Silently walking through the hallway of the hotel, Alexis took cautious steps, her heart pounding at the thought of being spotted and whisked back into the bustling main hall. She was on a mission and she wasn't going back to the hall until Geoffrey was back by her side.
The west wing of the ground floor had been exclusively cordoned off for the evening's function, and she decided that Geoffrey, if still around, would likely confine himself within that designated area. With this thought propelling her, Alexis scanned the surroundings, her senses heightened, keenly aware of the possibilities lurking just beyond each shadowed corner.
A woman's giggle which was drowned out by Ren's voice emanated from behind a stairwell - it seemed Geoffrey wasn't the only one sneaking off with a woman.
Well, I'm sure he's not supposed to be here either, Alexis gathered, reasoning that since they were both sneaking around he would have no need to tell on her, so she walked behind the stairwell and let out a loud throat clear.
"Hey, princess, what are you doing?" he asked, seeming none too bothered that Alexis had caught him in the middle of whatever it was he was doing with his mouth all over the giggling woman.
"Have you seen Geoffrey?" she asked.
"Yep," he said with a laugh that was clearly not due to the question. "He went down that way."
He gave a quick point in the direction of the restrooms and then turned his attention back to the women.
Alexis let out a low groan as her dislike for the women grew. I swear I'm never going to grow up to be one of them, she internally rambled before being cut off by Ren.
"You can't go down there, Alexis. He's ... er ... busy. Give him a few," he said before once again being lost in the embrace of the woman whose giggling lips took over his.
"Sure, whatever," she said before going in the exact direction that Ren had told her not to go.
The restrooms were on the far end of the west side which would mean having to pass by Thomas who was currently sitting by the entrance with Mamax as he kept guard.
Mamax alone would have been easy to slip by, which was probably how Geoffrey and the woman had gotten past in the first place. Despite his complete brute look and sometimes boorish actions, he was a big softy to whom Alexis had assigned her own codename – Teddybear.
She was sure Thomas would have stopped him and perhaps sent him back to the hall, he was, after all, supposed to be chaperoning Alexis, and Thomas was a stickler for following orders. So, her only guess was that Thomas must have recently arrived to keep watch unless Ren had given her the completely wrong direction altogether,
Alexis ducked behind a row of chairs and crawled under the small tables until she was at the closest side to where she could make a run for the restrooms without being spotted. On normal occasions, she hated the fact that she was so delicately built, but right then, when her small stature allowed her to fit underneath the furniture that was acting as her only barrier to Thomas, she was grateful.
She took a final glance over to Thomas who seemed to be distracted at that moment by some youths who were speaking with the doormen. Mamax too was paying attention to the unwanted guests and Alexis took that as her opportunity to run, as quickly as she could to the small corridor that led the way down to the restrooms.
Yes, she silently chanted while fist bumping the air, then, keeping close to the wall made haste down the corridor. They really need to think of putting me on more missions, she thought, proud of her feat so far. They could call me something like The Rabbit because I'm so fast and silent and I can probably ... Her inner ramblings stopped as the sound of small bangs and shuffles became more audible.
What is that? she wondered, slowing her brisk pace to cautious, tiptoeing steps.
Alexis neared the coat room, the origin of the sound, and listened at the door to the muffled groans and bangs, and words that she couldn't make out.
Tentatively, she held her hand over the door handle, unsure if she should enter and nervous about what she would find on the other side.
It has to be Geoffery, or at least someone else I know, she consoled herself knowing that no one outside of the group of guests would be frolicking around in the coat room, and with that thought, she pulled at the handle and pushed the door open.
Light seeped through the partially open doorway, casting a dim glow over the tables and racks before revealing the silhouette of two entwined bodies.
A hushed gasp caught in Alexis' throat as she cautiously entered the room, compelled to confirm the identity of the legs' owner; her eyes widening in disbelief as Geoffrey's partially exposed figure loomed over the woman he had vanished with.
A mixture of fear and anger surged through her, rendering her momentarily paralyzed. She wanted to flee, to distance herself from the unsettling scene before her, but a stronger force urged her to intervene and protect the woman who had somehow lured Geoffrey into committing such an act.
Geoffrey's name quivered on Alexis' lips as she attempted to call out to him, but an invisible force seemed to paralyze her.
Not Geoffrey, her heart lamented, refusing to accept the act that was clearly unfolding before her.
Despite the damning evidence, Alexis clung to a desperate hope, unwilling to believe that Geoffrey could be involved in such a heart-wrenching act.
Sure all the kissing and petting they did was repulsive enough in Alexis' eyes, and for some inexplicable reason, the women seemed to revel in it. But how could any woman find pleasure in what they were doing now? And why would Geoffrey partake in such an act?
A war raged within Alexis until a loud groan left the woman's mouth, tipping Alexis' internal struggle past its zenith, and then a single word escaped Alexis' lips in a scream, a desperate cry for attention and a plea for the nightmare to end— "Stop!"
Geoffrey turned then, jumping quickly from the woman and pulling at his trousers to cover himself. An act which only intensified the fear that had taken hold of Alexis as she watched Geoffrey in his partial nakedness rummaging quickly in the darkness.
