ALEX'S POV
I huffed, bringing my phone to my ear for the umpteenth time as I patiently waited for Ash to pick up her phone.
"Hey baby."
"Hey..", she replied in a low groggy voice, a big ass yawn coming my way shortly after. "What day is it?"
"Huh?", I snorted, releasing a weak chuckle. "Are you okay?"
"Sort of.", she sighed. "Why are you calling me at 6 in the morning though? Shouldn't you be on your way home by now?"
"Yeah well, Tasha and I are actually in the hospital.."
"You're an EMT, so that's quite understandable.. still missing the point as to why you woke my sorry ass-"
"Err-.. I don't want you to freak out but we're the patients this time around-"
"What?!", she half shouted as I heard her frantically shuffle around in bed. "What happened? Are you okay? Which hospital are you- shit!"
I cocked an eyebrow at the sudden thump followed by absolutely nothing.
"Ash? Wh-"
"I tripped, sorry.", she mumbled, causing me to start laughing at her. "Shut the fuck up Alex, tell me where you are."
"Baby there's no need for you to freak out and rush here, I'm okay, I just-"
"Text me the fucking hospital."
And with that, she hung up on me. Sighing, I turned my head in Tasha's direction, a pissed off yet amused look coming my way as I quickly texted Ashley.
"I can't believe I'm gonna have a black eye on your wedding day.", she groaned, holding an ice pack against her face.
"Yeah, tell me about it.. How bad is it?"
"Bad.", she deadpanned, a cheeky grin on her lips as I released a defeated sigh.
"Shit. Ashley's gonna kill me, not to mention it hurts like a motherfucker.", I gritted under my breath, regretting even going to work in the first place.
"You're lucky it's not broken and that you'll only need a few stitches Alex. That guy got you good."
"I was there, remember?", I teased, a playful smirk plastered on my face as Tasha weakly chuckled.
A comfortable silence fell between us, the both of us tired out of our minds and lost in our own thoughts. Honestly? I was dreading Ashley's reaction to the state of my face, but then again, I was doing my job so..
What I really wanted to know is what happened last night between her and my Grandma, cause Ashley never texted me while I was at work, so it didn't take a genius to figure out that something indeed went down.
I closed my eyes, sinking further into my pillow as I patiently waited for the nurse to actually give a fuck about me. But that didn't last too long.
"What on earth happened to your face?!", Ashley grunted as she barged into the room and stood in front of my bed, angry yet deeply relieved eyes meeting my gaze.
"What the fuck are you wearing?", I laughed out loud, dodging her question as I took her outfit in, Tasha's silent giggle causing Ashley to roll her eyes and go red in embarrassment.
Her messy hair was tied up into the most hideous bun I've ever seen, she looked tired as hell and judging by the oversized basketball shorts and a white 'I'm a pimp' t-shirt she was wearing, I was pretty sure she raided Matt's closet.
Why? Fuck if I know.
She didn't even bother to answer that as she walked over and sat on the edge of my bed, her hand gently cupping my face and studying every inch of it.
"What happened?"
"Well..", I trailed off, releasing a sigh in the process. "Tasha and I got a call about a homeless man in need of medical attention since apparently he had a broken wrist. Turns out, when we got there, he basically told us to get lost and that he was refusing treatment cause he hated hospitals. We gently tried to convince him to come with us and get his wrist checked out, and he literally went ballistic Ash.. he lunged forward, straight up punching Tasha in the eye. I tried to get in between, I tried to get him off of her, and I ended up getting myself punched in the face as well, as you can see.."
"So, he punched you and broke your nose?"
"It's not broken.."
"But..?"
"I do need stitches..", I grinned sheepishly, nervously scratching the back of my neck as I studied her.
"Can't you do something safe for a living? Like I don't know, yoga?", she huffed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Yoga? Really?"
She was about to bite back when Tasha's phone went off. Smiling at us, she grabbed her phone and walked out of the room, leaving us alone.
"Seriously though, why are you wearing th-"
"I slept with your brothers.", she nonchalantly cut me off, causing my eyes to go wide and my jaw to almost fall and roll off my bed.
