened. Was this woman insane? This was no time to joke!
"Rebecca, take this prep seriously or go to jail," Annalise snapped.
Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it kind of your job to make sure that doesn't happen?"
Lexi bit her lip. This was not going well. Asher leaned closer to whisper. "Ooh, she talked back to the boss. She's getting it."
"You slut, white trash killer! You made Griffin strangle that girl on that roof. You liked watching her die because that's the piece of garbage you are!" Annalise hissed, leaning closer to Rebecca. Lexi was surprised at how Rebecca managed to keep a straight face. She'd probably be close to tears if Annalise talked to her like that. "That's what everyone in the world's going to say about you. You don't care, neither do I. I'm not the one who's going to be beaten, raped and violated in jail. That's on you. So what happened the night of Friday, August the 29th? Start from the beginning."
There was a shocked silence after Annalise's outburst and Rebecca stared back at her silently in defiance. Lexi shifted uncomfortably on the arm of the chair. She could still feel Asher's warm hand on her leg. Somehow, the Lila Stangard case was turning out to be the most painful one of them all.
"Maybe… maybe we should take a break."
Annalise gave Wes a sharp look, but said nothing. Any of the rest of us would have been screwed over for suggesting a break, Lexi mused. But of course, it's the puppy, so she doesn't say a word. "Five minutes and we'll start again," Annalise muttered before leaving the room. Everyone relaxed and moved out of their seats.
"And Romeo saves Juliet again," Connor muttered. Lexi was about to agree with him, but she closed her mouth when she remembered. She wasn't talking to that asshole. Not after the fight they'd had during the David Allen trial.
"It's kind of sweet," Laurel mused.
Michaela scoffed. "It's inappropriate and unprofessional and crazy."
"Kinda creepy too," Lexi put in and received a nod from Michaela in return. Had they ever agreed on anything before? Maybe not. Asher removed his hand from Lexi's leg as he spun the chair around to face Michaela. Lexi ended up stumbling off the armrest and she glared at him, but he didn't notice.
"They've gotta be doing the nasty by now, right?" Asher demanded. "Although I can't… I can't picture the puppy, though."
"Why would you want to?" Michaela asked, before Lexi could stop her. She sighed and leaned against the wall as Asher gave his answer.
"I picture everyone having sex," he explained simply. When Laurel and Michaela gave him disgusted looks, he grinned at Michaela and put his arms behind his head. "Oh, how's it going with Aiden by the way? You two break up yet?" He made a rather obscene grunting noise and Lexi had to cover her mouth to control a giggle from escaping. Asher's crudeness was particularly endearing when it served to make either Michaela or Laurel uncomfortable.
"Look at me like that again, and I'll file a sexual harassment suit," Michaela snapped, kicking his leg. Although she was prevented from continuing by Frank storming into the room.
"Turn on the news. Sex is out of the bag."
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Lexi hitched her bag up on her shoulder as she opened her car door. It was still hard to believe that the sex had been leaked; not to mention how bad this made Rebecca look. This trial was going so firmly against them and Lexi wasn't even certain that their client was innocent. As she was about to get in her car, she saw Connor approaching her.
"Are you seriously giving me the cold shoulder?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He sounded exhausted. "Grow up, Lexi. We're not first graders anymore. Just because I said a few mean things about your little fuck-buddy-"
"I'm not being childish," Lexi replied coolly. "I'm being practical. Being around you is mentally exhausting for me right now, so I choose to conserve my energy for something more useful. Don't make me have this conversation again."
Connor frowned. "Just thought you should know how stupid you're being."
"By not talking to you? Right, because you're always so helpful and reliable," she snapped.
"No. By dating Millstone. It was one thing when you were screwing around with him, I figured maybe you had some shared fetish or something. But you took him home to meet your parents? Are you insane?" Connor demanded. "Damn, I always thought you were more mature than me. This is just madness."
Lexi froze. "Who told you I took him home?"
