Always There

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two

"It was around that time when Elena discovered that she was also pregnant. We had continued seeing each other in the months between the rape and Sierra informing me about the pregnancy, and since Caleb had become distant after Elena gave birth the first time and him and Elena had not been intimate for a very long time, it was clear that I was the father of Elena's baby, too.

"And that is how I became the father of two sons who are only a month apart in age."

Dad's smile is tight-lipped as he stares down at his feet.

I sit there silently, numb.

"Is that all?" Sierra's shrill voice cuts in.

Dad looks up at her angrily. "What the hell else is there to say?"

Sierra shrugs. "How about that Caleb knew that Mateo wasn't his child, and so whenever Elena had places to be and she couldn't take Mateo and his brother with her, Caleb refused to look after Mateo since he wasn't his biological father. That meant that Elena dropped Mateo off at our house many times when Bryce and him were young. They were best friends for a handful of years before they grew older and you were afraid they would begin to remember. I walked in on you asleep in your bed with baby Bryce and Mateo many times over the first few years of their lives."

Dad squeezes his eyes shut. "That's quite enough, Sierra."

"Is it?" she responds dryly. "Maybe I should also talk about the fact that Caleb always hated Mateo and never looked at him as a son even before he was born? Or, I could talk about how you and Bryce shared a bedroom for years so that you could lock me out and keep him away from me. You didn't even let him sleep in his room until he was old enough to have a phone and lock himself into his room alone."

"You need to leave. Immediately," Dad hisses.

"I never used to like when you would boss me around," Sierra says demurely. "Maybe it isn't as bad as I remember."

Those words seem to be the last straw for Elena because she suddenly becomes a little blonde ball of rage as she shoots to her feet and points her index finger at the hospital room door.

"Out," she commands.

Sierra grins. "Make me."

And then, in the blink of an eye, Elena hurries across the room to Sierra and punches her square in the nose.

Sierra chuckles. A thin trickle of blood drips from her right nostril when her eyes land on Matt.

"Mateo?" she question sweetly. "Would tou mind telling Caleb to call me? I miss him. We haven't had . . . a meaningful conversation in awhile."

Before Matt can even open his mouth to answer, she's gone.

Once the door clicks shut after her, Jordan is the first to break the silence.

"You guys were serious about the restraining order, right?" he asks nervously.

"Yes, we were," I answer quietly. My mind is still reeling from the stories my parents had just revealed.

Jordan releases a relieved breath. "Thank God, because the police are waiting for her downstairs."

🌸🌸🌸

Lexi's POV

"How's Bryce?" Mac asks me the moment him and James step into our apartment, finally home from the theatre.

"He's still in a coma, as far as I know. His dad told me it would probably be best for me to leave the hospital before he woke up, just in case seeing me would cause too big of a reaction from him. How was Cathy?" I reply, inquiring about my understudy.

James shrugs. "She's good, but she's not you."

Mac decides to chime in by saying, "I also feel a lot more awkward making out with her during All I Ask Of You than I do with you."

"Same," James adds dully.

I laugh as the two boys set their duffel bags down in our foyer before making their way into the living room. Mac plops down onto the couch to my right and James to my left.

James slings an arm over my shoulder. "Think you'll be back tomorrow? I'm sure you can take a couple more days if you need them."

I shake my head. "I think I would rather go back tomorrow than sit at home and think about Bryce all day long."

James smiles. "Fair."

Suddenly, my phone begins to ring from where it's still tucked into the front pocket of my sweatshirt.

I yank it free and read the name on the screen.

Charlie Brooks

I sigh. "I need to take this. It's my brother. It might have something to do with the baby."

Mac and James both nod in understanding, so I accept the call and hold the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?" I ask.

Charlie's voice is panicked when he replies. "Lex? It's bad. Really bad."

My breath gets lodged in my throat. "What happened?"

A pause.

And then, "It's Dad. He got into an accident. They don't think he's going to make it."

A/N: :)

Lol. I told you the cliffhangers would continue.

I loooooved writing Leo and Elena's backstory sm bc they're just two wholesome humans trying their best to be together despite all the people in the world who have tried to tear them down.

Btw I'm changing the name of Lexi's cat in the next chapter and I'm gonna go edit the chapter where it was mentioned before because I remembered I already had a name picked out for her that I forgot lol.

Oh, also?

No more Lexi POV for a VERY long time.

You're welcome!