Hearts of Blue
Page 16
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He was a little bit mesmerising. It was sort of like watching somebody play a video game, where the avatar could effortlessly jump and leap from building to building without injuring themselves. Trevor ran along the edge of a high wall, then leapt several feet through the air to land on the next one.
My eyes caught on another figure, and my breath hitched involuntarily when I saw it was Lee. He wore jeans, a long sleeved T-shirt, and a peaked cap that shielded most of his face. My heart pounded at the sight of him, and my pores began tingling as something electric pulsed inside me. I could watch him from the comfort of my car without him ever knowing I was there.
His shirt fell forward, revealing his stomach, as he balanced his entire body on his hands. He was on the edge of one of the high-up walkways. I saw several of the guys cheer when he dropped one arm, letting it hover in the air as he held his entire weight on one hand. He maintained the hold for several seconds before lowering his hand back down, bracing himself, and then launching into a backflip before making a perfect landing on the ground.
Whoa.
The way he moved was skilful, and I remembered Steve talking about how the brothers were into free running. But he only mentioned the younger ones. Perhaps Lee was more discreet about the things he could do, like Willy Wonka pretending he needed a stick to help him walk.
The official name for the sport was parkour, and it killed me to see how talented he was, while at the same time knowing he was using that talent to lie and steal.
It was with a hopeless sigh that I restarted the engine and pulled away. Tired after my shift, I went home and fell asleep almost instantly. I had two days off, and I planned on making the most of them. I knew I’d overslept when I woke to daylight streaming through my window and scrambled for my phone to check the time. Ten-thirty. I only became aware that somebody was sitting at the end of my bed when I sat up and saw Alexis slumped over, staring at something she was holding in her hands.
“Lexie, what’s wrong?” I asked in a scratchy voice.
She didn’t answer, and all I heard was a sniffle. She’d been crying a lot since King disappeared, so this wasn’t anything too unusual. Sometimes she liked to hide her pain behind humour and sarcasm, but I knew she was hurting badly on the inside.
I got up and went to her, sitting down and throwing my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me, taking the comfort I offered without a word. It was only when I looked down to see the pregnancy test she was holding that I gasped. The little window showed two red lines, and I didn’t need to be a genius to know what they meant.
“You’re pregnant?” I said, my voice airy with disbelief. Just the other week I’d joked about it, but that’s all it had been, a joke. I never actually thought it was true. And, by the looks of it, neither had Alexis. This was a massive shock for her. King had been missing for a while, which meant she had to be at least three or four months gone, and I knew she hadn’t been with anyone else since him.
Her smile was sad. “There was me thinking it was a cake shelf I was sporting,” she said, hand going to her belly, hiding her feelings with humour like always.
I swallowed, trying not to let my own personal feelings affect me right then. When I was a teenager, I’d been in a very bad car accident. My dad had been behind the wheel, my mum in the passenger seat, and I was in the back. Long story short, I’d been injured far worse than my parents, and the damage meant I’d never be able to have kids. It was why I got so angry when I saw people neglecting their own children, but I’d come to terms with the fact a long time ago. Still, a strange, phantom-like pain always passed through me whenever I was reminded of it. Alexis knew all about my accident, but I didn’t think she knew quite how much it hurt me, knowing I’d never have a child of my own.
“It’s King’s, isn’t it?” I finally asked, pushing my own feelings aside.
She nodded and stared at her feet.
“Have you had any luck finding him? Any clues as to where he might be?”
“Nothing,” she croaked. “It’s like he never even existed.” And then the tears began to flow. I sat with her for a long while, just hugging her and letting her cry. Finally I managed to get her to her own room, where she climbed into bed and went to sleep. She’d been up all night, wracked with worry.
I spent the day tidying the flat and hanging out. I even baked a batch of brownies, thinking they might cheer Alexis up. Unfortunately, she was acting completely out of character when she woke and barely even gave the brownies a second glance. Normally, she was the sort of girl to take life’s challenges in stride, so it was disconcerting to see her like this.
I was watching television that evening when she suddenly sat down beside me and asked, “Can we go out tonight?”
“Out where?”
“Anywhere. I need to get away from these four walls before I go insane. We could go to a bar and I could watch you drink. It’ll be fun.” The look on her face told me she was desperately trying to convince herself of that. I didn’t want to upset her, though, so I nodded.
“Sure, just let me grab a quick shower and we’ll head out.”
An hour later we were in a cab, headed for the bar where Alexis used to work before she changed career paths. At the moment she was in between jobs, but she did some modelling every once in a while to pay the bills. I was guessing she might have to take a break from that once she started to show.
I wasn’t sure why she wanted to go visit her old workplace. Well, I wasn’t until we walked inside and I saw Stu standing by the pool table. How had I not predicted this? I could only see the back of the person he was playing with, but I knew instantly that it was Lee. He wore jeans and a Fred Perry T-shirt with the collar turned up, the uniform of cocky little fuckers everywhere.