I stared at her, blinking several times as I realized she had no fucking clue as to what just came out of her mouth. Like seriously, she looked lost into her own world whereas my heart literally stopped.
"I'm sorry, WHAT?", I half mumbled, half shouted. "You did WHAT? You slept with my brothers. Like, the both of them, at the same-"
"Oh my God, that came out so terribly wrong honey, I'm so sorry.", she laughed out loud, blushing furiously and not helping my racing mind in the slightest. "I think I'm still high from last night."
"Again.. WHAT? You got high last night? Without me? You never even took a drag from me like what the actual f-"
"Maybe I should stop talking."
"You better speak up bitch cause you almost gave me a heart attack.", I hissed, a crooked smile plastered on my lips at the sheepish grin coming my way.
"Okay, let's start over.", she chuckled, reaching for my hands and holding them tight. "I shared a bed with your brothers last night and when you called earlier I quickly lost my mind, bolted out of bed and since I didn't know what happened to you or anything, I didn't want to wake them up and freak them out as well. So I grabbed the first things I found in Matt's room and rushed here."
"Okay.. and why exactly did you share a bed and smoked weed with my brothers?", I frowned, already knowing the answer nonetheless.
She shrugged, flashing me a knowing look.
"What did she tell you?", I gritted, nervously biting my lower lip as I averted my eyes from hers.
"I think you already know baby..", she whispered, the tone of her voice causing me to look back at her and see her eyes getting watery. "Why didn't you tell me?"
I seriously wanted to punch my Grandma in the face like right about now.
"Cause it's in the past, Ash.", I deadpanned. "It's in the past and I hated every second of it."
"Exactly.. it's in the past, so why keep it from me?"
"I didn't wanna hurt you..", I whispered, taking her puzzled look as an invitation to go on. "Baby, by telling you what I did to myself when you left, I-.. I would've broken your heart, and I could've never lived with myself if I did.. You would've felt extremely guilty when the only person to blame was yours truly."
"Well, I do feel g-"
"Don't.", I cut her off, looking at her dead serious as her grip on my hands tightened. "I honestly don't wanna talk about this ever again, and I swear to God I'm gonna kick my Grandma's ass when I see her."
She opened her mouth in order to speak just to close it just as quickly, a slight shake of the head coming my way before she leaned forward and planted a long kiss to my forehead.
I guess she got the hint that the conversation was over.
"Now, tell me what happened.", I pressed as she settled back in her seat.
"Well, long story short, she told me everything.. she told me what happened to you, she told me she basically hates me, going on and on about how I broke your heart just to come back and 'play happy family' and so on..", she trailed off, causing me to roll my eyes. "The point is: she doesn't give a shit as to why I did what I did and she's so not okay with us getting married."
"The stubbornness of this woman, I swear to God.", I groaned, shaking my head in utter disappointment. "Please tell me you went full on Ashley Stevens on her-"
"I did.", she deadpanned, causing me to shut up and stare at her.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning.. I literally told her that I don't give two shits whether she's okay with it or not. I don't need nor want her approval cause the only person I have to prove myself to is you. And that like it or not, I am going to fucking marry you, so she might as well wanna plant a smile on her face and at least pretend to be happy for you."
I honestly didn't know whether to be proud of her or fucking scared to go back home today, but I was speechless and smiling like an idiot nonetheless.
"You cried your eyes out right after your badass moment, didn't you?", I smirked, a weak chuckle escaping her lips.
"You know I did.", she grinned shyly.
"Dork.", I teased, bringing her hand to my lips. "So you shared a bed with my brothers because...?"
"Matt kind of overheard our conversation and he got into a fight with her as well.. then he came to comfort me, Chase joined shortly after and we ended up getting high while watching a movie."
"I'm glad they were there for you baby.."
I was about to lean in for a kiss when the nurse finally remembered about my existence and barged into the room, apologizing profusely for keeping me waiting and warning me that she'll be back in 5 in order to stitch me up. Deciding not to voice my inner thoughts, I nodded silently as she made her way out, almost bumping into my Grandma in the process.
