The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  Lexi’s heart was beating rapidly as she heard her voice spill through the speakers. Lexi never had stage fright when doing gymnastics before an audience ten times the size of the small karaoke club, but it was something about singing that made her clam up. She knew she didn’t have a bad voice per se, but she definitely wasn’t a singer.

  As Jessie kept the crowd energized, Lexi found it more and more clear that her fear of singing in front of crowds didn’t matter. Everyone else in the bar was incredibly drunk, and Jessie’s voice carried much louder over the speakers than Lexi’s. By the time the trio had hit the second verse, all three were belting out the words that appeared before them. Lexi wasn’t adventurous enough to move away from her microphone like Jessie, who took over the stage with her presence, but she held her own through the remainder of the song.

  At the end, they all threw their hands up in the air and took a large swooping bow. Though Lexi’s nerves had briefly abated, the whooping crowd at the end of the song brought her back to reality. She quickly covered her face with her hands and shook her head back and forth in embarrassment. Katie seemed to agree with her, swiftly darted off stage, and back into Brad’s waiting arms. Jessie took a deep bow before chasing after Lexi.

  “Hey girlie, restroom,” she said latching onto Lexi’s elbow and edging her away from the group. Lexi was a bit surprised that Jessie would take her and not Katie, since Jessie had always been standoffish around her. It didn’t help that their first interaction had resulted in Ramsey having to tell Lexi how he had slept with his prom date in front of everyone at a bonfire. Lexi still wasn’t too thrilled with her for that one. She kind of thought it was rude to bring up someone’s history like that and throw it in their face. She would hate if someone did that to her. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of damage that could do.

  But Lexi went freely, hoping that this might be different. Her eyes met Ramsey’s as she was dragged away from him. He smiled brightly at her and nodded his head as if to say that he had enjoyed her performance.

  Ducking around a drunken couple, the girls pushed their way through the crowd and to the bathroom. Lexi was relieved to see that there actually wasn’t a line. That was unheard of in New York bars. “You were great up there,” Lexi told her standing next to the battered aluminum sink. She meant the statement. The girl had been pretty phenomenal. If it helped her cause of getting Jessie to ease up around her, the compliments would flow freely all night.

  “Thanks,” she chimed stepping out of the bathroom and reaching into her purse. “Singing is my calling.”

  “I can see that,” Lexi told her, getting out of the way of another girl who was vying for the mirror in the cramped space. Jessie eyed her carefully before pulling out a tiny silver bottle. Lexi looked it over suspiciously unsure of the contents that lay within or why she even had it with her. “What’s that?”

  “Patron,” Jessie said shrugging. Without further ado, she tipped her head back and poured a shot worth of tequila into her mouth.

  “You flasked in Patron?” Lexi asked in surprise. The girl clearly had more money than she knew what to do with, yet she was bringing in a flask to a bar. This was something she hadn’t experienced since college, when they used to sneak in bottles to the football games. It had been thrilling at the time. They were young and anxious to drink at every opportunity. But here in this environment, she didn’t think it made sense.

  Jessie shrugged again. “Want some?” she asked shoving the bottle into Lexi’s hands.

  Lexi fumbled with it for a second, certain she was going to drop it, and spill all of the precious liquid on the floor. Then she regained her composure, held the bottle more firmly in her hands, and tipped the opening up to her lips. The sip she took was much smaller than Jessie’s but it burned the entire way down, and she coughed without a lime or chaser to ease the pain.

  “Uh thanks,” Lexi said passing the bottle back.

  Jessie chuckled under her breath before taking another sip from the bottle. “So, you and Ramsey, huh?” she asked, leaning back against the sink and nudging the other girl out of the way. The girl looked pissed as she shoved past Lexi for the exit.

  “Yep,” Lexi said not sure how else to respond or if Jessie wanted some more explanation.

  “Good thing you met Parker then,” she said shrugging as she twirled the top to the flask between her fingers.

  Lexi swallowed hard. “Why is that?” Lexi asked curiously, eyeing Jessie carefully.

