500 Days (30 page)

“
Cas, will you please walk
out with her?” Declan asked.

“
I’m the one who’s gonna
need someone to walk me out to protect me from Alex.” I hadn’t yet
had the chance to talk to her and was scared maybe tonight would
not be the time to do that. But I also didn’t like the idea of her
walking out of there by herself. I took a breath bracing myself for
a possible beating. At least this time I knew she was
unarmed.

I dragged my feet across the black, trash
littered floor. I pushed open the heavy metal doors and was hit
with the humid air. I searched the half empty parking lot. I spied
Alex walking to her car. She was parked pretty far out, in a not so
brightly lit part of the parking lot. I heard a few muffled voices
to the left where I spotted a group of guys watching Alex. Having a
bad feeling, I started to make my way towards Alex. I kept an eye
on her and the sketchy group as I closed in. I lost sight of Alex
when she rounded the side of her car. My stomache tightened and I
picked up my pace.

I heard a scuffle and a
groan of pain. Then Alex came running, scared. She ran right into
the group of guys. “Hey, relax,” the guy said, grabbing her arm. I
charged. Everything happened so fast it was almost a blur. Alex
pulled away and tried to step around him but another guy blocked
her path. They surrounded her until the other guy walked out from
behind her car. “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch.” Without
hesitation, Alex thrust her palm forward into the guy in front of
her then she rammed her elbow into the guy’s nose behind her. Both
men dropped to their knees. Before Alex could attack the next, she
was restrained from behind. “Alex!” I yelled, pushing forward. Her
terrified eyes found mine. Not one to give up, Alex kicked, hard,
nailing her assailant in the groin. She threw he
r
head back knocking the other one’s
arms loose enough for her to escape. She ran into my arms. I
gripped her tightly before I pulled back. “Go inside and call the
cops. Now!” I pushed her in the direction of the door and then I
charged forward.

I knocked out the first
guy who stood. Then I went after the ring leader. The first one who
attacked Alex. Not thinking, I hit him over and over again until he
stopped moving. His friends jumped me, trying to help him out.
Something inside me snapped. Everything turned dark and all I saw
was red. The next few minutes were a complete haze. I exploded,
annihilating anything in my path. I vaguely heard voices in the
distance. Someone gripped my shoulder and I turned, fist flying.
“Casper!” Colton cried, ducking my punch. “Enough,” he said. I
turned back. Only two guys remained. The other two I had no idea
what happened to them
.

I leaned down to the barely conscious guy on
the ground. “If I see you again, you’ll be leaving in a body bag.”
His friend helped him up and dragged him away. I stood up and
walked straight for Alex. My chest was heaving and I was panting.
Alex’s dark green eyes studied me cautiously. She took a step
forward, placing a shaky hand on my chest. I closed my eyes,
instantly calming from her touch. When I opened my eyes and looked
down, something changed. Her eyes grew dark. Pressing another hand
on my chest she shoved me.

“
What the hell is wrong
with you?” I looked at her puzzled. “I had them Casper. I didn’t
need you coming in and pretending to be the hero.”

“
Are you crazy? If I
hadn’t jumped in who knows what would have happened?”

“
I know how to take care
of myself,” she snapped, walking back to her car. I stood there
stunned for a minute before I chased after her, blowing past a
speechless Colton and Declan.

Alex had just opened her car door when I
rounded the back. I grabbed her arm and yanked her out before she
had a chance to take off. “Get your hands off me.”

“
Alex, stop fighting me.”
I gripped her wrists and pinned them by her sides. She growled
frustrated, but stopped struggling. She turned her head away from
me. I could feel her begin to tremble beneath me. “Alex,” I said
softly. “Look at me.” She closed her eyes and tried to blink away
the wet mist from her eyes. “Alex,” I whispered. She finally turned
her head. I knew she was struggling hard to keep the tears at bay.
“It’s okay to be scared. It doesn’t make you weak.” I released her
wrists. She covered her face and let the tears fall. I pulled her
into my chest to comfort her.

