Chapter 14 – Or something.
Beck's POV
"Hey, Beck, where's your head at?" Alex asks, nudging me with her elbow as she passes me behind the bar.
Oh, right, work. I'm supposed to be serving customers.
"Sorry, man, what can I get you?" I ask, walking over to a waiting customer and taking his order.
It's been four days since Alex and I heard the wolf howling at the rock. It was definitely a wolf, no question about it, but I've not heard anything more since. After making sure Alex got home okay, I went straight to the forest to see if I could track whoever it was down. I found a scent but it didn't lead to a wolf, it didn't lead to anything, and I eventually gave up for the night. I didn't recognise the scent, at least I don't think I did, so for all I know it was some local wolf picking up on a lone one being nearby. I'm not entirely convinced, though. If that was the case then surely I wouldn't be the one out there searching.
I hate not knowing what's going on. I've been out every night since and I feel like I'm just going in circles. There's been no sign of other wolf life since Wednesday so I've had no new leads. This is the only downside to not being in a pack; at least then I'd have someone to form a game plan with. Right now I have nada; no help, no clues to follow and absolutely no idea whether this is even something I need to be worrying about.
Maybe whoever it was has gone for good; maybe there's no problem at all.
"Are you okay?" Alex asks, coming to stand next to me behind the bar.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I ask back, forcing as nonchalant a shrug as I can muster.
"I don't know, you just seem... weird," she says.
"You always say I'm weird," I point out.
"Very true," she agrees with a small laugh.
A small beep distracts her, moving her attention to the phone she pulls out of her back pocket. Reading the text, she sighs.
"Are you okay?" I return the question.
"Huh?" she looks up from her phone. "Oh, yeah, I just," she shakes her head. "It's nothing. It's just going to be a long night."
"How come?" I ask.
"Just got an SOS text from my mum; she and dad are off out so they need me to watch the kids tonight. The twins always play up at night when my parents are out," she explains, rolling her eyes.
"Want some company?" I ask.
Now that Jenny and Stuart are back, we're getting let off work earlier on some nights. Tonight we're only needed until nine which means I have a bunch of free time to stress over what happened on Wednesday, which is going to get me nowhere.
"You're offering?" she asks, sounding surprised.
"Sure, why not?" I reply with a small shrug. "Got nothing better to do."
"Okay... thanks," she replies, the relief clear in her voice. "They might not play up as bad with you there."
"No problem," I reply.
For the next hour the pub is fairly quiet, with only a steady flow of customers breezing through.
"I'm bored," Alex says after a while, leaning her elbow on the bar and resting her chin on her hand.
"Thanks for sharing," I reply, eliciting an eye roll from her as I hand a pint of beer over to an awaiting customer.
"Tell me something," she says as the guy walks away.
"Like what?" I ask, leaning my hip against the bar as I turn to face her.
"I don't know. Something interesting," she says, not giving me much of an elaboration.
"Okay," I reply, wracking my brain for the first random fact that pops into my head. "Beer was considered a soft drink in Russia until the year twenty eleven."
"Really?" she asks.
I nod.
"How'd you know that?" she then asks.
I shrug.
"A friend told me once," I reply, the friend being Maggie.
"You have a friend?" she laughs. I roll my eyes.
"Believe it or not, I've got a few," I inform her.
"Wow. Poor them," she replies, the joking glint to her eyes making me smile slightly.
"What do you mean 'poor them'?" I ask, pretending to be offended. "I'm an absolute delight."
"You're something, alright," she says, rolling her eyes.
"It's all part of my charm," I say, winking at her and then turning my attention to another customer approaching the bar, although not before I notice the slight pink tinge to her cheeks. I smirk slightly.
As I serve the customer, a woman looking to be in her mid-thirties, Alex grabs a tray and goes on an empty glass hunt without me needing to ask. We don't talk much for the rest of our shift, both of us focusing on getting through the rest of the night.
When our shift comes to an end and Jenny lets us go, I wait around for Alex as she collects up her things. I'm not going to lie; I'm looking forward to tonight. I like Blondie's family.
"You ready?" Alex asks, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
I nod and open the door, letting her go first before following out behind her.
