Cold Comforts
1317 Words
Alexandra’s POV
"Faster! Harder! Yes! Right there... Oh, Kevin, please! Please don't stop!" Tears ran down my face in the dark. He felt incredible, too real, too solid.
"Wasn't planning to," he growled into my ear, his voice like gravel and velvet. "Come for me, precious..."
"Oh, Kev, I’m gonna—"
I sat up so fast my head spun, my skin drenched in sweat and my breath hitching in the quiet of my bedroom. God, not again. My heart was drumming a frantic rhythm against my ribs, a painful reminder of a hunger I refused to name. I grabbed a small towel from the nightstand, wiping the sweat and salt from my face with shaking hands.
For the past week and a half, ever since that disastrous dinner proved that Lindon’s boyfriend was a Blackwood. This had been my nightly torture. Every time, I woke up just before the finish, leaving me worked up, frustrated, and throbbing with a need that felt like a betrayal of my own soul.
I walked downstairs, my legs feeling heavy, to find Lindon already at the kitchen table. He was nursing a cup of coffee, staring at the wall as if I weren't even there.
"Morning, Linny."
"Morning," he responded. His voice was flat, devoid of the warmth he usually saved for me.
"Linny, can we talk?" I sat down, searching for some sign of my brother in those cold eyes. "Look, I’m sorry for insulting your boyfriend. But you really can’t see him anymore. It’s for your safety."
"Yeah, right. Because everything has to be about you all the time," he snapped, finally looking at me with a jagged, sarcastic smile. "I’m twenty-two, Alex. I’m finishing a Law degree. I think I can decide who is safe for me."
"Do you even know what his brother did to me? The position he put us in?"
"How would I know, Alex? Kevin worked for you for years and then, out of the blue, he was gone. You just told me to roll with it because 'Alex said so.' I grew up looking up to that man. He was the one who taught me how to carry myself when you were too busy in boardrooms. When I finally realized it was really him at that table, I was so ashamed of how we treated him. And then you go and insult his brother? Way to go."
"Linny, the reason he left was because he was part of a scheme to kidnap or kill me, maybe even you, to extort money. I never told you because he ran off the moment I found out." Lindon stared at me for a long beat, and then, to my horror, he burst out laughing. It wasn't a kind laugh.
"Are you hearing yourself, Alexandra? How exactly would he get money from you if you were dead? Who would pay him? Me? With what money? You’re the one with the keys to the kingdom."
"The board would have paid! Or the insurance! It happens all the time in our world, Lindon! Don't be naive."
"No, you don't be paranoid," he countered, leaning over the table. "You’ve spent so much time looking for enemies that you’ve started inventing them. Kevin Blackwood spent two years taking bullets and insults for you. He missed his own brother's graduation to stay at your door during a security threat. Does that sound like a man waiting for a payday?"
"People change for the right price, Lindon! Money does things to people."
"Not to him," Lindon said firmly. "He always said he missed a lot of things for his family so that he could be there to protect you. I don't know where you got that dumb theory, but let’s get one thing straight: I am not leaving Kyle. Not for you, and definitely not for a ghost story about Kevin."
"I’m just trying to protect you! You're all I have left!" My voice cracked, and for a second, I saw a flash of pity in his eyes.
"I don't believe this, Alex. It doesn't even make sense, but you won't listen because you think I’m just 'drunk in love,' right? You’re all I have too, Alex. But I love Kyle. And I'm starting to think you're the one who's lost her mind. Or maybe... maybe you're just mad that he actually had the nerve to leave you."
"That’s enough, Lindon!" I slammed my hand on the table.
He stood up, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. "I’ll always be careful," he said, his tone softening just enough to hurt. "I’d never betray you for love. You stand for everything in my life, Alex. I love you... but I have to go."
After he left, the silence in the kitchen felt suffocating. Marie, my housekeeper, came over and gently squeezed my shoulder. She had seen it all, the years Kevin spent following me like a shadow.
"Here is your breakfast, dear. You’re hurt because Linny doesn't believe you, but I’ve met that boy, Kevin. He was special. Just like Lindon said, people will do anything to destroy a good friendship. To clear this up, you and Kevin need to talk. Truly talk."
"But he betrayed my trust, Marie. He left me, defenseless."
"How sure are you that he was actually part of it? Why not find out why he really left? You’re chasing a story that doesn't fit the man I knew."
I ate in silence, their words echoing like a repetitive drum in my head. 'How would he get money if you were dead?' The question haunted me.
By afternoon, I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I threw on some casual khaki shorts, a black top, and sneakers. I ended up at the ice cream parlor, hoping the cold sugar would numb the burning sensation in my chest.
As I reached the counter to pay, I made the mistake of looking to my left. My blood turned to liquid fire.
There was Kevin. He was sitting in a booth, leaning in and laughing with a beautiful woman. She looked soft, happy... normal. It was a brutal, physical blow to my gut.
"Well, well, well! I didn't know security personnel had the privilege of lounging in ice cream parlors, Blackwood," I spat, the venom feeling better than the heartbreak.
He turned, and for a second, I saw a shiver go down his spine. Good.
"Well, Spectre," he said, his eyes scanning me in a way that made my skin prickle. "When you own your own agency, you can take off whenever you want. You should try having a life sometime; you might even thank me later."
"What do you mean, when you own?" I was fuming. Since when did he become a business owner? He didn't answer, which only made the heat under my skin intensify.
"You know what? Don't answer. Just tell your brother to stay away from mine. You're all the same, parasites looking for a way in."
I saw his jaw tighten, his eyes turning cold. "Okay, Ms. Mutualism," he hissed back.
I felt the sting of tears and hated myself for it. I grabbed my ice cream, wanting to run. I could feel his gaze on me as I walked away, on my legs, on my hips, and a part of me hated that I still wanted him to look.
I got into my car and gripped the steering wheel. Lindon didn't believe me. Marie didn't believe me. And Kevin... Kevin looked like he didn't have a single regret.
I was the only one left fighting a war that everyone else thought was over.
- Writer