Her breakdown only lasted a few seconds. She
pushed away, hastily wiping the tears from her face. “I’m fine,”
she claimed. “Thank you.” She tried to climb back into her car.

I closed the door. “No.”
She looked up at me. “You’re staying at my place tonight. No
arguments,” I said before she could rebut. She allowed me to pull
her away from her car with no arguments
.

“
Alex, are you okay?”
Declan asked, hugging her tightly.

“
Please, I’m fine. I had
everything handled. I just let Casper get a few hits in so he
wouldn’t feel like I diminished his manhood.” Declan looked back at
me and Alex winked.

“
I don’t think you should
stay home alone tonight,” Declan said, facing Alex
again.

“
No worries, she’ll be
spending the night at my place.”

Declan glowered at me, thinking I had
ulterior motives. “And we’ll be there too,” she said, stepping
forward.

“
Relax, I’m fine. The only
reason I said yes to Casper was because I’m too tired to kick his
ass.” I shook my head as I escorted Alex to my car.

Declan pulled me aside quickly. “Don’t do
anything stupid. You’re already on thin ice. We’ll be there after I
talk to Gus.” I stifled an eye roll and turned Declan around and
walked her in the direction of Colton. Then I walked back to my car
and slid in. Alex had her head on the window and her body curled
tight. I offered no conversation as we traveled back to my place. I
knew we both needed time to reflect on what happened.

Once I pulled into my place, I turned off
the car and shifted so I was facing Alex. She lifted her head to
look at me. “If you need some time to yourself –”

“
No, I’m good.” She placed
her hand on the handle and paused. “Thank you,” she whispered,
stepping out of the car. I smiled, feeling a warm tingling
sensation in my chest. I may have accomplished a small miracle
tonight.

“
I think that’s the nicest
thing you have ever said to me,” I joked.

“
Don’t push it.” I
couldn’t see her face but I could hear the smile in her voice. I
turned off the engine and got out of the car, unlocking the front
door for Alex.

“
You can sleep in my bed
and I’ll take the couch. I’ll get you some clothes to change into.”
I walked her back to my room and searched for some clean clothes. I
handed her a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. She looked at me
expectantly. “Bathroom is behind you.”

“
I remember.” She closed
the door behind her so she could have her privacy while she
changed. I searched through my things for a blanket and pillow.
Then I changed out of my clothes and into a pair of shorts. Alex
walked out of the bathroom wearing only the t-shirt. It was big
enough that it fell to her mid-thigh. She had washed off all her
makeup and stripped herself of her wig and mask. She stood just
inside the doorway. My eyes traveled up her long, tanned legs, past
her breasts, following her long, wavy, dark brown hair that hung
delicately over her shoulders, and stopping at her big, green eyes.
My breath caught in my throat. She was exquisitely beautiful. She
had the look of innocence. A natural beauty, something that was
rare and Alex had it. She had it all. Something changed in me then.
I felt it the moment she stepped out of that bathroom.

She cleared her throat when I didn’t say
anything. “Did you want a drink something to eat?”

“
I think I’m just going to
sleep.”

“
Right…well, I’ll be right
out in the living room if you need me.” She nodded and made her way
to the bed. Once she was tucked in, I turned off the light and
closed the door.

I had a hard time falling asleep after that.
I couldn’t stop picturing those men attacking Alex. It also didn’t
help that I could hear Declan giggling in Colton’s room on top of
the chick that Greyson brought home. I stuffed the pillow over my
head to block out the different noises. Sadly it only muffled the
sounds. I only lasted about an hour before I couldn’t take it
anymore. I got up to go to the bathroom then I decided to check on
Alex. I paused with my hand on the door. I pressed my ear close.
Alex was quietly sobbing. I gripped the doorknob so tight I thought
I would rip it off. I took a breath to calm myself before I opened
the door. “Alex?” I said softly. One of the street lights from
outside shone through the window, casting a dim glow on Alex’s
face. She quickly scrubbed away the tears, hoping I didn’t see.

