Alexia Eden - Sophie Summers
PROLOGUE
Mom always told me that love conquers all. If you love someone with all your heart and with all that you have to give – no matter the problems you face as long as you were together it will be all right… She said that you know you’ve found your soul mate when it would hurt when they weren’t by your side and just being in their presence would soothe that ache.
I always thought it was just one of those silly things mothers would tell their daughters, similar to those quotes on the bottom of each page in a diary that are supposed to be inspirational but in fact leave you thinking what…the…fuck…
She also had those cheesy moments too however, when I was upset because the boys at the playground were being mean to me, she’d say “Don’t worry my lil’ Lex, one day you’ll find your prince charming, just like I did when I found your daddy”. Of course I wasn’t that naïve to actually believe in Fairytales and all the stories she would tell me about love as I grew older but I had hope, hope that one day I would find that person I would love so much that I would do anything and everything possible to be with them, that I would find my soul mate, my other half ...the person meant just for me…
My name is Alexia Charlie Eden, and yes my second name is Charlie. Mom thought she was having a baby boy, at least that’s what the doctor said, so imagine their surprise when I popped out. They decided to keep the name Charlie, because well that’s what they originally planned on calling me and the name Alexia was a tribute to Alexandria, the name of daddy’s younger sister who disappeared when she was sixteen.
Daddy says my mother and I look alike but I don’t see the resemblance at all. I’m pretty short at 5’3 and I wouldn’t say I’m skinny like mom either since I have more curves than the usual teenage girl. My mother also has brown hair but hers is pin straight where mine is more on the wild side and reaches my lower back, I guess I do get my petite body from her since she is a small woman.
My father and I have few similarities in our features; although my mother has brown eyes and my father has blue ones, mine are a mix between dark green and blue, so with my dark hair and pale skin they tend to stand out. I also have dad’s dimples and dark long eyelashes.
My mother was a typical housewife, always involved with anything to do in my life. She was my best friend and the person that even when I had a bad day at school I knew when I got home everything would be alright because mom was there sitting on her bed reading her sappy romance novels waiting for me to come home. She would always know when I was upset, she'd just open her arms wide and I’d go and cuddle beside her while she would whisper words of hope and encouragement.
Yes, I was a good girl who didn’t keep any secrets from her mother and that’s because there was nothing to keep from her, I would tell her everything – she was my best friend. She was supportive of me, always backed me up on anything I was involved with and she’d say that as long as I was happy she’d be happy.
Of course I was still a daddy’s girl, where my mother was a words type of woman my father was more of the do now, talk later type. Mom always had the right words to say at the right moment, but my father was a different story however… when I was younger many kids thought it was funny to pick on the short chubby kid.
I kept quiet about it for a little while because I was embarrassed about being picked on for my weight but when one kid tripped me and I went home crying, I told my father everything. My dad wasn’t someone with many words, he was the type that went to all the boys’ houses that bullied me demanding that their fathers make them apologize and if they don’t discipline their children - he would.
He was a big guy, being 6’6 feet tall and since he worked at the gym everyday he was big in the muscle department too, suffice to say that from that day onwards - I was never bullied again whenever I went to the playground.
My parents met in high school and it was the typical jock meets cheerleader, they get married have babies and live happily ever after - although not in that order and it didn’t exactly end that way.
Mom and dad were dating for about just over a year when mom found out she was pregnant with me, determined as she was, she completed school with only the support of my father at her side since their parents did not support the decision of mom keeping me. Straight after high school they got married and Dad started working full time at a small gym downtown to help mom while she was at college getting her Degree in Management.
Max’s Gym was my other home when mom was at school. Uncle Max, who owned the gym, was like my granddaddy; since he didn’t have any kids of his own he took dad under his wing. When Max passed away from Cancer, he left the gym to dad and with the help of mom's management degree they soon had turned the place around and gained many more clients. A few years later they opened another gym in the next town which also became as successful as the first.