Memories Of Paris

𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭

Warning: mentions of a sexual assault and a suicide attempt, read at your own risk!

Staring at the familiar name on the screen, Alex almost clicked call ten times before stopping himself from making a horrible mistake that his girlfriend didn't deserve. If he called, he knew he wouldn't talk only about the party. So no, he wouldn't call at all.

It has been a week since Gabriel surprised him with a visit before leaving back home just as quickly on the same day. Today was Halloween and he shouldn't be thinking about his ex-boyfriend when Iris was in the next room helping his nieces get ready for trick or treating.

He, on the other hand, was busy laying on his back in the bed, wearing a Shrek costume and staring at his phone. Yes, he ended up wearing the Shrek costume although he swore not to do it. Somehow Iris begged him to do it and match it with her costume which was princess Fiona of course.

The girls were dressed as Anna and Elsa from Frozen and they even had blond and brown wigs. He, a twenty-nine years old man, knew almost every word of that stupid Disney movie that they loved, especially that one damn song.

"It's mine! Go away, you're stupid!" One of the twins suddenly yelled from the living room and then there was a lot of running.

"Faith, stop that! We don't call other people stupid, it's rude. And you also can't take it from her without permission," Iris said with a gentle yet demanding voice. "I have another one that I can give to you but you have to stop running and apologize."

"Fine," Faith mumbled unhappily and he could almost see her pouting. "I'm sorry. Can I get it now?"

Maybe he would regret it but his curiosity won him over so Alex went to see what almost created the third World War. Again. Although they were identical twins, their personalities were very different and yet they often fought about the same pointless things.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked in the living room where Iris was putting some pink pins on Faith's hair.

"Grace had one of these pins and Faith wanted it too so she took it from her. Luckily, I'm a genius and took many of these in case of an emergency," his girlfriend explained casually without taking eyes off her hair.

A hairpin? That's what all that was about? God, he would never understand girls or women.

"Am I pretty, uncle Alex?" While waiting for his answer, Grace was spinning around in her Elsa costume. Now he also saw that she did, indeed, have one of those pins in her hair that he would have never noticed without Iris talking about them.

"You're a beautiful princess Anna," he winked and kissed her on the cheek, making her giggle. God, he adored his nieces. He didn't see himself getting children of his own but these two? He would die for them in a heartbeat.

Suddenly his phone rang in his room and he went to answer it. "What's up?"

"The sky," his oldest friend and business partner Harry Schneider laughed at his own stupid joke. "No but seriously, I need help!"

"With what?" Alex frowned. Hearing Harry asking for help was unusual which was very similar to Maggie's stubbornness to do everything all alone.

"Well... someone asked me out. And I said no but then I realized that I, well, I wouldn't mind meeting him again," Harry explained quietly and sounded unsure, almost afraid.

It was understandable because he wasn't one to date. At all. Alex couldn't remember the last time he had even mentioned someone, let alone dated or slept with them. Both of them knew the reason for that and every time Alex thought about it, his heart broke more and more.