Selena sat up when the lights came on. She hated being woken up from sleep, it made her cranky during the day if she didn't have at least nine hours of sleep to function properly. What she didn't expect to see was Alexander hovering above her, arms folded and waiting.
"Oh," She gathered her hair and combed it away from her face. "I slept off again." She scanned the room. "Max's gone?"
"Looks like," Alexander didn't take his eyes off her. "Are you better?"
Suddenly, it all came rushing to her; Valentin's kiss, Pamela's slap, crying in Max's arms, her father's incessant calls and to top the final embarrassing cherry on the cake, hugging Alexander for comfort.
How had she been so fragile like that?
She grabbed her phone and checked. More missed calls from her parents and her Aunts. She was toast.
"Selena?" Alexander called.
She bit her bottom lip. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. Damn it, Selena. Why did you let your emotions get the best if you?", She asked herself as a form of reprimand. She racked her brain to analyze the situation properly; whether or not Pamela had slapped her.
Alexander sat next to her. "Selena," he called her name with a firmer tone and she turned to give him her attention. She could almost say he looked concerned, which was a change considering the perpetual frown he always gave her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, slower this time.
"Whoever was acting like some weak little girl earlier and hugging you wasn't me," Selena said. Alexander knew at that moment her walls were already back up. "I would never…"
"It's okay," Alexander said. "I'm not going to judge you for being human."
"I'm not weak," Selena argued back.
"I didn't say you were."
"I feel like you're insinuating it."
"For God's sake Selena," Alexander looked tired. "Fine, just drop it okay? If that's what makes you feel better."
"Then why are you getting angry?"
"I'm not…" Alexander fisted his hands and took in a deep breath, waiting a long time before he released it. Max should have shot him a quick text that he had left Selena over at the house before he came over, at least then, he would've been prepared. Selena wanted to attack him, he knew that, just to make up for her vulnerability. She wanted to be that tough woman she had built herself to be, but she was only just succeeding in riling him up.
"Or maybe you're simply just still angry with me for no reason," she spoke again. "I know you can't bear me."
"Really?" Alexander's voice held a sarcastic edge. "And why do you think that is?"
Selena stared at her ringing phone. Both of them saw the name that flashed on the screen: Valentin.
"You're still angry about what I did," she answered. "At LeCroix."
"Looks like you haven't learned your lesson," Alexander leaned back on the couch and kept his gaze on his phone.
Selena felt the sharp edge of his words. "Don't you dare sit there and judge me."
"I didn't," Alexander simply said. The phone went off, then came back to life again with Valentin's name. "I was only stating the obvious."
Selena rose to her feet and grabbed the phone, silencing the call at once. She looked down at Alexander, his furrowed brows directed up at her.
"I said I was sorry!" She yelled at him. "I said I was! Right when I came in here! I apologized! What do you want me to do? Grovel?"
Alexander's brows narrowed even further. "Is this how you get when you don't get your way? Just like you did at that award ceremony?"
"Oh for God's sake Alex, let's move past that," Selena said.
"I won't," He said. He leaned forward a little bit. "You're too comfortable getting away with things, just like you did at LecCroix. Just like you tried to use me to get your ex jealous, and suddenly you show up at my door, telling me you're sorry and I'm just supposed to accept everything is okay? I would never understand why you try so hard to please an ex that clearly…"
"I wasn't trying to please him!" Selena yelled.
"Then I'll just assume he didn't just get your feelings hurt because you keep going back to him again and again…"
"He forcefully kissed me!" Selena yelled. "He kissed me and his girlfriend saw. She hit me! And now I'm stuck in potentially another scandal that is going to stress me out, and my family is going to stress me out, and you're stressing me out!"
She wiped at the tears that wet her cheeks. "Fine, you see? I didn't want anything to do with him after that day. I made a stupid mistake, with myself and with you! And I know you hated me for it, but I had to go this time for something very important that involved my friend. Not like anything I just told you is any of your business."
She wiped at more tears. "Great, you're going to see me cry now. How more embarrassing can this day get?"
Selena walked away from the living room, and Alexander watched her go to the kitchen. She opened the tap and rinsed at her face. Feeling terrible, Alexander walked over to the kitchen, and he heard her sniffles as her hand worked to wipe away her tears.
"I don't hate you," Alexander said.
Selena snorted but didn't turn to look at him. "I see it in your face every time I'm in your space."
"I don't hate you, Selena," Alexander reiterated. "It's just…I don't like people who don't own up to their misdeeds or use people."
"And that's me," She wiped at her face. "Got it."
"You've got some issues, but…" Alexander sighed. "Can you please look at me? I can't keep talking to the back of your head."
"I can't. I look ugly when I cry."
"I promise you're going to be fine," Alexander said. "Can you look at me please?"