Ain't Love Grand?

I don't know what possessed me to go through Alex's phone that day. I think it was boredom, and the fact that he'd left his phone on the bedside table while he went to shower. Nothing on the television interested me, so I decided to be nosy. I don't know what I was expecting to find, other than chats between bandmates, or maybe some exciting messages from bigger names that he'd been lucky enough to tour with, maybe some interesting stuff from people at the label. I definitely wasn't expecting to see texts from HER. Rhiannon. Again. I thought he was done with her, so when her name appeared in his text message inbox, I couldn't stop myself from opening the folder.

"Enjoyed our little catch-up. Should do it again sometime. Same time next week maybe? xox"

The first of many and I frowned, shaking my head, and my instant suspicion made me read further.

"Never knew you could dance like that, haha! Last night was fun! xox"

"Coffee and a sandwich? Meet you at 3 xox"

That was as far as I got before I heard the water in the bathroom stop, and within a few seconds Alex walked into the bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist. I clenched my teeth and launched the phone right at him. "YOU ASSHOLE!"

His eyes widened as it flew toward him and he dodged it as best he could, but it caught him in the shoulder and then fell to the floor. "What the hell, Leese?!"

"RHIANNON! THAT'S WHAT!" I screamed at him, but didn't move from where I was sat up, leaning against the headboard. "How long have you been seeing her, Alex?!"

Holding the towel with one hand, he bent down and picked up his gadget. "You went through my phone?!"

"Yes, I went through your fucking phone and I'm glad I did!" I was livid, folding my arms across my chest to hold back the sudden urge to leap up and claw at his face. Everything had been going so perfect for us, or so I thought when all the time he'd been...

"It's not what you think!" He yelled back at me, defensively, but wasn't that what all cheaters did? It was never what the third person unknowingly involved in a love triangle thought that it was. Any movie or soap opera could tell you that. Affairs are NEVER what you think they are.

I glared at him angrily, part of me wanting to burst into tears and the rest wanting to strangle him with the towel he was wearing. "Then get explaining, Ektor, because I know what I read!"

His eyes widened at the sound of his real name, and he knew just by that how pissed I was. Ruffling his still wet hair with his hand he rolled his eyes. "And this is why I didn't tell you anything about it," he started, "because I knew you'd fly off the handle."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Alex," I spat back sarcastically, "I didn't realise I was supposed to be happy about the fact that my boyfriend has been sneaking out for coffee and dances and 'catch-ups' with his ex-girlfriend. I must have missed that fucking memo!" I launched a pillow at him in my frustration and he caught it, dropping it to the ground.

"Fucking listen to me! There's nothing going on, I swear!" He sighed in frustration, seating himself on the edge of the bed. "We're just friends, alright? That's all there is to it. We've met up a few times, gone for a drink or two, but nothing has happened. I promise."

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. "Then why the secrets, Alex? Huh? Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"Because of this! Because I know you hate her and whether I told you or not you'd fucking flip out and go insane." His tone was relatively calm, hinting for me to relax a little bit too. "There's nothing there. We met up one time, caught up on missed years and had fun. We've gone out a couple times, as friends, nothing more. I love you, alright? I swear on my Goddamned life that I haven't done anything with her, and I won't, because I know what she's like. I don't want her as anything more than a friend."

I looked into his eyes and saw legitimate fear. He swallowed hard, never breaking the eye-contact and I knew then that he was telling the truth. The fear that I saw turned to regret and he reached for my hand. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I didn't want you to freak out. We've gone out for coffee together, once, and that was the only time we've been alone together. Any other time, people have been around. You can ask Brandon or Dan... nothing has happened and nothing will ever happen. You're the only one for me."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes. I hadn't even realised I'd been crying until then. Looking down at our hands I nodded my head slowly, letting him know that I believed him. "No more secrets, Alex," I told him. "I trust you, and I want it to stay that way."

He nodded in agreement and squeezed my hand. "No more secrets. I'll cut all contact if you want me to. I don't want to lose you. She's nothing compared to you."

I couldn't help but smile at his words and I shook my head. "You're entitled to friends, Alex. I told you I trust you. Just... let me know what's going on in the future. To avoid... this."

Nodding his head, he shuffled up the bed to sit beside me, pulling me against him. "I'm sorry. I was wrong to not tell you, but there's nothing to worry about, I swear." I leaned into his shoulder and nodded, breathing a breath of relief. I knew he was being honest. He wasn't a good liar, and he couldn't have come up with something so quickly on the spot like that if it wasn't the truth. I wanted to laugh at my own stupidity. He wasn't dumb enough to get involved in some stupid triangle and wreck what we'd both wanted and worked on for so long. I didn't like Rhiannon, but if he wanted to be her friend, who was I to stop him?