"My sister talks to your Mom, you know. They exchange recipes and stuff. Well, gossip too, apparently. Either way, this is just stupid. Maybe I was unnecessarily harsh earlier, but you still need to get it through your skull that Millstone is not boyfriend-material."
"Oh my God," Lexi hissed, slamming her car door shut. Was Connor serious? Why the hell was he suddenly acting like some overprotective brother? He didn't have any right over her! "Damn it, Connor, I'm not asking you for permission to date him! If I want to take him home and introduce him to my parents, I will. Just because you prefer to hide your partners from the rest of the world-"
"What does that mean?" Connor demanded.
"Oh please. Have you ever met Oliver anywhere outside of his apartment? You never even once thought about introducing me or anyone else in your life to him. Stop setting your own bloody standards for everyone else."
"Okay. So that fact that I've known you since we were kids and I've always looked out for you means nothing compared to some airhead judge's kid that you're screwing around with?" Connor folded his arms across his chest. "Lexi, I've been with guys like him. I know what they're like."
Lexi ran a hand over her face. "God. This conversation is exhausting. Do you realize we're going in circles? This is what I meant when I said that you drain me."
"That's because you're being so thick-headed!"
"Oh, just go screw yourself," Lexi muttered tiredly, opening her car door again. "I have bigger problems than you."
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They had to go to court to address the motion for the gag order- Lexi had to admit that she still admired the way Annalise Keating argued in court, despite having seen the sight so many times. However, even Keating could be caught unaware. Griffin's counsel had decided to submit a motion to have a second autopsy for Lila.
"So what, they just dig up her body?" Asher asked with a frown as they exited the courtroom. Lexi squeezed past Laurel so she could walk next to him. Connor was still giving her dirty looks and she found she could ignore them more easily when she was with Asher. He slipped his arm around her waist before turning to look at Laurel. "Wouldn't she have turned to jelly by now?"
"They embalm corpses," Laurel explained, while Lexi winced. She didn't really want to imagine somebody digging Lila's rotting corpse out of a grave. "The formaldehyde slows bacterial decay."
"That's so gross. Why do you even know stuff like that?" Lexi muttered. Although Laurel were prevented answering by a voice that called out from behind them. They all whirled around and noticed that some guy was looking at Connor. Lexi raised an eyebrow as she recognized him. She'd hit on this guy at a bar for almost half the night once, before Connor recognized him from some gay dating app. They'd ended up leaving together, while Lexi went home alone that night, grumpy and drunk.
"Hey. Connor," the guy said.
Connor's face was blank and he stared at the guy for a few moments before trying to compose himself and act cool. "Hey…" Connor responded slowly. But he wasn't convincing anyone.
"You don't remember my name," the guy said, looking both hurt and amused. Connor balked.
"What? No, I totally do!" he insisted, but Lexi couldn't resist the giggle that escaped from her mouth. Everyone turned to look at her in surprise and she smiled lightly before waving at the guy. "Hey. How's your internship going?" she asked him, giving Connor a pointed look.
"It's going great, thank you, Alexis," he replied, before raising an eyebrow at Connor. "Wow. And I thought I was a slut." The guy smiled at Lexi again, before walking away. The moment he was out of sight, Connor whirled around to face Lexi.
"How do you know him? What's his name?" he demanded. "How did you know he was doing an internship here?"
"Because I listen," Lexi snapped. "And considering the fact that you were the one whoslept with him, I'm surprised you didn't." She slipped her arm in Asher's and turned around. "Can you believe this guy tries to give me dating advice?"
Michaela looked disgusted. "Really? You've gotten naked with so many boys since hacker broke your heart, you can't even remember their names?"
"The important thing is that they remember mine," Connor replied coolly, avoiding Lexi's death glare. He instead looked at Asher, who seemed impressed.
"Play on, player," he commented, leading to Lexi slapping him on the arm.
