I'm heading back to the hotel where Lance and Holly are waiting for me to arrive. They went back to the hotel because Holly wanted to go swimming at the hotel's pool after we had our breakfast, at least something's keeping her mind away from my father's death. Lance stayed behind to watch over her while I went out to talk to my father's lawyers and insurance agent.
They're at the room finishing up and I think they're on their way down so I decide not to go up anymore and just wait at the lobby. I make my way to where the couches are at, too busy reading the funeral home's pamphlet about cremation that I don't see where I'm at and bump into someone. Our collision makes me stop reading and lift my eyes from the paper.
"Ms Claire."
"Johnson?" I ask bewildered. "What are you doing here? Please tell me you're not following me."
Johnson shakes his head. "No, actually I'm here for Mr Larkin." He motions his head to the reception desk just as when Alec steps out of one of the doors behind the desk and he sees me. I turn my direction to the hotel's name and logo that's mounted on the wall behind the desk, then I turn back to George.
"Shit." I curse under my breath and shake my head. I can't believe it. How on earth did I forget that he was born to a family that probably owned half the city and owned the hotel we were staying at? Instead of taking a seat on one of the vacant couches, I start to walk briskly to the elevators but before I'm even halfway there, Alec catches up with me and stops me from taking another step when he grabs a hold of my arm.
"Claire, can we talk" He asks quietly, his voice deep and rough and it sounds like as if he was begging. "Please."
"There's nothing to talk about." I respond quickly, not wanting to prolong this communication any more. "Please, Claire." He pleads again, his voice still hushed and his hand still holding on to my arm.
I turn to look at him and I can see through his eyes that this seemed important to him that we were to talk. I take a couple of seconds to make my decision, and yet I still contemplate on it when I reply to him, "Fine, but it better not be long. Holly and Lance are going down to meet me."
Alec lets out a clipped sigh and nods, letting go of my arm once he I agreed. "Can we talk in private?"
It was my turn to let out a breath and I motion my hand for him to lead the way. He gives me nod and gestures his head to follow him and I do. He heads straight for the door he just came out from, the one behind the reception desk. I grab my phone from my hand bag and sent a short quick text to Lance that I'd be at the lobby in around five to ten minutes.
Alec opens the door and there's two women and a man wearing the hotel's uniform and I'm taking a guess that they're the managers of the hotel and they were either in a meeting or finishing one up. They took a look at me then at Alec. He says nothing but turns sideways so that he doesn't block the door, indicating for them to leave. The three get the message and gather their items quickly before leaving the room and closing the door behind them leaving Alec and I alone for the first time in a very long time.
He clears his throat to relieve the tension that lingering in the atmosphere and speaks first. "Claire, I want to apologize for what I said earlier at the airport." He says and gives me sheepish smile, scratching the back of his neck. "I was an asshole I know, but you need to know that I didn't mean any of the words I said. I'm sorry."
"Alright." I give him a nod. "Is that all?"
"No," he shakes his head. "I feel really terrible for what I said to you. Let me make it up, okay? Your stay here is on me. Your plane tickets, everything."
"We already paid for our stay, and for our tickets going back." I tell him and I can see disappoint cross his eyes and I try to brush off the feeling that's itching on me to just accept whatever he offers to make him happy.
He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. "Your father's funeral. I saw the brochure. You're thinking of having him cremated?"
"Yeah." I nod at him, my arms crossed over my chest. "I just decided on it this morning with his lawyers and insurance agent.
"Let me take care of it."
I shake my head at him. "I also already paid for his cremation services."
This time he lets out a frustrated groan. "Damn, this is a lot more complicated than I thought. Dinner tonight, perhaps? I just want to make this right, Claire."
I push myself off the wall I was leaning against and take a couple of steps towards Alec. "You don't have to throw money at me just so that I'll forgive you. It won't work on me, Alec. I'm not your charity case, not anymore. The only thing I need you to do to earn my forgiveness is to stay away. I think I've told you that already this morning at the airport." I hiss the words at him, spitting them out like venom. "Just stay away."
"You were never a charity case." Alec snaps- no, growl would've been the right term, almost immediately when I finished talking. "I don't know where you got that idea from, but you were never charity case."
I shake my head and turn around to leave him without saying anything else.
"Wait." He says just as I held the door handle and I stop to listen. "Holly. How old is she again?"
