The Boy from New York City

The Reason

I grab Alexzander’s hand, stopping him mid-sentence. He looked up at me, anger evident on his face. “Let’s go for a walk. You know, cool off a bit.” He seemed confused but nodded anyways. We left our dishes as they were and bundled up in our warmest winter clothes. I grabbed my purse with essentials and dragged him out of the house.

Every place I had in mind to go, I knew Liam would have already had cameras installed. He knew how my mind worked, knew of all my hiding places. Once we got off the property, I turned to Alexzander, “Oldest couple in the neighborhood, who are they?”

I was sure my still confused husband was going to start asking questions. That’s just the type he was. Always curious, wanted answers before answering himself. But instead, this time around, he surprised me. “The Greens, they just live a few houses down.”

My eyes widen, “Lisa and Gary Green are still alive? My goodness…” I cover my mouth when I realize what just slipped out. Alexzander again looked at me with confusion but luckily said nothing. With that silence, we trudged our way to The Greens house.

We shortly arrived at their doorstep and I knocked. It wasn’t too late so I’m sure they would still be awake. Lisa answers the door with a slight squeal of surprise, “Alex sweetie, what are you doing here?”

Alexzander looks at me for answers and I smile brightly, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Sam Rose, Alexzander’s fiancée. I’m sorry to barge in like this but we just came across a rat problem at our house and were wondering if you had a guest bedroom we could use for the night? I know its last minute, and if-” Lisa’s smile widens.

“Oh dear, of course you two can stay here. Come in, come in.” She grabs Alexzander by the arm and pulls him through the door with me close behind. “Now Gary’s already up in bed. I can show you guys to your bedroom or if you’d like tea or anything that works too.”

Alexzander, still looking confused as ever, nodded towards me to answer. “I would love to sit and chat, though I’m a bit tired and Alexzander here had a tough day at work. How about we talk over breakfast tomorrow?” I offer with my kindest smile.

Lisa nods in understanding and leads us upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms. In all honesty she seemed happy to have visitors of any kind. “Our bedroom is at the end of the hall if you need anything at all. Besides that, all the necessities are in here and the bathroom. If you get hungry, don’t be shy about using the kitchen. We’ve got enough food to feed a football team. We’re just missing the football team.” She laughs at her own joke and I chuckle along. I could tell she hadn’t changed much over the years. Still the sweet, caring woman I knew her as when I was younger. “Now I’ll be off to bed. Goodnight you two.” With one last smile our way she leaves and shuts the door behind her.

I sit down on the edge of the bed and glance over at Alexzander who hadn’t said a word through all of this. He was standing at the window, looking out at a view very similar to our own. “We need to talk.” I said, walking over to where he was and placing an arm around his waist.

“Figured as much,” he mumbles, his eyes still focused on the scenery in front of us. “But why here?”

“Because,” I start, moving my gaze up to meet his, “I have a strong feeling the house is bugged. Along with our cars. Probably our phones too. And every place I thought of going to, I feel like Liam would have already put cameras up.” His eyes showed understanding but I could tell he was still confused about the whole thing. “We need to talk. Privately. And at the moment, this is the safest place to do so.”

Alexzander breaks out of my embrace and takes the few steps to the bed, taking a seat and leaning again the pillows. He looked more relaxed now than I’d seen him in a while. I watch him for a moment before walking over and taking a seat by him, leaning my head on his chest. “So, talk. About what exactly?”

I grab his hand and interlace our fingers, squeezing softly. “I need you to tell me why you needed to get married. Why you need to take over the company. You told me you might tell me someday. I need that might to be a definite. And I need that someday to be today.” Desperation was clear in my voice. This wasn’t a conversation either of us really wanted, but both knew it was necessary.

“My dad wasn’t always how he is now. I’m not saying he was a perfect family man, but he spent more time at home and cared more about what everyone was doing once upon a time. I was ten, Sara was eight, and Samantha was eight. We were best friends growing up. Our parents were also great friends, meaning we spent practically every day together. We also were big trouble-makers. My parents were the strictest of them all, probably because even at the young age of ten I had a lot of responsibility for my future and they wanted to prepare. It could also just be because they’re strict. My mom actually wasn’t so much; my dad though didn’t let anything past him. Sara’s parents didn’t care as much but she usually got a scolding for her actions. Samantha’s parents, they were the best. They cared, but they also understood that kids will be kids. Us running off to have a mud fight wasn’t a bad thing in their eyes.” Alexzander pauses and moves a blanket to cover us probably because of the shivers running through my body. “I don’t exactly know what we had been up to that day, but I got the harshest punishment. I was grounded to my room for a whole day.” I giggle at how upset he seems about it, even now, 12 years later. “Hey, I was ten; a day seemed like a long time.”

