French Rose

Chapter 29

Christina King

This is one of the moments in my life where I have to make a decision that changes literally everything.

I never texted Alex for a very obvious reason and I only had her number because my mom forced me to. Ever since, I had it saved on my phone and never used it, not even once. She also had mine and never texted me either so I guess it was just something neutral. I never imagined that this day would come, when I would pick up my phone myself and be the first to text.

To me, it really didn't matter who did it first. It's not like I hated her or anything, we just never got along well from childhood and I guess the foundation of our friendship was broken even before it started. What I was about to do could mean a lot of things on her side and I was supposed to but I didn't care anymore.

I was very sure Alex wouldn't want to bring up any reason to make me feel worse about myself after hearing I knew what happened between she and Lucas. I wasn't bringing it up as a threat or to make her sad in any way but no normal person would joke about something so serious.

Me: Alex I'd like to talk to you about my chef Lucas.

Clicking send was a very bold step and when I was done, it felt like I'd lost a sudden amount of weight from my shoulders. It wasn't until a few seconds later that I realised what would happen if she didn't reply. That would be a big disappointment and I might just end up not getting the truth about the whole matter. It's not like I would suddenly show up in her house desperately or meet her at an event and bring it up again.

I was shocked to see she was typing just a second or two after I sent the message. The time it took before her message came in was short but it felt like a whole year. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was scared of what she would say. If it was insulting, I would just have to crawl back to my shell and if it wasn't, well, we'll just have to hope for the best.

Alex: I'll come over tomorrow

That's not cold, definitely not what I was expecting. It had to be the first time Alex has ever spoke to me nicely. It wasn't the best circumstances but it could be a way Alex and I would finally look at each other with something that wasn't a glare. I never thought I would want this but we could end up setting out differences aside and if we didn't become friends, we could always start from somewhere.

I didn't go over what she said till I read it again. I couldn't let Alex come over here, Hailey would make her live to regret it. There would always be something wrong with that girl in the house. For all I know, she could do something even worse than bringing her upstairs to see my face and exploding her meal. It would be a complete disaster and I wasn't ready for that so immediately I took out my phone and replied.

Me: I'll come over to yours instead

She saw the message immediately and replied a simple 'okay'. That was all it took for a breath of relief. Something so small but took a chunk of my confidence to do.

I laid on my bed face up, ready for a good night's sleep when the smell of burning paper filled my nostrils. Now, I wouldn't have worried if I was back at home with my parents in the house but here, a lot of things could be happening and I really couldn't get my skin burned after falling down the stairs.

It took a lot of my energy to get up and when I did, I headed to the door to see what was going on. I stepped outside and the smell was stronger. I could hear the sound of the fire alarm going off and from where I was, saw Hailey downstairs watching TV like the house wasn't about to go on fire.

Kyle ran from one side of the sitting room to the other carrying a bucket of water and a towel. He looked up at me and yelled "No need to worry Christina, everything is under control!"

"Doesn't look like it. What's burning?"

Without giving a reply, he ran up the stairs into one of the rooms close to mine. From afar, I already knew it was going to be a lot of work even if I wouldn't participate in cleaning things up once the fire is out. I was worried about what would happen if I didn't do anything but at the same time, Kyle wouldn't watch my house go on fire. It's not as if he started it or something.

"Kyle started a fire"

"Jenifer? How did you get in my room?"

With half her head peeking out of the door, she said "I've been here the whole time, didn't you notice?"

"Of course not but that's not the point, why does the house smell like burning paper?"

"Sandra had this experiment thing going on and Kyle set in on fire cause he's definitely the most mature person on the planet"

"I don't get it, when did Sandra bring in experiment stuff and why would Kyle start a fire?"

"A lot of things have been going on at your back, Kyle has always been like this and I have weird siblings but no need to worry, it happens all the time, they'll get it cleaned up"

"I don't think so, it's not looking good"

"It's been worse and I survived so stop worrying"

She held my hand and pulled me inside with a force that wasn't eminine. Once I was inside, she slammed the door shut, leaned against it and said "So what's up with Lucas and Leo?"

How in the world did Jessica find out?

I didn't want anyone knowing about this besides I and those that were involved. Topics like that could get very popular very fast and I didn't want Alex's story being revealed like that. I didn't know Jenifer that much, all I knew was how close our parents were and that we went to high school together. Although, she didn't look like someone that would do so and she wasn't the type to put all her life on social media, I'd prefer it if the matter remained a secret.

"You tell me"

"Come on Christina, I could feel the tension in the atmosphere yesterday. Those two had something serious going on and something tells me it's related to what happened between he and Alex"

"Wait, you know what happened?"

"No, but now I know you do and you're going to tell me"

"How did you know Alex is involved?"

"I may have heard your conversation with Leo yesterday and maybe with Lucas too cause I just happen to be by your door whenever it happens"

"Jenifer_"

"But I still can't believe Alex try to do that to herself"

"Jenifer_"

"She's literally the last person I would think wo_"

"Jennifer! I really didn't want you or anyone knowing about this but now you do so can you please not tell anyone about it?"

"Why in the word would I tell anyone about something so serious. You can trust me, I'll keep it a secret"

"I don't know, I'm scared of what'll happen if this gets public"

"It wouldn't, you can count on me and you would've been able to trust me if you paid more attention to me in high school"

"I've apologized already"

"Whatever, so who do you believe in the two?"

"I don't know, they're two separate stories and there's nothing to proof they're true"

"Well, Alex and I were friends for a while and there might be a few things I know about this"

"Then you'll be the one doing all the talking" I said, sitting on the other edge of the bed "Spill"

"I remember there was a time she was distant from everyone, about a year ago I think. I didn't realise how much of an issue it was till she told me herself"

"You guys talk?"

"Sometimes"

"And she told you about it?"

"Not everything, she just said she found truth and it made all the difference"