Always Mine (An Avengers/Loki Fanfiction)

17. Mistrust and Lies

Peyton, Nicole, and I were grocery shopping when I received a text. I checked my phone to see a notification from Craig. I glared as I read that he was arriving in the city in a few hours.

"What's up?" Peyton wondered.

"You know who is coming," I answered, my voice filled with frustration. "What does he think he is? Informing me at the very last minute. It's like finding out a hurricane is coming inland at the last second. And next, you're stuck in a flood zone until help arrives." I was seething at the thought of facing my ex again.

"I thought you blocked his number," Nicole pointed out as she placed a bag of mandarins in the cart.

"I was gonna, but he would've found another route if I did."

"Too bad we couldn't book Craig a hotel room instead of him staying with us where you're bound to kill 'im the second he pisses you off," Peyton shrugged at me.

"Or I could just briefly move out and fly up to Canada until he leaves us alone," I suggested as I jerked the cart. "Or just barricade myself in my room while he's hanging out in the main room."

"Don't worry, Case. We're at your side."

After getting home, Sean and Vince were informed of Craig's arrival, and they'd make sure my ex didn't try anything that would set me off. Nicole got started with making dinner while I helped her out. Vince and Peyton played GTA while Sean and Melanie read a book together.

Melanie moved into the building not too long ago. It turned out she was over in New York at the time of the attack. She was on a bus on her way to an interview for a potential job when she got stuck. Sean helped pull her and some other passengers out of the bus and had them take cover.

Melanie arrived in LA some months later. She had family who lived on the West Coast. Sean had bumped into her one day and both of them immediately recognized each other. We had Melanie move into the building since her connection to our group could potentially endanger her if she lived alone.

The door opened, and Craig entered the apartment.

"Hey, guys," he smiled as he set his backpack on the floor.

I didn't reply while pretending my ex wasn't in the room.

"Hey," Peyton nodded while engrossed in the video game.

Nicole turned to me with an expression as if saying she would look after the meal while I retreated to my room. So, I headed straight for my room, not wanting to look at my ex.

"Casey?" Craig called as I shut the door and put on my headphones, not wanting to hear him.

Peyton's POV

After hearing of Craig's arrival, Nicole and I assured Casey that she could head for her room whenever she needed to be alone. We were all worried that she would telekinetically throw her ex out the window the minute he angered her.

"Guys, what's wrong with her?" Craig asked.

"She needs some time alone," I answered while focused on trying to evade the cops in the game.

"Yeah, Aunt Irma's visiting her," Nicole nodded as she prepped dinner.

"Who?" Craig had a confused expression. He didn't watch a lot of British sitcoms!

"It's her time of the month you dork," I remarked not wanting to give him any specific details.

Craig slowly nodded once knowing what that meant. Even though Casey wasn't on her period, it was a good excuse for vacating the living room. And Craig would think twice about approaching her.