Enough

by Pacheco, Briana

  Everyone opened the snacks and sat in an awkward silence.

  “So did you hear about the boy Emily almost killed at that fashion show?” Sophie asked.

  Alex and I looked at each other. I couldn’t help but blush. I didn’t almost kill him, I tripped and we fell down the stairs. He was alive when I got pulled off of him.

  “Yeah, I heard about that.” Alex said with a smile on his lips. “I’m fine now so she didn’t do any damage.” Wait for it…

  “What?” Sophie asked leaning in closer.

  “Did you just say…” Tiffany trailed off.

  “Yes. He’s the guy I tripped on.” I said. They were about to say something when I cut in. “We just found this out.” I lied a bit.

  “That is so romantic.” Sophie said swooning.

  “Totally. Emily was acting like a lunatic trying to find out who that kid was. She even said it was love at first sight. Weirdo. But I guess you found him after all. Now instead of tripping on stairs hopefully you’re tripping into a bed.” Tiffany said. Seriously.

  After a while I saw the time. 11:43 pm.

  “What time do we need to be there?” I asked Alex.

  “Before ten. Maintenance has to do something so Sean has to close up early.” Alex said. So we’re going to sleep. Everyone grabbed the trash and stood in the hallway. “There are plenty of rooms. Help yourselves.” Alex said. We showed them to their rooms. Sophie and Zach together. Tiffany insisted on sleeping with Liam but I thought it’d be kind of weird. Yeah, it would. I showed her her own room, which was Scarlett’s before. Liam and Bryan took the next two. I was going to be with Alex. Perfect. I made sure Tiffany, Sophie and Zach had everything they needed then I stopped by Bryan’s room.

  “Hey Em, can I talk to you?” He asked lying in bed with his arms behind his head. I walked in and sat at the foot of the bed.

  “What is it?”

  “You should talk to Jeremy.” I was about to protest when he sat up straighter. “Just hear him out. He didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  “Bryan. He knew and he didn’t say anything.” I said. I shook my head. “That hurts. I trusted him.” More than people think.

  “Just talk to him.” Bryan said grabbing my hand.

  “Okay.” I said. “Goodnight, Bryan.”

  “Goodnight, Em.” He said.

  I closed the door and saw Liam’s was open. I knocked.

  “It’s open.” He said standing next to the window.

  “Do you need anything?” I asked.

  “This is weird. My house is right down there…”

  “Are you thinking about ditching us?” I asked with a hand on my hip.

  “No.” He smiled and walked over to me. “You might get sick of hearing this but we’re here for you, prom queen.”

  I looked him in the eyes. “You guys are going to have to get use to this. Me. I have secrets that people can’t find out. I can’t…”

  Liam pulled me into a hug.

  “We’re not going anywhere.” He said. We stayed like this for a few more seconds. When he let me go he said, “Unless you want us to.”

  I smiled and nudged his shoulder. “I’m not going to give you guys up.” I walked back to the door. “You guys might ditch me though.” I joked.

  “Goodnight, prom queen.”

  I smiled “Goodnight, Liam.” I closed his door and walked back to Alex’s room. He was going around making sure everyone had everything they needed but now he’s lying in bed waiting. “I guess I couldn’t keep you a secret any longer.” I said closing the door.

  “It was bound to happen. Besides they seemed cool about it.” Alex said as I slipped under the covers. I nuzzled my head onto his chest and closed my eyes.

  “We made a record today.” I said.

  “Why’s that?”

  “It was the second time today someone interrupted us.” I said.

  “Are you trying to say something?” Alex asked.

  “No. Besides we can’t do anything. We have a full house.”

  I tilted my head up and kissed him.

  “I don’t think that stopped you before.” Alex said. Now I laughed.

  “Yeah that’s because Tiffany wasn’t next door.” I said.

  My phone chimed a second later. I reached over for it.

  Tiffany: I can hear everything.

  I showed it to Alex. I told him. Tiffany hears everything.