My eyes caught on another figure, and my breath hitched involuntarily when I saw it was Lee. He wore jeans, a long sleeved T-shirt, and a peaked cap that shielded most of his face. My heart pounded at the sight of him, and my pores began tingling as something electric pulsed inside me. I could watch him from the comfort of my car without him ever knowing I was there.
His shirt fell forward, revealing his stomach, as he balanced his entire body on his hands. He was on the edge of one of the high-up walkways. I saw several of the guys cheer when he dropped one arm, letting it hover in the air as he held his entire weight on one hand. He maintained the hold for several seconds before lowering his hand back down, bracing himself, and then launching into a backflip before making a perfect landing on the ground.
Whoa.
The way he moved was skilful, and I remembered Steve talking about how the brothers were into free running. But he only mentioned the younger ones. Perhaps Lee was more discreet about the things he could do, like Willy Wonka pretending he needed a stick to help him walk.
The official name for the sport was parkour, and it killed me to see how talented he was, while at the same time knowing he was using that talent to lie and steal.
It was with a hopeless sigh that I restarted the engine and pulled away. Tired after my shift, I went home and fell asleep almost instantly. I had two days off, and I planned on making the most of them. I knew I’d overslept when I woke to daylight streaming through my window and scrambled for my phone to check the time. Ten-thirty. I only became aware that somebody was sitting at the end of my bed when I sat up and saw Alexis slumped over, staring at something she was holding in her hands.
“Lexie, what’s wrong?” I asked in a scratchy voice.
She didn’t answer, and all I heard was a sniffle. She’d been crying a lot since King disappeared, so this wasn’t anything too unusual. Sometimes she liked to hide her pain behind humour and sarcasm, but I knew she was hurting badly on the inside.
I got up and went to her, sitting down and throwing my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me, taking the comfort I offered without a word. It was only when I looked down to see the pregnancy test she was holding that I gasped. The little window showed two red lines, and I didn’t need to be a genius to know what they meant.
“You’re pregnant?” I said, my voice airy with disbelief. Just the other week I’d joked about it, but that’s all it had been, a joke. I never actually thought it was true. And, by the looks of it, neither had Alexis. This was a massive shock for her. King had been missing for a while, which meant she had to be at least three or four months gone, and I knew she hadn’t been with anyone else since him.
Her smile was sad. “There was me thinking it was a cake shelf I was sporting,” she said, hand going to her belly, hiding her feelings with humour like always.
I swallowed, trying not to let my own personal feelings affect me right then. When I was a teenager, I’d been in a very bad car accident. My dad had been behind the wheel, my mum in the passenger seat, and I was in the back. Long story short, I’d been injured far worse than my parents, and the damage meant I’d never be able to have kids. It was why I got so angry when I saw people neglecting their own children, but I’d come to terms with the fact a long time ago. Still, a strange, phantom-like pain always passed through me whenever I was reminded of it. Alexis knew all about my accident, but I didn’t think she knew quite how much it hurt me, knowing I’d never have a child of my own.
“It’s King’s, isn’t it?” I finally asked, pushing my own feelings aside.
She nodded and stared at her feet.
“Have you had any luck finding him? Any clues as to where he might be?”
“Nothing,” she croaked. “It’s like he never even existed.” And then the tears began to flow. I sat with her for a long while, just hugging her and letting her cry. Finally I managed to get her to her own room, where she climbed into bed and went to sleep. She’d been up all night, wracked with worry.
I spent the day tidying the flat and hanging out. I even baked a batch of brownies, thinking they might cheer Alexis up. Unfortunately, she was acting completely out of character when she woke and barely even gave the brownies a second glance. Normally, she was the sort of girl to take life’s challenges in stride, so it was disconcerting to see her like this.
I was watching television that evening when she suddenly sat down beside me and asked, “Can we go out tonight?”
“Out where?”
“Anywhere. I need to get away from these four walls before I go insane. We could go to a bar and I could watch you drink. It’ll be fun.” The look on her face told me she was desperately trying to convince herself of that. I didn’t want to upset her, though, so I nodded.
“Sure, just let me grab a quick shower and we’ll head out.”
An hour later we were in a cab, headed for the bar where Alexis used to work before she changed career paths. At the moment she was in between jobs, but she did some modelling every once in a while to pay the bills. I was guessing she might have to take a break from that once she started to show.
I wasn’t sure why she wanted to go visit her old workplace. Well, I wasn’t until we walked inside and I saw Stu standing by the pool table. How had I not predicted this? I could only see the back of the person he was playing with, but I knew instantly that it was Lee. He wore jeans and a Fred Perry T-shirt with the collar turned up, the uniform of cocky little fuckers everywhere.
