Dinosaurs, Christmas, and Sexy Men In Suits

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

It's been about a week, and Talon is back to his menacing, vacuous self. Whenever I hung out with the boys and Mina, he just stayed in the background, remaining stoic. Caden and Tav would try to bring him into the conversation, but he would just simply stare impassively and walk off. Tav would look over at me and tilt his head, trying to figure me out. Why, I had no clue.

Today was a Friday, so I opted to stay at Mina's house for the weekend again. School just got over, so Mina and I hopped into her car, excited to get the weekend started.

"You know what this weekend is right?" Mina pulled up to a red light and turned to face me. My brows furrowed as I tried to think, but nothing came to me. I look back over to her and shook my head.

"No, what is it?" I ask as the light turns green. Mina nervously chewed her lip and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Talon has another fight this weekend." My heart stutters in my chest, but my face remains impassive.

"And?" Mina frowns as she looks over at my expression-less face. Her lips thin, and she shakes her head, murmuring under her breath. We run to my house quickly to get my things, and then we decide to get ice cream. We pull up to Freddy's Cream and I shudder. Such an unfortunate name for an ice cream parlor. Excitedly, we jump out and enter the shop, the sweet aroma surrounding us like a warm hug. Except the hug has a bunch of cavities.

Mina orders cookie dough, and I decide on mint chip. We take our seats next to the window, and chatted away while diving into the cold treat. Mina was laughing at something I said as I glanced out the window. I stopped eating as I saw a woman standing near the window, and she looked eerily close to Talon. She looked like a carbon copy of him, but more feminine. Mina looked where I was staring, and her jaw dropped.

"Is that-"

"Yeah, that's Talon's sister. Lexi." Mina kept staring, but I decided to abandon my ice cream and go outside. Her blond hair was dirty and very greasy. Her skin was filthy, and dirt was caked underneath her unkempt fingernails. As the cold air nipped at my face, I couldn't help but notice how malnourished she appeared. She was wearing a thin, flimsy shirt and shorts that offered her no warmth. As I approached, Lexi looked over at me, and I gasped lowly. Even with looking disgusting, I could tell she was a beautiful girl. Her grey eyes were too big on her thin face, and her long eyelashes made the frightened orbs even bigger. She had sharp cheekbones, but they were too sharp since she was stick thin.

"Hi." I waved as I cautiously approached her. She just stared at me non-coherently, and the closer I got, I could see her body shaking. But it wasn't from the drugs; her pupils were so dilated that I could barely see her grey irises. Her eyes were darting everywhere as if she couldn't focus. A thin film of sweat covered her clammy skin, and it suddenly occurred to me.

She's recovering. If I remember correctly, Talon had told me one day that Lexi used Heroin. She was showing all of the symptoms of a recovering addict.

"Lexi?" I said her name softly, as to not startle her. She turns to me, but she couldn't keep her eyes on me.

"W - What? W - Who are you?" I walked closer to her, but she shook her head and took a step back.

"Lexi, I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Olivia. I'm friends with your brother. Talon? You remember Talon, Lexi?" I took another step towards her, but this time, she didn't step away from me. She moved towards me a little, and seemed to focus a little once she heard her brother's name.

"Tally? Where's Tally?" Lexi moved forward again, her body shaking even harder.

"Do you want to come inside? Have some ice cream?" Lexi stared at me and then through the window at Mina. She looked back at me and nodded, then reached out and took my hand. I froze as her frail fingers wrapped around my palm. I wasn't used to this kind of contact, but I let her. She was in a fragile state of mind, I didn't want to shatter it. She had already been through so much, pushing her away might make it worse. I pulled her into the ice cream parlor, bought her some vanilla ice cream and sat down with Mina. Mina was staring at the two of us with wide eyes and disbelief.

Mina and I both watched Lexi nervously, not knowing what she was going to do. Mina excused herself and as she stepped outside, Lexi looked over at me.

"Who is she?" Lexi's voice was soft and quiet as she looked out the window. I frowned and looked out the window with her.

"You don't remember Mina? What about Tav?" I questioned. Lexi shrugged and took another bite of the ice cream. She needs some real food.

"Kind of. I remember Caden. Tally and Tav became friends later on." I nodded my head and played with my bowl of melted ice cream.

"Mina is Tav's step-sister."

"Oh okay, I think I kind of remember her. I don't remember a whole lot." Lexi's eyes were still incredibly unfocused, but she had seemed to calm down somewhat. Mina's loud voice could be heard through the window, but I kept my attention on Lexi as she finished up her ice cream. Mina came back inside, her smile tight and tense.

"Olivia, can I talk to you over here for a second?" I nodded and followed Mina over to a wall that was a couple feet away from Lexi.

"What is it?" I whisper carefully.

"Talon or his mom aren't going to be back until his fight tomorrow night. They aren't answering their phones, but Caden let me know that they out of town or something." I curse under my breath and nervously run my hand through my dark hair.

"Okay, so what do we do now?"

"Does she remember Tav at all?" I shook my head and bit down on my lip, at a loss of what to do.

"How about she just stays with Caden since she knows him pretty well." Mina nodded her head, agreeing with my plan. We walked back over to Lexi, who seemed pretty close to hyperventilating. I rushed over to her and rubbed her arm soothingly as I tried to calm her down.

"It's okay Lexi, we are gonna go see Caden. Talon and your mom are out of town, but they will be back tomorrow. Okay?" Lexi mutely nodded, and let me help her out of the coffee shop and in the front seat of Mina's car. The car ride home was silent; all you could hear was Lexi's labored breathing and chattering teeth. We pulled into Caden's driveway, and he was standing on the front porch, waiting for us. We stumbled out, and Caden rushed over to us, grabbing Lexi for a hug. I watched closely as Lexi hesitantly hugged Caden back.

"Caden, you might want to take it easy on her," I said when she started to grow uncomfortable. Caden quickly let go and took a deep breath.

"It's good to see you Lex." Lexi just nodded, still shaking.

"Well lets get you inside." Caden started to pull her along, but Lexi pulled out of his grip and looked back at me with wide eyes.

"Uhm, Mina? You think I can stay with Lexi tonight?" Mina's teeth nearly glowed in the dark as she nodded.

"Of course, just make sure to come over when you guys wake up." I gave Mina a hug, grabbed my clothes out of her car, and waved as she pulled out of the driveway into her own.

Caden led us both in, and I vaguely remember his house. The last time I was here I was drunk, and Max assaulted me. Lexi stuck to my side as we both followed Caden up the stairs. He led us to a room that was simple, but cute. It would be perfect for Lexi, it wouldn't overwhelm her, but it was homey enough.

"Do you want to shower Lexi?" I asked as she clung to my arm. She was a lot like a terrified child, clinging to her mother. She was confused, sick and she was in unfamiliar surroundings. Lexi nodded, so after Caden excused himself, we walked to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. I started the shower for her, making sure the water wouldn't scald her sensitive skin. I turned around and saw her fidgeting , not sure what to do now.

"I will set out some clean clothes on the bed, alright? I will be downstairs with Caden if you need anything." Lexi nodded, keeping her dilated eyes on me as I moved about the bathroom. I left to give her privacy and exhaled loudly into the empty room.

Hurry home Talon. Someone is eager to see you.

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