  Me: Got it. Goodnight Tiff. :)

  Tiffany: Goodnight Mrs. Payne ;)

  I shook my head and said a silent prayer for that girl then I turned back to Alex. We stayed locked in each others arms for a while not talking.

  “Emily.” Alex said. I tilted my head up even though it’s dark in here. “What happened this summer?” I froze. “What happened by the pool…it was because of it, right?” I nodded slowly.

  “Alex…some things have to stay buried.” I said.

  “I know…” He ran a hand down my arm. “Can I ask a question?” I nodded. “Whatever it is…Mark and Christy are involved?” I nodded. “Do you trust me?” I propped myself on my elbow.

  “I do.” I said. “It’s just I was involved in bad things during the summer. Mark and Christy were there for me. I was a different person, Alex. And I’m afraid if you find out who I was, you won’t like it.”

  “I told you was I was a wild child back then.” Alex said.

  “It’s worse than a wild child phase.” I said.

  Alex was silent for a bit then said, “Drugs?” Yes…

  I’m a mess and on the verge of crying. “I can’t…I’m sorry.” I don’t want him to know. I don’t want anyone to know. I moved the comforter off me and as I was about to get up Alex grabbed my hand.

  “I won’t bring it up again.” He said. “Stay.” I hesitated.

  My mind’s tripping over all the possibilities. Call Ty and go back to that life…back to the life where I didn’t care about anything…or stay here, with Alex and try to fix everything.

  My family would hate me if they ever found out. Everyone would look at me differently if they found out. I could probably lose a lot of close friends if they knew about this summer.

  I can lose Alex.

  I can lose everything.

  I can’t go back to that life.

  I just can’t.

  I got back into bed and brought my head to his chest.

  There is something wrong me.

  I just need to accept it in order to fix it.

  I shut my eyes and fell asleep to the rise and fall of his chest.

  20. Racecars

  I smelt something delicious before I opened my eyes. Pancakes. I smiled and stretched. I love pancakes. I turned around and found the bed empty. I checked my phone and texted anyone who texted. Except Ty and Jeremy of course.

  Eight in the morning and Mom texted saying she walked Gizmo and took care of everything he needed and she told me that Rachel is going home tomorrow. Awesome!

  I went downstairs and headed into the kitchen. Alex was flipping pancakes on the griddle wearing a black apron that read, “Kiss the Cook!” I had to. I can’t read that and not do it.

  “Is everyone still sleeping?” I asked in a sexy voice. I heard someone clear their throat and got my answer. I turned my head to the left and saw everyone sitting in the dining room. I walked over to them when Alex flipped the last pancake. There’s orange juice, sausages, waffles and sliced fruit on the table. “Did you guys make this?”

  “No, you just missed the chef.” Zach said.

  I took the empty seat next to Liam. They got a chef. A chef!

  “Can you guys not say anything about what you found out last night?” I asked. They got a chef. They wouldn’t have thought about that if they didn’t know Alex is Alex Payne. Damon Payne’s son.

  “We found out a lot of things yesterday.” Bryan said.

  “Don’t tell anyone… Alex has money.” I said.

  “Honey, don’t you think a lot of people already know?” Tiffany ask
ed taking a sip of her OJ.

  “I think if people in Boston knew, he would have paparazzi around. He’s been doing something to keep them away and it’s been working. Just don’t tell anyone. Please.” I said, begging.

  Alex walked in with a plate full of pancakes.

  “So I missed the chef?” I asked as Alex sat beside me.

  “It’s a large crowd.” He said looking up at everyone.

  “I think you like them knowing your little secret.” I said.

  “How else am I going to explain the garage full of cars?” He said leaning in to kiss my cheek. “I made the pancakes. At least I did something, right?” I nodded.

  When everyone finished eating, we went upstairs and changed. When I saw what Alex was wearing I almost melted. He’s wearing exactly what my dream guy would wear. Black and red Cincinnati Reds cap, black t-shirt with some design on it and dark blue jeans with black and red Nikes. Sexy.

  We headed downstairs into the kitchen and left through the only door I remember that leads somewhere. It leads to the garage.