"What happened to your face?", she grunted, a deafening silence coming her way along with a clear death sentence from me whereas Ashley didn't even bother to turn her head and look at her.
Grandma wasn't impressed.
"What are you doing here?", I questioned, anger seeping from my voice.
"Well, I saw Ashley rush out, mumbling something about you being in the hospital, so..", she trailed off as she awkwardly shifted from one leg to the other.
"You weren't exactly invited to join the party.", I mumbled under my breath, loud enough for her to hear though.
"I'll go grab some food from the cafeteria since I'm pretty sure you didn't have breakfast.", she huffed, turning on her heels before lingering on the door. "Do you want coffee, Ashley?"
I had to suppress a laugh and cock an eyebrow at that, so don't get me started on Ashley's face.
"Will you spit in it, Miss García?", she not so subtly bit back as she turned around to face her, my eyes going wide in the process.
"If you want me to.", she shrugged, an amused smile creeping up on her lips to my utmost surprise.
"Coffee's fine, thank you."
"Well, would you look at that.", I grinned as soon as my Grandma left, earning a quite puzzled look from Ashley. "I might be mistaken but I think you actually impressed her by standing up to her. I mean, she's actually talking to you and calling you by your name."
"Whatever.. I'm just glad you're okay.", she brushed me off, failing miserably at hiding her amusement. "Seriously though, I can't believe you'll be having stitches in our wedding pictures."
"Huh, have you met Jess? You won't be able to see a thing, I promise."
We smirked as we both drowned into each other's eyes, no doubt thinking about our big day. But I had to frown when the most beautiful smile appeared on her face, a smile that actually reached her sparkly grey eyes.
"Are you still high or something?"
"I think I am.", she laughed, shaking her head at me. "Not from the weed though.. I'm on a totally new and different kind of high."
"Crack- Ouch.", I gritted, shooting daggers at her as I massaged my arm she not so gently punched. "Why are you looking at me like that? You're very weird, Miss Stevens."
"I know, I'm marrying you.", she stuck her tongue out at me before nervously biting her lip. "Last night, over dinner.. Well, Shay literally called you her mom."
Believe me when I say that I almost fainted.
I mean, yes, even though Shay wasn't my daughter, I did look at her as if she was just that. But I would've never imagined that she'd end up considering me as her other mom. And hearing Ashley say the words, I could literally feel my heart exploding inside my chest.
If I thought I couldn't possibly be more in love with these two well, I was terribly mistaken.
"W-what?", I mumbled as I stared at her in disbelief, tears rolling down my cheeks on their own accord.
"Yes baby..", Ashley nodded as she started to get emotional as well, both her hands gently cupping my face and wiping away my tears. "I'm so sorry you weren't there.."
Yeah, me too.
"Are- are you okay with it? Cause-"
"Finish that sentence and I swear I'm actually gonna finish that man's job and break your nose."
"No need to be so aggressive.", I chuckled, smiling sheepishly at the glare coming my way. "I- I don't even know what to say, I'm so fucking happy it's disgusting, really."
"What's disgusting is your swollen face, Jess will have to perform a miracle on you.", she scoffed, causing me to laugh out loud. "I love you, you idiot."
I stuck my tongue out at her before leaning in to peck her lips.
"I love you too baby."
————
The drive from the hospital mainly consisted in deafening silence and a weird ass vibe. I think it's safe to say that things between Ashley and my Grandma were still rocky despite the latter trying to subtly start a conversation with the both of us. Thing is, Ashley was giving her the silent treatment and I couldn't blame her.
She was waiting for her to apologize, however, knowing my Grandma, that wasn't about to come any time soon.
Deciding to mind my goddamn business for once, I silently climbed out of Ashley's car and dragged my sorry ass inside the house as they followed suit. Truth be told, I was eager to see Shay after the bomb Ashley dropped on me earlier.
Stepping into the house, I was surprised by how quiet it was, which inevitably made me quirk an eyebrow that didn't go unnoticed.