“
Hey,” she said weakly.
“What are you doing up?” She sat up, tucking a piece of hair behind
her ear.

“
Couldn’t sleep with all
the bad sex going on in the other rooms.” She laughed and for once,
it sounded nice. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.
I’ll let you get back to sleep.” I forced myself to turn around. I
had a hard time leaving her like this, but I knew she needed time.
With my hand on the door, I pushed myself out.

“
Casper…wait.” I stopped.
“Will you stay, with me?” I took a deep breath before I turned
around. She pulled the covers back, inviting me to join her and god
damn didn’t my dick do a little jump at the thought of lying next
to her. I slowly made my way over and climbed into bed with her. I
lay down on my back, not wanting to scare her away. She lay back
down, surprising me when she laid her head on my chest and wrapped
an arm around me. I relaxed, draping an arm over her and pulling
her closer. I heard her exhale deeply and then she said,
“Sorry.”

My head shot up and I turned to look at her.
For a second I thought maybe I was drunk. “What?” I asked, not sure
if I heard her right. An apology was the last thing I expected.

She tilted her head ever so slightly so I
could see her eyes. They were a far cry from the usual hardness she
had. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “For destroying your car. It wasn’t
your job to babysit Jacob. He’s not your responsibility.” Before I
could even get a word in she continued. “My brothers were always so
over protective of me. I spent half my life trying to prove to them
I could take care of myself and now I’m doing the same thing to
Jacob.” Her eyes fell down.

“
I understand the need to
want to protect your brothers, but Jacob’s not five anymore. He’s
eighteen and old enough to make his own decisions.”

She gave me a tiny smile, softening her
eyes. “That’s the same speech I gave Jack when I turned eighteen
and the same thing Jasper said to me.”

“
I’m sorry I didn’t keep a
closer eye on him.”

“
I shouldn’t have asked
you to do that.”

“
It’s okay.” She sighed,
looking back up at me. There was a heaviness in the air and I felt
there was more she wanted to say but couldn’t. “I’m sorry what I
said to you. I shouldn’t have said that and I didn’t mean
it.”

“
No, you shouldn’t
have.”

“
I was drunk and
angry.”

“
I know, but that’s not an
excuse.”

“
I know.” I scrubbed a
hand down my face. “But I promise I’ll try to do better. You make
me crazy Alex
,
and sometimes I can’t always control myself when I’m around
you
,
but if me
trying to be a better person means getting to spend more time with
you
,
then I will
do everything in my power to make that happen.” I looked down into
her eyes, but they were closed. “Alex?” Her chest rose and fell
steadily. She was asleep. I laughed quietly to myself. I finally
confess my feelings and she’s not even awake to hear it. I kissed
her lightly on the forehead. Then I slid down on the bed and
wrapped my arms around her. I looked down at her sleeping
peacefully. She fit so perfectly in my arms and part of me never
wanted to let go. I rested my head back on the pillow.

Alex and I were complete opposites, but yet
when we were together like this, something just clicked. It worked.
We fit.

I woke up to Alex
threatening to remove appendages. Her back was pressed against my
chest and I had her comfortably encased in a cocoon of arms and
legs, but that wasn’t the problem. It was the fact that I was a man
and on occasion my dick stood tall, bright and early in the
morning. And was currently protruding against Alex’s
rear
. Anal, not her thing, check.
I pulled away, releasing her. “Sorry,” I
mumbled.

She got up and slipped on the sweatpants I
offered her last night. “If you could just drop me off at home,
that would be great.”

“
Yeah, not a problem.”
Alex stood there, with her arms crossed. “If you could just give me
a minute.” She rolled her eyes and took off to the living
room.

Dressed, I drove Alex back to her place. A
part of me didn’t want to let her go. “Alex?” She turned around to
look at me. “Are we…good?”

She sighed. “Yeah, we’re good.” She stepped
out of the car and bent down before she closed the door. “And
thanks Casper, for last night.”