Their Tainted Marriage

Meeting old ' friends '

As Lexi explained what happened to her last night , her father sits with a disgusted look on his face , anger flashing through his eyes .

" Alec didn't even lend you his phone ? " he grits out , his large hands balling into fists . " It's fine , I just need a new phone ." Lexi sighs and her mother rolls her eyes .

" Day one at home and look what kind of trouble you are causing , do you think we have money to just buy you a new phone ?" she rolls her green orbs .

" No , I need you to drive me to town ." Lexi shakes her head , staring at her mother agape , " I have money saved up ." she explains .

Lexi felt like walking after her mother scolded her for no reason , but she is currently afraid because of what happened the previous night and the mall is quite far .

On her way to her parents home , she couldn't stop looking everywhere , walking to the other side of the road when someone approaches , she was paranoid and it left her with no energy to argue with her mom .

" Fine , I'll take you ." her mother shrugs , " No , I just need the keys ." she scoffs , glaring at her mom .

" Lex , come on . I just .. we're under a lot of pressure and I didn’t mean to be so discourteous ." her mother tries to sweet talk her , but Lexi was too stubborn to care about what her mom wanted , all she needed was to get away from everyone .

" I want to go alone , I have things to do ." Lexi shrugs and her mother glances at her dad with concern , her green orbs silently pleading with her husband .

" Why don't you take Quinn with ?" her father suggest as he doesn't want her to drive alone . " I am not twelve ." she rolls her eyes . It feels like she had said that sentence a billion times and it's not even noon .

" Fine , just don't be long ." her dad sighs , handing her the keys to his Audi and she smiles as she takes it , " Thank you ." she sighs before turning on her heel and she clutches her purse to her side as she strides towards the garage .

Driving towards the Roosevelt Field mall with loud music and the windows rolled down , Lexi glances around , inhaling as she realizes how much she missed New York .

She missed Alec more , but everytime she thinks back to that day .. a cold feeling runs over her body .

Lexi was running through the halls of the school as it was lunch time , they always met at her locker but Alec wasn't there yet so she thought that he was still at his locker so she went there , excited to tell him that her parents were going away for the weekend . Alec usually comes to stay with her whenever her parents leave , he sleeps in the spare room at night because her parents didn't like her staying home alone with Quinn .

Lexi halts in her steps as he sees Alec , his arm around the captain of the girl's hockey team , AKA , her bully .

Lexi's face contorts in disgust at the sight of her best friend holding her bully as if they were friends , or even something more .

" So are you on for this weekend ?" one of the football players asks him , " Hell yes ." he fists bump him .

" Don't you have plans with your best friend ?" the cheerleader asks teasingly , scoffing as she begins to laugh . Lexi felt like walking up to them , to tell them he has because they always spend the weekends together .

" No , she's a f*****g waste of space . I just feel sorry for her , you make her life miserable ." he chuckles and Lexi's eyes burn with unshed tears , her chest feeling like it's collapsing .

Her heart was tearing apart and she turns towards the school exit , leaving the premises as she makes her way home in tears .

Lexi parks the car , shutting her eyes as she shakes the memory away , rolling the window up and tugs her purse under her arm , locking the car before she enters the big building filled with nearly two hundred and fifty shops .

She strolls through , knowing the amount in her bank account that she would have enough to buy her a phone .

She walks into the apple store that's lined up with Mac books , iPad's and iPhones . " Can I help you ?" a young man asks , " I need a phone ." she offers a polite smile and he directs her to the phones .

She glanced at the prices and decides to take the new iPhone fourteen and she pays . The apple store helps her sign into her apple ID account and she sighs in relief as all of her things are on the phone . All that bothered her was that she had to get a new number .

Walking out of the store with a relief , she halts in her steps as she hears a familiar voice calling out to her .

She turns her head in all directions before her eyes land on Jess . Lexi felt the need to run , but remembered that she isn't in high school anymore and she can't be bullied so she graciously padded over to Jess , her new phone in hand . " Hi ." Jess hugs her and Lexi stands baffled , hugging her back in a pity way not to cause any embarrassment .

" How are you ? I haven't seen you in like six years ." Jess beams , seeming genuinely happy to see her .

" I'm good , just had to come get a new phone ." Lexi shrugs and Jess' eyes flicks down to her new phone . " Nice , we have the same phone ." Jess holds up her iPhone fourteen and Lexi bit down the urge to roll her eyes at her .