"Your brothers didn't even flinch when I asked them to wake up and look after Shay, so I called Jess over.", Grandma stated as the three of us silently looked around the deserted living room. "Maybe they stepped out for some breakf-"
But her statement was cut short by Jess' voice coming from upstairs. Smirking to myself, I silently dismissed myself from their awkward vibe and made my way up the stairs.
"Shay, if you're done using your toys, please clean after yourself. I'm not going to ask you again."
"Great, cause I was tired of hearing you ask."
"Listen, you little sh-"
"Jess!", I warned as I stood by the door, a subtle glare coming her way as the both of them jumped in surprise.
"Alex!", Shay squealed as she rushed over and crashed against my legs, hugging them tight as I ruffled her curly hair, my eyes never leaving my clearly annoyed best friend.
"Hey baby.", I smiled down at her, a small frown gracing her features as her eyes landed on my face. "Did auntie Jess give you some breakfast or is she starving you to death?"
"The second one.", she smirked, a small gasp coming from behind her.
"Excuse me-"
"I figured.", I teased, earning a cheeky grin. "I'm sure Grandma will be more than happy to fix you some pancakes."
And without further a due, she was out the room in a split second.
"I love her, but I swear to God that kid is sassier than I am and she hates me.", Jess grunted as she not so delicately shoved Shay's toys back in their basket.
"She doesn't hate you.", I chuckled as I leaned against the doorframe. "She just enjoys messing with you."
"Do I look amused?!", she mumbled. "And why would people want kids is beyond me, really, but more than one?! Hell no. But guess who's gonna laugh when Shay gets into her teenage y- what the fuck happened to your face?!", she half screamed as she finally took me in.
"I'm so done with people asking me that.", I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "Do you think you'll manage to cover this up for tomorrow? Cause-"
"Bitch please, I've been covering your ugly face for as long as I can remember."
"Jeez, thanks babe.", I rolled my eyes at her before we both smiled at each other.
"You look exhausted.", Jess pointed out as I let out a big ass yawn. "Wanna get some sleep before going to check out your suit?"
"I'd love to babe, but if I fall asleep now I'd probably end up sleeping all day. Besides, I also have to swing by the bar and sign some paperwork before we leave tomorrow, so I guess a shitload of coffee is well needed. Wanna come with?", I questioned as we exited Shay's room and made our way downstairs.
"Is that even a question?", she smirked before lowering her voice. "I'm not going to hang around waiting for hell to let loose between your grandma and your fiancé, and I'm sure as hell not looking after your daughter a second longer."
"You're so over dramatic.", I giggled, nudging her playfully as we joined the others downstairs.
After stuffing my face with food and drinking an embarrassing amount of coffee, Jess and I were driving towards the bar.
Truth be told, I was feeling a little guilty for leaving Ashley at home alone with my Grandma, again. But really, unless I wanted to get married naked, it had to be done. I was just hoping they wouldn't kill each other in the meantime.
"I have a question.", Jess suddenly perked up, distracting me from my thoughts and causing me to look at her.
"Am I going to regret asking-"
"If you're a top but you're short, are you a crop top?"
I stared at her in confusion, blinking profusely as she waited for me to answer.
"I swear to God, I'd like to spend an hour in your head just to figure out what the fuck is going on in there.", I chuckled as I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed out the car.
"Hey, I'm serious!", she laughed out loud as she rushed by my side. "Think about it-"
"Nope, I'm good."
As we stepped inside, I was actually surprised to see a few customers already downing shots at the bar at 10 in the morning. Already knowing Jess' intentions, I left her with Max and headed to my office before she could convince me to do body shots or whatever.
A little over an hour later, I went back to the bar just to find a slightly intoxicated Jess arguing with a couple.
"Girl, trust me, I don't want your man.", Jess chuckled as she downed what I assumed to be her umpteenth shot. "Honestly, I don't even know why you want your man."
I mean, she did have a point, but that wasn't a good enough reason to cause a scene and be a rude bitch.
"Okay, that's enough.", I stepped in before the girl could even reply. "I'm really sorry, you see.. my friend here unfortunately has brain damage which causes her to say whatever crosses her mind without any filter whatsoever."
