ALPHA(19)
“Everything okay?” He asked with concern in his gaze and that voice that sent shivers down my spine.
“Yes! Everything’s fine.” I laughed and shrugged off my discomfort, turning to walk towards my car when Jackson’s hand reached out to stop me.
“Drink?”
“Erm. I do, yes. Thanks.” Confused by his question, I kept walking when I heard him laughing behind me. God, even that guys laugh can turn me in to a puddle of goo.
“No. I meant, do you want to go for a drink? There’s a restaurant with a bar just around the corner. You look like you could use someone to talk to.” Touched by his gesture, I was mortified to feel my eyes filled with unshed tears. This day could not get any more embarrassing.
“How much of that conversation did you hear?” I asked him.
“Do you want me to be honest, or to lie?”
Oh, great. “Honestly?”
“Honestly, I heard the whole thing. I know I can seem like a grumpy git sometimes, but I promise I’m a good listener, if you need it.”
My heart warmed as I realised I had probably judged him a bit too quickly, and I could feel myself liking him a lot more than was healthy. Pushing back the tears and holding my head high, I nodded and smiled at him. He held his arm out for me to take in an old fashioned gesture which took me pleasantly by surprise, and we walked together- our arms linked- towards the restaurant.
****
“So, I met another one of your brothers.”
“Ah, the elusive Blake. Yeah, he’s a character.”
I laughed and tucked in to my ceasar salad with a groan, as I realised how hungry I was. Jackson and I had walked to the restaurant in a comfortable silence, before deciding we could both do with some food, so our quick drink had turned in to a dinner date. Well, I say ‘date’, but in his eyes he probably just saw it as helping the new guy out. I felt like a school girl with her first crush as I even found Jackson tucking in to his ginormous burger, attractive. You know you fancy them when the sight of them scoffing meat turns you on rather than making you feel nauseous. So far we’d been having pleasant small talk, with Jackson telling me more about his family and how Annabelle’s intelligence was already causing trouble. I laughed as he told me tales of how good she was at hiding, and how the times was silent was when she’d normally be hatching her next plan. I failed to see this evil genius and mastermind when I looked at the cherubic face of the young girl.
A comfortable silence passed while we ate our food, when Jackson looked at me with a questioning look on his face.
“So, do you want to talk about it?”
I chewed a piece of chicken slowly to give me time to think about how I was going to answer the question. I didn’t particularly want to bare all with my humiliating tale of betrayal, but then again these would be my new neighbours. I may as well reveal how much of a mess my life is now, rather than having to spill it all later.
“Let’s just say I was stupid.”
“Being trusting of someone is not being stupid.”
I looked up to find him smiling at me, and I felt more confident with telling my story. I needed to remind myself that Craig was in the wrong; not me.
“Well, I trusted the wrong people. Kind of a theme at the moment.”
“Is that how you ended up here?”
“Yeah, I guess. I thought that packing a bag and running away would solve all of my problems, but there are some things you can’t hide from.”
“He was an idiot.” I looked at him in confusion, before remembering that he had heard my conversation with Craig on the phone.
“Or I was. I genuinely believed that my marriage was going to be for life. Turns out it didn’t even last a month.” I laughed without humour, and carried on picking at my food. A shiver jolted through my body when Jackson used his hand to pick my chin up, so I was looking at him instead of the table. I was drawn to his eyes and found I could not look away.
“He had no idea what he had until it was too late. He’s calling you because he’s realised now what he’s lost. Something that should be treasured.”
He leant toward me and I felt a thrill go through me at the thought of him kissing me, but then someone nearby dropped a glass, startling us out of our moment. For a second there I forgot where we were, and I was unnerved by the effect he seemed to have on me. My heart sank when he moved back, although his eyes never left me once.
“It wasn’t even Craig’s betrayal which hurt the most. It was my best friend’s. I’ve known Craig for a few years, but Natalie? I’ve known her my whole life. How could anyone do that to their friends?”
“I don’t know. What I do know, is that if you stay around here you’ll see what true friends really are. This community is like a family, whether related by blood or not. Who needs friends when you have family, right?”