She did not want to play the game of ' I have what you have ' .

" Yeah , I actually have to go ." she shrugs and Jess grabs her arm , " Wait , let's grab a coffee ." she smiles and Lexi couldn't help but wonder if Jess wanted something from her . " Sure ." Lexi mutters , regretting it as Jess meets up with Stacy at Starbucks .

" Is that Lexi Axton ?" Stacy beams , also seeming to be happy to see her .

" Hi Stacy ." Lexi mutters uncomfortably , wishing that she had an excuse to get out of there .

Stacy was one of her high school bullies , but as Lexi watches Stacy’s behavior , she wondered if it’s even the same girl .

" Listen .. I actually have to get home . My dad needs the car ." Lexi lies and Stacy pouts , " What ? We want to hear about where you went ."

Jess grabs Lexi's wrist , " Can you ask him if it's alright that you'll be only like a few more minutes ?" Jess asks , her brown orbs seeming genuine .

Lexi scolds herself as she couldn’t find the courage to say no , but she knew some part of her wanted to stay away longer too .

When Lexi went missing and it came out that she left New York alone , Jess was concerned about her childhood friend .

Jess actually liked Lexi all these years , but because of Stacy , she didn't stay Lexi's friend , but after six years , Stacy has grown up out of her spoiled brat stage from high school and seemed more mature .

" Fine ." Lexi sighs before sitting down . " So where did you run off to ?" Stacy asks , hungry for some gossip .

‘I guess some things don’t change .’ Lexi thought .

" Stace ." Jess elbows Stacy’s arm and Stacy whips her blonde hair over her shoulder , raising her perfectly shaped eyebrow at her best friend , " What Jess ? I'm just asking . We all wondered ." Stacy mutters .

" It's fine ." Lexi waves it off , feeling that anything is better than being at her parent's house and in Alec's home , even if it is talking to one of her high school bullies and ex childhood friend .

" I went to Amsterdam ." Lexi smiles , fidgeting with her phone and Stacy's eyes widen in surprise , her blue orbs almost popping out of her head .

" Amsterdam ? Are you serious ? I always wanted to go there . How was it ?" Stacy beams , intrigued now that the girl that she use to bully went to the place she always wanted to visit .

" Good , it's honestly so beautiful . It's lively , all the colors , the people are so nice and don’t get me started on the food ." Lexi smiles as she thinks back of her home .

She already missed it .

" Why did you come back ?" Jess asks .

Lexi is left speechless , not knowing what to tell her . " Just to visit ." Lexi tells the same lie that she told Quinn .

She could not exactly say that her parents sold her out to her worst nightmare and forged her signature to marry the asshole she wished she would never see again .

" For how long , we should totally hang out ." Stacy beams and Lexi's brown orbs widen in shock , her lips agape before she smiles .

Never had she thought that Stacy Stewart would ask her to hang out .

" Sure , I'll be here for about a month or two ." she lies yet again . Lying has become her safe haven , she formed her own bubble of satefy , feeling the need to protect herself and her reputation .

She couldn’t help but wonder what they would say if she told them that she was married to Alec Sullivan .

" And oh my god , did you see who Alec is dating ?" Stacy asks , chuckling .

' Yep .' Lexi thought , finding it weird that when she thought of him , they began to talk about him .

" It's not right ." Jess rolls her eyes and Lexi stares at Jess confused .

" I mean , you two were always hanging out , I thought that you two would end up together ." Jess shrugs .

'Me too , Jess .' Lexi thought .

"We just grew apart ." Lexi shrugs , " Did you see him ?" Stacy asks curiously . " I have ." Lexi forces a smile , knowing that she will be seen with him , sometime .

" And how was it ?" Stacy asks , " Stace ." Jess mutters before looking back at Lexi , " She means well , it's just .. he didn't talk about you after you left .." Jess frowns apologetically .

" I asked him not to ." Lexi lies .

She wished she and Alec would make up , but she also knows that nothing will be the same again even if they did .

" Did you miss him when you left ?" Jess asks , her voice kind and it made Lexi trust her for some reason .

" I did ." She forces a smile , she only felt like crying because she knows even if she missed him , she wasn't sure if he misses her .

She thought she was just a waste of his space .

" Oh my - How about Saturday ? We can pick you up and go out ?" Jess suggests and Stacy smiles brightly , " Yes , we're going clubbing ." Stacy beams excitedly .

