Page 15 of The Perfect Spiral
He smirked down at me. “Still feisty as ever,” he winked at me.
Why is he acting this way?
Just then, my brothers and my nieces and nephews came running into view. There were hugs all around, but Lena was the most excited to see me.
“Heeeey Al! Love love love the hair!” She’s such a teenager. I hugged her tight; it had been a while since I’d seen her.
“Hello, doll. Look at you, all grown up. I bet your dad is loving it,” I said sarcastically, catching Cole’s glare as she rolled her eyes.
My brother Cole and Sasha had Lena when they were nineteen in college. They were young, but we all knew they were destined to be together.
Next were the two little rascals, Noah and Eden, who are four and three. I picked them up into my arms—thankfully, they were lighter—and smothered them with kisses too.
“Hello, my two little rugrats! You’re both getting so big,” I said, setting them down. I pointed over to Andy, who was still gawking at Knox. “This is my friend Andy, say hi to her. Noah, is Andy your girlfriend?” They all said hi and waved at her. Noah ran over to her, gave her a hug and a kiss, and then ran back to hide behind me.
Such a charmer, I know. While Eden ran over to Knox and he picked her up with ease.
“Hello, my Princess, what have you got there? Is this for me?” he asked, taking a piece of paper from her that looked like a drawing of some sort.
“Is that me?” I watched her nod, “Am I playing football?” she nodded again. “Can I have a kiss to make your aunt jealous?” she shook her head no, and I laughed so hard.
“I’ve taught her well. Tell me, Knox, how does it feel to be rejected by a three-year-old?” He scowled at me when Eden reached out for me to grab her, which I did while brushing off Knox.
While in my arms, she turned back to him and blew him a kiss, saying, “I love you, Knox.” “Uh, traitor,” I told her, and she gave me her cute confused look.
“Now if you could just teach your Aunt Alex to say that to me,that would be splendid, Princess.”
“That’ll never happen,” I vowed.
My brother Kyle butted in, “Those words will never come out of her mouth in your direction, buddy.”
“We’ll see,” he winked, taking a gulp of water.
Andy pulled me aside. “Your brothers are fucking hot! Lord help me!” she exclaimed, tilting her head back dramatically.
“You ladies talking about me?” Knox called out.
Noah came running over to Andy to ask her to open his juice box, and she did. Kyle couldn’t stop staring at her the whole time.
My mom, having heard the commotion, was finally up. She gave me a hug and said, “It’s so good to have you home, Alex.”
“It’s good to have Andy here too. Finally, we can put a face to the name we’ve heard so much about,” my mom added. Andy beamed and thanked her for the invitation.
“Yeah, but, not that we don’t prefer having you here, Andy, but where’s Drew, sis?” Kyle asked, and I froze. All eyes were on me.
I cleared my throat, gulped down my food, and took a drink because my throat suddenly felt like the Sahara Desert. Looking back up at my mom, I met her sympathetic eyes, silently pleading that I just tell them. I took a deep breath and blurted it out.
“I... I broke up with him.” Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at me as if they’d misheard. They hadn’t.
“Thank God,” Kyle exclaimed.
“Kyle!” my mom scolded him. I was looking down at my food, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Knox tense. Andy placed her hand on top of mine.
Kyle noticed this. “What happened?” he asked. I looked over at Andy, and she nodded supportively at me. Now is the time to tellthem, Alex. Oh God, don’t get angry, don’t get angry!
Knox rested his knee against mine, and I felt the heat coming from it. It was oddly comforting, like his way of telling me it was alright.
I closed my eyes and blurted out, “I caught him cheating on me... With another girl... in his bed.”
