Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Forty-Two

Alix stormed out of the house, not caring that the temperature had dropped considerably and that wind whipped at her face. She zipped her jacket all the way up and shoved one hand deep into her pocket. She grabbed her phone with the other and called Leon.

He answered on the first ring. "Hey, Al. What's up?"

"Come pick me up. Please."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just fucking come pick me up." She rattled off the street she was on and waited.

It was fifteen minutes of waiting with her teeth chattering and body shaking from the cold until Leon arrived. Neither of them said anything as he drove back to the apartments. Alix didn't trust herself. She was sure she would cry, and then there would be no stopping it.

She shouldn't feel sad. She should feel angry.

Taivon had tricked her. Well, in the beginning, anyway. If what he'd said had even been true. She couldn't have been just imagining how real it felt to tell him she loved him and for him to do the same. They did love each other. She was absolutely sure. She had to be sure.

So many thoughts raced through her head. It wasn't until they'd pulled up to Leon's apartment complex that she realized she would undoubtedly have to tell him what was wrong if she wanted to leave. Silently, they both walked up the stairs to his apartment.

She crashed on the couch, turned on the television, and watched the first thing that came on. America's Funniest Home Videos. She didn't laugh once.

Behind her, Leon fished a couple of beers out of the fridge. He handed one to her, and she gladly took it, taking long pulls. All she wanted to do right now was get shitfaced and forget about everything. She drained the rest of the bottle and reached for another.

"So what happened, Al?"

"Fucking stop calling me that, would ya?" She raised the bottle to her lips. "I'm not in the mood."

He sighed. "Okay, fine. But you are going to tell me."

"Why don't you just go over by Cheryl, or whatever her name is, and leave me alone?"

"Her kids are in bed right now. I don't wanna wake 'em up. Besides, I gotta take care of my little sis."

Alix rolled her eyes, but she felt tears begin to form. Angrily, she wiped at them, willing herself to calm down. To not cry. She was strong. She didn't cry over men. But Taivon wasn't just any man. He was the man she loved, but right now, he had hurt her, and she didn't think she was strong enough to talk about it.

But she pushed on anyway. Might as well just get it out with.

"Fine," she sighed, setting the bottle down. "But then I'm gonna get drunk, and you can't do anything to stop me. Understand?"

After Leon nodded his head, she began. She told him everything. Besides the sex. That would be gross. Alix told him about when Taivon had first came in, how strange he had acted, how kind to her he'd been, how much she loved him, and then, she got the part that made her cry. Alix didn't care anymore as she told him all about the fucking photo of the woman that looked just like her. As she said it, it just reinforced how fucked up this whole situation was.

Why couldn't she just be in a normal relationship for once? Why? They couldn't have just had a fight about the colors of the Christmas lights like normal fucking people? She wanted to hit something, specifically Taivon, but he was hurting, too.

That was the thing about loving someone. A person went completely out of their way to keep the one they love from hurting, even if that meant fucking destroying themselves in the process.

When she was done, Alix couldn't stop sobbing. She curled up on the couch and just cried into the pillow. It'd be ruined, the pillow. She'd have makeup smeared all over it. She didn't care. Alix needed an outlet. Her stomach was twisting in a way that made her feel like she would throw up. And her chest squeezed relentlessly, as if she were having a heart attack.

Leon didn't seem to care, either. He just sat there, holding his beer so tightly in his fist she thought that the glass would break. She remembered making that same comparison with Taivon. Wondering if he was strong enough to actually break the glass of a beer bottle sheerly with a squeeze of his fist.

Her older brother looked mad. Like, really mad. Furious. Out of their family, she and Leon had the absolute worst tempers. She'd been getting better at it, though, absolutely sure because of Taivon. Leon, on the other hand, it was obvious he wanted to hit something, too. If it had been Mabel instead of her in this situation, the guy would be dead. Well, if Mabel was with somebody other than Hudson, who intimidated basically everybody in the family. She wasn't worried for Taivon, though. He could take care of himself. She just hoped Leon wouldn't make any rash decisions.

From behind the wall, she could hear the faint sound of a baby crying. It quieted soon enough, but Alix saw Leon tense up. He really must care for those kids and their mother.

"I'm fine, Leon." She sniffled, wiping her sleeve against her snotty nose. "Really. Go over there. See if she needs help."

"I will. After you go to bed."

"It's only eight-"

He hoisted her off the couch. "I don't wanna hear it. Now go to bed. I'll take the couch."

"No way. There's probably a bunch of, like, sex germs all over-"

"I told you. It's not like that," he snapped. "Now get into the fucking bed."

She didn't bother changing her clothes; instead, just falling onto the bed and bringing the blankets up to her chin. Alix closed her eyes, having completely forgotten all about her plans to get roaring drunk. She was out in minutes.