Chapter 9: To new beginnings

"Did you wreck Ethan's car?" Her mother's voice came through the phone. 

Flashbacks from just less than an hour ago resurfaced at the back of her mind. The mental images of glitter and rotten eggs littered all over his car and front door filled the void in her head. They drove off as soon as he noticed them. She couldn't forget the image of her husband next to Hannah who was dressed skimpily. 

"Why do you care?" She questioned instead. 

"So you did," she heard her mum mumble under her breath. There was a short pause before her mother continued to say something again. "He was going to make a police report. You are lucky your dad and I convinced him not to pursue this further."

Alexandra scoffed loudly. "Am I supposed to thank you?"

"Alexandra, you are being ungrate-"

"Don't ever call me again."

She hung up before she could even hear what her mum had to say. A loud sigh escaped her lips as she plopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling above her.

Feeling restless, she decided to head downstairs to make herself a cup of hot tea. It usually helps her sleep better at night, something she discovered only a few years ago. 

As she was making her way downstairs, she noticed how the lights in the living hall were still turned on and she could hear Kelly and her boyfriend arguing softly in a distance, making her stop in her tracks. She wasn't about to stay and listen but just as she was about to turn away, that was when she heard someone mention her name.

"How much longer will Alexandra be staying here?" She could hear Dylan asking, his voice seemingly frustrated and upset. 

"I don't know babe. She can stay here for as long as she needs. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, but she can't stay here forever right?"

"She's my best friend, I'm not chasing her away. She needs me now more than ever. Besides, it's only been one night."

"I understand that Kels, but I don't really want to have another stranger staying at our place."

"She's not a stranger, Dylan," her voice was much more serious this time.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way-"

It felt wrong to listen in on them. Alexandra had quietly made her way back into the room, gently closing the door behind her, hoping that they didn't notice her. 

"Hey Sunshine, what are your thoughts on living on the street?" She joked, patting her dog on the head, Sunshine only looked back at her with the biggest grin on her face and her tongue sticking out. 

She was now lying down on the bed as she stared at the phone in hand intently, contemplating something. She had been staring at the same contact number for more than 10 minutes now. 

This time, she finally clicked on the call button and the call went through. 

"Hey Caleb," she greeted.

He was surprised to hear her voice on the other end of the line, but he didn't let it show, only replying nonchalantly. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I will marry you."

"What?"

Caleb was now wide awake.

Needless to say, that wasn't exactly what he thought he would hear his ex say to him in the middle of the night, years after they had already broken up. But there he was, sitting by his desk when Alexandra had just casually said that she would agree to marry him. 

"I'm serious, so what's in it for me?"

It was now late at night when Kelly was standing by the door of her guest bedroom, watching Alexandra pack her bags in a hurry, shoving everything she possibly could into her bag. "Al, what are you doing?" Kelly asked, genuine confusion written on her face as her eyebrows were furrowed together. 

"Oh, didn't see you there, aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" She asked as she chuckled nervously, her hands now placed on the top of her thighs.

"Are you packing your things? Were you going to leave in the middle of the night?"

"Well yeah, I was meaning to tell you that I found a place to stay, wouldn't want to intrude on you two."

Silence hung in the air for what felt like forever before Kelly finally broke it. 

"You heard us earlier, didn't you?"

Alexandra only looked up at her friend and they locked eyes. Her silence was everything Kelly needed to confirm her statement. 

"Look Al, you can stay here for as long as you like. I'm not chasing you away," Kelly reassured, crouching down on her knees to place her hand on Alexandra's shoulder.

"I know…" Alexandra muttered under her breath. "But Dylan is right, I can't possibly stay here forever. Besides, I don't want to trouble you. You have done enough for me."

"But you haven't found a place yet, have you? Al, please just stay here until you find a place, don't worry about troubling us, you aren't a trouble at all, I'm serious."

"Thank you Kels. But don't worry, I actually do have somewhere to go."

"That somewhere better not be the streets or motel, I will be locking you in here," Kelly teased, a playful smile etched onto her face, lightening up the mood.

"Well…" She started. "I decided that I will be staying at Caleb's place for the time being."

Alexandra watched as Kelly's eyes widened in surprise as she gasped softly at the name that she hadn't heard in a long time. "Caleb? As in the Caleb you dated back in high school but broke up with because he-"

"Yes, yes, that Caleb."

"How did you… Why? He's your ex. Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?"

"What?" She asked innocently with a slight smile on her face.

"You are actually out of your mind," Kelly confirmed as she slumped back onto the frame of the bed behind her.

"It's a win-win. I get to stay at his place, completely free of charge, and he gets his mum to stop nagging at him for not settling down and getting married," she explained the logic nonchalantly as if whatever that had just come out of her mouth wasn't the craziest thing ever.

As soon as the last word left her mouth, all she could see was her best friend staring right back at her, with her eyes wide open and her lips slightly apart, a blank look on her face. 

"Did you say… marry? Like marrying your ex?"

"Mhmm…" Alexandra confirmed with a nod.

"I think I am going to faint."

The sound of a loud honk reached them through the opened window in the room, catching their attention as they turned to look outside to see a bright red Porsche parked by the front door. 

"I think that's him."

"You are insane, I can't believe you. I'm going down with you," Kelly announced as she grabbed the bag from Alexandra's hand while Alexandra carried Sunshine in her arms. 

"Oh hey Kelly, long time -" Caleb greeted the moment he saw Kelly walk right out of the front door, rushing over to grab the bag from her. 

"If you break her heart one more time, I will find you and kill you," she leaned in to whisper into his ear before smiling at him and muttering a hello.

"Hey Al," he greeted now that Alexandra had successfully made her way down the stairs and out of the house with a hyperactive golden retriever in her arms.

The corner of her lips curled upwards into a smile. "Hey Cal, thanks for coming to pick us up."

"Well, I can't just let a girl come over alone in the middle of the night, can I? Just hop in whenever you are ready."

It was way past midnight and Caleb was now zooming down the empty streets with only a few lamps lighting up the streets as music was playing softly in the background. Alexandra couldn't believe that at the age of 26, she would find herself sitting in the passenger seat with her ex driving her to his place only a day after her husband requested for a divorce. 

They were now on the 51st floor of one of the most expensive apartment buildings in the city. 

"Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at home."

The door was pushed open to reveal one of the most luxurious interiors she had seen. 

It was one of those penthouse apartments with windows that stretched from the ground all the way to the top of the ceiling. There was mostly dark-coloured furniture and some unrecognisable paintings decorated walls. An intricate ceiling light was hung high above them, the warm yellow lights lighting up the place, illuminating the skyline right in front of her eyes. 

"Humble my ass," she commented as he let out a deep chuckle.

"Your room is the first one on the left, down that hall," he pointed before going to make himself a cup of espresso, leaving her standing in the middle of the living hall. 

"Coffee at 1 am?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, dismissing her before taking a sip. 

She scoffed as she turned around to make her way to the room with the bag slung over her shoulders and Sunshine still in her arms. As soon as she stepped foot into the room, her eyes landed on different Jellycat plushies sitting neatly in a row on the king-sized bed. 

She took a step back only to hit something hard behind her. She looked up and she was now staring into Caleb's dark brown eyes. 

"Just thought that I should get you some jellycats, they were your favourite," he explained casually.

"But… Why?"

"Because I still love you."