"Thanks again for doing this," she says as we start walking. "My family seems to love you."
"Seriously?" I ask, somewhat surprised. They barely know me.
"I know, I was surprised too," she teases.
I roll me eyes and nudge her slightly with my elbow. She laughs and nudges me back.
"Honestly, though," she continues, "they keep asking about you. The twins especially, they keep asking if you'll be round again. Don't tell them I told you, though. They're pretty shy."
"Don't worry, my lips are sealed," I promise. "For what it's worth, I think you're family's pretty cool."
"Yeah, they're alright," she agrees, smiling. "Well, most of the time, anyway."
It doesn't take long to get to the house and, when we do, we're instantly greeted by Sarah at the door.
"Ah, you're back!" Sarah exclaims when she sees Alex, not seeming at all bothered by my presence. "Hi, Beck, nice to see you again," she adds with a warm smile.
"You too," I reply.
"Yeah. Beck's going to stick around for a while and help out, if that's cool with you," Alex tells her mother.
"Absolutely," Sarah agrees with a nod, grabbing her shoes from the rack by the stairs. "Everyone's upstairs at the minute. You know the drill." Alex nods. "I'm warning you now, Dylan and Olivia have been squabbling all evening."
"That doesn't really surprise me," Alex replies, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, well, just do your best to keep the peace," Sarah says. "I think Dylan's on the phone to Gabby now so they should hopefully stay out of each other's way."
"Got it," Alex confirms.
"Great, thank you so much for doing this. I know it was last minute."
"It's okay," Alex replies.
"Craig," Sarah calls up the stairs, holding onto the staircase with one hand as she pulls on her shoes with the other. "You'd better be ready or I'm leaving without you!"
"No you won't!" Craig calls back.
"I will!"
Craig appears at the top of the stairs and makes his way down.
"No you won't. I have the car keys, idiot," he informs. She rolls her eyes.
"You're both idiots," Alex tells them.
"Huh," Craig says. "That must be where you get it from, then. Hey, Beck," he then says. "I had a feeling you'd be back."
"Dad," Alex says, the warning in her voice clear. I raise an eyebrow at her and she blushes.
"I said nothing," Craig says, raising his hands up in surrender.
"You really are an idiot," Alex sighs, pushing him towards the front door and shooing them both out. "Go, you kids have fun."
They don't need to be told twice and, with one final thank you, they're gone.
Alex takes one look at me and tells me to shut up, leading me through to the living room.
I laugh and sit down on one side of the sofa, watching Alex as she slumps down next to me.
"Who's Gabby?" I ask, deciding to fill the silence.
"Dylan's girlfriend," she answers, pulling her legs up and crossing them like a pretzel. "They've not been together long."
I nod in response, my eyes turning towards the door to the room as it opens and reveals one of the twins; I'm not sure which one.
"Clara, what are you doing down here?" Alex asks. Ah, it's Clara.
Clara takes one looks at me and falters slightly, apparently not expecting to find a second person in the room. She soon powers on, though, a determined expression on her face as she answers her sister.
"Mummy said we could stay up until she got back," she announces.
"Did she, now?" Alex replies, not believing her sister for a second. "Something tells me you're fibbing."
"No, she really did!" Cora insists, suddenly appearing behind her twin and causing Alex to groan.
"Go to bed," she tells them.
"No, but we're telling the truth," Cora replies.
"Okay, then," Alex says, pulling her phone out of her back pocket. "Why don't I give mum a call and double check?"
Clara and Cora's eyes both widen, clearly caught in their lie, and Alex sighs.
"Bed," is all she says.
Cora pouts and turns on her heel, sulkily making her way back upstairs.
"I'm thirsty," Clara tells Alex.
"Okay, I'll get you a drink," Alex says, standing up and making her way to the door, "but you're taking it to bed with you."
Clara pouts too and Alex quickly ushers her out of the room. I listen to them bickering for a while, Alex trying to convince her sister to go to sleep but Clara refusing to go upstairs. Eventually, Alex wins and Clara stomps up the stairs.
"Sorry about that," Alex apologises as she re-enters the room and shuts the door behind her. "They do that a lot."