"Alexis, what are you doing in here?" he said in a breathless, ragged voice before stepping towards her.
Alexis too stepped back to counter his forward motion, the vision of his exposed state deepening the psychological torment that had enveloped her vision and reasoning.
"Don't touch me," she screamed, backing into a rack when he came to stand over her.
"What's wrong, princess?" he asked, lowering himself to her level - his once-beautiful eyes cloaked by the fragility of Alexis' state of mind seeming to resemble the sinister hue of the man from her memory that she had tried so hard to bury.
Alexis didn't answer except to once again back away. As much as trusted Geoffrey, and had only ever felt safety in his company, now, confused by her own mind, she didn't know what to trust. So when he reached up to touch her cheek, a usual gesture whenever she seemed saddened or unsure, she couldn't restrain the reaction that tore through her and echoed along the corridor in the form of a loud, long scream.
"Hey," Geoffrey rushed and grabbed her arms as she began to lash out at him. "Calm down," he chanted and pulled her in closer, hoping to restrain her but instead she screamed louder, and hit harder.
Only a minute or two could have passed, with Geoffrey, rocking a fighting Alexis in his arms before another voice was heard at the doorway.
"What happened?" Thomas asked, making quick paces into the room.
Mamax was with him and surveying the corners of the room in search of the culprit that must have spooked Alexis, who was now silent but still moaning until Geoffrey's gentle grip as he, in between words of comfort to Alexis, gave a quick recollection of what had happened to Thomas.
Thomas gave an audible sigh, along with a number of mumbled curse words that Alexis gathered were directed at Geoffrey if the sudden tension in his grip was anything to go by. Nonetheless, his focus turned back to Alexis to give her one more word of encouragement before letting go completely.
As soon as his grasp relaxed Alexis shot up and ran over to stand behind Thomas if only to not have to look into Geoffrey's eyes.
"Hurry up and get back down to the hall," Thomas said, his voice holding a hint of annoyance that he quickly dropped when he turned to address Alexis. "Are you okay to go back to the hall?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder to guide her out.
Alexis held her stance firm, refusing to be moved. "I want to go home," she said plainly.
"You don't want to go back to the party, I'm sure there's cake," Thomas said, with the hint of a smile, something he rarely did, especially when directed at Alexis.
"Please just take me home," she uttered, not even the slightest bit tempted by the sweet delicacies she knew would be waiting.
Prolonging her stay at the party would mean faking smiles and enjoyment when all she wanted to do was hide under her bed covers until sleep came to dull all her confusion away. Besides, she wasn't the best at feigning happiness and the men were sure to question her on it.
Thomas' usual frown took on a more concerned appearance as he gazed at her for a while before uttering a small 'okay', and then led her towards the door.
He didn't speak again until after having called Vincent to explain that Alexis had come on with an urge of sickness and he was driving her home. Vincent didn't sound impressed as he questioned Thomas, but Thomas assured him it would have only been more awkward to return to the hall before leaving, hence the sudden exit.
"How are you feeling?" Thomas eventually asked Alexis who had been sitting silently with her feet up on the seat and her knees pulled in under her chin.
Alexis shrugged.
"What exactly happened?" Thomas asked.
Again, Alexis shrugged.
"You know I don't like to guess, Alexis," Thomas said, his stern voice faltering slightly with an unusual softness.
Alexis shrugged once again.
"Alexis," he said, his voice sharp, but without any malice.
Thomas didn't scare her. None of the Blackthorn men did, and despite the shock that Geoffrey had caused her, she could never truly be afraid of him. However, she knew that once Thomas had his mind set on getting an answer he wasn't the easiest to get around. In fact, out of all of the Blackthorn men he was the only one she never seemed to be able to get around.
"Why was he doing that?" she deflected, torn between wanting to avoid the question and being unsure of how to answer it.
"What?"
"With that woman."
"What were they ..." he stopped and glanced at Alexis before continuing. "Is that why you freaked out? They weren't doing anything unusual."
Alexis turned in her seat to watch Thomas, unnerved by how undisturbed he sounded having realised the situation. "But why would Geoffrey do something like that?"
Thomas looked back at Alexis, with a blend of confusion and discomfort on his face. "You realise all, or at least most men do things like that, don't you?"
Alexis' mouth dropped slightly at the revelation. "Do you?"
"We're not talking about me. I don't get why you're so shocked, you've seen Geoffrey and the others with multiple women by now, I'm sure."
"But they don't ... Oh," she said as the realisation hit her. That's what their discussions meant, and why, without fail, there would always be a part of the evening where at least one or two had disappeared with their female companion of any said dinner, or party.
"Is that what they do?" she burst out incredulously. "What's wrong with those women? Why would they enjoy something like that?"
Thomas gave a small laugh which he attempted to hide as he briskly rubbed his forehead with his hand.
"And why wouldn't they?" he asked.
"Because ... it's disgusting and it hurts."
Thomas froze for a moment as a frown appeared from beneath his hand, and then he slowly turned back to her.
"How would you know that?" he asked.