  Jessie stared at her blankly. “What do you mean, why is that?” she asked screwing the cap back on the bottle, moving in front of the mirror, and looking her face over for imperfections. She pulled out a tube of cherry red lip-gloss and coated her mouth with the stuff.

  “I just don’t know why it would be a good thing per se,” Lexi said being purposefully dense. Jessie had known Parker for a long time. She wasn’t sure if that was as long as Ramsey had known her, but it was possible. Thus, if Jessie thought it was probably a good thing that she met Parker, then it was.

  “Her and Ramsey go way back,” she said puckering her lips.

  “I garnered that much,” Lexi responded stepping out of the way of another girl badgering her for room in the confided space. “But is there something I should know?” Lexi asked pressing her luck.

  “Only whatever Ramsey told you I’m sure,” Jessie said running her fingertips through her wild red hair in an attempt to tame it. “Anyway,” she began, “I really need a smoke.”

  Lexi gulped wanting to know more about Parker, and Jessie clearly knew something. She knew that she should just ask Ramsey about it, and she would. She promised herself that she would ask him more about Parker once they were alone, but right now Jessie was providing her with an alternative. She figured she would be stupid not to take it. “I’ll go with you,” Lexi sputtered quickly before Jessie could reach the door.

  “Do you smoke?” Jessie asked her incredulously.

  “Uh...no...Well, casually,” Lexi lied through her teeth. She pretty much detested the habit, but she had begun to get used to it since being in New York.

  “Really? I’d never have pinned ya for it,” she muttered raising her eyebrows in surprise. She seemed not to be easily surprised.

  Lexi gave her a weak smile and followed her out of the bathroom. Her eyes instantly moved back to where Ramsey was standing against the bar surrounded by his friends. Parker stood at his side, her head thrown back in laughter, and her hand unconsciously resting on his forearm. When she righted herself, Ramsey’s own smile was locked onto her face as they shared another private joke. Parker seemed to laugh hysterically at Ramsey once again, and his hand slipped to her back to hold them both steady. Lexi gulped down a lump forming in her throat.

  “Cute, aren’t they?” Jessie whispered at her side.

  “Uh...what?” Lexi asked forgetting that Jessie had been at her side.

  “They’re just cute,” Jessie said shrugging as if her statement hadn’t made a huge impact on Lexi. “I’ve always thought so.”

  “Oh.” Lexi couldn’t think of anything else to say. As she looked at Ramsey and Parker together, she had to admit that they did look cute together. She wasn’t sure if it was because Parker looked kind of like her or if it was just the chemistry that came with knowing someone for so long. For some reason, she wondered if this is what people saw when looking at her and Jack. That thought made her stomach do a flip-flop.

  “Come on,” Jessie said tugging her toward the deck overlooking the ocean.

  Lexi let herself be dragged away as she stayed lost in thought. The last thing she wanted to do was overreact. She had to remind herself that it was perfectly possible for Ramsey and Parker to have a platonic relationship, which is what brought them together. Before she had a chance to think on it further, Jessie slapped a cigarette in her hand. “Here ya go.”

  “Uh thanks,” Lexi said reluctantly. She had never smoked a day in her life. Just when Jessie went up to light it for her, Lexi’s p
hone buzzed in her purse at her hip.

  “Hold on,” she said handing back the cigarette. Jessie shrugged and lit her own. Lexi dug into the bag, retrieved the phone, and pressed it to her ear. “Hello.”

  “Lexi...” Chyna blubbered through the other end of the line. Instantly Lexi was on edge. Chyna never ever called her Lexi. From the first time they had met, she had always been Alexa to Chyna. Just hearing her name come out of Chyna’s mouth sounded odd. Not to mention the fact that it seemed Chyna had been crying, rather hysterically actually.

  “Chyna, are you okay?” she asked immediately stepping out away from Jessie to a more private spot.

  “No, oh my God, no I’m not,” she cried falling into another fit of tears.

  “What happened? Chyna, calm down. It’ll be okay. Just tell me what happened,” she said reassuringly.

  “I don’t know. I just...I don’t know where to begin.”

