How to Date Alexis Brighten

That night, I was haunted by an instant replay of the incident at the mall. Everything was darker, my attacker much larger, his face twisting into that of a dragon when he looked right at me. His grip on my wrist felt as though it was setting my skin on fire, my blood boiling underneath.

I woke up in a cold sweat, clutching my hands to my chest in fear. I glanced around my moonlit bedroom and realised that I had been dreaming. The reality that came after was worse.

The incident at the mall had been real. I was almost kidnapped by a dangerous man I didn’t know anything about. But Daniel had saved me. What terrified me most about my nightmare was the way it ended. The dream had been twisted to change what had really happened. In my dream, Daniel had died.

I took in sharp, uneven breaths, grabbing at my throat. It felt as though I was suffocating and my throat was extremely dry. I realised that I must have been screaming in my sleep. I got out of bed and walked downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I swallowed slowly, my throat aching from the activity.

I made my way back upstairs to my bedroom slowly, listening out for any strange noises in the house. I was always paranoid at night, and I didn’t want to wake anybody up. When I reached my room, I glanced at my alarm clock to see that it was only 9pm. Everyone in the house was asleep, all the lights turned out. My parents always went to bed early for their high-demand jobs. I had a curfew, but they never enforced it.

Just as I was climbing back into bed, I heard a strange tapping noise against my window, as if something small had been thrown at it. A few seconds later, the sound came again, this time louder. I froze in place and stared at the window, scared to death that my attacker might have found out who I was and where I lived.

I shook off this thought and tried to calm myself down. My attacker didn’t even know my first name. I doubt he could even remember my face. During the whole ordeal, he’d mostly seen the back of me as I ran away. I pulled my knees to my chest and rocked slowly backwards and forwards in an attempt to calm myself down. I even tried slowing my intake of breaths, but my heart rate only accelerated more with every tap at the window.

I couldn’t sit there all night not knowing what was making the noise. I had to find out what was on the other side of my window. I figured I was either extremely brave or extremely stupid, as I crawled out of bed and tip-toed towards my window. I had no idea why I was tip-toeing. If anybody were outside, they wouldn’t be able to hear me.

I approached the window and pulled back the curtain a tiny bit to peer outside. That was when I saw him.

Fletcher Murray was standing on my front lawn, tossing rocks at my window. I almost laughed at the pathetic scene. Fletcher throwing rocks at my window like in some lame romantic movie. He continued to toss the rocks, each one connecting with the glass with a tap.

I didn’t want to see him. I didn’t want to talk to him. He’d left me there to die.

Maybe I was being melodramatic, but I knew that I was right. Anything could have happened to me, and he’d left me for dead. He didn’t care about me and probably never had. I had no idea why he’d even wanted to go to the mall with me in the first place.

As much as I hated Daniel, he was right. He was right about Fletcher. He’d told me to stay away and I should’ve listened. I hated admitting I was wrong. But more than that, I hated when Daniel was right. That smug little smirk that played on his lips was one of the most frustrating things about his irritating personality. I thought back to the two times he’d saved my life. I realised with a start that both times, his smirk was absent, his eyes instead filled with concern, worry clear on his face.

Did Daniel Harper care about what happened to me?

Why would he?

Nobody ever did. I was Alexis Brighten. I had it all. I didn’t need any help from anybody. I was fine on my own. I was capable. Alexis Brighten could do anything.

Yeah, right.

Another tap sounded at my window, dragging me back into the present. I pushed my curtains back and opened the window, the cool night air drifting into my bedroom.

“Alexis?” Fletcher called out in a loud whisper.

“Go away,” I said, trying to sound hostile. My voice cracked, giving me away. He’d really hurt me. I had been completely betrayed by someone I’d been stupid enough to trust and I hated myself for it.

“Alexis, I’m sorry!” Fletcher said, looking up at me.

“Sorry for what? Completely ditching me and leaving me alone with some sort of psycho?” I retorted, tears welling up in my eyes. I hated how emotional I was being. Fletcher brought out the worst in me.

“I didn’t leave you!” Fletcher said, moving closer to my window.

“Yes, you did! I saw you drive away!” I called down to him, the first tear escaping from the corner of my eye.

“I was going to get help!” Fletcher retorted, his voice cracking. I realised that he was crying, too.

“I don’t believe you,” I said, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. “Please go away.”

“Please, let me explain!”

“Why should I? You’re trouble, Fletcher. I should have listened when people told me to stay away from you,” I said, blinking back tears and taking a deep breath. I was regaining my confidence.

“Please, don’t say that - ”

“Leave, Fletcher. Just go,” I said.

“I’ll stay out here as long as it takes for you to let me in to explain,” Fletcher said.

“You’ll be waiting a while,” I replied coldly.

“Then I’ll stay out here all night,” he said, laying back down on the grass. I slammed my window shut and paced my room. I felt angry, sad, confused, and nervous. I had no idea what to do. What would Daniel say?

I cursed myself for thinking that. I knew what he’d say. He’d tell me to let Fletcher wait. Let him lay there all night and catch a cold. My father would deal with him when the morning came. But what I felt impulsed to do was completely different. I never did what Daniel told me to, anyway.

Maybe I was reckless and completely stupid, but there was a part of me that wanted to trust Fletcher. Part of me that wanted to find out what was going on with him. My curiosity was getting the better of me.

Curiosity killed the cat.

The warning flashed through my mind, but I pushed it away. I knew what I had to do. I put on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt and quietly made my way downstairs. I opened the front door and walked outside, over to where Fletcher was sprawled out on my lawn.

I stood over him and looked down at his face. He looked like a complete wreck. He had dark circles under his eyes, his lip was cut, and dried blood was present on his face, just under his nose. His shirt was torn and his hair was a mess. He looked like he’d been to hell and back.

“You came out,” he said, squinting up at me.

“Well, there was no way I was letting you in,” I replied, staring down at him.

“Are you gonna let me talk?”

“Would I be here if I wasn’t?” I retorted, raising my eyebrows.

Fletcher gave me a small smile as I sat down on the grass beside him. He slowly sat up, and turned his face to look at mine.

“You’ve been crying,” he said, staring at my face.

“Well, I was almost kidnapped,” I reminded him. Pain shot across his face.

“I never wanted you to get involved in any of this,” he said, looking down at his hands. “I never meant for you to get into trouble.”

“Why do you owe that guy money?”

“I took something of his,” Fletcher said, his head hung in shame.

When I didn’t say anything, he continued.

“I’m not proud of any of this,” he said.

“I would hope not,” I retorted, my tone harsh.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” I said defensively, looking away from him.

“I did,” he said simply, taking my hand in his. I looked into his light brown eyes and tried to believe that there was a part of him that was good. I knew that there was something there.

“I’m a screw-up, Alexis. I always have been. I’m sorry for dragging you into my mess,” he said, his light brown eyes staring into my hazel ones. I quickly looked away from him and pulled my hand free of his.

“You left me for dead,” I said, my voice emotionless. “I went back for you.”

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what else to say,” Fletcher said dejectedly.

“Good, because I don’t want to hear another word from you,” I said, getting up from the lawn and storming back inside.

“Alexis, wait!”

“Why should I?” I said coldly. “You never waited for me.”

I walked back into the house and locked the door behind me. There was nothing more to say.