"Don't encourage him," she snapped, causing Asher's smile to drop slightly. He squeezed her hand and kissed her on the cheek in an attempt to placate her, but Lexi was feeling angrier by the second. How could Connor possibly judge Asher when he was such a failure in relationships himself? He couldn't even remember a guy he'd been having sex with hardly two months ago. She closed her fist around her bag tightly and frowned.
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Lexi took the file that Frank was passing around and thumbed through it. They were all gathered in Annalise's living room again for a long day of research and poring over boring documents. Medical reports were the worst; they usually used all this complicated jargon which Lexi would have to further research to understand.
She let out a soft groan, which Asher heard. He turned to look at her with a sympathetic smile. "Medical reports, eh? They're the bottom of the shitpile." He lifted his arm and slid it over the back of the couch before leaning closer to her. "We should try and get out early. Fake exhaustion and I'll take you home."
Lexi smiled faintly. "Normally, I would consider that unprofessional but right now, I don't even care," she whispered back to him. She scooted closer so that her legs were touching his and nobody else could hear what they were saying. "Do you not get the feeling that the only reason we're defending Rebecca is because Wes has some freaky crush on her and Annalise can never say no to him?"
Asher frowned. "Well, Rebecca's one mental chick. I say she did it. But you don't always get innocent clients; sometimes you have to defend the guilty ones too."
"Was that wisdom you just imparted to me, Millstone?" Lexi teased before moving back to her original spot. She opened her file and glanced up at Asher one last time. He gave her a wink and they both dove into the work that neither of them really wanted to do.
"Is I okay if I take a couple of hours off on Wednesday?" Michaela asked Bonnie loudly as she entered the room. She had a smug smile on her face as she announced, "I just got a call to interview at Sterling and White."
Lexi scoffed. "Bitch, please. You did not."
"Isn't it a little early for summer associate interviews?" Connor asked through gritted teeth.
"I guess they start at the top of the class and work their way down," Michaela replied smugly before turning to Bonnie for her answer.
"Just be quick about it," Bonnie muttered. "It's all hands on deck here."
"Exactly!" Wes insisted, closing his file and looking around at them. "Shouldn't we all be working full time on this?"
Lexi wanted to slap him. Was he serious? Full time working the murder charge on his girlfriend who both refused to cooperate and was starting to look guilty as hell? Did nobody else seem the realize that they had other classes to study for and other commitments to deal with.
"Okay, Wes, just because you have, like, zero social life doesn't mean the rest of us are going to give up our fucking lives for your little-" Lexi began angrily, but she stopped when Michaela cut her off smoothly.
"Relax Romeo," she said to Wes. "I'll be back in time to help your girlfriend."
Wes looked angry. "She's not my-"
"Yeah. Whatever you say."
Wes clenched his fists and looked as though he was going to say something very rude to either Michaela or Lexi, but he was interrupted by the figure that appeared in the doorway. They all turned and noticed the public prosecutor in the Stangard case smiling and watching them.
"What an adorable setup," she commented with a smile. They all froze.
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"Seriously, Asher?" Lexi teased as they entered Keating's class. "Hand-holding in public? Have we really sunk that low?" Asher's fingers were wrapped lightly around hers and they were getting a few funny looks. She supposed that none of their classmates really knew that she was dating Asher. Until now.
"I thought you might like it," Asher replied with a grin. His fingers squeezed hers tighter. "Too cheesy?"
"Sweet," Lexi replied before leaning forward to kiss his cheek. She wondered when their relationship had gone from being a steamy, hormone-driven sex agreement to this cute and cuddly thing they were doing right now. Asher looked pleased with himself. He stopped when he reached his desk and set the trophy down on it. "Oh god. Do you have to carry that thing around everywhere? You know that you'll only turn it in during an exam, right?"
"Hey. I want everyone to know who has it," he defended himself.
"Trust me, babe, by now they do."
Keating entered the class and Lexi quickly kissed Asher again before hurrying over to her own seat. Connor was already in his and he was giving her his usual disgusted look. She promptly ignored him and pulled out her notebook, religiously writing down what Annalise Keating was saying about expert witnesses.
