Jace walks past and places a hand on my shoulder, kisses my cheek and continues walking.
My eyes are still following J when the door swings open.
Alec looks at me in confusion, probably wondering why I didn’t knock or just come in. His eyes drop down to the cups in my hands. I hand him his and he takes it into his hands.
He steps back, letting me into his bedroom for a second time today. Alec puts his tea on his bedside table, leans back against his bedhead and picks up his laptop.
When I linger near the door, his hazel eyes,back to normal now,flick up and he pats the bed beside him.
Careful not to spill my tea, I climb in bed. My shoulder brushes his.
Resting his computer on his knees, Alec reaches over and grasps his cup of tea. He takes a sip and sighs, closing his eyes briefly.
“Dom told you?” Alec questions, no coldness in his voice. It seems to be back to his normal smooth tone.
“He made it,” I murmur hesitantly, fiddling with the tea bag string. He nods but doesn’t say anything else as he drinks his tea. I sip mine and we sit in comfortable silence.
I realise that Alec must only wear his glasses at school. The two times I’ve gone to school with him, he’s worn them. Why doesn’t he wear them at home but he does at school?
When he finishes his tea, he places the cup on his bedside table. He gestures to my cup.
“Are you done?” Alec asks and I nod, handing him mine. He half closes his laptop.
“My mum used to make me that,” Alec tells me quietly. He doesn’t meet my eyes when I glance over.
“Where is she?" I ask gently. His eyes drag up to mine before he points at the ceiling. Past the ceiling.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly and Alec shakes his head. He silent for a moment before he speaks again, louder this time.
“I was maybe almost twelve when she died. I usually stayed with the guys a few times a week. Mum didn’t like me around the house when James had people over.” He stares at the wall as he talks. “She was coming to pick me up one day when some asshole ran a red light and t-boned her at an intersection. She died instantly.”
Alec takes a shaky breath. I put my hand on his in the small gap between us. He smiles faintly at the connection.
“I didn’t see my father much growing up.” That’s the first time I’ve ever heard him call James his father. “He’s the head of a huge lawfirm that specialises in getting criminals off. They go to him, he gets paid and a favour to be done at a later date.”
“What kind of favours?” I ask quietly.
He’s silent again.
“The kind that leads to his wife dying,” Alec whispers. He finally looks up at me. Is he saying…
“It wasn’t an accident, Sunshine. He was a criminal James screwed over and rather than taking him out, he went after Mum.” He doesn’t look upset or angry. Just resigned.
“What happened to the guy?” I ask softly.
“He was going to get away with it. Getting the evidence to convict him was my first hack job." An almost satisfied look crosses his face before the pain that follows. “He had ties to the underground and some mafia family in Europe so he’s going to be in prison a long time.”
“That‘s good,” I murmur and he nods. “What did he mean when he said you stole from him?” I question.
Alec sighs, seeming to know I would ask this. “You know how I’ve done some work for the ACIC?”
I slowly nod.
“So, technically I’m a hacker but I don’t just go around hacking everyone,” he rambles. “I found out that my father had been stealing from people so I took that information to the ACIC and they had me hack him and give the money back.”
“That’s…Alec, that’s really cool,” I tell him, honestly. “It’s amazing that you could help those people.”
I squeeze his hand gently. He turns his head to face me. Our faces are close enough that I see the splatter of freckles on his cheeks, under his eyes. They blend in with his skin tone so much I hadn’t noticed them before.