"You sneaky whore, I-"
"Exactly.", I smirked, ignoring my best friend who involuntarily proved my point. "As I said, I'm really sorry, so feel free to grab a drink or something to eat, it's on the house.", I smiled apologetically, relieved that the couple walked away as I turned around to face Jess. "Seriously? I can't leave you unattended for one hour?!"
"Brain damage?!", she bit back, causing me to shrug and hide a cheeky grin.
Sighing, I looked behind the bar for Max but he was nowhere to be seen. In fact, he was waitressing tables and quickly cleaning everything that needed to be cleaned before coming back and serve a bunch of other customers.
"Are you on drugs?", I inquired, finding his sudden multitasking quite odd.
Like, Max was the definition of lazy. Especially in the mornings.
"You and I both know you don't pay me enough for me to have a drug problem, Alex.", he smirked, earning a giggle from Jess.
"That's... probably true.", I gave in, a small laugh escaping my lips.
"All set for your big day?"
"Yup."
"Oh, so you're getting married naked then?", Jess teased, causing me to roll my eyes at her. "Does that apply to me too?"
"You two, naked? Damn, why wasn't I invited?!"
"Cause you're a perv.", I stuck my tongue out at him. "And no, I'm not getting married naked. In fact, on that note, we should probably go."
"One more shot and we're off.", Jess stated as she poured herself another drink in front of my dumbfounded face.
"And you're an alcoholic."
————
Three bottles of champagne and countless fittings later, I was walking through my front door by 8 in the evening, tipsy, tired and basically starving to death.
Stumbling through the quiet living room and to the kitchen, a wide smile plastered itself on my lips as I took in Ashley's figure as she busied herself at the stove.
"Do you remember when you used to bust my balls for not locking my door back in highschool?", I husked in her ear, her body tensing up as a result of me sneaking up to her.
"I do.", she replied, immediately relaxing as she leaned into my front. "And the door was locked, too bad you have a key."
"Bitch.", I chuckled before gently biting her neck, my arm snaking around her waist and forcing her to turn around. "Here."
"To what exactly do I owe the gesture?", she teased as she inhaled the scent of the red rose I just gave her, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Can't I just bring you flowers just for the sake of it?"
"You can..", she trailed off, a mischievous grin coming my way. "But this is a single rose and I can't even remember the last time you brought me flo- oh, oh right. Cause that never happened."
"Someone's feisty tonight.", I teased before gently leaning in for a kiss. "Did something happen?"
"Nope, I'm just messing with you.", she smirked. "Did you steal this from Mr. Sullivan's yard?"
"I would never.", I fake gasped, causing her to laugh out loud as she snaked her arms around my neck and I pulled me closer. "How was your day?"
"Well.. judging by the smell of Prosecco coming from you, I'd say you had a way better day than mine since I spent it basically avoiding your sweet, sweet Grandma."
"Ugh.. I'm so tired of this entire situation."
"I know.", she whispered as she gently cupped my face and forced me to look at her. "Whether or not she'll get over it though, we'll be fine, I promise."
I smiled at her as I drowned in her eyes once again.
"Speaking of which, where is she?", I questioned, taking in the odd silence that surrounded the house. "Actually, where's everyone?"
"They went out to grab dinner, Sparky included.", she stated with a cheeky grin. "Which allows us-"
"To have sex in the kitchen?", I cut her off as I lifted her on the counter, my lips trailing every inch of her neck as an amused giggle escaped her lips.
"To have a nice dinner, just you and me."
"Oh come on, food is so overrated.", I groaned as I slipped one hand under her shirt before she forcefully snatched it away. "Hey-"
"Eat your food now so you'll have the energy to eat me later.", she whispered against my lips, shutting me up for good.
"Talk about a compromise.", I chuckled as I helped her down the counter and pulled her in my arms. "Sometimes I forget what a charmer you are, Miss Stevens.", I mumbled before not so subtly grab her ass.
"Must you always do that?", she questioned, cocking an eyebrow at me in amusement.