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Lexi sighed as she leaned back in Annalise's couch. Over the past few days, they'd managed to both discredit the witness that Griffin's lawyer had come up with, as well as get in their own expert testimony on what the marks on Lila's neck were. Now all they had left to do was convince Lila's parents to refuse the exhumation.
"How'd the big interview go?" Asher asked as Michaela entered the room. Lexi lowered her file and looked up curiously. She was worried that Michaela might have aced her way through it. Although one look at the expression on her face told Lexi that she hadn't.
"It was a really great first meeting," Michaela replied, as she took off her coat. "I want to meet with other firms, though, before I make a commitment."
"They didn't hire you in the room?" Connor asked sarcastically. "That's a bad sign."
"At least she got in the room," Laurel commented.
Michaela sat down next to Connor and glanced at what he was doing on his laptop. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe if you stopped stalking your ex online all day, you'd actually have some interviews of your own."
Lexi smiled. "Or better yet, just don't cheat on him in the first place."
Connor glared at her but closed his laptop and said nothing. He looked uncomfortable and Lexi realized that it was more than just unusual for Connor to be so hung up on one guy. She watched him set the laptop aside and pick up a file, but looked away quickly when he made eye contact with her. It was none of her business. Why was she so worried about him?
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Laurel had managed to convince Mrs. Stangard not to allow a second autopsy. Personally, Lexi thought that she would have been a better candidate for the job herself, but of course, Frank's crush on Laurel influenced these decisions.
They all walked out of the courtroom, a little relieved that Griffin's lawyer's plans had been thwarted. Lexi was surprised to see Wes and Rebecca standing in a corner, the latter wiping tears away from her face. She hadn't thought that Rebecca was even capable of tears.
"Looks like there's trouble in paradise," Michaela commented, although Lexi frowned.
"Paradise? That? Give me a break."
"Some people can only get it up for crazy," Connor muttered, shooting what was probably meant to be a meaningful look at the back of Asher's head. Asher, obviously, didn't notice a thing but Lexi clenched her fists. She had always enjoyed Connor's snarky comments but she realized that being on the other side of them was pretty frustrating. Exactly what was he trying to imply?
"Mystery man's coming," Laurel muttered as Julian came back down the corridor. He slowed down as he passed Connor and made eye contact with him before leaving. Lexi frowned. How desperate was this guy, anyway? She rolled her eyes as Connor smirked.
"You forgot his name and he's still into you? What, do you have some kind of voodoo penis?" Asher demanded. Although nobody paid any attention to him. Connor was looking straight at Lexi and she was glaring back at him. There was an awkward silence as they both stared at each other.
"Lexi, come on," Connor pleaded. "Don't cockblock me right now."
"After the way you've been behaving the past few days, you deserve it," she replied coolly. "Do you even see how pathetic it is that I remember the people you sleep with better than you do?"
Asher cut in. "It's actually pretty amazing-"
"Shut up," Lexi snapped at him. Anger was bubbling up inside of her and to be honest, she wasn't even sure who it was directed at. Connor had always been this way. She'd never minded before, she'd slept around a fair deal herself before Asher. And yet everything Connor did seemed to grate on her nerves. She took a deep breath. "His name is Julian and you met him on Humpr before we ran into him at a bar about two months ago. I hit on him for a while until you recognized him. Are you satisfied, you shameless pig?"
Connor smirked and opened his arms wide. "I knew you wouldn't leave me in a lurch. See you back at the house," he said before following Julian.
Asher turned to Lexi and reached for her hand, but she jerked her arm away from him angrily. He was surprised when she glared at him. "And you! Do you realize that this asshole keeps trying to convince me not to date you? Can you have some self-respect for once in your life and not admire the shit he pulls?"
Asher was left open-mouthed as Lexi stormed off, clenching her bag. He paused for a second and glanced at Michaela. She seemed amused. "Girls are so complicated," he muttered. "I'm so freaking mad I wasn't born gay."
