The Love Hack

Chapter 26

Lexi parked outside Tom's house. Her mind was still spinning from what had happened back at her parents' place. She wanted to cry, scream, do something, but numbness had taken over her body. She wondered for a moment if she had dreamt everything, but her stomach twisted when her dad's words replayed in her mind. The hardest part was knowing her family would never see Tom the way she did.

Her nausea returned when she thought about what her parents might do to stop her from seeing him. She knew though, they would never go to extreme lengths like reporting him to the university. Yet it didn't stop her from saying a quick prayer that Tom would be safe and that their situation wouldn't come to light any more than it already had.

Lexi's thoughts traveled to Mindy and Cole. There were so many signs and Lexi wondered how she missed them. Maybe I'm not cut out for the private investigator life after all. She had been so consumed with the case and with Tom that she missed something that was right under her nose. Mindy and Cole? She replayed the combo of their names together in her head.

A tear escaped Lexi's eye and she quickly caught it before it fell off her face. She reasoned that it wasn't so much that they were together but rather Mindy keeping something this big from her. Her chest tightened thinking about how she was keeping something just as big from Tom.

She brought down the car visor and opened up the little mirror on it to quickly fix her makeup. Taking a deep breath in, she gathered her things and went up to Tom's apartment. It's fine. Everything's fine. It'll all blow over tomorrow when everyone's cooled down. Just forget about everything tonight. Be with Tom, and try to have fun.

Lexi waited just a moment after ringing Tom's doorbell. His front step had a potted plant that looked slightly weathered and was fitting for a Halloween decoration.

Tom opened the door with a large smile plastered across his face. Yet, it quickly faltered when his eyes landed on her. "What's wrong?" he asked before a dip appeared between his brows. His hair was styled with an orange tint and parted differently, seemingly for the Ron Weasly effect. Similar to Lexi, he was wearing a wizard robe and a Gryffindor tie over his white button-up shirt.

Lexi tried to muster up some energy and forced a smile. "Nothing!" she said, voice cracking.

"Come in." Tom led her into the condo and Lexi glanced around taking in her surroundings. Tom's place had a large living room with an attached kitchen. Everything in it was neat and organized and the furnishings were mostly gray, white, light blue, or black. It had a modernist and simplistic feel similar to his office, yet still carried warmth with the yellowish-orange hues from the overhead lights and lamps around the room.

Everything in the space was so familiar and so Tom, Lexi couldn't help but love it. "Nice place you got here," she said while still trying to exude an All-Is-Well facade.

"Sit here. Tell me what's wrong." Tom motioned to the large gray couch in the living room.

She followed his directive and he placed himself next to her. "Nothing's wrong, Tom. Your costume looks great! I like the orange hair. It's a nice touch," she said as she wrapped her arms around him for a hug.

He hugged her back for a moment, but gently pushed her off of him with concern still splashed across his features. "There's something wrong. I can tell you've been crying." He pulled her in close to him and pressed his lips against her forehead. "Tell me what's wrong, baby."

Lexi sighed and shook her head despite the flutters in her stomach. "I promise, I will. I just don't want to think about it right now. Is that okay? Sorry, it's just some family drama I'm dealing with. Nothing to be too concerned about though. I'll be fine." Lexi wanted to tell him everything, but she knew it would put a major damper on their evening. She needed time to think through things and assess what it would all mean; for herself, for Tom, and for their relationship. There was too much to think about, and it seemed like a monumental task to try to start sifting through everything.