The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  After elbowing her way through the line at the bathroom and reassuring about a dozen girls that she wasn’t cutting, she eventually made it in front of a mirror. She adjusted her top and peered at herself through the dim lighting. Perhaps she had been overreacting when she had been out dancing. The skin wasn’t sensitive to the touch and all in all she still looked stellar. Her hair was wild, but it worked for her. She liked how her flushed appearance only added to her sensual appeal.

  Several girls began shoving Lexi out of the way to wash their hands so she quickly exited the bathroom. Surveying the surrounding area to make sure that guy hadn’t followed her, Lexi wandered back toward the bar in search of Chyna. She just needed to get out of there.

  As she approached the bar, Lexi noticed the crowd clearing from the direction of the dance floor. Curious, Lexi moved forward to find out what was going on. Her heart began pounding furiously in her ears. She sobered up quick as adrenaline pumped through her system at record speeds. She darted forward into the open space her breathing accelerating with fear.

  “What happened to her?” Lexi asked reaching her hand and placing it on Chyna’s forehead. A man was holding her limp in his arms. “Is she okay?” She knew her voice was hysterical, but she couldn’t control it.

  Lexi didn’t even care who the guy was that was carrying her. She was so terrified that she was losing her best friend. How could she let one more terrible thing happen in her life? Hadn’t she suffered enough?

  “Do you know this woman?” the man asked his voice deep and husky.

  “Of course I know her. She’s my best friend. What’s wrong with her?”

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said nodding his head toward the exit.

  Lexi didn’t even think twice. She bolted toward the door. All she could think about was Chyna’s safety. A wave of guilt washed over her as she thought about how she had let her wander off. Had she allowed this to happen? Somehow she couldn’t help thinking that this was partly her fault. What type of person let this happen?

  As they reached the door, she felt a hand reach out and grip her wrist. “There you are.” Lexi recognized the man who she had been avoiding and nearly cursed a loud.

  “Get your hands off me,” she cried unable to deal with him while she had Chyna to worry about.

  “Oh come on, baby. Let’s go back to my place,” he moaned groping her body. She smacked his arm with her free hand, but he was too drunk to even notice.

  “Stay the hell away from me, you sick, twisted fuck,” she yelled rearing back and kicking him full on in the shin with her high heel.

  The guy stumbled backward a few steps directly into a large bouncer dressed head to toe in black. “You stupid bitch,” the guy yelled pulling his leg up and hobbling on one foot.

  “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the bouncer commanded gripping the obnoxiously drunk man by the shoulder and shoving him out the front door.

  Lexi couldn’t even take time to consider what had happened because she was too worried about Chyna. She followed the man who was carrying Chyna out the front door of the bar. “Sorry about that. What’s going on?” Lexi asked concerned.

  “Honestly, I think she’s been drugged. She’s still conscious. I think she needs some looking after and will be better in the morning,” he said setting Chyna uneasily back on her feet. She took one step forward giving Lexi the faintest burst of energy and then slumped back into the man’s arms.

  “Oh my God! She’s been drugged. Like roofied?” Lexi asked hysterical. “How could this happen?”

  “Can we get her somewhere safe first?” he asked worrying about her safety first and foremost.

  “Oh, you’re right. Hold on,” Lexi cried punching a number on her cell phone. Less than a minute later, Chyna’s town car was pulling around the corner. Her driver parked and hopped out anxious to see that his beautiful celebutante was all but dead. The two laid her down carefully in the backseat before diving in after her.

  “I’m Adam. Sorry about your friend,” he said consolingly slumping back against the leather interior.

  “Lexi,” she managed a half-smile in his direction as an introduction. “What happened?” Lexi asked brushing hair out of Chyna’s face and staring at her with a worried look on her face.

  “I don’t know everything really. She was dancing with some guy. When I finally noticed something was off, he was dragging her out the backdoor. She wasn’t quite this bad then, but she was a mess for sure. I politely told him to back the fuck off or I’d deck him. He didn’t listen,” he explained calmly, “So I decked him.”

  “Wow!” she said assessing him more closely. “How did you know she was drugged?” Lexi asked her eyes wide with admiration for Chyna’s savior.

  “My girlfriend…uh ex-girlfriend,” he said sighing heavily, “it happened to her a couple months ago. Same signs.” He shrugged it off as if it meant nothing, but Lexi could see the hurt take over his features. She knew that feeling and could empathize with his pain even if she didn’t know the whole situation.

  “Wha…what happened with your girlfriend?” Lexi asked cautiously.

  “She was fine. The next morning she had a killer headache, but other than that she was fine,” he said.

  “Oh, well that’s reassuring,” Lexi said letting them fall into silence as the town car took them through the city traffic. Lexi gripped Chyna’s unresponsive hand in her own and prayed that Adam was right. Her friend would be all right by the morning and things would be back to the way they were supposed to be.

  “Hey,” Adam said reaching out cautiously and touching her knee. “Try not to blame yourself.”

  “Blame myself?” Lexi squeaked out.

  “I did. It doesn’t help. It was just a mistake, all right? Nothing you could have done,” he said sitting back once more and staring forward.