“I’m sure it did sweetie.” I reply with another giggle.

He combs his fingers through my hair in a relaxing manner. “So I was grounded. It was the day before we all flew out to Disney World. It was Samantha’s birthday weekend and her parents invited Sara and me along as a surprise. So anyways I was grounded to my room for the day. Me being the smart-ass I was at ten, left my room when I felt that day was officially over. It was late at night, and so I did what I always did, I ran around the house. Maids usually scolded me for doing so and then I would get in trouble. But with no one around at night, it was the time I could run freely. But then—” I look up at him when he stopped playing with my hair and his voice cracked. I meet his eyes and rub the back of his hand in a soothing manner. He just nods and takes a deep breath before continuing. “But then I heard footsteps. Not only was I out way past my bedtime, but I was also out and about in the restricted part of the house. So I did the only thing I could think of. I hid behind some curtains and peeked to get a look at what was going on. What I saw changed my life. There were guards, two of them. Following them were two more guards, both holding onto, and pushing along, someone who I quickly recognized. Behind them was my father, directing the guards on what to do.” I felt his heart beat quicken and hand was tightening around my own. Slowly I crawl up his body, placing feather light kisses along the way, calming him down.

“Alexzander, who did you recognize?” I whisper, urging him to continue.

He looks in my eyes, tears daring to fall from them. “The next morning no one came to pick me up. Sara didn’t stop by and I didn’t see my father at all. But there, sat at the kitchen table was my mother in tears with the newspaper in her hands. She didn’t try to hide anything from me. The night before, the Charleston’s were appeared to have been kidnapped. There was broken glass, evidence of struggle.” He closes his eyes, each word sounding more painful for him to say. “The two people I saw with the guards were Robert and Clarissa Charleston.” I knew those words were coming. Who else would it have been? But they affected me all the same. I forced myself to show as little emotion as possible. I couldn’t give anything away, not when I was this close. “And what hurt—what hurt more than that was Samantha wasn’t with them. She disappeared that night along with her brother John. No one has seen them or heard from them since. I know where Robert and Clarissa are. I know what floor, what room, and I know they’re alive. But I don’t have access to any of it until I get the company. I’ve tried time and time again to get back onto that floor, but I’ve never been able to get through the locks. My dad, he’s never been the same since that night. And I-I haven’t really either. I know that Samantha was—is—a strong girl, but I don’t know—I just don’t know.”

I wrap my arms around him as we both cry our eyes out. For the same reasons, for different reasons, it was still necessary. Minutes passed, maybe hours, before we both got our breathing back to normal. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, pulling me closer to him.

“No, you have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have pushed so hard. I, uh, didn’t think it was going to be like that.”

Alexzander nods against my shoulder. “I love you,” he says, his breath warm against my tear-stained skin.

“As I love you.” I wrap my arms around him and lean in, kissing his lips. It was short and brief but definitely got the message across. I trace patterns along his shoulder, deciding on whether to ask my next question or not. “I have one last question. But please, don’t answer it if you don’t want to.” He nods a small smile on his face in appreciation to what I was doing for him. “You love her, don’t you? You love Samantha Charleston.”

For that second time that night, Alexzander nods his head and ignores eye-contact with me. “I love you, and that will hold true. But you’re right in that my feelings for Samantha were beyond those of platonic. She was just turning 8 and I was only 10. We were in no position to fall in love. It was even decided on how our lives were going to be. John, being the oldest, automatically got her father’s office. But that didn’t stop Robert from raising a wonderful businesswoman. So our deal, even back then, was that she ran the office while I cooked at home, maybe even opening up my own café.” He pauses for a moment, “I never again felt what I felt for her until I met you.”
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Well, that was literally three months in the making. I'm sorry. I couldn't get all my thoughts together for this chapter. I really hate writing chapters with a lot of information in them..I don't like to bunch it all together but I never seem to know how to spread it out.

Here is the end result though. If you get confused at all, don't be afraid to ask. It gets a bit confusing from here on out and I'd rather know about that confusion in my readers so that I can change things.

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<3 Justrealizelife