Broken Inside

58 - The Photographer

"Hm," Caroline said simply. She turned around in her chair and faced the window. 

Alex was staring at the back of Caroline's chair. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Was this a signal for her to leave?

Caroline turned back around to face Alex. She looked determined, her chin held high. "For the next 5 minutes, I'm speaking to you not as your boss, but as a close friend of Paul's," she said. 

Alex exhaled and shifted in her seat. She looked at Caroline expectantly.

"He adores you," Caroline said, to Alex's surprise. "Paul has been hurting for so long, it's wonderful to see him happy once again."

"I'm sure you know about Sophie?" Caroline asked her and Alex nodded her head. Caroline sighed and said, "It will be hard, to be under her shadow, but don't let that deter you. I've known you for a few months now and I know how resilient you can be. Be strong, keep fighting for what you deserve."

Alex was not expecting to get advice from Caroline. She smiled gratefully and nodded her head.

"With that being said," Caroline exhaled loudly and stared at Alex threateningly, "If you hurt Paul, I will rain hell on you until you beg for mercy."

Alex gaped, and her eyes widened. 

Caroline put on her glasses and returned to the file she was looking at earlier. "Close the door on your way out," she said without looking at Alex.

*****

Alex told Paul what happened with Caroline. They were sitting in a wing chair in Paul's room. Alex was sitting on Paul's lap with her hands around his neck. He had one arm around her waist and the other on her knee. He listened with a smile on his face.

When she was done, he traced her face with his finger and said softly, "Caroline has always been protective of me, like a big sister." He sighed and asked, "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No," Alex said, shaking her head. "I think it's nice that she cares that much about you." Then Alex looked at the distance and said in a low voice, "Although the warning was scary. I think I might have nightmares about them."

Paul chuckled. They looked at each other and smiled. Paul pushed her hair behind her shoulder and asked softly, "Ready for bed?"

Alex nodded. She tightened her hold around his neck as he raised from the chair and carried her to his bed.

*****

Alex was doing a photoshoot job at a studio near Kings Cross. It was for an art's installation. She was wearing a full black latex bodysuit and was splashed with multicoloured paints. Her hair had so much gel in them that they stuck to her head like a helmet. When she saw herself in the mirror, she thought that she could be the backup dancer in Britney Spears' Oops I Did It Again video. The photographer slash artist gave her directions on how he wanted her to pose.

In the middle of it, Paul suddenly showed up. Alex maintained her professionalism and continued on. Paul watched her from the background, standing with his hands in his pockets.

The photographer called for a short break. Alex straightened up and stretched. Some of the poses were challenging. She frowned when she saw Paul approaching the photographer.

Paul tapped the man on his shoulder. "Sam, how are you mate?"

"Baker!" Sam, the photographer, exclaimed cheerfully, "I'm good, mate. How 'bout yourself?"

They grabbed each others hands and bumped shoulders like old pals. Then they started talking quietly with each other, laughing and patting each other on the back.

Alex was interrupted by the makeup girl, coming to touch up her makeup. She moved her focus away from Paul and Sam and let the girl do her job. She drank some water and watched the assistants fixed some of the props around her. 

"Alex?"

She turned around and saw Paul smiling at her. He had a camera in his hands. "What are you doing here? And what are you doing with those?" Alex asked him quietly.

Paul raised the camera and snapped a photo. He checked the screen and smiled wider. He glanced at Alex and said, "You look really beautiful."

Alex chuckled and asked again, "What are you doing?"

Paul came up to her and tenderly kissed the top of her head. "I missed you, so I thought I dropped by. Sam's a pal, so I asked if I could snap a few rounds."

"You want to take my picture?" Alex asked incredulously.

"Yup," Paul said, grinning. "Just pretend like I'm someone else. Pretend I'm Sam."

Alex glanced at Sam. He was a burly man with long white hair and white goatee. "Yeah, that's not gonna work," Alex shook her head.

Paul chuckled and looked at her adoringly. She smiled back at him.

"Okay," he said, "How about this? Give me one perfect shot and I'll leave."

"One shot?"

"One shot." 

"Okay," Alex agreed. Paul raised the camera but stopped when Alex asked him, "What pose do you want? You want a smile? A frown? A crazy face?"

Paul thought about it and said, "Show me how I look at you."

"What?" Alex asked, frowning.

Paul smiled. "When you wake up in the morning and see my face, when you walk into a room and I see you, when we make love. Show me how I look like."

Alex scoffed. "Paul, that's-"

"Just try," Paul urged her. "Close your eyes, think of the look and just show it to me."

Alex rolled her eyes but decided to try it anyway. She closed her eyes and thought of all the times that Paul mentioned. The way he looked at her that made her heart beat fast. Involuntarily, she smiled.

"Ready?" Paul asked softly. Alex nodded. "On the count of three, open your eyes. One, two, three..."

Alex opened her eyes and Paul snapped a few shots. He lowered the camera and their eyes met. The electricity that ran between them was undeniable. They smiled at each other. For a few seconds, it felt like they were the only two people in the world. 

Then someone dropped something loudly on the floor, breaking them from the trance.

Paul looked at Alex and said, "I'd better go. I'll see you later?" Then he kissed her on the cheek and went to return the camera to Sam. He looked back at her as he walked away and she waved him goodbye.

"Alright, people, let's go! We ain't got all day!" Sam started yelling at his crew and everyone went back to work.