Avoiding Responsibility (Avoiding #2)(3)

"Lexi, are you still there?" Ramsey questioned anxiously into the phone.

She snapped out of her trance. "Yes."

"Yeah?" he asked excitement evident in his voice.

"Yes, I'm still here," she mumbled.

"Oh," he said sullenly, "I thought you meant yes you would go with me."

"Oh, no," she replied shaking her head side to side even though he couldn't see her.

"Lexi, please."

"Ramsey, are you out of your mind?" she asked running her fingers through her long brown hair as she tried to keep her voice level and under control. The feat was proving rather difficult to accomplish. How dare he ask her such a ridiculous request!

"Probably a little bit," he admitted his voice wavering.

"You'd have to be crazy to think that I would go with you," she said pinching herself to keep from yelling at him over the phone.

"Is this about me or Jack?"

Lexi huffed out an angry breath. "Do you really have to ask that?" she grumbled.

"You're right. You're right," he quickly amended. "Sorry for asking."

"Whatever. Ramsey, I'm not going to that wedding with you or with anyone," she told him firmly.

"Lexi what happened a couple weeks ago…"

"Please don't," she whispered into the phone laying her forehead into her hand and wishing she had gone with her first instinct and ignored the call.

"I am sorry about…everything," he murmured his voice filled with emotion.

"I know. You said that."

"I just…I don't want to go with anyone else," he told her.

Lexi could feel the tears beginning to well in her eyes at the admission. She really did not need this right now. She quickly swiped at her eyes hoping the effect of his words wouldn't show through on her face.

Stepping off of the bed and wandering towards the closet, Lexi stood before the full-length mirror and took a good long look at herself. Her eyes were rimmed pink, but as long as she held it together, the coloring would go away fast enough. Her cheeks were flushed, but it was a nice look with her tanned skin. Her tangled mess of hair fell down just past her shoulders a whopping ten inches shorter than she typically wore it because she had donated the hair to Locks of Love at a charity fundraiser Chyna had dragged her to. She was getting better at controlling her emotions. She hadn't let one tear trickle down her face.

"You can't ask that of me Ramsey. You know it isn't fair."

"Can I just give you the date and you let me know if you're available?" he pleaded.

"What?" she shrieked. "No, don't give me the date." Pulling the phone promptly from her ear, Lexi glanced around the room and over the balcony to see if she had caused a disturbance. She hadn't intended on losing control, but the thought that after all her hard work Ramsey was going to spoil everything just made her act impulsively. After reassuring herself that her explosion hadn't drawn any unnecessary attention, Lexi placed the phone back on her ear.

"Lexi? Hello, are you there?" Ramsey asked concerned his voice coming out faster than normal out of panic.

"Yes, I'm here. Sorry, I didn't mean to yell," she said tucking a lock of hair behind her ear out of habit.

"It's fine. Look I won't tell you the date, if you don't want to know, but will you just think on it? I really don't want to be there without you."

"Did you ever think that maybe I don't want to be there at all?" she whispered into the phone ducking into the bathroom.

"I know you don't want to be there, but I have to be. It's my sister's wedding and I have to be there. But since I have to, I'd like to be as happy as possible when I am there. The only way that could be possible is with you," he told her using his easy charm to let the words fall husky and persuasive off of his tongue.

She sighed quietly and closed her eyes as her mind traveled to a year ago. She had told herself she would contact Ramsey when she could hold her head up high. So much had changed and evolved, not only with herself but between them, that it was harder now to resist him. He had always had a slight influence over her, drawing out emotions in her that she hadn't realized she could even feel. Even in the beginning, his all-encompassing personality made her rude and took her out of her element. Those emotions had only intensified with time.

But she couldn't let another man have control over her decisions. She was not, under any circumstances, going to see her sorta-non-ex-boyfriend get married to anyone. It didn't matter that she also hated the bride or that the bride was Ramsey's sister. She couldn't do it and nothing he said was going to make a difference.

"Ramsey, I can't," she mumbled. "You have to understand. I just can't."

"Please think about it," he begged.

"I have to go. I'll…I'll talk to you later," she said hanging up the phone without even giving him a chance to respond.

She clicked off the line and hung her head miserably in front of the sink. How did these things keep happening to her? Here she was just attempting to enjoy herself and he managed to ruin everything. Now all she was thinking about was the wedding that she assumed was coming up pretty soon. She had so many questions milling around inside of her head that she wasn't even certain she wanted answers.