We walk to Monty's, Lexi skipping the whole way with me holding her hand. Justin watches for cars and waits for the sign to say walk before crossing the road. I roll my eyes at him. "You haven't changed much, Justin." I say teasingly.
Justin just scowls at me and sternly replies, "Road safety is very important, Alex." I see Lexi imitating her uncle and start laughing. This makes her laugh and Justin stands there, looking back and forth between the two of us. "What's so funny?" he asks in exposition.
Lexi just stares down at her blue Converse, not saying a word. I laugh again. "She was doing a very entertaining imitation of you," I tell him with a devilish grin. I would've stopped Lexi if her impression of Justin had been bad, but she is too good at making fun of him for me to get mad.
Justin shakes his head at me. "You really shouldn't teach your daughter that kind of behavior," he scolds me like I'm five years old.
"Hey, I didn't teach it to her. It's in her genes." I tell my brother with a smirk. Lexi laughs at us. We both turn to look at her.
"Sorry, Mommy, but you and Uncle Justin are funny," my little girl says to us, her smile wide.
"It's okay, Lexi. Everyone use to laugh at us when we were little." Justin responds, his eyes playful. I inwardly smile at this. We were constantly told how cute we were as kids, with me playing pranks on Justin and him getting all mad. It continued into our middle school and teen years, but by then no one thought it was cute anymore. I had gotten sneaker, and Justin became a geek.
We go into Monty's. Monty's is the diner I used to work at before I bought the gallery; it's like a close knit family. The employees are like my siblings. Everyone adores Lexi and has ever since I brought her in one day when my babysitter bailed. She calls them all by their first names. There's Jamie, Quinn, Gary, Cat, and Beck, all of them close friends of mine. Jamie and Quinn are identical twins, and if you don't know them personally, you'll never get them straight. Jamie is super smart and is trying to put herself through school; I always go to her when I need help solving a problem. She can fix anything. Quinn is as creative as they come, and we instantly bonded over art. She works part time at the gallery and even has some of her stuff featured there. I always go to her when I need another opinion. Gary is like a big teddy bear, tall and wide, but with a huge heart. I always go to him when I'm sad or in need of some motivation. He always convinces me to go on with my day. Cat is still a little kid at heart, despite all that she has seen. She grew up in a series of really bad fosters homes and somehow still managed to keep an open heart. Cat is Lexi's favorite babysitter and always brightens things up. Beck, well, I'm not sure what to say about Beck. He's just special. I couldn't imagine life without him. There's also the owner, Sally; if the employees are like my siblings, than Sally is my mother. She took me under her wing. I wouldn't have been able to do what I've done without her.
Quinn sees us walk in and gives me a look. Justin gives me a look, too. Both faces are confused.
"Quinn, this my brother, Justin. Justin, this is one of my best friends, Quinn." I introduce them to each other. Quinn raises an eyebrow as if to ask if it was the brother I'd told everyone about. When I first started at Monty's, I talked about my family and Trent a lot. I told them what Trent had done to me; Beck and Gary offered to punch his face in if he ever shows his face in Chicago.
Quinn stares at him wide-eyed for a second, then runs off to either take orders or tell the others Justin is her. Knowing her, I guess the second one. Quinn isn't a very good waitress, but Sally could never fire her.
We find a table in the back and wait for Cat to come take our order. I know she'll come, because we're at one of her tables. I still have the seating chart memorized; I still help out on really jammed backed nights.
"Tell me about Mommy," Lexi commands her uncle as we sit down. Justin looks at her amused.
"Why don't you ask your mommy to tell you about herself?" he asks her almost mockingly. Lexi shakes her head no furiously.
"Because she'll keep out the good stuff!" my daughter whined. She is nearly as sharp as Justin is and just as sneaky as I am. Lexi also always somehow knows when I'm not telling her something. Must be a daughter instinct; I use to have it too.
Justin looked apprehensive, but Lexi started pouting, something I knew he couldn't resist. Finally, he gave in. "Okay, fine. I'll tell you about your mommy, but if she kills me, it's your fault," Justin says jokingly. Lexi giggled.
I listen to Justin tell my little girl about our family: Dad with his odd ways and constant want of pudding, Mom with her really bad dancing skills, Max with his strange ideas and antics, Uncle Kelso with just being crazy Uncle Kelso, and him with his super nerdy ways. Justins tells her about all the pranks I pulled on him and Max and how much trouble I use to get in. He leaves out the magic stuff, but I realize that even without magic, my family is weird.
Lexi listens to him intently, only interrupting to ask one question. "Where are they?" she asks after finishing the burger on her plate. I had soup and Justin order an omelet.
"In New York," Justin replies absentmindedly. I freeze up; I don't feel ready to face my whole family yet.
"I think that's enough for tonight," I say to Justin coldly. He looks at me confused but then realizes the mistake he's made. Before he tries to apologize, I go up and pay the check. Gary notices I'm not looking him in the eye and asks, "What's wrong?" I just shake my head, not in the mood to hash out all the details. He looks at me worriedly as he hands me my change. I give him a weak smile and walk away.
I go back to my table, where I hear Justin talking to Lexi. "Your mommy was a heartbreaker in high school. A lot of guys liked her, but she wouldn't give them the time of day. She had three serious boyfriends: Riley, Dean, and Mason. None of them lasted, but I think it's because none of them were meant to be."
Lexi nods her head, her black curls bobbing up and down. "What about my daddy?" she asks fearfully. I put my hands to the back of my head to keep the memories from folding back.
Before Justin could answer, I come over and say to Justin rudely, "I think that's enough for tonight." He just looks at me like he's trying to figure out a puzzle. I turn to Lexi, my voice much sweeter, and add, "Your uncle's going to take you home, okay? I have something I have to do at the gallery." Lexi nods and I know she knows I'm lying. She always just lets me have a hour or so a day of "time at the gallery".
I look at Justin and he nods. They leave and I go into the break room where everyone is gathered. They look at me and I start to cry. Gary hugs me while Cat does some stupid dare to make me laugh. Quinn and Jamie take turns cursing Trent, which doesn't make the pain go away, but it does help to see that they care. Beck is last; I leave with him after a hour of being comforted by my friends. We all make plans to go see a movie the next day.
Beck and I go to his apartment. He starts to kiss me, and I slip off my shirt. Whenever either of us are down, we go to the other for comfort. I don't know how this twisted system started, but I enjoy it. What I like about Beck is that the sex isn't the important part to him; he can just talk if I want to talk. Hell, he'd probably juggle plates if I asked him too. Justin is right about one thing; I was and still am a heartbreaker. I always loved being in a relationship because I felt loved, and after Trent, I lost that. Beck has lost it too, so we keep our relationship casual. We're basically friends who have sex now and then. It works for both of us since we're both afraid of commitment. Though sometimes, I look at Beck and I want him to be just mine. I've seen him glare at guys who talk to me, so I know he feels it too. We're both cowards; I, Alex Russo, am a coward. I'm too afraid of my past to go see my family or tell my daughter the truth. It didn't feel good, and I swore to fix it.