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Lexi frowned as she curled into her seat in Annalise's living room. She'd cooled down a little after bursting out at Asher in court, but she still felt irritable and tired. Coupled with that was the fact that Connor had probably gotten laid earlier that day, thanks to her. And did he give her as much as a thank you? No. The ungrateful pig.
Asher was standing a little distance away, arms folded across his chest and watching Lexi glare at her files. He wasn't sure what to do. She'd never really gotten mad at him before. Was he supposed to leave her alone for a bit? Was he supposed to apologize? But he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be apologizing for. "She's still mad, huh?" Connor asked, coming up behind Asher.
Asher whirled around. "What?"
"Trust me, man. It's not you, she's pissed off at me. She'll get over it."
Asher frowned. He turned to glance at Connor. He looked calm and relaxed, not even slightly concerned that Lexi was furious at both of them. "Yeah, well I'm the one who got yelled at. Besides, how can you be sure she'll get over it?"
Connor shrugged. "She will. She'll realize that she's taken it out on the wrong person. Although I wouldn't count on getting laid tonight."
"I find it disturbing that you know my girlfriend better than I do," Asher muttered. "And it's not fair. If she's mad at you, why do I have to suffer? Can't you just go and make it up to her?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because frankly, I don't give a damn if you get laid or not," Connor replied simply, before turning to face the doorway. Bonnie had just entered the room with her laptop and called for their attention.
"The fastest way to uncover someone's secrets is to get their assistant to talk," Bonnie explained. Lexi barely glanced up as Bonnie rotated the screen to show a picture of a young woman. "The county employee directory lists Wendy Parks' assistant as Ally Burnham. Ally and the rest of the girls who work at the D.A's office hang out at the Thirsty Whale. Go down there, flirt, and find out why she changed her mind on the motion."
Lexi rolled her eyes. Here it was again. Using people to get information. She was getting sick and tired of it. Wasn't there an easier way to get what they wanted? One that didn't involve hurting people?
"So we find Ally and we pump her, so to speak," Asher commented. He glanced at Lexi, wondering if his blatant checking out of the girl in the picture even affected her, but she still had her head buried in the file. Part of him felt disappointed. He'd hoped she would at least get a little jealous like she did during the Marren Trudeau case. When she finally looked up, she didn't even glance at him.
"You should send Connor. He's great at manipulating people to get what he wants," Lexi said coolly. "Just be careful that Oliver doesn't find out. Oh, wait. He already did."
Connor glared at her. "Okay, can you please give me a break-"
"I don't care what you do," Bonnie said sharply, looking at the three guys. "Connor and Wes, you go too."
Rebecca glanced up eagerly. "Can I go? I'm great at flirting with girls."
"I'm sure," Bonnie muttered. "You stay here with us."
"Girls night. Woo-hoo."
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Lexi frowned as they exited the courtroom. Rebecca had turned the sex to rape; by violating the gag order that they themselves had set. Pushing the lines was one thing, but Lexi was surprised that Annalise Keating was willing to go as far as risking her career just to help Rebecca. She frowned as she saw Asher walk past her. She'd called him last night, after she'd heard that the boys had come back from the bar. But he hadn't answered and she'd figured he'd gone to bed.
"Asher!" Lexi called out. He stopped and turned around, forcing a smile at her. "Hey, where are you going? Drive me home?"
Asher paused. He looked hesitant for a second and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Uh, I can't. I actually have a dinner with my cousin. I'm getting late."
Lexi frowned. "Your cousin? The one who helped you get the Tillman outline?"
"Yeah, him," Asher muttered. "Look, I'll call you tomorrow, okay, I just have to-"
"Are you mad at me?" Lexi demanded. She could tell from his expression that something was wrong and she bit her lip hesitantly. "Look, I'm sorry that I yelled at you yesterday. I shouldn't have lost it. I was mad at Connor, not you."
"I know," Asher replied.
