I just had to dedicate this chapter to rkonku for your comments that always make me laugh, and motivate me to write these chapters <3
Chapter Ten: What I Wanted
Breakfast with eight people in the kitchen was definitely quite something.
Lexi's flight had gotten in at 9 this morning, and since Mitchell and I didn't work until afternoon shift today, we were all eating together.
Mom, Mrs. Cox, and Mr. Cox sat at the round circle table while me, Jace, Lexi, Mitchell, and Jill day at the high top. Seeing Lexi was definitely an ordeal for me, almost more than seeing Jace was. When she walked in the door, I launched myself into her arms before Jace could, and we hugged for a solid minute.
Mitchell and Jill, who didn't really know Lexi that well were already starting to like her.
"-and then Jace climbed on a table, in the middle of the mall, and started doing the Macarena just because Sebastian bet that he wouldn't." Lexi recalled, and we all laughed.
Jace just shook his head, seemingly embarrassed, though I knew he really wasn't. "Oh, well should I tell them about the time you and Lily went-"
Lexi clapped her hand over his mouth to shush him, "You promised you'd never talk about it again!"
"I crossed my fingers behind my back." Jace admitted with a smirk.
"Jace! We are adults!" Lexi whined, slapping him on the arm.
He just gave her a lovesick grin.
I turned to Mitchell, who was seated right next to me, and he leaned in to say, still laughing, "Are they always like this?"
"Ever since they were 18," I replied with a smile.
+++
We spent the day all together like a family, and it was great. I got in bed with a smile on my face, but for some reason, I couldn't fall asleep.
So like I always did when I couldn't sleep, I made my way down to sit on the sand and
listen to the sound of the rolling waves.
The night was pitch black. The good thing about having a beach house on a private beach strip was the lack of lights and noise.
After a few minutes of just sitting on the beach and thinking, I heard a voice from behind me.
"How did I know I'd find you out here?"
"Hi Lexi." I replied, not turning my head back.
"What's up little one?" She asked, coming to sit down next to me.
"I'm 18 now, you know. Not so much a little one anymore." I replied.
"Well, compared to me, you are. I'm old now." She sighed, to which I laughed a little.
"I don't know, I just can't sleep I guess." I finally said, turning to face her.
"It's about Mitchell, isn't it?" Lexi asked with a small smile.
"Actually, as weird as everything has been with Mitchell, it's not." I replied, and it wasn't. I think a while ago some part of me had accepted that things wouldn't be the same between us ever again.
But they could be different, and they could be better.
The thing that was worrying me? "It's actually about Connor."
"Connor? When did you see him?" Lexi asked turning toward me concerned. One thing Lexi knew, that nobody else did, not even Miles, was that ending things with Connor was actually really hard for me.
"Yesterday, him and the crew showed up at Billy's. George, of course, acted like a total ass. He brought up our thing, and-"
"How did Mitchell react to that?" Lexi asked.
"How did- what?" I asked taken aback.
"Come on, Hallie. It doesn't take a genius to see that he likes you." Lexi sighed.
"He doesn't like me, he's attracted to me, there's a difference. He doesn't know me anymore, Lexi." I replied, brushing off her comments.
"He wants to know you though." Lexi replied with a wink, "but tell me about what's bothering you with Connor."
"I-I don't know. He wouldn't even look at me today. George asked why- and he and Logan just told him to drop it."
"Isn't that what you wanted? A clean break? No drama or anything like that." Lexi questioned.
I stayed silent for a moment before I finally found the words, and then spoke quietly, "Yeah, you're right... it's just weird, I guess."
"I get that." Lex replies softly.
I stood up slowly and brushed the sand off of myself, "Well thanks for talking to me Lexi, I think I'm gonna go inside and try to get some sleep."
"No problem, Hallie. I'm here for you, always."
As I turned away and walked inside though, being honest with myself, I knew I had lied to Lexi.
That was never what I wanted.
Thoughts?