"She's six." I tell him quickly, skeptical because I don't know why he's asking me how old my daughter is. I turn the door handle open but it shuts back closed instantly. Alec's hand was on the door panel and he's hovering over me with the good eleven inch height difference that we have.
"Is that the truth?"
I look at him flabbergasted. "I'm pretty sure I know how old my own daughter is, and why does it matter to you anyway?"
He doesn't say anything but I can sense the gears in his head moving and it clicks. I get it. I get why he's so interested with Holly's age. I let go of the door handle and take a couple of steps away from him. "Don't tell me you're thinking that you might be her father, Alec. That's just ridiculous."
He continues to look at me but says nothing and I know that I was right.
I gasp at him. "You really thought you were the father, didn't you?"
"I tried calling after you at the airport when I realized that Holly might be around eight years old but you didn't turn around." Alec runs his fingers through his hair, messing up his do but his now messy look suits him. "I thought she was eight, and it's not like we never had unprotected sex when we were together. It just, it matched up perfectly like a puzzle piece."
We remain silent for a minute or two until I decide to break it by opening the door to leave the room but before I closed the hardwood door behind me, I tell him in a hushed tone, "Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble Alec."
"Wait," he places his hand between the door and the frame, stopping it from closing. "I'm serious about dinner tonight."
"No." I shake my head at him and I'm sure he can't see me doing it with the door in between us.
I find Holly sitting on the couch reading a teen magazine while Lance is sitting on the couch's armrest with his arms crossed over his chest and a brow raised at me. I reciprocate his brow and ask, "Yes?"
"Please tell me you did not just have a quickie with Mr Lover Boy who's leaving the same room you just came out from." Lance whispers so that Holly doesn't hear us.
"Jealous?" I ask playfully with a laugh and Lance snorts at my question.
"Baby girl, please." He rolls his eyes. "He might be an eye candy but babe even I know that a friend's ex is totally off limits, especially my best friend's ex even if he is gorgeous."
"He is all yours." I shake my head and sit beside Holly who acknowledges my presence with a kiss on my cheek and I return her kiss as well on her cheek. "But he doesn't sway that way Lance."
"Yeah because he only sways for Claire Williams, doesn't he?" Lance teases and hands me a hand to get up and he does the same to Holly. "Plus, even if I had a chance with him I think we both know that you'd get pissed."
"Why would I?" I ask with a raised brow. "There's nothing going on anymore Lance."
"Even if he is Holly's father?" he whispered so Holly couldn't hear him.
I quickly snap my attention to him. "Don't say that! She doesn't know, and I just told him he isn't, so please let's never talk about that again."
"Wait, hold on. He asked about her?" Lance whispers with disbelief. " And you said no? What is wrong with you?! Why are you keeping a father from his own daughter?"
"I don't want any ties with him anymore. I told you that already this morning." I hiss at Lance.
"How can you not have any ties with him when he's the father of your child! Holly is bound to ask that question you know. She's already eight for Christ's sake! And she sure as hell knows she's not mine. Don't be selfish Claire."
"Selfish? I've been working my ass off for her. Don't tell me I'm being selfish! And besides, enough damage has already been done between the both of us. I can't change what has happened."
***
"Mommy!" I can hear Holly call me. She's at the hotel room's receiving area and I'm in the bathroom finishing up before we leave for dinner outside the hotel. Even Lance says that it was way too over the budget even for him, so we're going to a restaurant just a couple of blocks away. I insisted I pay for dinner tonight, even before he suggested where we're going because he paid so much for Holly and I, and it's not even his family member that passed.
I leave the bathroom and find Holly by the door, jumping up and down to try to reach the peephole that's a little too high for her to use.
"Someone's here!" she exclaims, and she sounds oddly excited for it.
I turn to look at Lance who's sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the television, about to ask him if he knows who's at the door when he says, "You might not want to open that door."
I stop in my tracks for a second, before slowly walking to the door, looking at Lance like he was crazy. He shrugs at me and I take a look through the peephole on the door.
Lance is right. I did not want to open the door.
"Mommy, who is it?" Holly asks, tugging the hem of my shirt. I look down at her and she's so excited and I don't even know why. "Can I see? Can I see?" she starts jumping, asking me to carry her.
I quickly glance at Lance who's not even paying attention to us. I sigh and carry Holly up so that she could look through the peephole.
