-*-*-
Truly
-*-*-
Chapter Three: And now…
-*-*-
The morning had so far gone good. The crew hadn’t said anything around Ty about Alex, and he doubted they’d said anything about her at all. For some reason, they were choosing to be nice to her. Alex, in turn, was putting more effort into helping the teams and Ty, as well as being nicer to the crew.
She’d spent the first three hours with Hilde and her team. She’d painting some shelves and picture frames, helped finish sewing the slipcovers, and had helped to assemble the bed. After seeing that Hilde and her team were okay with all that they were doing, she moved on to Doug’s house across the street. Once there, she attended to painting more picture frames, doing touch-ups on the wall, and helping with his new lighting fixture.
“So this wire attaches to this one…” Doug trailed off, screwing the bare copper into its spot, “And now we screw this into the ceiling.” He added, doing exactly as he said. As soon as it was set he turned to his friend, “Okay, turn it on.”
Alex flipped the switch and cheered with the team as the light came on.
Doug hopped down from the latter, “Finally!” He laughed, “I guess we can start bringing some of the furniture in, since we really only have the shelves and the finishing touches to do now.” The couple nodded, and walked out to start grabbing a few of the pieces.
“I’ll go see if Ty’s finished with the shelves.” She began to walk away.
“Hold on.”
Alex turned
around and looked at the man, “What?”
“I wanna see this ring. Gen helped Ty pick it out and the rest of us
haven’t even had a clue as to what it looks like.” He walked over to her, as
she unclipped a silver chain she was wearing.
To keep herself from losing it or damaging it, she had placed it on a
chain and allowed it to dangle off the edge of her turtleneck.
He took it and whistled at it, “Wow – that’s nice.”
“It’s beautiful.” Alex corrected.
He continued to flip it over in his hand, finally noticing an inscription. He read it and smiled, as he handed it back to her.
“What?”
“The inscription.”
She looked at him oddly, and he realized she must not have seen it the night before. He flipped the ring so she could see the writing.
“Allie & Ty forever.” She whispered. She glanced up at Doug, before clipping the necklace back were it belonged, and grabbing AlexCam. She giggled as she walked out of the house and caught sight of the carpenter.
As she descended the driveway, she flipped on the camera and carefully crossed the street. She entered the white tent quietly, startling Ty when she spoke.
“Doug wants to know if you’ve finished his shelves yet?” Alex asked, taping her fiancé with AlexCam.
Ty jumped and then nodded, removing the nails from his lips, “Yep – they be done. And don’t sneak up on someone like that!”
“Not having fun yet, Ty?”
“Oh, Alex, I’m having fun by the load!” He laughed evilly, as he picked up one of his various electric screwdrivers.
Turning off the camera, Alex looked around, overjoyed to notice no one was watching, “I love you.”
“I look you, too.” He grinned, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers, “I overheard Jackie and Kieran talking about your ring.” He paused, “And they were saying how they think they were wrong about you.”
Alex straightened up, “Would you like some help? I’ve helped everyone else so far.”
“Sure.” He pulled her toward one of the trees, “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?” He whispered, leaning in to kiss her.
-*-*-
Hours later, the crew had packed up and headed for the hotel. It was one of the rare occasions of having a few days off in between the scheduling of tapings. Relaxation was all anyone had his or her minds, but when Ty shouted, “Let’s go swimming!”, everyone jumped on the bandwagon – including Alex. Ty was surprised by this, but knew enough to not let it show.
Alex almost never went swimming. Her opinions on herself in a bathing suit were less then kind, and so she tried to avoid it. It had baffled Ty and her mother, but her brother, Morgan, understood all-too-well the source of his sister’s dislike of herself. Scars crisscrossed her stomach like lattice, cigarette burn marks dotting her upper back. They were her reason for despising bathing suits. There was almost never a bathing suit with enough fabric, and when she did find one, she wore it only once or twice a year, and always with a black t-shirt over it.
And when she emerged from the bathroom in the same high-necked, zippered, black suit and the graying shirt, Ty was not surprised, but he was flustered at her clothing, “Allie, why don’t we go buy you a bathing suit? This one’s old.” He sighed, pulling her into the bed with him.
“No! This one’s fine. I can sew it if I have to.”
He eyed her cautiously. Something wasn’t right. It was almost as if she was hiding something. “Is there something I should know? It’s like you’re not telling me something.”
She shook her head violently.
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” She replied, laying her head on his chest to avoid looking him the eye.
“Right…” He murmured, “I promise, no matter what it is, you can tell me, okay? If not now, later. But I want to know, Allie.” Ty kissed her hair, then rolled to his side and pulled her closer.
Scared, Alex pulled away, but after a moment passed awkwardly between them, she moved closer, “I will tell you. I just don’t know how. The words…they don’t come easy.”
“Can you at least tell me what it has to do with?” He probed, wondering what it would be.
Another moment passed, before her meek voice answered, “My father.”
That scared him. He had known Alex to speak of her father as the cause of some of her problems with relationships, and after meeting the elder McLeod, Ty was very much inclined to believe that he was the source of more then just her believe that marriages never work. But now, he was afraid of what would follow.
Her eyelids slowly began to lift and she gazed at Ty, “Please don’t tell. If he finds out…”
“He hit you, didn’t he?”
She slunk back in the bed so far that she fell off. Fight or flight overtook her, but Ty could see it in her stormy-gray eyes. Before she could run, he was up and holding her in the safety of his arms, “I’m not letting you run, Allie. Not now. I’ll never let him near you ever again.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” She whispered.
Sighing once again, Ty could merely hold her as she began to cry.
-*-*-
2 hours later
Alex had cried for an hour or so, before falling asleep in Ty’s arms. He’d laid her down gently, and then laid down beside her. Instinctively, she snuggled closer; her head nestled in the crook of his arm.
“I love you, Allie. I seriously love you, without doubt or hesitation. And I will love you until the day I die. Believe me – no matter what happens, I will always be there for you.” His lips brushed hers, as he pulled her closer and whispered into her ear, “And I’ve never made you a promise, I haven’t kept.”
Her eyes slit open, and she breathed in deeply before speaking, “I know – but there are some evils that you can’t protect me from, Tyler, and my father is one of them.”
“He even so much as looks at you, and I’m breaking his nose.” He smiled.
She shifted her gaze from his chest to his eyes, “I love you, too.”
-*-*-