Alexander

 

 

 

I was happy.No, that’s not right, I was blissfully content. I had no idea I could feel this way but here I am in a motel room in Sterling, Colorado waking up next to the woman I love with my sister in the room across the hall.

Could I have even imagined this a year ago? No.

This must be what it feels like to have a happy family. To be surrounded by the people you love. Even Alexa, I told her she could come stay with us for as long as she wanted. But she decided to stay with a friend in New York. We dropped her off at Denver International Airport on our long drive back to Chicago.

“What time is it?” Aria asked, her voice rough from just waking up.

She stretched and curled into my arms. I pushed some strands of hair that fell into her eyes before kissing her forehead.

“It’s a little after eight in the morning.”

We kissed and my hand began to wander down her bare back until it grabbed at her plump ass cheek. She groaned which I have learned was the switch I needed to turn me into the wild animal she loved.

I rolled on top of her and was about to pin her arms back when there was a knock at the door.

“Did you order something?” Aria whispered into my ear.

“No.” I lifted my head shaking it and reluctantly, lifting the rest of my body until I left the bed.

Grabbing my jeans that I bought while we were in Denver, as none of us had a change of clothing, I slipped them on before looking out the peephole.

“It’s Grace,” I said as I opened the door.

It felt like all those missed years were trying to squeeze themselves into my heart whenever I saw her. And when she blushed, I knew it was happening to her, too. Maybe that was a twin thing. That I just knew what she was feeling without having to ask.

But something was a little different. Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine and I wondered, was all this too much for her. Not just meeting me but finding out her real mother was a monster?

Everything must all be sinking in now. I wanted to hug her and tell her we had each other but she held her hands up as I moved closer.

“Alex, um, I need to go get something at the store. I’ll take the car, just wanted you to know in case you came looking for me.”

I nodded. “Okay. Thanks for telling me. Is it okay if I give you a hug?”

Her eyes widened as she glanced around the hall. “Why?”

My heart cracked wondering if she was ever shown affection by the people who raised her.

“Because you’re my sister and I love you,” I said with my arms open.

Grace turned her head slightly as if she was thinking of something but finally nodded. I enveloped her in my arms and gave her a big squeeze. She made a squeaking sound and I loosened my hold. When I pulled back she seemed confused.

I stepped back. “When you’re out can you pick us up some coffee because the stuff here is awful. I can give you some money if you need it.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m good. Coffee it is.”

With that, she turned and made her way toward the lobby of the motel. Shutting the door, I went back to the bed. Aria was sitting up looking beautiful. She had put on a T-shirt which made me frown but she was gorgeous with or without clothes.

“That was nice of you,” she said.

“Nice?”

“Yes. You gave her a hug. Now it makes sense why Grace always acted a bit strange. Because of how she was raised. You’re probably one of the first people to hug her because you wanted to, not because you needed to give the appearance that you cared. I have a feeling the few times that woman has been shown affection was because her parents were pretending to care in front of social workers.”

I sat on the edge of the bed. The bed dipped as Aria scooted toward me. Her hands warm and needed as they slid across my chest holding me close.

“I thought it would be the best thing in the world to find my sister, but to know she had to deal with that for so long hurts more than when I had no idea she even existed.”

Aria tightened her hold. Her warm breath soothed my sore heart. What would I do without her? These past few months, whenever my mother pointed her twisted lies toward me, Aria was the one who knew exactly how to bring my pulse under control. She soothed me with her words, with her art, and with her body.

Now that I found her, I’d be lost without her.

“Did you mean it when you said you would marry me?”

My heart had gotten a little in front of my head when I proposed. I meant every word, but the last place I wanted to express my feelings to Aria was in front of my mother.

“How about we just live together for a while? See how it goes,” she said.

I was rubbing the arm she had draped over my chest but stopped at her words. Turning, I pulled her beside me. “You don’t want to marry me?”

Disbelief and melancholy clawed at my neck before settling in my heart.

Her jaw firmed and with a flared nose she nodded.

Aria was using me. Was I some fun oddity, the rich recluse virgin? Well, ex-virgin now. Something to have a good laugh about when she saw her friends again?

I was angry, but most of all, I was hurt. I may not have intended to propose, but I still loved her. Those dreams of us being on the beach and spending the rest of our lives together were so real I could smell the salty, beachy breeze in her hair.

Something unexpected happened. I laughed. It’s not that I meant to, but when I opened my mouth to speak, laughter poured out instead.

“What’s so funny?” Aria asked with rounded eyes.

I stood and waved my hands around the room. “This. This is funny. You run halfway across the country to ‘kidnap me,’” I raised my fingers in air quotes before continuing, “tell me you love me but you don’t want to marry me. This is farcical, Aria. You. Me. Our lives. If Hollywood made a movie of us, it would be a zany comedy.”

Then I lowered my voice. “Can one man escape his evil mother’s clutches to be with the woman he loves? Can he stop the woman he loves from running from her past long enough to see happiness is right in front of her? What love story doesn’t include kidnapping, discovering long lost family, and escaping arranged marriages.”

Aria stood from the bed to pull on her purple panties and jeans. Then there was silence.

“Okay, maybe not a comedy but definitely a soap opera,” I said.

I was losing it. It was obvious. But I didn’t care. I had enough of people holding love and happiness out in front of me like a carrot stick, only to pull it away when I came near.

There was a knock on the door.

“Grace is back with our coffee,” I said as I bent down to grab the brown T-shirt I wore yesterday and put it on.

Making my way to the door, I opened it without glancing at the peephole, which I would discover was a mistake.

“Who are you?” I asked the tall man with the shaggy brown hair and black T-shirt. Something about him seemed familiar but I couldn’t place him.

I heard movement behind me and glanced back to see Aria pulling up her jeans.

“Something happened to your sister. You both need to come with me.” His voice was deep, almost gravely, as he pinned me with a stare.

The past five minutes arguing with Aria melted away as worry for Grace took over.

“Let me grab my shoes—” I turned but he grabbed me by my arm and pulled.

“Hey, wait, aren’t you—” Aria said and was cut off as another man, who must have been standing in the hall, forced his way in and grabbed her.

“Get off of her.” I tried to yank my arm away from the guy with the shaggy hair, but he managed to move behind me and pin my arms back.

Before I knew what was happening, a bag had been put on my head and I was being pushed forward.

“Did Tiffany get you to do this? Aria, did you call Tiffany?” I asked hoping Aria was nearby since I couldn’t see anything.

If Tiffany was behind this, she was smart enough to get someone much taller to help. And the bag wasn’t transparent which made this feel like a real kidnapping.

The guy pushing me halted. “What about Tiffany? What does she have to do with this?”

“I don’t even know what this is? Tiffany is Aria’s friend. She tried to help me a few days ago thinking I was being forced into marriage. She tried to kidnap me, much in the same way you are doing now. Only she’s a lot shorter and not as good at it as you. She seemed to enjoy doing it, though. I thought maybe she was trying again,” I said and knew I was babbling.

His grip loosened and I heard the guy chuckle. “Yeah, I can see her doing something like that.”

“What? So, she is in on this—” I couldn’t finish what I said as I was pushed inside something. I fell on what felt like a cushioned seat.

When I heard a motor start, I knew I was in a car. The guy had tied my hands behind my back and arranged me in the seat before he closed the door.

“Aria! Are you here?” I said.

“Oh, you won’t be seeing her again. I don’t think Mrs. Hawthorne would like that.” I heard the guy say from in front of me.

My head jerked back as the car moved forward.

Now, I didn’t care if Aria never wanted to marry me, I only wanted her to be safe. Even if it meant she was without me.