"It's the man from the airport mommy!" Holly jumps while I'm still carrying her, causing for me to lose my hold of her and let her down. "Why didn't Lance open the door?"
I give her a half smile. "I think he's at the wrong room. He'll just leave when he figures it out."
"Why won't you open the door and tell him?" Holly asks, her head tilted to the side.
"Yeah Claire, why won't you open the door?" Alec says behind the door making me take a step back.
Holly turns to me with her hands on her hips. So adorable. "Mommy, he's looking for you. You should open the door. It's rude to keep him waiting."
I can't believe that my little girl is reprimanding me right now.
She runs to the couch and joins Lance in watching the television, when she hears that Monsters, Inc. was showing and they both love it. I sigh and turn back to the door, debating on whether or not I should open it or not.
"C'mon, Claire." Alec says from behind the door. Although it's a little muffled, I can still understand the words he's saying. "I know you're still there."
"I thought we've agreed to stay away." I tell him, still not opening the door. "What are you doing here?"
"First off," he starts. "I agreed to no such thing. Second, you do know that since I own the place, I have a master key card, right? And technically speaking, I can open this door."
I sigh out loud in frustration, realizing that he's right on both points. I take a hold of the handle, slowly twisting it open, only after I placed the chain bolt in place. The door opens immediately, but only until as far as the chain bolt allows.
"Seriously?" Alec asks once he sees what's preventing him from opening the door all the way through. "You chain bolted me?"
"Your hotel." I shrug at him. "For a five-star hotel, I did not expect the doors to still have chain bolts."
He shrugs with a cute sheepish smile on display on his face that I unfortunately have to admit, miss looking at. "Added security." He answers simply with a shrug.
"Mommy did you open the door?" I can hear Holly ask, but I'm pretty sure her attention is glued on the screen, as so same with Lance who's giving no attention to what's happening at all. I swear they've watched that movie over a thousand times and probably has the whole script memorized.
"Yeah, it's open alright." I answer to my daughter, still looking at Alec though the chain bolt restricted door, with my arms crossed over my chest. "What are you doing here?"
"Dinner." He says simply. He's still in the same clothes he wore this morning- dark navy-blue trousers and a white long-sleeved button-down shirt with light blue lining which was tucked in his trousers that was bounded with a chocolate brown belt. "I told you this morning about it, and I was serious."
"We already had dinner." I lie to him. Avoiding him is not as easy when he keeps appearing everywhere. "So, it's a no."
"No we haven't!" Lance's voice cuts through the sound that's coming from the television. Great, now he choses to join in on the conversation. "I'm hungry, and I'm pretty sure Holly is too."
Alec looks at me with a raised brow. I give up with a sigh and close the door on him. I hear him gasp with what I just did. I unlock the chain bolt and open the door to find Alec with a keycard in his hand and was about to swipe it on the door.
"I thought you were going to close the door on me."
"That's why you got your master keycard out?"
"Are we going out now?" Lance asks from the couch. "I'm starving already."
"Yeah we are." Alec answers right away before I even had the chance to say anything.
Holly cheers and jumps off the couch with Lance. As much as they love Monsters, Inc. their love for food triumphs. I don't say anything as we walk down the hallway, but I make sure to stay beside Holly and away from Alec. We get inside the elevator where Lance presses the button with the 'G' on it. Alec presses the button for the highest floor.
Lance looks at Alec but says nothing, probably thinking he was going to have dinner here while we went out.
"Mommy, can we have ice cream after?" Holly asks, looking up at me.
I look down at her and nod, "Of course, if you finish your food, and that includes the veggies."
Holly pouts at me, but nods at my condition. She's used to it by now. If she wants something, she has to do something in return- such as cleaning her room, helping with the dishes, and keeping her toys. I rarely give in to something that she wants without a condition. I do not want her to grow up thinking she can get everything without doing anything for it. I want her to learn at such an early age that she has to work for what she wants.
I've been classmates with enough spoiled brats to know that I do not want my child to act like them.
Alec looks at me whilst Holly and I were talking, and I can see it from the reflection of the mirrors on the elevator doors. He gives me a look, but I can't tell if it's impressed or if he's judging my parenting.
"Can I get one too if I finish all of my food?" Lance asks me, looking like a kid asking the mother to buy him candies and toys.
I roll my eyes at him. "You always finish your food, and mine, and Holly's if you can."
