Saturday, July 2, 2016
Beau Estate
21 weeks...
Trey smiled as he pulled his silver Rubicon wrangler jeep to a stop in front of his dad's beach house. Nervous, Lexi tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear just as Trey asked, "You ready?"
"I'm nervous," she muttered. "A lot of things could happen."
He leaned over to press a kiss to her lips. "I told you on Thursday and yesterday that no matter what happened, I've got you; don't forget that."
When she nodded, he leaned back, setting his hands on his hips. "You look really good by the way. Gorgeous."
She blushed, looking down at her outfit. "You're serious?"
"Dead serious," he replied immediately, his eyes going to the bump. She blushed even harder under his scrutiny and cupped her bump, rubbing it absently. "You know it starts when we walk out. I'm sorry again in advance."
"Trey, I'll be fine."
He grabbed her face and kissed her again. "Talk to you later." He opened the door and jumped out, heading towards the guys and left Melissa to help Lexi down as planned. "Is everything set? Are all the devices online?" he asked, popping the small earpiece in his ear.
"Yes," Dustin replied, closing the back door to Mitchell's truck. "What am I to do again?"
"You follow Valerie everywhere; especially when she and Nicolysse leave together—I have a feeling she'll be here. Get close enough so the live cam can record an audiovisual," Trey replied as they began walking towards the girls, carrying baskets and blankets to give whoever was possibly watching they had gathered around Mitch's car to pick up those.
"Yes sir," he replied in an undertone with a nod.
"I'll be alone because I need to make it believable," Trey continued. "Mitch, Nicolysse is your target for today when she isn't with me."
"Got it," Mitch murmured.
"Jason, keep an eye on Alexandra for me. I've told her what's going to be happening but not in specific. Be her cheerleader and get her act perfect? To make it more believable."
"Okay," Jason replied. He walked alongside Trey and towards the girls, hoping for the best.
Valerie answered the door, plastering a smile that looked too cheery to be true. "Welcome! Come in, come in." She stepped back, holding the door wider to allow them entry.
"The others are already on the beach at the back of the house," she said when Trey made a show of looking around. Then she closed the door after everyone had walked in.
Melissa chatted with Sierra while Jason walked beside Lexi. When they made it out back, the first thing Lexi saw was Nicolysse's hand traveling up and down Trey's arm while he openly checked her out.
Alexandra stopped in her tracks; her eyes glued to the scene ahead of her. The other ladies had similar reactions and it took all the men to herd them away. They all conceded and left, except Lexi.
No matter how much they'd persuaded her, she refused to budge. She stood rooted to her spot, not batting a lash. The other men left her to Jason, moving towards the setup to keep the ladies company. Jason placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on."
She blinked, severally, then looked up at him. "What is he doing with her?" she asked in a voice that was barely a whisper. It sounded strange to her own ears.
Jason closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to look down at her. "Did Trey tell you anything about having to do something?"
"He said I should trust him and he has to do things he doesn't like to corner Ethan." She paused, frowning. "He said he was going to corner Ethan," she repeated, "What has flirting with her got to do with that?!" she hissed.
He pulled her away, walking her towards the table. "It's exactly what he's doing. He's going to be hanging around Nicolysse and give the idea that he's done with you. Ethan will come crawling out for his money and we'll have him right where we want him."
She opened her mouth to say more, but closed it when she couldn't find the right words. Trey had mentioned it might hurt her, and whatever she'd expected, it definitely wasn't him giving Nicolysse his time of the day.
"I understand," she muttered, casting one last glance at the two in time to see Nicolysse smirking victoriously. If only she knew she was being played. Lexi turned back to Jason. "What am I supposed to do then?"
Jason shrugged. "Trey said to play along. Make Nicolysse feel it's real. Look hurt when you see them together... things like that. And I'll do the comforting."
"That's easy," she murmured, tucking strands of her windblown hair behind her ears. "I'm already hurt despite knowing he has to."
"Sorry," he told her, squeezing her to his side. "I'm going to sit next to the others. Care to join us?"
"I don't see why not," she replied. She felt herself sinking in the sand the further they went. Her sandals felt like they were being pulled off her feet, slowing her progress. She managed the walk, plopping onto the bench as soon as they reached the group.