  Lexi nodded knowing he was right. There was no way to know that sleaze ball was going to drug her friend. They had been out together a million and a half times and nothing like this had ever happened. What were the chances that tonight of all nights it would happen? That it would ever happen?

  When they stopped in front of Chyna’s building, Bernard rushed forward to help them, but Adam insisted that he could handle it. Bernard looked at Lexi skeptically, wondering if it was appropriate to be leaving her with a perfect stranger. Under different circumstances it would have made Lexi laugh that Bernard was concerned about something like that since Chyna brought a whole lot of strangers back here. Tonight was not under different circumstances though.

  Adam carried her up to her room and deposited her on the bed. He left the room allowing Lexi to change Chyna into more comfortable clothes. She then tucked her under the covers and left her there to sleep off whatever was in her system.

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t take her to the hospital?” Lexi asked anxiously.

  “I think she’ll be fine. If I were worried, then I would have already taken her there. I think she just needs to sleep it off,” Adam told her standing in the middle of the living room rather comfortably.

  Lexi was a bit surprised about this since most people who saw Chyna’s extravagance were either amazed or incredibly uncomfortable. “Is there any way we can repay you for what you did?” Lexi asked knowing for some reason that he would never take money even though he could tell Chyna had plenty of it.

  “Absolutely not. I would have done the same for anyone,” he reassured her.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Look if you want to do something for me, then take my number and let me know how she’s doing in the morning. I’d feel like a real dick if she was really hurt and I didn’t do anything about it,” he said running his hand through his cropped brown hair.

  Lexi smiled for the first time since she had found Chyna in the condition she was in. They exchanged numbers and Lexi showed him out the door. “Thanks again,” she said before closing the door behind him.

  She couldn’t believe the night that she was
having, but it really put things in perspective. What if something had happened to her or what if their relationship faltered because of it? Isn’t that what Adam had alluded to in the car? He and his girlfriend had suffered because of this. It wasn’t worth it to wait around and hope that everything was going to be better when so much could come crashing down unexpectedly. She needed to take action.

  Falling backward onto the leather sofa, Lexi kicked her heels off and then dug around in her purse for her cell phone. Finding the number she was looking for, she punched the dial button and waited. She didn’t care that it was almost three o’clock in the morning.

  “Lexi?” Ramsey’s voice answered clearly surprised to hear from her. She wasn’t sure where he was, but wherever it was had a lot of background noise.

  “What are you doing on Saturday?” she asked louder than she wanted to speak, but she wanted to make sure he heard her.

  “Hold on one second.” After a minute, Lexi heard the noise die down and his voice come back through the line. “What did you say?”

  “What are you doing on Saturday?” she repeated her question unable to believe she was doing this.

  “Um…working probably. Why? What’s up?” he asked, his voice tentative but curious.

  “I have to go to an engagement party, because Chyna’s dad is getting remarried. It’s a long story, but I’m supposed to bring a boyfriend, and…I don’t have one.” She heard his breath of relief through the line, which spurred her forward. “Will you go with me?” she asked. Her stomach had started knotting all over again at the fact that she was actually asking him to do this for her.

  “You want me be your boyfriend?” he asked skeptically. She was pretty sure he had never been asked that before.

  “I want you to…go to the party as my boyfriend,” she amended.

  “Just to the party?” he asked egging her on.

  “You don’t have to. I just…uh…it’s for Chyna. She’s really beat up and she got roofied tonight.”

  “What? Is she okay?” he asked flipping out.

  “Yeah. She’s crashing right now, but I need to make this right for her.”

  “I’ll get out of work and be at JFK as soon as I can Saturday,” he said immediately.

  “Oh! Thank you,” she said honestly grateful that she wouldn’t have to search for another guy to go with her.

  “Hey Lexi…”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s really good to hear from you.”

  Lexi smiled to herself. “It’s good to hear from you too.”

  “Even if you don’t have everything together, I’m really glad you called.”

  Lexi couldn’t help but think how glad she was too.

  PRESENT

  “You know I like Ramsey, right?” Chyna asked, sighing as she fell backward onto her plush, king-sized bed. The comforter had recently been changed into a maroon and gold ensembles, with massive quantities of matching throw pillows of every size and shape imaginable covering the pillow top.

  Lexi looked up from where she had been digging through her backpack and smiled. She knew exactly how Chyna felt about Ramsey. He was one of the few guys who had ever bypassed her appearance for her personality. Chyna found that type of behavior extremely appealing. If he made it a point not to be interested in her, then she could respect his devotion to Lexi. Chyna always had a weak spot for loyalty.

  “Yeah, I know,” Lexi told her reaching back into her bag and pulling out her laptop and power cord.

  “Then you also know that I think you’re an idiot,” Chyna remarked staring up at her ceiling. Lexi could hear her sigh which only broadened her smile.

  “Yeah, I know,” she repeated popping the top on her laptop, pressing the power button, and waiting for the system to warm up.

  Chyna shot up from her place on the bed and stared down at Lexi. A broad smile had formed on her face. Lexi knew that look meant only one thing. Chyna was up to something devious. Lexi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and waited for Chyna to let loose her revelation.