The elevator doors open, not letting Lance respond to me. We go out of the cubicle but I'm stopped by Alec who's holding my arm.
"We're having dinner upstairs." He says matter-of-factly, his face looking serious. "The restaurant's upstairs."
"Uh, no." I tell him. "The food upstairs is way too expensive and Lance here eats for three people."
"Hey!" Lance pokes my shoulder. "I do not."
I ignored Lance and was about to continue walking out of the cubicle when I hear Alec sigh. He follows me out of the cubicle. I eyed him skeptically.
"You could have your dinner upstairs." I roll my eyes, my tone monotonous. "We don't need your company."
"I was and still am serious about the dinner." He says, following us through the doors and out of the hotel. "I don't care where we're having it, as long as we get to have it."
***
"Pistachio!" Holly jumps excitedly to the ice cream parlor's colorful couches after taking one look at the ice cream flavors displayed on the freezer.
"I want chocolate chip." Lance says to me and joins Holly to the couch, leaving Alec and I alone at the cashiers
"We're getting these to-go." I tell them. It's a quarter to nine, and the ice cream parlor closes at nine. I'm not going to stay here and let them wait up for us to finish so they can clean up and close after working for the day. I've been there before and I know how it feels to wait for one group of customers after work hours to finish up. It's exhausting.
I know Holly doesn't care whether we're taking the ice cream to-go or not, as long as she gets her share of ice cream, she's all good.
"One pistachio, one chocolate chip, one strawberry cheesecake, and," I turn to Alec who's looking at me. "What will you have?"
"I don't do sugar." He motions his arms in front of him to form an ex. "But thank you."
I almost choke on air when he says this.
"Right. BS." I roll my eyes and search the display freezer for one particular flavor. "And one caramel please."
The cashier nods at me and rings up my order on the register. "Twenty."
I fish out a twenty-dollar bill from my pocket and hand it to the cashier. Alec's looking at me and I can see him doing so through the corner of my eye. He looks rather impressed.
"I tell you I don't do sugar and you say BS and order a caramel ice cream for me." He states, leaning against the counter.
"Alec, since when did you ever not do sugar?" I raise a brow at him. "You had that crème brulee at school for lunch every time they were serving it."
"You remember." He says softly and quietly. I bit my lip and look away, my cheeks slowly starting to burn. I wanted to cut ties with him, not tie them back. "I'm impressed. And I see you're still the strawberry cheesecake ice cream lover"
I don't answer him and walk nearer to the cashier who's now scooping up our ice creams in perfect balls. She hands me the first two cups that's already done- the pistachio and chocolate chip. I receive them and walk to Lance and Holly who's laughing so hard, they're both slapping the table. I place the cups on the table and they acknowledge my presence.
Holly dives for her pistachio ice cream, and so does Lance for his chocolate chip. Holly and Lance act so much alike, sometimes it scares me.
"So good!" Holly jumps excitedly on her seat.
"Stand up the both of you" I sigh at them. "We're going back to the hotel. Let's."
They both stand up with heavy bodies and I take a step to turn around to get my strawberry cheesecake ice cream when Alec bumps onto me with my strawberry cheesecake ice cream cup in one hand and his caramel ice cream cup in the other.
"Careful!" Alec exclaims and I gasp at the sudden collision. "You almost knocked off your precious strawberry cheesecake."
"Stop flirting you two." Lance rolls his eyes as he hops away from us with Holly catching up behind him.
All four of us exit the ice cream parlor with our ice creams in our hands. Holly's beaming with joy. The shop is about only a block away from the hotel, so our walk wasn't really long. Lance and Holly are walking in front, and I can see a little hop with each step they both take.
"Holly's such a joy"
I turn to my left where Alec's standing. I didn't even notice him walk up beside me.
"What are you doing, Alec?" I ask him, a little exasperated.
"What?" he responds to me with a question, looking confused. "I'm eating my ice cream?"
"No," I shake my head at him and face my attention back to Holly and Lance. "This. Whatever your plan is with dinner and all."
"It's just dinner." He says quietly, looking down at his cup of slowly melting ice cream.
"Well this has to stop." I say firmly, still not looking at him directly, just through the corner of my eye. "I thought we already agreed to stay away from each other."
"No, we didn't." He says, just as we arrive at the hotel. "You said that but I never agreed to it."
I don't respond to him, and we enter the lobby.