Melissa looked at her with sympathetic eyes. But it wasn't quite deep, and for some reason, Lexi felt compelled to ask. Since Mel was across the table, she texted.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Melissa read it, looked up at Lexi, then typed out a reply.
I know Trey had this planned but I felt like this might still hurt so I wanted to know you were okay.
Lexi smiled at Melissa after reading it then typed, you're not wrong there; I am still hurt. But I'll survive. At the end of the day, he's all mine.
Melissa gave her a brilliant smile, then lifted her drink in a silent cheer, taking a sip of it and turning to others. Translated, what she'd done meant 'I'm so proud of you'. As if suddenly remembering something, Melissa picked her phone again to type.
Trey is going to be really busy piecing together evidence and attending court hearings—maybe spending time with Nicolysse too to make this act more believable. I'm here for you in case it gets too much, yeah?
Lexi blinked, feeling emotional. Suddenly, she trusted Trey with this a lot more than she had two days ago when he'd asked her if she did. If he'd thought ahead about how distraught she would feel and had made provisions, that alone was okay. It was a reminder that at the end of everything, he'd be hers.
"Thank you," she mouthed. Melissa winked at her, then went back to her conversation.
Just when Lexi thought all was well, Trey came over with Nicolysse in tow. She allowed the scowl to show on her face, both hating the fact that the woman was clinging to her husband and playing the role of the displeased wife.
But when Trey's hand fell on her knee, squeezing, she felt better. Maybe... just maybe, this wasn't going to be so bad.
*
Andrew had joined them after he got back from work, and so far, neither Valerie nor Nicolysse had made a move. Trey kept meeting the eyes of his friends, each losing interest as time went by. Trey began feeling stupid for thinking anything was going to happen in the first place.
So, when Nicolysse suddenly excused herself, and when after a minute or less Valerie stood too, their suspicion rose. They became super alert, all of them sitting straight.
Alexandra noticed the change in Trey and how tense he looked. Without turning to him, she clasped the hand that was on her knee and squeezed, maintaining a neutral expression.
Trey eased up a bit after the contact, then he looked at Mitch, patting his chest once. Mitch understood and got up with the excuse of refilling his glass, then disappeared into the house. A few seconds later, he heard Mitch speaking through the earpiece. "Can you all hear me? Say 'banana' if you can."
Trey pinched the bridge of his nose, looking up at Jason who was scowling, then at Dustin who just looked amused. Of all the words he could have chosen, banana? "Banana," he grumbled, hearing the others do the same - including Billy, who was connected from the house. His was to record every feed for evidence.
"Banana?" Alexandra asked, giving him an odd look. His scowl deepened when her brow lifted in question, because he didn't like bananas. She looked at the table and the assortments of fruits, spotting a bunch of bananas. "Do you want a banana? I thought you didn't like them."
He wanted to strangle Mitch.
Facing his wife, he shook his head. "No," he murmured, squeezing her hand under the table, "don't worry about it. Just something that crossed my mind." He hated lying to her, whether by omission or however. But he calmed himself knowing he would tell her tonight, when they were alone in bed.
"Billy, is the camera recording?" Mitchell asked, seriously this time.
"Yes. Proceed," was all Billy said in response.
He pulled back when Mitch spoke again, in a lower voice that he had to strain to hear him over the noise surrounding them. "Now I'm going to be silent, so I don't get caught." With that he went silent, and once again, Trey exchanged worried looks with the rest of the guys.
A few minutes later, they heard the undeniable voices of Valerie and Nicolysse. "Are you sure you have it under control?" Valerie asked, her voice somewhat wary.
"Yes," Nicolysse answered. The sound of something snapping filled his ears, and he hoped it hadn't been Mitch blowing his cover.
"But he gave you his attention today, and I think he's already interested," Valerie muttered. "All you have to do now is woo him."
"Not with her in the way," Nicolysse said bitterly. It didn't take a genius to know she was talking about Lexi. "He'd always go crawling back to her like a lovesick puppy." Trey caught Jason's eye at that moment, and his friend nodded as if to say it was true.
He didn't deny nor agree, but focused instead on whatever was happening inside the house. He heard a little shuffling before Nicolysse spoke again. "I'm ready to take action."
"What are those?" The wariness in Valerie's voice had climbed, as though she was suddenly uncomfortable.
"Just two little things. I need Trey to want me and her out of the picture."