"He keeps saying that you're no better than him and that I shouldn't trust you. But I know you would never stoop to his level and that's why it bothers me when you admire his sexual achievements. I know you don't mean it, I just… I'm sorry."
"Its fine," Asher said quickly. "I'm not mad about that, honestly."
"Then can I come over tonight?" Lexi moved closer to him and she could hear Asher's breath hitch as she pressed her front against him. Her hands drifted up his shoulders and entangled themselves in his hair. "I stole a pair of my Dad's handcuffs last time I was home. I think I have an idea of what we can do with them," she whispered, letting her lips brush his gently. Asher froze as her torso rubbed against his front and he had to grit his teeth hard before he could push her away gently.
"Listen, that sounds amazing, but I can't tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" he insisted.
Lexi paused, feeling a little hurt. Asher never turned down sex, especially not when she was willing to try something kinky. She frowned and stepped back. "Okay. You promise you'll call me?"
"Yeah," he assured her before leaning down to kiss her lips gently. Lexi watched silently as he walked away, wondering what was wrong. Was he lying about not being mad at her or was it something else? Why was he having dinner with his cousin anyway? Surely he would have told her if it was something to do with his family. She turned around and saw Connor and Michaela standing nearby, watching them.
"What?" she snapped at them both.
"More trouble in paradise?" Michaela asked with a laugh before she walked away. "This is just great." Once she had left, Connor was standing alone with Lexi. She tried to walk past him but he stood in her way, looking annoyed.
"You are a little hypocrite, you know that?" he asked her.
"Excuse me?"
"You judge me for sleeping with people to get information and when your boyfriend goes and does the same thing, you don't even care?"
Lexi paused. "What? What are you talking about?"
Connor stopped for a moment and looked shocked. "He said it was cool and that you would understand. Are you seriously telling me that you didn't even know that he screwed a girl from the D.A's office last night?"
Lexi stared at him. Did he just say that Asher had slept with a girl from the bar? Her throat closed up and for a moment she just stared at him. She'd known that they were going to flirt, but she'd assumed he would just drop a few of his lamest pick-up lines. Her fingers clenched, nails digging into her palm. "Don't lie to me, Walsh," she muttered. "This is no joke."
"I'm not lying," Connor said. He was frowning and he looked perfectly serious. Lexi blinked at him as she thought about Asher actually screwing one of the girls from the D.A's office. Was that why he'd been acting so oddly? Was it… guilt? "Lexi, I'm serious. You can ask Wes, he wouldn't lie."
"No thanks," Lexi whispered. She found that it was difficult to even speak. Her throat had dried up and she could feel the moisture gathering in her eyes. "I… I really don't need someone else telling me that my boyfriend cheated on me." Her fingers were trembling and she turned her gaze away from him.
"Lex, come on," Connor insisted, suddenly feeling bad for her. Lexi rarely cried and it surprised him to see her upset. She'd been cheated on before; her normal reaction was to shrug it off or get mad, but she never cried. "He's an asshole, he doesn't deserve-"
"Oh, fuck you," Lexi hissed, her eyes red as she turned to look at him. Connor flinched. "Don't patronize me. This is what you wanted all along. I hope you're happy."
Before Connor could respond, Lexi had turned around and left in the other direction, one hand covering her face and trying to hold in her choked sobs.
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Asher was sitting alone in his living room, eyes staring blankly at the television screen as he thought about Lexi. He'd been drunk last night, and in an effort to get information out of the nerdy girl who worked at the D.A's office, he hadn't known when to stop. It wasn't until he'd sobered up that he even remembered he had a girlfriend. Not to mention that she'd called him about five times.
I should just tell her, he thought as he pressed the button to change the channel. Lexi wasn't like other girls. She would understand. Connor slept with people for information all the time, surely Lexi had done it too. It was part of the job. If Annalise had asked Lexi to sleep with some guy for information, she would never have backed down. Right? Asher groaned as he tossed the remote aside. He didn't know. He had no idea what she would do and that's what worried him the most. Not to mention that Connor and Wes both knew what had happened. Wes would keep his mouth shut, he was never one to cause drama, but Connor… what if he said something to her?