"Lance." I call out and they both turn around quickly. "Can you take Holly upstairs first? I'll follow you in a bit."
Lance eyes me skeptically. "Sure."
"You have your keycard with you, right?"
"Of course, I do." He rolls his eyes at me before taking Holly's hand who didn't notice at all that her mother isn't walking with them. What a daughter.
Once the elevator door closes and I'm pretty sure they're both on their way to the room, I turn back to face Alec. His face doesn't convey any emotion at the moment, I think because he knows what I want to say. He doesn't say anything, waiting for me to say something first. So, I do.
"Alec, I know you didn't agree to the both of us staying away from each other," I start but his expression remains the same. So, I continue to talk. "But please. I'm begging you. We haven't talked or seen each other for eight years. There's no need to change that now."
Alec bites his lower lip and looks down to the ground, probably to his leather shoes. He doesn't say anything as he shoves both of his hands in his trouser pockets and walks past me. I stay grounded on where I'm standing but I follow him with my eyes. He's going to the door behind the front desk.
I can't believe him! He just walked away, without even saying anything.
After a minute or two, when I realize he's probably not going back out here anytime soon, I start walking to the elevators so that I can go back to my room.
I'm waiting for the elevator to arrive at the floor when it opens on me revealing Alessandra Larkin. She takes one quick look at me before fire burns in her eyes. She stops whatever she was doing and stomps out of the elevator. I back away with each step she took.
Apart from Alec, Alessandra was another Larkin I wished I won't encounter during my stay, but the Lord has not granted me any of those.
I take a deep breath, afraid of what Alessandra was going to do.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" she hisses still glaring at me. "Get out."
I'm not able to let the words out of my mouth as I stumble around her and towards the elevators.
"Wrong way." She snaps at me. "The exit is on the other side."
"I have a room here" I answer with a hushed tone, never looking away from her. "This is where I'm staying."
Alessandra looks taken aback by what I said and scoffs.
"Not anymore." She announces and turns around. "Security! Security!"
I push the button to the elevators quickly, panicking on what Alessandra is planning on. To my utmost bad luck, there are no elevators at the lobby, with the nearest one still three floors away which is just enough time for two security personnel to arrive. I don't hear what Alessandra just said but the next thing I knew, I found myself in the hold of the two security personnel.
Shit.
"Escort her out please and make sure she doesn't come back inside." Alessandra orders. "Don't worry, we'll have your stuff outside in a bit."
There isn't anyone in the lobby besides the employees, and I'm not so sure if I should be relieved or not.
"Alessandra, please!" I exclaim at her.
"Get out." She says to me and turns to the security personnel. "What are you waiting for? Get her out of here!" and they start to drag me across the lobby as I try my best to not to. My Holly is upstairs!
"What is going on?" I hear Alec's voice and I immediately turn around. His hands are on his hips and he looks furiously at his sister. "Alessandra, what are you doing?"
"Saving you." Alessandra answers matter of fact to his brother. "I'm getting rid of her."
"No you are not." Alec says decisively and the two men who's dragging me stops doing so and releases their hold of me. Alec grabs a hold of Alessandra arm. "This is not how you handle this. She could sue, you know."
"For what?" she snorts in response. "With what money?"
"You're acting like a brat." Alec says to her. "She's not doing anything that can be classified enough to kick her out."
"Not doing anything? Coming back here is enough for me to kick her out."
I quickly pull away from the security personnel and swiftly run to the elevators. Thankfully, they're still at the lobby by the time I reach to press the up button.
"Go home Alessandra. We'll talk about this later."
"I can't believe your still at her side after everything she's done! Don't tell me you're screwing her again!"
The elevator doors open and I made my way inside, punching the button to my floor with shaking hands. The doors start to close, but it stops three quarters of its way in by a hand and they open again revealing Alec who looks apologetically at me
"Claire..." he trails off, probably not knowing what to say next after what had just happened and takes a step or two back.
I'm not mad at him, nor at Alessandra for what she just did. Alec's her older brother that she loves so much, and I know that she did what she just did to protect him.
"I told you," I say softly, as I can finally start hearing properly, my heart beating so fast. "We should stay away from each other."
I push the close doors button numerous times and it closes. Alec doesn't stop the doors from closing, but he kept looking at me apologetically until the doors closed and we couldn't see each other anymore.
_____________________
So many things to do, so little time T_T
Hope you enjoy this chapter! <3