Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding #2)(54)
Author: K.A. Linde

"You heard me. Your ring is fake," Lexi spat feeling a release of all the pent up frustration that one ring had caused her.

"It’s not a fake!" Bekah gasped.

"Are you sure?" Lexi asked arching an eyebrow.

"What you think I haven’t had it appraised?" she asked revealing the true depths of her shallowness.

Lexi scoffed at her statement. It would have never crossed her mind to get it appraised. The diamonds couldn’t have been more real. A closer inspection was hardly necessary. It was pretty clear that it was an expensive engagement ring. "For quality and cost right?" Lexi asked.

Bekah examined the ring on her hand for a second before answering Lexi. "Of course. The ring cost a fortune. Every diamond is authentic."

"But what about authenticity?" Lexi asked knowing the she likely hadn’t considered that for she had never thought that he wouldn’t give her the original ring.

"Has that ring on your finger been around since before World War II?" she asked grabbing her hand and staring at the ring again. She knew it wasn’t but her drunken state wasn’t allowing her any discretion. "Has this ring survived Jack’s grandmother as he always claimed it did?"

"Of course," Bekah said with less confidence than before. She stared forward at Lexi who was still examining the ring.

"No it hasn’t because this isn’t that ring. It’s a duplicate," Lexi told her gritting her teeth against the reality of her statement. Because no matter how much this was going to hurt Bekah, this fact had already hurt Lexi more than ever before.

"I don’t believe you," she said yanking her hand back.

"You don’t have to," Lexi spat. "Just get the ring appraised and you’ll figure it out real quick. The original ring doesn’t belong to you and it was never meant for you."

"How would you know any of this?" Bekah asked getting flustered and reaching out for the bar to steady herself. She was losing color in her face and getting more and more unsteady on her feet.

Lexi wasn’t sure she could answer that. How could she stoop any lower? How could she tell her that the ring was intended for Lexi all along? That would just fuel her fire. Lexi didn’t have the ring so there was no point in pressing her luck and exposing anymore than was necessary. The real story was too humiliating anyway.

"I just…know Jack unlike anyone else," she said with a sad smile.

"No," Bekah said shaking her head from side to side. "You’re just a liar. That’s what you said Jack is good at well that’s all you’re good at. You’re just lying to me. You want me to call off the wedding. You want him to yourself. He’s not yours. Just wait until I tell Ramsey what bullshit you’re spoutin’ now. He’ll never want you back."

Lexi rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I’m not here to sabotage you. Don’t flatter yourself. And try and refrain from thinking you know what Ramsey will and will not do. You’re just his sister."

Bekah glared at her ready to spit back at her. Just then Kersey ran up to them. "Let’s go," she squeaked out wiping at her mouth quickly.

"Go?" Bekah asked distracted.

"Yeah where are Amber and Maddie?" Kersey asked looking around them to find out where the girls were. She stood on her tip toes and even in her four inch heels she was still too short to see over the crowd.

"Dancing. What’s going on?" Bekah asked her concerned.

Kersey giggled and pulled something out of her purse. Lexi was still fuming from her conversation with Bekah. She could hardly concentrate on what they were saying or what Kersey had in her hand.

"Look what I got," Kersey said covering her mouth as she revealed the boxers in her hand.

"You got boxers?" Bekah asked in awe.

Kersey bit her lower lip and attempted to look innocent. "I won’t tell you what I had to do to get them," she said lowering her long black lashes, "but I have them."

"Oh I think I know what you had to do," Bekah said looking at her with a new sense of admiration. "You’ve got a little…" Bekah motioned for her to wipe the right side of her mouth.

Kersey’s eyes bulged and she quickly swiped at her mouth again. "Woops," she said giggling. "Anyway we have to go. I don’t think he was expecting me to dip out like that."

Kersey and Bekah dove into the crowd to wrangle Amber and Maddie out of the mass of people. Lexi darted for the door to wait for the rest of the group. She was just glad that they were on their way out. She was too drunk to be around them any longer. She had spilled a secret that she swore she was going to keep to herself. She had never intended to stoop to her level. The Fearsome Four appeared before her all hanging onto each other and giggling about Kersey’s success.

As they stumbled down the street back to their hotel, Amber cried out, "How bruised are your knees going to be?"

"Amber!" Kersey gasped.

"Are they already bruised?" Maddie asked bending over a little too far to look at Kersey’s knees and showing her ass off to the rest of the street.

"No!" she cried a sly smile still on her face. "Anyway it’s not like you didn’t do the same f**king thing to Ramsey only two weeks ago!"

Lexi stopped in her tracks her mouth dropping open. She could feel her heart clench and her stomach drop. Had she just heard that? Were they serious? No. There was no way that he would do that. She knew that she had been gone and that she had left him. She knew that she hadn’t exactly been perfect while away from him, but she just didn’t think he had it in him.

