Twenty-nine
The next morning, Kyrene wakes me up. Without the red stain on her lips, she looks tired too, but still beautiful.
The sun has barely risen and I give a groan that makes her laugh. “You can sleep in when we're back. I'm sure Henri won't say a word about it. He won't say it, but I think he's glad to have you back.”
I don't really want to talk about Henri. Kyrene doesn't push the issue or say any more about it.
We step out into the hall to meet up with the others downstairs for breakfast and get cleaned up when someone catches my eye at the end of the hall. Kyrene, ever observant, notices and gives me a shove towards him with a smile and a promise to see me downstairs. I try to push back against her, but she's either strong or she's cheating by using her powers, either way, it's too late. Alex looks up and sees me before I can get away and pretend I didn't notice him. Kyrene is gone before I even take another breath.
I pat my hair down, feeling utterly disgusting. It doesn't matter to Alex. His eyes shine brightly at the sight of me though he looks away again, guilt clouding his expression.
“Alex?” As I step towards him, I try to think of what to say to smooth this over. There doesn't seem to be anything I can say that will fix this awkwardness between the two of us. With that thought in my head, I realize it doesn't matter what I say, just that I say something, anything at all. “Alex, I don't blame you.”
He looks back up, meeting me with wounded eyes that suggest he thinks differently. I wait for him to speak so that I can counter whatever argument he can come up with to retain the blame. Only he doesn't speak. Alex takes two steps towards me with his long legs and wraps his arms around me and holds me tightly to his chest, his chin resting on the top of my head.
Softly, he says it. “I'm sorry.”
I want to argue, but the words are spoken so tenderly, his hug so desperate, that I am frozen, locked in position in his arms. My hands sneak around to his back, and I return his hug, holding onto him tightly.
“What's going to happen now?”
Alex doesn't let go of me. “We will go back, Odessa and me.”
My heart gives a little pang and I'm tired of it. My chest pressed to his, I try to focus on that instead of the pain. “But I'll probably never see you again.”
The silence engulfs us, and we stand together, holding onto one another, each on the verge of breaking. There's no point in denying it. Even though Jimmy has taken most of the blame for what happened and I've made it clear I agreed to go along, neither Henri nor Brandon are exactly happy about what happened. I doubt that Alex will be welcomed warmly into the Southlands again.
He's too close again. A hand on my hip keeps me from moving away from him. He draws me in slowly, his nose near my nose. My breath catches. Our lips touch, gently brushing one another as if he were testing my resistance. When I don't pull back, he pulls me in for a proper kiss, his lips fully on mine in a way that makes my heartbeat limp. This isn't the kiss of a boy discovering a crush for the first time, but a kiss from a man, a father and a fighter. This is his good bye.
Behind us, the stairs squeak, and we pull apart. Alex doesn't let me go, but I turn and catch a glimpse of Jimmy who hasn't stopped to gawk. He keeps going on his way, the squeak of the stairs reminder enough.
Alex, his lips pressed tight, lets his hand fall off my hip, and I step back from him, cold air rushing into the distance between us. There isn't much else that can be said. We part and head our separate ways.