Lexi agreed , happy that they changed the subject and she felt intrigued with the offer because all she wanted to do was get out of the two houses she was bounded too , one blood bounded and the other a stupid paper .

Alec had kept his distance from Lexi as he was exasperated with Lexi living in his house , they did not eat together , whenever she was in the room he would walk out and whenever he heard her obnoxious voice , he would shut his eyes in displeasure before walking away to somewhere more quiet .

Jamie noticed his behavior and she could not fathom why he would treat someone like they didn't exist without even knowing them , but she did not complain as he did not act different with her , he kept on treating her like she is the only girl in the world and even f****d her in every room of the house , not caring if Lexi was there or not .

He went on with his life as if she did not exist , even if he noticed her every movement . He noticed when she was upset , he noticed when she was happy and he hated it .

Lexi had been at her parents house through out the day , every day . She found it bearable to live if she only went home at night , she did not dare eat in Alec's house , she only showered in her ensuite bathroom and left to go somewhere else .

Saturday came faster than Lexi had expected and luckily all of her things were delivered the day before , she had most of her things sent to her parents and kept her clothes , some blankets , her couch she put in the room and all of her toiletries she unpacked in the bathroom .

Lexi decided to make her room as homey as she could , it wasn't a small room and had enough space for the things she wanted to keep .

Turning her LED lights on , she played music through her speaker as she showered , the sound blasting through her door and Alec had enough of listening to Taylor Swift's new album and he pads to her door , banging on the door .

" Turn it off !" he yells . Lexi swings her door open , standing in a little sparkling silver dress , her dark locks pulled into a high ponytail , her big circle hoop earrings dangling halfway down her neck and she only wore mascara .

" Sorry , I was about to leave anyway ." she shrugs , grabbing her things , turning the lights off and she switched her speaker off .

Alec stares at her absentmindedly , thinking of how breath taking she looks . " Where are you going ?" he grits out , blocking her from leaving her room .

The thought of her leaving like that made him want to lock her in the room .

" Out with friends ." she shrugs , staring at the close distance between them , " Unless they are from Amsterdam , you don't have any ." he scoffs , crossing his arms his chest .

He knew he was her only friend in town .

He focuses on her honey brown orbs , trying hard not to trail his eyes down the length of her body .

" I have , excuse me ." He stands forward and she bumps into him as she tried to brush past him .

" Get changed into something appropriate or stay in . You are not going out like that ." he grits out , making her laugh in disbelief .

" You are not my dad ." she raises her eyebrow at him , anger overtaking every nerve in her body .

Jamie comes down the stairs , hiding behind the wall as she watches them bicker . " I am your husband ." he grits out irked .

Jamie bites down on her teeth , watching him stand incredibly close to her while he glares at her .

Jamie couldn't help but wonder why he was telling her what to do so she backed up a bit , readying herself to step in as jealousy coursed through her .

"Alec !" she beamed , forcing her best smile as she rounded the corner and he steps back , smiling at her .

" What are you doing ?" she asks , her eyes flicking to Lexi . " Just asking where she's going ." Alec shrugs , but Jamie caught him red handed mere minutes ago .

" Like I said , out ." Lexi forces a smile before slipping through the space he had made when he stepped back .

Alec watches her walk off and he bites down on his tongue as he remembered when she ran away without saying goodbye .

Alec was concerned when he couldn't find Lexi at school , her messages not going through and everytime he called , the only thing that spoke was her voicemail , ' I'm busy right now , but I will call you back when I can ' .

After school he rushed to her house , knocking on the door until Quinn opened the door . " Alec !" Quinn beamed , holding her arms out for a hug and Alec bent down , picking her up . " Where's your sister ?" he asks the ten year old . " I don't know ." she shrugs . Aunt Lilly coming out of the kitchen , " Alec ." she mutters stunned , " Hi Aunt Lilly . Is Lexi home ?" He asks concerned , putting Quinn down on the floor .

" I'm sorry dear , we just dropped her off at the airport ." she shrugs , feeling confused .

After Lexi came home in tears , begging to go anywhere else , her mother knew it was about Alec , so seeing him inside her house was unexpected .

" What ? Where is she going ?" he asks in distress . He felt angry that she didn't even mention that she was leaving .

" Amsterdam , to live there ." Lexi's mum shrugs and Alec bites down on his teeth , nodding before he turns on his heel and leaves the house .

His heart felt like it was tearing apart , slowly and painfully .

It felt like he couldn't breathe .