Broken Bones and Shattered Hearts

Chapter Nine.

Lexi , Tom and Caleb had been living in their new West Chester home for a week when Lexi turned 23. To celebrate her birthday Libby, her best friend from university, had flown over for the week. Tom had agreed to stay in and look after Caleb for the night so that Lexi could go out and let her hair down. Libby had been Lexi’s rock throughout university, particularly during her first year and the pregnancy.

Since seeing Ryan the day after returning, Lexi had also caught up with her mother. However she had insisted on Vivian visiting her at their new house rather than her old home as she was still keen to avoid seeing any old faces. Vivian was beginning to lose patience with her daughter. Now that she was back in West Chester there she would have no choice but to face the truth and the longer she left it the harder it would be. Lexi was of course still as stubborn as she had been during her teenage years and was determined to do things her way.

As Lexi had never had any girlfriends back in West Chester, it would just be her and Libby hitting the town that night. She could barely remember the last time she had been out drinking, never mind clubbing, and Libby had to force her into clothes that didn’t look as if they belonged in a charity shop. In the end she settled for a pair of skinny jeans and a long purple smock top that emphasised her curvy but slim figure. She had worked hard to keep in shape after having Caleb. Lexi finished her outfit off with a pair of heels that she had not worn since before her pregnancy.

They hit the bar around eleven and it was already heaving with people. Libby dragged Lexi to the bar and ordered them shots of tequila. Lexi was already light headed from the wine they had shared at home, but she was determined to enjoy herself for one night at least and if that meant keeping up with Libby’s startling ability to drink, then so be it.
So far they had not seen anyone that Lexi recognised and she assumed this to be a good omen for the night. She was really beginning to let her hair down and have fun dancing and drinking with her best friend. Libby was at the bar, flirting shamelessly with a dark haired guy when Lexi returned from the toilets. Libby caught her eye and waved her over.

“Lexi, this is Brandon.” She giggled, pointing at the man standing next to her.

It wasn’t until Lexi approached the bar that she saw the man’s face. He had grown taller, his hair was shorter and he had considerably more tattoos, but there was no mistaking him. Lexi’s eyes widened but the man had beaten her to it.

“Alex!? Jesus fucking Christ you’ve changed!”

“Hello Novak...”

Novak stared at her in shock for several seconds, apparently lost for words. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m back.” She said softly, ignoring the look of confusion on Libby’s face when she answered to ‘Alex’.

“That’s great, I had no idea!” he laughed, pulling her into a hug.

She shuddered a little, remembering Ryan telling her that Novak was now a drug addict. He did look a little peaky. Apparently Ryan had not spilled the beans just yet though, she thought, hugging him back. However, as she looked over Novak’s shoulder she saw another three familiar faces, belonging to Dico, Raab and Bam. She pulled away from Novak, hoping she had not been recognised by the others.

She couldn’t remember if she had told Ryan her plans for tonight. Maybe she had and he had set this up so that she would bump into the guys? Or was that just Lexi being paranoid and slightly delusional? If Ryan had wanted to he could have told them the moment she came back. He was family after all, she knew she could trust him.

“It’s nice to see you again Novak, but Libby and I were just leaving.” She explained rapidly finishing her drink and placing it back on the bar

“No we weren’t Lexi!” Libby laughed, eyeing her friend suspiciously. Lexi was still peering over Novak’s shoulder, worried she would be spotted.

“Lexi?” questioned Novak, raising his eyebrow at her.

“I felt like a change when I moved to Cali.” Lexi shrugged. Truthfully, Lexi had just wanted to leave all traces of her old life behind when she had moved away and that included the nickname given to her by her best friends when she was little. Rather than return to the boring Alexandra, she had settled for Lexi.

“More feminine.” Novak smiled. “I like it.”

“So you two know each other?” slurred Libby, clearly beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol.

“We go way back.” Novak grinned. “Speaking of which, do Bam and Ryan know you’re back?”

He turned around to look at his friends, but Lexi grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back around to face her so that he could not attract their attention.

“So, what have you been up to Novak?” she smiled, trying desperately to change the subject.

Novak began to recount the past four years to her and Libby, but Lexi was not paying full attention to what he was saying as she watched what his friends were doing. They seemed to be having a great time on their table cluttered full of bottles and glasses. Ryan was howling with laughter at something Dico had said.

Lexi felt a twinge of jealously, wishing she was joining in with the fun instead of standing back here like an outsider. But this had been her choice. She knew the guys would be upset when they found out she had been back without telling them, but she could not bring herself to face up to them just yet.

Suddenly Lexi realised that Novak had finally finished talking and that he and Libby were staring at her expectantly.

“Oh uh sorry I was day dreaming.” She admitted, a little sheepishly.

Novak didn’t seem offended by her ignorance. He was more than likely drunk or high anyway. “I was just saying, do you two wanna join me and the guys at our table? They’ll be psyched to see you.”

Libby smiled at Lexi, clearly planning on taking Novak up on this offer. Lexi tried to think of an excuse but Libby had already started walking over to the table. Lexi had told her about her past when they had first become friends, but Libby had obviously forgotten about the significance of going over to that table. Maybe they wouldn’t recognise her? Who was she kidding? Novak was out of his mind and was still able to recognise her.

She took a deep breath and followed slowly behind Libby and Novak. When she was close enough she caught Ryan’s eye. They shared an understanding glance. Ryan could tell this was not how Lexi had planned her night to turn out, but it was too late.

“Oh my fucking God!”

“Alex!”

“What the fuuuuuuck!?”

Lexi smiled as enthusiastically as she could and took a seat between Novak and Ryan.
“It’s so good to see you!” Raab grinned, slamming his pint down on the table and splashing beer everywhere.

“How long have you been back?” asked Dico, grinning insanely.

“Not long.” She shrugged gently, keeping her eyes trained on Dico. She was not quite ready to acknowledge the only quiet member of the group.

As the guys started ranting and raving about their disbelief at seeing her again, Lexi fell silent. Her heart was thumping away in her chest and she was starting to feel a little nauseous. She looked at Ryan hopelessly. Ryan glanced from his cousin to his best friend. The tension was unbearable despite the fact that around them everyone else was in high spirits.

After what seemed like a life time, Dico, Raab, Novak and Libby went to get another round of drinks in, leaving Lexi, Ryan and Bam to sit in an awkward silence. If she didn’t feel so sick, or if this had been under different circumstances, Lexi might have laughed at the fact that in their younger days it was impossible for the three of them to be quiet for even a few seconds.

Lexi glanced at the man sitting across from her at the table and looked into his pale blue eyes. She knew that she could not avoid this for any longer.

“Hello Bam.”