  “Wow!” The guys said together. The older cars that were here before are gone, now it’s the luxury cars. Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, a beautiful Range Rover and a Cadillac Escalade are among them.

  “I think I died and went to heaven. How do you have all of these cars? Ohmygod… this is a special limited edition.” Bryan said walking over to the Range Rover. I took a closer look. I glanced at Alex, speechless.

  “These didn’t even come out yet.” I said looking at both the Rover and the Escalade. He pulled out keys and unlocked the doors to the Escalade.

  “I know some people that know people.” He said shrugging. Bryan, Tiffany and Liam took the third seat in the back. Sophie and Zach took the second and Alex and I sat up front.

  Everyone couldn’t stop talking about the cars and it was kind of refreshing. I like cars. And the fact that the girls are involved makes it better. You’d think they would rather talk about make up.

  Alex turned on the radio when the girls started getting into an argument over motorcycles. The guys love them, the girls hate them. They were actually trying to prove that more people riding one than a car. I actually love motorcycles (I have a motorcycle license) so when he turned on the radio I sank into my seat and closed my eyes. Music always helps.

  One of my favorite Spanish songs started played, La Melodia by Joey Montana. It’s rare to hear this so I got excited. I started singing along when Tiffany rudely interrupted.

  “Oh c’mon. Can you change the station?” Tiffany asked, groaning.

  “This is one of my favorite songs.” Alex and I said at the same time. I looked at him with surprise. “You know Spanish?” I asked.

  He gave me a gorgeous smile. “For business purposes, I’m fluent in Italian, French and Spanish.” He said. I rolled my eyes when I heard the girls swooning in the back.

  “You keep fueling their fantasy.” I said.

  “Seriously.” Zach said.

  “What? You know I love Paris.” Sophie said to him.

  We drove for thirty more minutes then Alex pulled onto an exit and did a few turns here and there. We pulled into a large road and drove up to a building. The racetrack.

  There was a guy cleaning the front door’s window but stopped when we pulled into a stop. He’s pretty cute. He has short brown hair, brown eyes and he’s tall.

  “It’s always nice to see the boss stop by. What’s up, man?” Sean. Wow, he’s younger than I thought. He’s look to be nineteen or twenty. They did that handshake every guy knows and that doesn’t make any sense to girls. Sean walked over to me. “You must be Emily. I’m Sean.” I extended my hand but he waved it away and hugged me. I winced when he pressed into my shoulder. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Alex talks about me. Guess Ben wasn’t lying. He needs to vent.

  When he let me go, I turned around and introduced everyone.

  “Did you say boss?” Sophie asked when I was done. I stared at her. Oh, please let that one slide. Please.

  “Yeah, this is Alex’s place.” Sean said looking at us.

  I tried not drawing more attention to that.

  “So, how do you two know each other?” I asked.

  “He pays me to be his bitch.” Sean said smiling.

  “We were best friends in New York. He moved here to keep me in check and he loves this place so he takes care of it for me.” Alex said. I nodded. “And the fact that I can boss him around is fun.”

  Sean cocked an eyebrow at him. “I love you too, sweetheart.” He said winking at Alex. “Who’s ready to race?” Sean asked as he led us inside. He walked up to a desk and grabbed two sets of keys.

  The metal bleachers surrounded a huge circle track in the middle. It was just like the NASCAR tracks. I’m in awe.

  “For the girls we have a game room with tons of things to do–”

  Alex shook his head at Sean and I couldn’t help but intervene.

  “I came here to drive cars not play games. Do I have to suit up or can we get started?” I asked.

  “Alex caught me up to speed. I’ve got the perfect car for you.” Sean said with furrowed brows. “Is everyone driving?” He looked at Sophie and Tiffany. “We could use flag girls.”

  “What the hell, we’ll drive.” Sophie said looking at Tiffany. Sean nodded and led us into another room that led to the car garage. I slipped behind and walked next to Sophie and Tiffany.

  “If you guys don’t want to you don’t have to.” I said.