There was a sharp knock at the door and Asher stood up to go and open it. He yanked the door open and froze when he saw Lexi standing on the other side, her arms wrapped around herself. She was shivering slightly and her eyes were red and puffy.
"Lex…" he muttered, quickly stepping back so she could come in. "I said I'd call you-"
"Don't bother," she said. Her voice was soft and barely audible. She swallowed slightly before looking up at him. Her eyes were red and brimming with tears. Asher's breath caught in his throat. "I don't want you to ever call me again. I'm just here to get my stuff and I thought it would be better to do this face to face."
Asher stared at her as she walked straight past him and into the bedroom. He couldn't move; it suddenly occurred to her that she was leaving. Fuck, he couldn't let her just leave. Taking a deep breath, he followed her into the bedroom where she was pulling her stuff out of his dresser.
"Lexi, I'm not letting you leave," he said firmly. She stopped, but didn't turn around. "You can't just do this without giving me a chance to explain. I'm not letting you go."
"That's not your choice to make," Lexi replied sharply. Her body stiffened as she turned and faced him. Her hands were trembling. "Or rather, you've already made yours and now I'm making mine. Don't make this more difficult."
"It's not like I betrayed you!" Asher cried. He reached forward to try and take the duffle bag from her but she held it out of his reach. "Lexi, come on. You know I had to do it. It was work. You would have done the same thing, it's not fair for you to hold it against me!"
"I wouldn't have done the same thing," Lexi replied sharply, her eyes flashing. "You know why? Because when I make a promise to be faithful, I stand by it. May I remind you that you were the one who decided that he couldn't stand seeing me with another man? Fucking double standards."
Asher groaned. "That's not true!"
"No, what's true is that you slept with a girl at the bar for information and then hid it from your girlfriend," Lexi replied. She took a deep breath and frowned at him. There was something distant in her eyes. A lack of emotion that disturbed him. He would have preferred it if she'd been throwing things at him. "Listen, Asher. I've been cheated on before. It's nothing new, just like every other time. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
"I thought we had something special," Asher insisted angrily. "I've never cared about a girl the way I do about you, Lexi! So don't do this, don't throw this away. Don't leave me."
"You disgusting pig," Lexi muttered, shaking her head as she zipped her bag closed. "I cannot believe that you're the one who cheated and yet you make it sound like I'm doing something wrong by leaving. Well, you know what? There are millions of guys like you out there. It won't take me long to find one who values me a little more."
Asher grabbed her arm as she tried to walk past him to the doorway and pulled her roughly to him. One of his arms held her in place by her waist while the other one tilted Lexi's face up towards him. His brown eyes pierced into hers, pleading with her silently. "Don't go. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. Just don't leave."
The determined look in her eyes faltered and for a moment Asher could see a hint of vulnerability. But it was gone almost as soon as it came and she yanked herself out of his grasp. "I have to," she replied before hurrying out the door and getting into her car as quickly as she could.
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Connor frowned as he entered the bar and spotted Lexi sitting in one of the corners on a barstool. Her shoulders were hunched over and he could hear her sniffling as he approached her from behind. Trembling fingers clutched her bottle tightly.
"Seriously, Lexi?" Connor asked with a sigh, as he pulled himself up onto the barstool beside her. "The entire fucking city and this is the place you choose to come to? You do realize this is a gay bar. How did you even get in?"
The corner of her mouth turned up in the hint of a smile. "I'll never tell."
"You flashed the security guard, didn't you?"
"Fuck you," Lexi snapped, turning to face him with a frown. Her eyes were red and puffy and her entire face was a mess. Connor sighed as he waved to the bartender to get him a drink. Lexi spotted the flowers in his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Are those for me? How sweet."
"They were for Oliver," he admitted with a sigh. "Except someone else opened the door."
