Holding On (Memories)

voice.
    “What?” Alec's voice cracks.
    “I said-”
    “I know what you said!” he shouts. “Why would you say that? Why, Lexy?”
    Tears brim in my eyes and I shake my head. “I just... After those texts, Alec… Maybe it's for the best. We could make it work, right? You said it yourself before.”
    “Is that what you want? For me to go back?”
    “It's your home, Alec.”
    His stormy, grey-blue eyes meet mine for a second, and he crosses the room to look out of the window. “My home is wherever you are, Lexy. You are my damn home!”
    I look down. “What if it’s for the best? What if being here in London is tearing us apart? All this bullshit with Adrian… Maybe it's making this harder than it has to be.” My voice is barely a whisper.
    “No,” he says firmly. “No. No way.” He turns, swallowing the room with his determined steps. He grabs my face, his lips pressing against mine hard. I hold his arms and kiss him back, feeling what he's feeling. Desperation. Need. Hope. Love.
    Tears stream down my face as he pulls away.
    “I fought for you in Devon, Princess. I fought for you for weeks, and even when it all seemed hopeless, I kept fighting. I didn't let you go then. I followed you here from Devon. You know why? I followed you because there's nowhere else in this world I'd rather be than right by your side. I'm here, in London, with you. Because of you. I don't give a fuck if Adrian wants to punch me in the face or run me over with a bus, I'm not leaving this city alone. Not ever, Lexy.”
    “Alec...”
    “The only way you'll get me moving out of London is if you're by my side as my wife, Lexy!” he yells.
    Tears fall harder, faster.
    “It's you. It's always been you, and it'll only ever be you! I'm not leaving without you. I mean it. When it's me and you, its forever, and no jumped up city boy is gonna get in the way of that.”
    “It shouldn't be this hard,” I sob and fall into him. His arms wrap me tightly, and there's a desperation to the way he's holding me.
    “Love isn't easy, Princess,” he says. “But it's what makes it worth it. Every day I fight for you because you are worth it. I won't stop, Lexy. I won't stop fighting for us. Tell me to leave, push me away, tell me you don't want this. You don't mean it. I know you. I know what you want, and it's what I want. Don't tell me I still have to prove it to you, even now?”
    I shake my head. “You don't.”
    He nudges my head up. His lips take mine, moving softly across them. “Then believe me when I say,” he whispers against my mouth. “...That I'll never leave this city unless you're beside me. Never. I won't let you go, Lexy, and I don't care who tries to make me. This is it. You are it. You are forever. Don't let him destroy this. We'll do it together, I promise. Just believe in it. Don't... Please don't let us go.”
    I wrap my arms around his neck, and press my body against him, holding him to me. “I won't. I won't.”
    He strokes my hair once before his arms circle my waist again. He buries his face in my neck, his lips brushing my skin. “We can’t give him what he wants. He wants me to leave, but I won’t. Tomorrow night, we’ll show him that. Just keep holding on, Princess. That's all we have to do.”

    ~

BING

    Lexy steps out of her room in a long pink dress. She fiddles with the bracelet at her wrist, and I smile. For all our bitching, I love my sister.
    “Well, she scrubs up all right, huh, Dad?” I wink at him. Dad smiles widely, proudly.
    “She ain’t bad, son. I still think me and you got the looks, though.”
    Lexy looks up, smirking. “Yeah, okay, Dad. And Bing? Your tie isn’t straight.”
    I look down, seeing that it is. “Bitch,” I mutter, as she stops in front of me. “When are Alec and Jen getting here?”
    “Two minutes,” Mum says, leaving her room. All our eyes turn to her, and it’s clear to see who the most beautiful woman in the room will be tonight. With her dark hair curling around her shoulders setting off her floor length cream gown, there’ll be no competition.
    We watch as the same look we’ve seen a thousand times comes over Dad’s face. His smile widens, and his eyes light up. He steps towards Mum.
    “You’re beautiful, Emmy,” he says, kissing her.
    Lexy smiles, and I wrinkle up my face.
    “Let’s leave the lovebirds to it, Lex,” I take her arm, and help her down the stairs.
    She raises her eyebrows. “Who are you and what have you done with my asshole