Page 59 of Guilty Minds
“We do. I owe you an apology.” That stops me in my tracks, and I look at him curiously. “Yeah.” He sighs and wipes his face with his hand. The universal gesture of a frustrated male. "I've been thinking about it.”
“About what?” I cock my head to the side.
“Aboutthat.”
“What?” I narrow my eyes. I want him to say it.
He growls. “You know what, Kayla.”
“I really don’t.” I’m having so much fun fucking with him at this point. Alex the Shy Grump is a better version than the old Alex. This one seems… more real.
He growls louder. “That.” He points at the space between us. “I was quick to judge you. And I’m sorry for that.”
I look at him suspiciously. “So, Justin talked to you, then.”
“No.” He blows out a breath. “I haven’t seen him in quite some time. A few days at least.” He chews on his lip. “To think of it, I haven’t seen him in a week. And he stopped pestering me with this damn trip he’s been asking me to go on for so long. Hmm.”
That comes as a surprise to me. “So why are you here?”
“Because I’ve been thinking about what you said.” He pushes off my car, his full height looming over me. "I know you. And whoever did that… it's just not you." He looks so sincere, and it warms my heart that he came to this conclusion on his own, without Justin's involvement or knowing the real story. He chose tobelieve me,and that right there means more than anything to me. "And besides that, I kind of owe you." At my questioning look, he explains: "You believed in me when not many people did. I should have returned the honor. Forgive me; I'm an asshole."
Poor Alex, he’s referring to the situation with his ex-girlfriend Adison and her allegations against him. The whole town blamed the poor guy for something he A, didn't do, and B, didn't have control over. His situation reminds me of someone else's, hmm—mine.
I feel a burn of tears behind my eyes. “Oh no. I’m too late, aren’t I?” He wipes his hand over his face again. “I’m such an idiot, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no!” I rush to stop his self-punishing. “It’s just… it means so much to me that you said that.”
His sigh is heavy. “I know I shouldn’t have judged you before I talked to you. It’s just… not right. And also, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.” Here it goes. I knew it was too good to be true. Alex notices the change in my face and rushes to stop this train wreck in my mind. "Wait. Hold on." He lifts his hand up in a stopping gesture. "What I wanted to say is that, back at the diner, you sounded like you knew what I was talking about, and before that, you always had this look on your face.”
“What look?”
“Like… you didn’t know what was happening.” He takes off his ever-present cap, rakes his hand through his shaggy hair, and puts the cap back on. I can’t believe Freya hasn’t taken scissors to it yet.
“That’s because Ididn’t.”
“You didn’t know why Justin hated you so much?” He narrows his eyes suspiciously at me.
I grind my teeth: it was one thing to assume he hated me and another to hear it from his best friend's mouth. "Yeah, I didn't know because I didn't do anything wrong." I'm watching him carefully, trying to figure out if he sincerely believes me or is just saying as much.
“Shit.” He leans on the car again and pulls off his cap again. “I thought you knew and played—”
“Dumb?” I suggest helpfully.
“Yeah.” His shoulders sag. “That’s so fucked up.”
“Tell me about it.” I snort loudly, sounding like an oinking pig.
He narrows his eyes suspiciously. “How did you find out the cause then?”
“We had… a talk,” for Alex’s sake, that’s what I’d call my stand-off with his best friend. “And Justin told me.”
“What happened afterthe talk?” Yeah, I didn’t fool him.
“Nothing.” I shrug. “We went our separate ways.”
“Is it okay if I ask you to share what happened that night?” He threads carefully.
“I have nothing to hide. You know the story about Mark and Ashley, right?”