  “Just start wherever, C. Tell me from the beginning. Are you safe? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you? Do I need to call someone to come get you?” Lexi asked nearing hysterics herself. She was terrified for her friend.

  “No, no, I’m not hurt...not physically. It’s just...Adam. Alexa, it’s Adam,” she whispered into the phone as if it were physically painful to utter the words.

  “Adam?” Lexi asked anxiously. She didn’t know what could be wrong with Adam. They had been perfectly fine when she had left New York a couple days ago. “Is he all right? Did something happen?” Lexi stomach was in knots. She was pretty terrified of what she was about to hear. Her friend had been so happy for the past couple months, ever since Adam had entered her life. He put her on cloud nine, and it was wonderful to watch. Chyna deserved happiness like that. If anything happened to him, or if anything happened to them, she wasn’t sure how Chyna would recover…if she would ever recover. Chyna had never wanted to fall for someone. She feared losing the people she cared about more than anything else. “Chyna, what happened?” Lexi demanded.

  “Oh, God, Alexa. I can’t talk about it. It’s awful. We got into a horrible argument, absolutely horrible argument. My chest hurts unlike anything I’ve ever imagined,” Chyna whispered her voice pained. “He was so calm at first, and then the floodgates opened. We both just screamed at each other. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

  “Oh, Chyna,” Lexi murmured softly. “I’m so sorry. Did you guys break up?” Lexi hated asking the question.

  “I don’t know. Yes. No,” she moaned dreadfully. “Maybe. He was so mean to me. I don’t know what we are anymore…”

  “Maybe it was just a misunderstanding,” Lexi reasoned. She couldn’t let this happen. She was pretty sure Chyna loved Adam. This couldn’t happen. She needed to fix it, make it all better, somehow. “Tell me what happened,” she told her hoping with all she had that it wasn’t a break up.

  Chyna sniffled a few times into the phone. “Adam’s brother, John, lives in the city, but he’s a businessman who travels all over the world. He’s not here much, so I’ve never met him.” Lexi wasn’t sure what this had to do with anything, but let her continue without interrupting. “Well, he was in town for the weekend, and Adam wanted to introduce me to him. I thought it was a big step.” Here tears renewed, and she broke down on the phone. Lexi couldn’t imagine what that must feel like…to think she was finally making some progress, and then it all get swept out from under her because of one argument. Chyna took a second to sniffle a few more times before continuing.

  “The three of us went out and had a few drinks. I tried to be low key, and handle my liquor. I wanted to make an impression.” Lexi tried not to smile too wide at that. Chyna always made an impression. “John turned out to be very similar to Adam. I mean they’re brothers, what was I expecting? Well, you know Adam. He’s just a really nice guy. And well, his brother was exceptionally charming that night. I mean...not that Adam isn’t charming, but...”

  “No, I get it,” Lexi told her. Adam was exactly as she described him. Wonderful, but a nice guy, and nice guys didn’t tend to hold Chyna’s attention. Lexi was really worried as to where this was going.

  “Anyway, John knew the right thing to say about everything. He was an accomplished businessman. He’d traveled the world. His family adored him. He’s such a smooth talker, and by the end of the night, he had me eating out of his hands.”

  “Oh Chyna, you didn’t...do anything with him, did you?” Lexi asked terrified of the answer. Chyna wouldn’t, would she?

  “What?” she snapped, offended through her tears. “No! I wouldn’t do that to Adam! That’s the point. Argh! That’s the whole fucking point, chica!”

  “Sorry, C, I had to ask,” Lexi apologized quickly.

  “No, I know,” she grumbled. “Just angry, and with everything else tonight…I can’t.” Lexi heard the tears behind her words. She wished she could reach through the phone to give her a hug. She hated not being there for her best friend. “Lexi, you have to know it wasn’t me. John’s the kind of guy who gets whatever he wants, takes what he wants. You know those kind of guys!”

  Lexi did. Those were the kind of guys Chyna had always gone for. They were the ones she let take her home. This was not looking good.