  “It doesn’t hurt to try. Besides Joey always wanted to bring me to one of these things.” Sophie said shrugging and smiling. “It’ll be fun.”

  Sean showed everyone their cars and when he got to mine I almost laughed out loud. “Are you serious?!” It’s a hot pink racecar with a fuzzy steering wheel.

  “No, Alex would kill me.” He said pointing to a black and chrome color racecar in the back. I smiled. He did a little demonstration on how to drive the cars and return safely. He doesn’t want anyone to crash. When the tutorial was over, we got in the cars and started them up. Sophie and Tiffany teamed up and got in the pink car. They love pink. Girls.

  Sean opened the doors to let us out and I frowned.

  “You’re not joining?” I asked.

  “No, I have to check on other things but I’ll be watching.” He said leaning into my window. “I have to say I like you better than the last one.”

  “Nina?” I asked. He nodded. “Thanks.” I said blushing. It never hurts to hear you’re better than the ex. Especially from the boyfriend’s friend.

  “Don’t tell Alex I said that.” Sean said. I nodded. Guy code. Always coming first. “Not a good thing to bring up the ex with the new girlfriend. But if you want to feel special, no one liked her. Our friends just stuck with her for Alex.” He lightly smacked the car and that was my cue to go.

  Everyone pulled out and got in a line waiting for the lights to turn green then we drove. This was possibly the best group date I’ve ever been on. Sean signaled us to drive the car back into the garage when we were done. I came in first place. Liam, second. Alex, third. Sophie and Tiffany in fourth, Zach in fifth and Bryan last. It was pretty epic.

  “How is it that the girls beat you two?” Liam asked Bryan and Zach.

  “It’s hard to believe but they knew what they were doing.” Bryan said.

  “We’ll take that as a compliment.” The girls said.

  Sean walked over and said, “Now’s the best part. We have new arrivals that have to be tested and I did cancel the test driver’s today…”

  “Well what are we waiting for?” Alex asked slipping his hand into mine. “Ready to break laws?” He teased.

  “I didn’t know this place had a test drive section.” I said.

  “You’d be amazed what this place has.” He said. We turned back toward the group. “Having fun yet?” He asked.

  “I could get use to hanging around with you two.” Tiffany said. “I mean…because I
love you guys.” I squinted at her.

  “I’m still pissed I came in fifth. Sophie had the slowest pink car I’ve ever seen.” Zach said pulling her into him.

  “It pays off to have a brother that plays Xbox.” Sophie said.

  “It really does.” I agreed.

  Sean led us into a hallway with pictures of the racecar drivers that come here and of the workers fooling around. Seems fun here. I wouldn’t mind getting to know this place. We entered a large doorway where Sean entered a code and the door opened. The sunlight was bright coming in from an open space where the cars come in from. Oh, this is amazing.

  We walked up to the cars and everyone was in awe. We all picked a car to test drive and picked when we’d go. Alex got a call when I was up and I knew he had to do something. He had that look in his eyes. I came back around the track and he just got off the phone.

  “I have to go to New York tonight.” He said walking up to me.

  “When?” I asked.

  “Plane leaves at five.” He said. It’s only two. Alright. I guess we had enough fun for today. We can always come back and since we know the owner…

  “So should we go?” I asked Alex.

  “We can grab some food but then I’ll have to go.” He said looking down at me. “Will you be okay?” I nodded and he slipped a hand to the side of my face, searching my face. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

  “Stay there longer. I don’t want you.” I teased. He pecked my lips then we walked over to the group. “Ready to go? We’re going to grab some food and then I can drop you guys at home.” I said. No one objected.

  They handed the keys back to Sean and gave their feedback about the cars. They’re all safe to drive. It’d be fucked up if we died while driving one… Hm, never thought of that.

  When we were outside, everyone got in the car and Sean locked up. He walked over to the driver’s side and whispered something to Alex.

  “It was nice to meet you guys.” Sean said. He waved goodbye before he got into his car, he turned back around. “Alex, Mia still wants you to visit them. They all do.”