After Her Love

20. Perfect love

"Umh..." I suddenly heard Aleksi's voice behind me. I turned my head towards him and then back to the oven, after which I just took another sip of the rum.

"What happened?" He sat next to me but he didn't say anything about the rum or the cupcakes.

"I tend to bake when I'm stressed... Right now I'm so fucking stressed..." I mumbled and kept my focus on the cupcakes which were still in the oven.

"Did he contact you again?" Aleksi carefully asked and I felt how my blood started to boil inside of me. That question brought back all the memories of the good times me and Susanne had, what a great friendship we used to had and which was now completely ruined by one single person and his manipulative behavior.

"Susanne called.. I ignored her at first.. Then she wrote this.. Just read it.." I couldn't tell him what happened because I knew it would take the whole eternity to get into the point while being in this state I was in right now. Aleksi took the phone and started to read from the top of the conversation, meanwhile I kept on sipping the rum and staring into the oven.

After a while Aleksi lowered the phone and a deep sigh escaped his lips.

"She doesn't believe me... Rauli has her wrapper all around his fingers... " The man wrapped his hands around me and for me it felt like the place where I wanted to stay the rest of my life. He felt so safe to be around.

"I'm so sorry..." Rilla agreed with her owner and poked me with her nose and placed herself next to me.

"It sucks, you know... To realize that your best friend is adoring her brother so much that she refuses to see the true colors of him.." The dog got so much my attention that for a moment scratching her felt like the best therapy the World even had to offer. I would not mind just staying here and hanging out with her all day every day and pretend that none of the problems ever existed.

"Yeah.. Believe me, I know how it feels... To be betrayed by the ones you least expect.." Aleksi took the bottle from my hand and sipped from it. I frowned a little because I had no idea what he was talking about. He seemed to have the best people around him, who would even think about betraying him?

"What do you mean..?" I asked carefully and opened the oven to check the cupcakes. Aleksi leaned against the cabin behind him and tapped the Captain Morgan bottle he was holding. Whatever it was, it seemed to be something he rather wanted to forget so I quickly told him that he doesn't have to tell me if he did not want to. After another, rather big sip, Aleksi put the bottle down and sighed deeply.

"Just promise me you won't tell anyone about this..."

"Sure... " He earned my trust during such a terrible time so I owned him mine, and there was no need for me to tell anyone anything he was about to tell me. I quickly took the cupcakes out of the oven and then I sat back on the floor, opposite to Aleksi. Rilla remained in between us.

"Some time ago... Before Joel and Robyn got together again... " He started and I already had way too many questions in my mind.

"What do you mean, again?"

"They have a long history... And then I happened to fall for her.. So I.. We... had a short relationship until Ro went back to Joel, behind my back.. " Aleksi took the bottle again. I would have never guessed that he and Robyn had something going on. She and Joel seemed to have the perfect life, perfect love, perfect family.. It looks like it is a result of a very long history, trust and respect, not some on and off relationship. I was confused.

"Oh... But.. "

"Believe me, it is one long and so fucking messed up story that even I don't really understand all of it to this day, but it happened.. And I was in love with her.. Until she realized that I was nothing compared to Joel and our love could never reach the levels she had with Joel.. I know they belong together.. And I'm happy for them but.. There were still so much that I didn't know for a long time and I found it all out in a hard way.. So.. yeah.. " Aleksi spoke and I could only hold my mouth shut so I would not ask anything stupid. He was still hurting and I could see that, maybe this is why he saw how broken I was.. Could two broken hearts pull each other towards? Or maybe this was just my slightly drunk mind thinking. Aleksi kept on staring at the bottle and I figured that he was still trying to get over from all of that.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered and sat next to him. Aleksi looked at me and smiled a little.

"Thanks.. I feel sorry for myself too.. I should have known better when I even laid my eyes on her.. I knew that all the relationships she had after Joel were kinda unsuccessful so what were the odds that it would have been any different with me..." The man took another sip after which I also felt that I needed one. I took the bottle from his hand and placed it on my lips. Aleksi knew probably better than anyone how I felt now, so when the silence fell in between us it did not even feel weird. Neither of us really had nothing to add so we just sat there, stared at the opposite wall and drank the rum. Rilla of course looked at us like we were two complete idiots who did not know who to trust and who not. She probably had some built in mechanism to realize that and she knowingly avoided the ones that were not worth your time. I did not have that mechanism yet I wished I had one. It would have saved me from Susanne, but more importantly, from Rauli.

"Feelings are weird things... You just feel stuff and you don't think how smart it is... " I felt the alcohol hitting my brain and whatever I just said, sounded so weird that I did not even bother to think if Aleksi understood my point if there even was any.

"Yeah.. They come and go and the only thing that stays are the consequences and the shitty feelings.. Those fuckers seem to tag along..." Aleksi seemed to get what I tried to say.

"I'll drink for that.." The bottle became lighter and lighter each time I lifted it on my lips. My head, on the other hand, became the total opposite and I was not completely sure if it was a good thing to get drunk right now because my self control would get out of my hands on those occasions. While thinking about all the possible consequences of getting drunk, I felt Aleksi taking the bottle from me.

"Me too.. " After his sip the bottle was empty and it found its place on the floor next to him.

"Thanks.. " I whispered after some minutes had passed and we were still sitting on the floor. The man turned his head towards me and his slightly red eyes met mine.

"For what..? I haven't done anything..." He smiled and gently placed his hand on mine.

"Yes you have... Without you I wouldn't even be here... Safe.. " I smiled and felt how he lightly squeezed my hand.

"That's what friends do, right?" Aleksi smiled and all I could do was to smile. I really needed a friend like him in my life. Susanne was far from being the person Aleksi was. So far I thought she was the only friend I needed in my life, but how wrong was I. And right now I really wanted to ignore all the shit that I still had to face, starting from informing my bosses that I probably quit my jobs, but that is something I should do while being sober. Another question was how to avoid Rauli and Susanne in general... 

A/N: Did Aleksi just friendzone Iiris.. ?

I was afraid I won't be able to get a new chap out for you guys, but well.. I did.. But I'm not sure about next weeks chapter due some personal things that occured during the weekend and I'm still dealing with the aftermaths of it... I might be reading your fics but probably comment less than usually just because my mind is not really there right now, so I hope you'll understand. 

Thanks for your support, as always!