"Serves you right for cheating on him, you bastard," Lexi muttered. She took a swig from the bottle and set it back down with a clunk. "You have a lot of nerve, coming here and trying to console me when you did exactly the same thing as Asher to someone else not too long ago."
"Who said I'm here to console you?" Connor retorted. "You're a big girl, you've been cheated on before and I've never seen you upset about it. Well, there was the time you beat up that kid early in high school, the one that looked like an ape-"
"He was the only guy in class with facial hair, I thought he was mature," Lexi defended herself angrily. "And he was disgusting. He even cried after I hit him. Made me feel a little bad afterwards."
Connor was silent. He could see that she was trembling, struggling to keep it together. Lexi never lost control. He'd never even seen her heartbroken before; she got more upset over bad test results than she did over a guy dumping her. Yet there was something about this time that was different. She was teetering on the edge, trying so hard not to care that she was in danger of exploding.
"I know what you're thinking," she muttered, taking another sip. Her voice had gone soft. "And if you ever valued me as a friend then I'm begging you, please don't say it."
Connor paused. "Say what?"
"That you told me so," she whispered. She opened her mouth to say something else but the words didn't come out. She shook her head and clutched her bottle again.
Connor sighed. "I wasn't going to say that. But as much as I hate him, there is one thing I want to say. Just because he slept with someone else doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you."
Lexi wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh. She settled for taking another swig and waiting for the alcohol to reach her brain. When she'd swallowed all of it, she turned to Connor with an unfocused gaze. "And why do you say that? Because you cheated on Oliver and yet you care about him?"
"He was drunk. It's not like you've never slept with someone when you were drunk-"
Lexi slammed her bottle down and glared at Connor. "Why the hell are you defending him? Damn you, Walsh. One second he's not good enough for me and the moment I dump him, you decide to start supporting his actions?"
"I'm not supporting-"
"Of course you are. Because you two are peas in a pod, aren't you? God. I'm sitting here and crying over my ex when the man sitting next to me has made someone else feel exactly the same way as I do now. Do you even know what it's like to be cheated on, Connor?"
Connor shrugged. "No. That's because I don't do exclusive."
"Well, it hurts. It hurts a lot, okay?" Lex took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face. "I'm handing my resignation letter over to Keating tomorrow. Do you think she'll get mad? As long as she doesn't fail me in class, I really couldn't give a shit."
Connor stared at her. "Whoa, whoa. Resignation? Are you serious? Because of Millstone?"
Lexi bit her lip. "It's not… I just don't want to…"
"Alexis Grey, you are not giving up a spot at Annalise Keating's firm because some stuck up rich boy broke your heart. Do you even remember how long you and I dreamed about this job? You're out of your mind if you're even considering quitting."
"You don't understand," Lexi muttered. Her fingers were trembling. "You don't…"
"Well, fucking explain it to me, then!"
"I… You don't know what happened when I went over to his place. I almost lost it, Connor," she whispered. "He kept saying how he didn't want me to leave, how he'd never cared about a girl the way he did for me. And it was getting to my head. If I'd stayed there for one minute longer, I might have given in and forgiven him. Do you realize this? I was ready to cave in and forgive the man who cheated on me with some random girl in a bar and then tried to hide it."
Connor stared at her. "I don't understand…"
"I can't be around someone who makes me feel so weak. If I stay there then he'll keep trying to get me to forgive him and I'm terrified that I'll actually do it," Lexi explained. Her hands shook. "I don't trust myself around him."
"That doesn't mean you have to resign," Connor snapped. "I'll keep him away from you. Come on, we've dealt with persistent exes before, how is this any different?"
Lexi looked up at Connor for a moment. Her eyes were red and there was a vulnerability and fear in them that he had never seen before. "It is different," she whispered. "It's different because I was falling in love with Asher. And I have to get out now, while I still can."
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A/N – Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! I'm sorry I haven't been updating very regularly. I'm hoping I'll get more time to write, but it's really exhausting because I have to keep watching the episode while I write and I've never done that before.
Anyway, hope you enjoy! I love reading all your thoughts!