Page 21 of Betraying Bexley

The rest of the day passed in relative ease. She hadn't seen The Bitches or the All-Americans and a peacefulness descended on her. For the first time since she arrived at the school, she enjoyed herself. As she stepped out of her last class, Alé called out to her. She paused in the middle of the hall while he caught up to her. The smile he wore, shifted something inside of her. Her heart gave a hardy thump. Her hands tingled to touch him and none of it made sense to her. He was everything she should have hated, but she couldn't. He saved her life and therein lies the problem. How did she reconcile him being in a gang while also being a good guy? It'd also been another reason she hadn't given him an answer to his proposal to hang out.

“Hey.” She adjusted the strap of her bookbag. “W-What’s up?”

“I am starving, aren’t you?” He put his hand on her shoulder, guiding her through the crowd.

She shook her head. “I’m g-good.”

“You sure?” He cut his gaze toward her.

“Y-Yes. B-Besides, I have w-work.” She hated lying to him, but she also couldn’t be seen with him, just in case.

“Oh.” When the stepped outside, he paused. “Do you know where I can go to grab a burger then? I’m still learning my way around here.”

“Y-You’re not from here then?” She squinted as she stared up at him, even though the sun glared off the front of the building, it was super cold out.

“Nope. Cali all the way,” he said with a grin. “So, where can I go for a burger?”

She’d been in Virginia all her life and she’d never stepped foot into any of the restaurants in Virginia Beach. She’d been too afraid to. Too worried what would happen if her father found out. The only time she ate takeout had been with her babysitter. “N-Not sure.”

“What?” He chuckled. “You’ve been here all your life and you don’t know?”

She glanced down. Anxiety and bashfulness swirled within her. “I-I-I—”

“It’s cool. I was teasing. I guess I’ll go cruising and find a place on my own.” He motioned to his vehicle. “You want a ride to work?”

“N-No!” She took a step backward. “Uh, w-what I mean is n-no thank you.” She hurried away from him then paused. “Alé?”

He jogged up to her. “Change your mind?”

"N-No. L-Look, it's b-better if you s-stay away. I'm b-bad news." She hobbled away from him as quickly as her fake leg would allow her. If she pushed him away now, it would keep him from getting hurt and keep her from being disappointed. Yet, the farther away she got, the more she wanted to turn around and go back to him. It didn't make sense. She shouldn't want to be with anyone.

She’d been alone for so long; it was second nature to her. Having a friend or someone she might be able to count on, scared her. Plus, if her father found out, not only would he kill Alé, he’d kill Bex too, even if she was some kind of value to him. No, it was better to stop whatever was going on between them, if it was anything, than it’d be to watch Alé be hurt by the asshole henchmen associated with her father.

I’m sorry, Alé. I wish things were different.

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