"That is what I want to know," Valerie said. "What do you mean by taking her out of the picture?"
Nicolysse chuckled a bit. "You can't back out after I've told you." There was a pause before his crazy ex girlfriend spoke again. "It's a slow poison—" something fell with a crash. Trey made eye contact with Jason who was wide-eyed.
"Are you crazy?!" Valerie hissed. "She's pregnant. If you kill her, you kill three, and I'm not letting you."
"Relax," she murmured in an unbothered voice. "It's slow, so just a warning of sorts. I'm sure it'll be flushed out of her system before it does any damage; don't worry about it."
Another pause. "All you have to do is serve them for me, and please remember the drinks correctly before you put my love at risk." Trey nearly scoffed.
"What if I don't want to? Alexandra's drink I mean," she clarified, her voice taking a shaky note. "It's dangerous."
"Then I'll gut you," came the quick response. "I'll kill you then finish the job myself, probably with something that will eliminate her instantly. I'm using a slow poison for your peace of mind, so deal with it."
"Why?" Valerie asked, sounding a bit terrified. Did Nicolysse have a knife pointed at her? No matter how horrible his stepmother had been, she didn't deserve such gruesome death.
"She didn't heed my warning, and you told me to do something about it." Trey could picture Nicolysse shrugging. "So, here I am, doing something about it."
"It could've been anything else—"
"Shh," Nicolysse muttered. "You don't want anyone to find this out, do you?" There was silence before Nicolysse spoke again. "Use your words Valerie."
"N-no," Valerie replied.
"Good." A little more movement and then she spoke. "Give Trey this—it has an aphrodisiac, and give this to her. He'd probably be in bed with me when it kicks in, and when she realizes he doesn't care enough to be with her, I'm sure she'll make the right decision."
Valerie's response never came, but the sound of footsteps got closer and closer, till again they faded away. About two minutes later, when Nicolysse had appeared outside—with Valerie another minute later—Mitch spoke.
"Jesus!" Trey agreed. And just when he thought Mitchell was probably too stunned to say anymore, Mitch added, "Trey, make sure she doesn't drink any of it."
Trey hummed in agreement, looking at his wife. He noticed how pale she'd become; she looked as white as a sheet; like she'd seen a ghost. Throwing his plan for the day out of the window, he cupped her chin tilting her head towards him.
He didn't like what he saw.
All that went through his head was if Nicolysse had already given her a first serving of the poison because she looked like she was in pain. Then he remembered Melissa telling him Lexi mentioned feeling weird earlier.
At that he stood, pocketing his phone. That was when Melissa also noticed something was very wrong with her best friend. She stood and rounded the table to their side, touching Lexi's forehead, then lifted her head. "You're not okay."
"No," Lexi admitted though it hadn't been a question. By then, everyone had gone quiet, their attention on them.
Trey took her hand and pulled her up, getting her off the bench and next to him. "I'm taking you to the hospital," he muttered in a tone that exuded finality. "Can you walk?"
"I don't know," she whispered honestly, looking down as she clutched her bump. She stood to walk but stopped, and Trey got behind her in time to catch her as she fell backwards.
She fell into his chest, his hands gripping her sides to keep her upright, then he was bending to scoop her in his arms. "Mel, get the rest of her stuff and call Dr. Morris."
He tried to keep a calm composure when he saw the fear in Samantha's eyes. She was pregnant too, and probably was scared—this was not the first time such a thing was happening.
A small part of him envied his friend because they'd had a smooth sailing pregnancy so far, but no part of him wished they'd go through what he and Lexi were going through.
"Give me your car keys," Andrew said, stepping up to them. Though surprised, he paused long enough for his father to fish the keys out his pocket, then he was speed walking again. "I'll get the car ready."
Trey looked at his wife's limp form in his arms. She looked so peaceful, no evidence of the pain she'd been in before collapsing, and somehow that scared him more than if she was awake and moaning in pain.
He hurried through the front door, grateful to find Andrew had already maneuvered the car to face the direction of the main gate. After getting help from Andrew to settle his wife in the backseat, he got in too. Then Andrew, good at driving fast, sped out of the house.
Trey crossed his fingers, hoping things weren't going tremendously wrong... and that she hadn't been poisoned. He wasn't ready to lose her yet—all of them. His wife and unborn children.