"Do what?"
"Grab my ass?"
"I mean.. a hug without an ass grab is really just a handshake..", I shrugged with a sheepish smile.
"Is it?"
"Yup.. besides, ass grabbing is a very important part of a relationship and we all know you like it."
"Who's the charmer now?"
"I'm sorry, did you say something? You do remember I can't hear shit, right?"
"You're an idiot.", she giggled, shaking her head at me.
"As I said..", I trailed off as I planted a kiss to her forehead. "I'm marrying you."
"Such a disgrace, huh?", she whispered as I nodded playfully. "Yeah, you're right.. I should've stayed home that night. None of this would've happened."
"I'm about to punch the bejesus out of your sweet face.", I grunted as I attempted to squirm out of her grip and failed miserably in the process.
"Help me set the table?", she questioned as she eventually let go of me, allowing me to grab some plates as I did just that.
"Besides, who are you kidding, Miss Stevens?"
"What do you mean?", she frowned as she looked up and studied me from afar.
"We all know you staying at home that night would've been pointless cause, let's face it, I'm irresistible and you would've fallen for your sexy ass student no matter what.", I smirked, causing her to roll her eyes at me.
"You're so full of shit, García."
"Am I?"
She didn't even bother to answer that, her eyes going back to her cooking task as she failed miserably at hiding a shy smile. Grinning, I finished setting the table before quietly walking behind her and up to the stereo as I quickly plugged my phone in. I wasn't exactly a fan of the song that was starting to play in the background, but it had an important meaning to me. To us, actually.
"Dance with me?", I questioned before pulling her away from the stove and into my arms.
"Alex, I'm cook-"
"Shut up and dance with me."
She rolled her eyes at me as she gave in, her arms around my neck as I held her closer and we started moving along the beats.
"Why do I know this song?", she frowned, tilting her head to the side as her usual self.
"'Stolen dance', Milky Chance.", I grinned as I made her do a little spin, causing her to laugh. "Does it ring any bells?"
"Mm.. not really, no."
"Well, I'm offended.", I teased, her frown getting even bigger as a result. "This song, Miss Stevens, is the song that was playing in the club the night we met."
I watched her as a sheepish yet quite unreadable smile made it's way to her lips, her grip on me tightening as she subtly shook her head.
"I can't believe you remembered.", she whispered, leaning forward and brushing my lips.
"Honestly, neither do I.", I playfully smirked. "I mean, not that that night ever meant something to me- don't you dare hit me.", I quickly added at the silent death sentence coming my way.
"Then stop being a jerk.", she retorted, a defeated laugh escaping her lips at my goofy face. "You were right though.."
"Well, duh!", I rolled my eyes at her before locking my gaze with hers. "Out of curiosity, about what? I don't wanna miss the chance to brag about it for the next 30 years, if you get my-"
"I would've fallen for you no matter what.", she cut me off, the seriousness in her voice causing me to drown in her piercing grey eyes as a big ass smile plastered itself on my face. "And I'm so glad I did cause you're a gift to the world. A gift to my world.. the most precious and rare."
"Okay, stop. I'm trying to save up some tears for your vows.", I mumbled sheepishly as I pulled her impossibly closer and planted a kiss to her forehead.
"Speaking of, are you done with yours?"
"Hold on a sec..", I trailed off as I pulled away ever so slightly to look at her, panic written all over my face whereas hers held utter confusion. "Do I have to write vows as well?!"
Her puzzled look, along with the silence that followed, gave me all the answers I needed.
"You're so funny, babe.", she snorted after staring at me for a good twenty seconds. "So, so funny."
And here I thought I was even remotely smart. Fuck me sideways cause I wasn't kidding in the slightest.
"Meh, you know me so well, I don't even know why I keep trying to prank you.", I sighed, along with the fakest smile ever as she fortunately turned around to grab our food and place it on the table.
"Keep trying, maybe one day you'll succeed.", she teased as she took a seat, me not too far behind her. "Hungry?"
Not anymore.
"Yup."
Guess who's gonna pull an all nighter, again?