  “Well, it soon became apparent that I was what John wanted. I should have seen it coming from a mile away. And when I did see it, it was too late. Adam didn’t believe me. He refused to see it. He loves his brother so much that he was blind to him—blind to his arrogance and fucking stupidity.

  “I think if he actually knew his brother, he would have never left me alone with him. But he did leave us alone. John was smooth, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen before. Before Adam, I would have gone for him any day of the week.” Lexi figured that went without saying. “But I’m different now! John had his hands all over me as soon as Adam left the room, but I turned him down. Alexa, I turned him down.”

  Chyna paused for a moment, and Lexi marveled in how much her friend had grown. She might be in tears over this, but she had done the right thing.

  Tears stung her eyes again as she continued, “When I turned him down, he got furious. He didn’t understand why I didn’t want this to continue, as if me dating his brother didn’t matter. I felt like Adam should know what happened, so told him, and he wouldn’t believe me. He said I was being a drama queen, and I had probably misinterpreted what had gone on.

  “But I didn’t misinterpret anything! I swear I didn’t. Tell me you believe me! God, someone has to fucking believe me,” she cried hysterically.

  “Chyna, I believe you. Of course, I believe you. If you wanted another guy, then you could have them every night of the week. Why would you make up something about his brother?”

  “Right! Ugh! Why didn’t he see that? We got in a terrible argument about it. He wouldn’t believe anything I said,” she cried hearing a fresh wave of tears coming on. “We stood there yelling at each other until he got so angry; he just stormed out on me. He left me standing there all alone. Who leaves me? Who does that?”

  Lexi held her breath. This didn’t sound too uplifting. “I’m so sorry. I think you’ll need to give him some time, and then it’ll work out. He really cares for you. I know he does. He’s going to want to work things out. I don’t know his brother or anything, but the way you talk about him makes it seem that Adam idealizes him. He probably doesn’t want to believe those things about John. He just took it out on you, which is wrong, but I think he’ll realize he was wrong. Once he sees how much of an idiot he was, he’ll come around.”

  “You think so?” Chyna asked, hope in her voice for the first time since Lexi had answered the phone.

  “Yeah, I do,” Lexi told her. She didn’t want to give her false hope. She certainly wasn’t sure that Adam would come around. She had never seen Chyna in a functional relationship. Her entire affair with Adam was new to everyone. But her friend had been happier with Adam than she had ever seen her, and she had to believe that counted for something. It wouldn’t be fair if this one
hiccup ruined everything for them. They could get through this.

  “Alexa, I still don’t know. I don’t know how to handle any of this. I wish you were here. I need you,” she groaned.

  “I can come home if you need me to. You know I’ll always be here for you,” Lexi told her soothingly.

  “You’d end your vacation early for me?” she asked her voice in awe. “I know you don’t get to see him all that often.”

  “You’re my best friend,” Lexi told her as if that solved everything. “Let me talk to him and I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thanks...I’m so sorry. I hate taking you away,” she said, the sniffles coming back.

  “No need to be sorry. You had no idea this was going to happen. Hopefully I’ll be with you soon girl,” Lexi said saying good-bye and hanging up.

  “Everything all right?” Jessie asked stamping out a cigarette and coming up behind Lexi.

  Lexi shook her head. “My best friend is having some guy trouble. I need to go find Ramsey.” Lexi pushed her way back through the crowd until she reached Ramsey’s side again. The first thing that she noted was that Parker was absent from the group. She couldn’t worry about that right now.

  Ramsey could tell something was off as soon as she was next to him. “Is everything all right?” he asked concerned.

  “Chyna and Adam got into a huge fight,” she confessed. Lexi tucked her hair behind her ear and anxiously chewed on her bottom lip. “She’s kind of hysterical.”

  “Did they break up?”

  “She’s not sure, but she’s really flippin’ out,” Lexi told him sighing heavily.

  Ramsey seemed to realize instantly where this was leading. “Do you want to get out of here?” he asked motioning toward the door. Lexi nodded without another thought. The two waved goodbye to their party and rushed for the exit.

  “I’m sorry I’m making us leave early,” Lexi said as she jogged to catch up with him in the crowd.