"They're sweet," I say with a shrug.
"They're little terrors," she replies, moving to kneel by the DVD stand next to the TV. "I guarantee they'll be down again soon. Want to watch a film?"
"Sure, what did you have in mind?" I agree.
"Hold on, let me find it," she says, scanning the shelves before finally finding whatever she's looking for with an "ah, ha!" She holds it up to show me.
I let out a surprised laugh.
"Beauty and the beast?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
You've got to be kidding me.
"Um, don't be so judgy," she says, throwing a cushion from a nearby chair at me. "Disney rocks."
"Okay, okay," I say, raising my hands in surrender. "Disney it is."
"This was one of my favourites growing up," she tells me, moving back to sit on the sofa once the film's in.
Mine too, Blondie, mine too.
"This, and the Black Cauldron. Obviously," she adds.
"Obviously," I repeat teasingly.
She nudges me with her foot and tells me to be quiet as she presses play. I chuckle lightly before doing as I'm told.
At first, a sense of nostalgia starts to distract me, my mind trailing back to things I don't really want to remember right now. I'm soon dragged out of it, however, as Alex wasn't wrong about the twins.
Within the first twenty minutes they're back again, both with a new excuse for why they can't get to sleep. Sighing, Alex pauses the film and marches them both upstairs, ignoring their protests as she does so.
When she returns she doesn't hesitate to press play again.
In total, we have to press pause five times: once more for the twins, twice for Layla and once for Daniel.
By the time the credits roll on screen, Alex's patience is starting to run thin, although to her credit she's been pretty tolerant so far. She looks tired, though, and I silently hope her parents get back soon so she can go to sleep. The older kids are fine, doing their own thing and not bothering her at all, but the younger ones really are little terrors.
"Let's play a board game," Alex says as she grabs the remote and turns the TV off. "I need to get my brain working or I'll fall asleep."
"What games have you got?" I ask.
"Monopoly?" she suggests. "I think we've got that upstairs somewhere."
Monopoly, huh? I've played that a few times before.
"Alright, Blondie," I agree, "But be prepared to get your ass well and truly whopped."
The challenge in her eyes is as clear as daylight as she stands up.
"Game on, Becky boy, game on," she says, leaving to find the game and returning a few minutes later with the box.
"I want to be the dog," she announces, setting the box on the coffee table and kneeling next to it.
"Okay," I say, moving to sit on the floor by the table as well. "But I'm still gonna destroy you."
***
"Fork it over, Blondie," I laugh, watching as she reluctantly moves her dog to Oxford Street for the third time. I hold my hand out for the money and she grudgingly hands it over.
We've been playing for an hour now and, as promised, I'm absolutely destroying her.
"Damn it, I hate you," she tells me.
"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game," I reply with a grin.
"How are you so good at everything? Are you a robot or something?" she asks, tilting her head to the side as she studies me.
No, the irony of that question is definitely not lost on me.
"Or something," I reply, snorting slightly.
If only she knew.
"And I'm now also the proud owner of a brand new hotel," I continue, paying the money to the bank before swapping the green blocks for a bigger red one. "Impressive, isn't it?"
"No," she disagrees, reaching her hand over the board and flicking the red plastic hotel at me.
"Careful now," I warn her. "I'll get you done for criminal damage."
"I'd like to see you try," she scoffs. "I'll hire the best lawyer monopoly has to offer."
"With what money?" I ask.
She gasps, trying her best to look offended. Her giggle kind of ruins the façade, though. I laugh and roll for my next turn.
"Ha! I hope you lose all your money, you cheeky git," she tells me as I land on chance.
I pick up the card, laughing as I read it.
"Advance to go, collect-"
"No it's not," she says, reaching over to grab the card. I don't let her take it and just laugh. "Let me see!" she insists.
"Nuh-uh," I say, holding the card out of her reach.
"Beck, I am not above tackling you. Show me or I swear to God I'll-"
"Go for it," I dare her.
I've got to admit, Alexa Rowland is a woman of her word.
"Ow," I laugh as she tackles me to the floor, scrambling to grab the card out of my hand.
She doesn't get very far with it as I quickly take hold of her ankle and pull her back, spinning her onto her back.
