Page 37 of Betraying Bexley

She stared at the phone before taking it from Bronx. “H-Hello?”

“There you are. We’re on our way back. You gonna stay with us tonight?”

She blanched. The blood drained from her leaving an icy cold trail down her spine and her heart thundered. “W-What?” Maybe she hadn’t heard him right. Alé couldn’t be asking her to stay there with them. Yes, she misheard him.

He chuckled. “You’re staying with us. You can sleep in Bronx’s room. Then we’ll do something fun for the weekend.”

She glanced at Bronx. If the girl was going to give Bex a way out, she didn’t show it. “I-I don’t know.”

“It’ll be fun Bexley,” Eito chimed in. “Plus, we need to celebrate our victory.”

Celebrate their victory? She frowned, confused by what was happening around her. Bronx took the phone from her and gave her a reassuring glance. "Look, Bex had a bad panic attack, let's not bombard her with plans and play it by ear." Bronx winked at her. "With that said, she's spending the night with us. No way in hell she's going home alone."

After Bronx hung up with Alé, she placed the order for the pizza's then dragged Bex to her bedroom. It was different than Alé's. She had the room Bex always wanted as a little girl. The walls were painted a soft purple and covered in posters. Bronx's queen-sized bed had fluffy blankets and a million pillows. She had a huge workstation with two computer monitors and two laptops, and a bunch of other tools. To the left of it was a small 3-D printer. It was everything Bex could only yearn for, except for a few things.

“W-Wow.”

"Thanks." Bronx fell backward onto her bed. "It's a change, for sure."

Bex continued to take in every aspect of the space, curious about the girl who’d inexplicably became her friend. “I b-bet.”

“Oh! Let me show you.” Bronx wrapped her arm around Bex’s and pulled her to the 3-D printer. “Here is where I made the parts to fix your leg. It was a bitch, but so much fun. I’d do it again.” She pointed to Bex’s prosthetic. “Which reminds me, do you need any adjustments? I know it’s only been a week, but since you’re here...” She shrugged.

No, she didn’t. It was the best her leg had felt in a year. “I’m g-good.”

“Don’t forget to tell me if you need anything.”

Bex inclined her chin. “I won’t.”

"So, since you'll be staying here, let me take you on the grand tour." Bronx clasped hands with Bex and warmth slid up her arm and over her chest heating her from the inside out. "The house is a single-story, single-family, four-bedroom, two-bath house built-in 1978. There have been modifications made over the years, like the addition of the pool in the backyard and the updates made to the sunken floor living room."

“T-The what?”

“It’s better to show you.” Bronx guided Bex down the hall and pointed to one of the two doors. “Alé’s room. You didn’t notice it, but there was another bed in there for Alex. The one across from them is Eito and Jacolbi’s room.” She then pointed to the door at the end of the hall. “Jamie’s room. If you need anything, go to him. He’ll help you.”

Sure. Help her.

Bronx pointed out the bathroom they shared then explained the master bathroom was in Jamie's room and that the en-suite bathroom had a whirlpool tub. Jealousy dripped from her tone. Bex didn't blame her. She too was curious about what a whirlpool tub would feel like on her abused muscles, especially after a particularly hard day at school dealing with the bullshit handed out by The Bitches and All-Americans. Then they stepped outside and it was as if she'd been transported to someplace quiet and luxurious. Tropical plants surrounded the noise buffering fence. The pool might have been small, but it still had a beautiful rock treatment making it appear bigger than it was. To the left, they had a canopy set up to shade all of the outdoor furniture along with an outdoor kitchen and grill area. It was impressive, to say the least.

The sound of a car approaching drew her attention to the fence leading to the front of the house and she snatched at Bronx’s hand. What if her father’s men found her? Or worse, what if it was her father? She stared at the fence, locked in place by fear.

“Alé is here,” Bronx said. “Finally. I’m starved. Aren’t you?”

Alé was back? He had food—pizza. She was being paranoid again. She gave a breathy chuckle. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

“Last one inside, has to take out the trash.” Bronx released Bex’s hand and started for the door.”

“W-Wait! I d-don’t understand?” She took off for the door, a bit slower than Bronx. “Is t-this a game?”

Alé appeared from around the corner, stopping Bex in her tracks, surprising her. "Well, I'm glad you stuck around this evening, Bex. We're going to have some fun tonight." His brown eyes swirled with intention and playfulness. She took stock of the way he carried himself and realized he was relaxed. "You ready for dinner?"

“Y-Yes, please.” She fidgeted, shifting her weight to her good leg when he didn’t move. “S-Should w-we go?”

He tipped her chin up and brushed his lips over hers, startling her again with his forwardness. “Now, we can eat.”

What had she gotten herself into?

Two hours ago, R.O.O.T. base...

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