Not that he didn’t have the right to. They hadn’t been together. She had left. But still she just couldn’t believe it. This just wasn’t the Ramsey that she knew. Everyone said that he was a man whore, but he had never been like that when he had been with her. She never thought it was possible. Why would he want to get back with her if he had been with Maddie while she had been gone?

"Kersey shut up!" Maddie growled.

"Not again," Bekah gasped gagging a little and pushing her friend away from her. "You little whore."

"It didn’t happen! I tried to tell you guys," Maddie said shaking her head and giggling.

"Yeah you just happened to have white stuff on your mouth for no reason when you came back from the bathroom with Ramsey at the club," Amber muttered under her breath.

"Guys I swear," Maddie yelled back.

"I won’t hate you this time," Bekah slurred pointing her finger at Maddie.

"Come on. That’s ancient history."

"Suuuuuure," Kersey said as they entered the hotel lobby.

Lexi numbly followed them into the elevator up to their floor. She had blocked out the remainder of their conversation. She couldn’t even think properly. She couldn’t confront them to find out if it was true. They were too drunk to be lying about it. And she was too drunk to question their comments. All she wanted to do was to crash in her hotel room and block out the entire night.

The next morning she woke up with a killer headache and an upset stomach. None of the other girls felt up to breakfast, and just directed the limo to take them back into town. The only good part about all of them being hungover was that none of them wanted to talk. They just wanted to lie back against the cold leather seats and rest their eyes. She was the first person to be dropped off, and was so thankful to be out of the car and away from the four blonde bitches. Lexi grabbed her bag from the trunk and stomped up the stairs to Ramsey’s apartment.

Ramsey was standing next to the coffee maker when she walked in. He looked as gorgeous as ever in a flimsy green t-shirt and khaki shorts. His smile lit up as she entered the room. "Hey how was the party? I didn’t hear from you last night," Ramsey said cheerfully turning to face her.

The glare on her face was enough to tell all. "I can’t believe you convinced me to go to that," she growled hoisting her bag over her shoulder and stomping into the room. She tossed her bag at the foot of the couch and sank into the material.

"I didn’t really convince you," he reminded her filling a mug with black coffee and bringing it over to her.

"You didn’t object to it either." She took the mug from him regardless and took a long swig. The coffee hit her immediately and though she wasn’t feeling well by a long shot it did help her to feel more awake and alive.

"I didn’t know I was supposed to," he said taking a seat next to her.

Lexi sighed heavily and shook her head. "You didn’t think there was anything you should warn me about before sending me off with them? Nothing?" she turned and looked at him carefully.

He could tell that his answer was going to be closely examined. No matter what he said he was probably in trouble for something. "What are you talking about?" he asked staring down into her angry brown eyes. She looked gorgeous to him despite his concerns. There was just something about her when she was mad. She had such fiery passion and it just lit her up.

Lexi sighed and scooted away from him. "You can’t think of anything?" she repeated.

"If there is something I should know, please just tell me."

"You slept with Maddie," she spat unable to hold back any longer. She shoved his shoulder, not moving his rock solid body an inch, and stormed off to the kitchen. She set her mug down on the counter and braced her body. She had moved a bit too quickly and she was feeling dizzy.

Ramsey cursed under his breath, but followed her. "Lexi."

After she regained her balance, she spoke up. "No Ramsey, I just don’t even want to think about it right now," she muttered resting her hands on the cool marble countertops and taking several heavy breaths. She knew that it didn’t matter that he had slept with her. She wasn’t even actually pissed that it had happened. She was just pissed that he hadn’t warned her. Bekah used every trick in the book to destroy her. How had he not thought to tell her that one? Then she wouldn’t have had to be surprised and look like an idiot.

And what had happened two weeks ago? Had Maddie really given him a bl*w j*b in the bathroom? Had any of that been true? It was hard to even contemplate.

"Lexi that was a really long time ago. She was in college when that happened," he told her trying to be reassuring. "I don’t know why they brought it up, but it has nothing to do with you. I was in a rough place in my life. You know that. I used to…sleep with everyone. I’m not that person anymore."

"What about two weeks ago?" Lexi asked whirling around to face him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked scrunching his brows together.

"The bl*w j*b in the bathroom," she said reminding him leaning back against the counter top to steady herself. "Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t care who you slept with or what happened. I mean we weren’t together, but you knew I’d be around her."

"Nothing happened two weeks ago," he said quickly. "She got with someone else and I almost kicked her out of the club. I didn’t do anything with her or anyone else when you were gone. All I could think about was you."

"Then why did they tell me that?" she asked angrily. "Why didn’t you tell me about your history with her?"

"I don’t know why they decided to tell you that lie, and I had no idea they were going to bring up my history with her," he volleyed back. "It’s not like I was…trying to hide it from you. It’s history for a reason."