"Hey!" she protests with a laugh as I retrieve the card.
"See, Blondie, you're just going to have to trust-"
She kisses me, her lips on mine cutting off my words mid-sentence.
Um. What?
It's quick, lasting barely a millisecond, but it's definitely a kiss.
She pulls away, the back of her head hitting the floor with a definitive thud, looking about as surprised as I feel.
Apparently neither of us had been expecting that.
"I – I'm sorry. I don't know what just happened," she stutters.
"I'm pretty sure you just kissed me," I clarify.
She lets out a short breathless laugh, apparently not expecting my blunt response and suddenly unable to look me in the eyes.
"Um," she says, bracing her hands on the floor as if she's about to move.
"Wait," I stop her, not prepared for the knot of confusion I suddenly feel in my gut.
I don't want her to move just yet; I want to try something.
She doesn't stop me when I lean down to kiss her. In fact, she slowly snakes her arms around my neck and pulls me closer, to which I have no objections. The kiss is slow, careful, both of us testing the waters before we dive in.
Her lips are soft under mine, vaguely reminding me of the velvety feel of a petal, and I find myself not wanting to pull away. Apparently, neither does she, and the careful kiss slowly turns into something more - more what, I'm not sure, but definitely more. This time neither of us breaks it.
Well, that is until the sound of keys jingling reaches our ears and the front door opens. Then we all but spring apart, moving back to our places by the table just in time for Craig and Sarah to enter the room.
"Hey, we're back," Sarah says, dropping her bag onto the sofa.
"How was it?" Alex asks, somewhat breathlessly but recovering from it well, and glances at me for a second before returning her attention to her mother.
"Good," Craig answers, sitting down on an armchair with a sigh. "Who's winning?" he nods at the board.
"Beck," Alex replies. "Although barely."
I raise an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," I tell her.
"We haven't played that in ages," Sarah says, looking at the board.
"That's because someone always gets mad and flips the board," Alex says, rolling her eyes.
"As if you weren't just as bad when you were younger," Craig reminds her before looking at me and nodding his head towards his daughter. "A real monopoly tantrum thrower if ever I did see one."
Somehow, that doesn't really surprise me.
I laugh and Alex quickly claps her hands, cutting off the conversation.
"Okay, that's enough," Alex tells her dad. "Beck has to go."
Do I?
I look at her but don't have time to disagree before she's standing up and nudging my leg with her foot. I stand up too.
She's clearly kicking me out, apparently not sure how to act now that her parents are home. Not that I can really blame her, their timing was pretty dire.
"Well, it was great seeing you again, Beck," Craig says. "Don't be a stranger."
I quickly say goodbye to them both before following Alex out into the hallway.
"What's with the sudden rush, Blondie?" I whisper when we're out of sight of her parents, smirking at the blush colouring her cheeks.
"Shut up," she says, her voice somewhat strained as she opens the front door for me. I step out and turn to face her.
She looks unsure of what to say, her arms folded as she leans slightly against the doorway. It's not very often that Alex is lost for words; it's kinda cute.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" I supply for her, deciding to put her out of her misery.
"Yeah," she agrees, her voice softening.
"Okay, night."
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight Roofus," I say, bending down to pat the stone dragon on the head a few times.
Alex rolls her eyes and laughs, the weird tension between us suddenly lifting as she relaxes. With one final smile I turn and walk away from the house, hearing the door shut behind me a few seconds later.
For the first time in days, my mind isn't on the wolf situation as I make my way back to the pub.
It's on something else entirely.
(Hey guys!! Here's chapter 14 for ya'll :) It's late and I'm tired so I'm going to try and keep this fairly short.
Thanks for reading! I hope you like the story so far, despite the slow updates. I've decided that from now on my update day for this story will be Thursday, as it's my day off from Uni so I'll have more time to write :) I'm also going to start updating my other story - Knife's Edge - more often if any of ya'll are interested.
Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter, it's late and I'm tired so I probably missed a couple when proofing it. I'll go through and edit them out when I'm less tired :')
Anyways, that's pretty much all I have to say for now. Go ahead and leave me some comments if you have any :) Until next time, byee!!)