  “You know what?” Chyna asked.

  “Nope.”

  “You could always just…not go.”

  “Wow, what a revelation,” Lexi muttered sarcastically.

  “Oh, come on,” Chyna cried throwing herself back on the bed. “This is not good for you. I thought after everything that happened you wouldn’t put yourself through this all over again.”

  “This isn’t like Jack,” Lexi said defensively.

  No, this wasn’t like Jack at all. Jack had taken over her world, and she had forced herself to push him out bit by bit. Ramsey had forced himself in her world bit by bit and filled a void she hadn’t known existed. And she knew all too well what it felt like being with and without Jack. Ramsey was something altogether different. The emotions he elicited from her were foreign, and thus, incredibly vivid because they had never been tamed, harnessed, or numbed over years of self-torture.

  So no, this was nothing like Jack.

  “This is exactly like Jack,” Chyna muttered under her breath.

  Lexi closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have this argument right now. Ramsey would be picking her up shortly and she didn’t need those thoughts swirling around in her mind. By allowing him to visit, she was taking a huge leap of faith, one that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with.

  “Can we talk about something else?” Lexi pleaded, opening her eyes and fixing them on the computer screen in front of her. She pulled up a blank webpage and directed it to her inbox. A confirmation email was highlighted at the top of the screen with information about Ramsey’s flight into JFK airport. If everything went all right, he would be landing in only twenty minutes giving her just enough time to mentally and physically prepare herself for their evening together.

  “Sure,” Chyna replied, her tone snarky. “How about the fact that you still haven’t given me Mystery Man’s name yet?”

  Lexi gulped hard, a tentative smile spreading across her face as she looked up at Chyna. “Why are you so desperate to know?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you never hide anything from me. Maybe because I’ve never met him. Maybe because I have to wrestle information out of you. Do you want me to keep going?” Chyna asked arching an eyebrow. She flipped her feet to the other side of the bed, rested her elbows on the comforter, and leaned over to get a better look at Lexi’s reaction.

  “Well it’s nothing, that’s why it doesn’t matter,” Lexi stammered out under the intense scrutiny of Chyna’s stare.

  “Or maybe it’s because it’s a huge fucking deal and that’s why you keep it a secret,” she hypothesized, her green eyes taking in every movement that might tip her off to what was going on.

  “It’s not such a big deal,” Lexi huffed returning her eyes to her computer to escape Chyna’s fierce looks. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone about what was going on with her Mystery Man yet. They had gone out a couple times before and, now, after the night they sex, but she refused to tell Chyna about it. She wasn’t ready…not with Ramsey flying in to see her any minute.

  “You’re such a terrible liar.”

  “No, I’m not,” she cried knowing that was a lie too. Chyna knew her too well though. She knew when something was up with her.

  “Yeah, you really are. So who is he? Are you going out with him again? Has he called?” Chyna blabbered on asking questions Lexi had no intention of answering.

  “I don’t want to talk about him, all right?” Lexi asked shutting her computer with a bit more force than she anticipated.

  “Ohhh,” Chyna cooed, “someone is defensive.”

  Lexi took another deep breath. “Please stop. I really do not want to think about anything while I have this…thing with Ramsey tonight.”

  “Date is the opportune word, chica. Don’t think you’ll be getting away with not talking about this forever. After your…thing,” she said mimicking Lexi’s tone of voice, “I want details on Mystery Man. Please, please, please just give me a na
me,” she begged.

  “No can do,” Lexi told her hopping up off the floor and wandering into Chyna’s massive closet.

  “You’re so incorrigible,” Chyna cried following behind her.

  “Big words,” Lexi said sarcastically her eyes widening and mouth opening in surprise.

  “Don’t be such a shit,” she said smacking Lexi on her arm. “Just because I didn’t go to college doesn’t mean I wasn’t smart enough to go.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Lexi said knowing full well that Chyna was brilliant and succeeded at anything she applied herself to. The only problem was getting her to apply herself. She preferred to live a luxurious life of leisure rather than work. Not that she blamed her.

  “What’s the latest endeavor?” Lexi asked, hoping to distract Chyna. She needed to keep the focus away from her life at the moment. She seemed to endlessly be discussing the different men in her life.

  As Lexi perused Chyna’s closet for something to wear that evening, Lexi’s mind drifted over the experiences in the past seven years. Her memory landed on a green tourist bench. She could feel her face flushing at the image of her first time with Jack at the beach house. She licked her lips as her hand trailed over a tiny pair of skinny jeans. She knew she shouldn’t risk letting her mind travel down memory lane, but sometimes it was so difficult.

  Her memory was so vivid that sometimes it was as if she were reliving her past. The feel of his skin hot against her own, breathing in the salty air with rapid inhalations, his intense blue stare reflecting the ocean. She could feel him almost as if she were in the moment.

  She shook her head and tried to focus on Chyna talking about the new thing that she was interested in at the moment. Her mind couldn’t focus however, and suddenly she was swept back to a time when she was cuddled up in a familiar navy blue comforter. She could hear him whisper his affection for her and pull her closer.