Going Nowhere {Solo}
The more that happened this trip, the more Alex regretted agreeing to it. It had been one bad thing after another. Clara had threatened to never speak to him again, he’d gotten thrown off Mudslide the bull and ended up with a sprained wrist after lasting 4.3 seconds that had felt like an eternity.
The hospital visit for an x-ray that had followed with Levi and Grampy Joe had been interesting. Levi kept alternating between being relieved that his best friend was okay and had survived the bull, and being close to punching Alex in the arm for not agreeing to his plan to get him out of it. Alex was thankful he hadn’t actually punched him because he did feel sore after being thrown off the bull. Grampy Joe seemed to be proud of Alex for lasting as long as he had considering he was a first timer, and also amused because he knew what Alex’s mother’s reaction would be, and it wouldn’t be pretty for Alex.
Once they’d arrived back at the ranch after he’d had his wrist bandaged up, Alex had headed straight for a swing bench to the side of the house, wanting some time on his own with his thoughts after such a stressful and confusing day. He’d been so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when he heard footsteps approaching him, and he was mildly surprised to see Tess standing in front of him. “Hi, Alex. Can we talk?” she asked.
It sounded serious, and Alex just hoped it wasn’t anything else bad. Maybe it was about Clara. He hadn’t heard anything about her since she’d stormed away from him, and he hoped she was okay. “Uh, sure thing,” Alex said, gesturing to the empty seat next to him. “What’s up?”
Tess sat down, but instead of sitting next to him, she sat at the complete other side of the bench. Weird. “You were amazing today, just like I knew you would be. You should be really proud of yourself because you raised a lot of money for a good cause. I'm sorry that you ended up hurting your wrist because of it though,” she said, gesturing to his bandaged up wrist.
Alex grinned at her praise, glad that he seemed to have been able to make her proud. He’d faced his fear and hadn’t let her down. “It’s alright. I’ve sprained my wrist a few times before. It’ll heal up in no time.” He shrugged it off as nothing.
Scooting closer to him, Tess spoke again as though she hadn’t heard what Alex had said. “But... Look... I've known that I loved you for a long time now but I was never sure of how. After doing some soul searching, I've realized that the way I love you is as a brother. I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize that but that's what we are. We're siblings.“
Alex’s grin fell off his face, and once again that day, he was left impossibly confused. How could she only love him as a brother? They’d flirted around a potential relationship for over a year. Not to mention they’d kissed. You don’t kiss your brother on the lips. That wasn’t what they were. “I don’t understand, Tess,” Alex said, his voice wavering. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Tess smiled sadly. "You don't need to understand it, Alex. This is my decision and it's not something that we can work out. Hopefully soon you might be able to appreciate my reasoning.”
She stood up, and walked away, back into the house, leaving behind a very confused, and sad, Alex. Tess had been the only reason he’d gotten on the bull. He’d done it for her, because he wanted to be the person she saw him as, and now she’d broken up with him? Sure, they’d never officially dated, but it felt like a break up. Now, Alex had a sprained wrist, no Clara, and no almost girlfriend. Alex sighed exasperatedly and leaned back in his seat. They said bad things came in threes, but with the way that day was going, he wouldn’t be surprised if they just kept on coming.