In Denial | Alex Turner

XXIV

"M-Mum?" I stuttered as I put the phone on my ear hesitantly.

"Monica!" my mum's joyful voice was heard from the other side of the phone.

"Is everything okay?" I asked worriedly before yawning.

"Oui, everything!" I could hear her smile. "Did I wake you, Mon?" her voice changed to a bit more worried one.

"Euh..." I cleared my throat. "Kind of," I giggled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Monica!" her french accent was really coming out and made me smile.

"It's okay, mum. How have you been?" I smiled at the sound of her voice. My mum and I never had the best relationship. One moment we're laughing and the other we're yelling at each other.

"I've been okay and your father has also been great, ma chérie. Et toi?" I heard the fridge open from the other side.

"I've... been okay, yeah," I huffed a laugh without getting into any details about my whereabouts and all since I was sure she'd give me some sort of lecture.

"That's great, Monica, great," I heard the fridge close again. "Listen, how would you feel about coming over for a week or two during February or March?" 

"Oh..." I mumbled. "I would love to, mum!" I tried sounding cheerful.

"You can also bring Elle and whoever else you'd like," I could picture her eyes squinting as she smiled widely.

"I'll call you tomorrow so we can plan it," I smiled as I started picking on my lips; something I always did when I was nervous.

"Of course, Mon! Goodnight,"

"Goodnight, mum," I mumbled quietly with a half-smile on my face as I hung up the phone.

Now, what was that about?

-

I woke up the next day by someone shaking my shoulders and calling me by my middle name.

"Alexander, what do you want?" I groaned into the pillow and shook his hands off my shoulders.

"Everyone else left an' we're the only ones here. We've got to kill time," he kept on shaking my shoulders

"What do you mean? Where did they go?" I kept my face buried in my pillow, not having any intentions of moving

"For breakfast at the beach," I felt him fall on the bed next to me as his perfume filled in my lungs.

"And why didn't you go with them?" I slightly moved, turning my head to face his direction, but still having my eyes shut.

"'Cause I woke up ten minutes ago an' it's already 1pm," he explained as I felt his body turn to face me.

"1pm already?" I groaned once again and turned around, facing the ceiling with my eyes closed.

"They're plannin' on spendin' the whole day walkin' 'round LA," he explained further.

I turned my head to his direction and met a smiley Alex lying next to me. His hair was gelled back into its usual quiff. He was wearing a grey t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, along with his gold chain around his neck.

"What do suggest we do, then?" I shot him a tired smile.

"Well," he sat up on his elbows and looked outside the room. "We could go 'ave a coffee at the beach an' then maybe grab some lunch," he shrugged and looked down on me.

My eyelids were heavy and I was blinking slowly as I watched the sun hit his face gently.

"Sounds great, but you're paying," I chuckled and rolled out of bed before stretching.

"Sure thing, love," he smirked.

-

We drove with Alex to Malibu Beach with a car we'd rented— some sort of jeep, to be more specific.

"It's too hot for a February afternoon, isn't it?" I asked as I stepped out of the car.

I was wearing a pair of blue wide jeans and a white top underneath a light green short-sleeved button-up. 

"That's LA, love," Alex chuckled as he closed the door behind him and locked the door.

He was holding a paper base with two coffees on it and a beach towel as he walked over to me.

"You're right, love," I teased with a smirk as I grabbed my coffee off the base. I earned a giggle from him as we walked down to the beach.

Alex placed the towel on the sand, sitting on it after he took his chelsea boots off. I took my black boots off too and sat on the towel next to him.

We sat watching the sea crash in front of us as people around as were laughing and screaming. Some others were even swimming since it was something like a summer afternoon.

"C'mon," Alex soon broke the silence by standing up and taking his grey t-shirt off.

"What are you doing?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him. He took my arms and pulled me up.

"But I'm not wearing a bathing suit," I protested.

"Who cares? Neither do I." he replied cheerfully with a shrug

I finally gave in and undressed myself, wearing only my underwear, which surprisingly looked like a bathing suit.

Alex took my arm and led me to where the sea was crashing. He took a deep breath and splashed into the sea, getting his quiff wet and completely ruining it.

"It's cold!" I protested once again, taking a step back from the sea.

"Come in!" he yelled from inside.

"Forget it," I waved my hand at him and turned around to walk away.

As I was about to started walking away, I felt a pair of cold hands wrap around my waist, making me shiver.

"Alexander!" I yelled between laughs.

"Take a deep breath, love," he pulled me in the sea and threw me inside just as I had taken a deep breath.

I came back onto the surface breathing heavily and trying to get my hair out of the way. Thankfully, I hadn't worn any makeup that day, so I didn't have anything like that to worry about.

"I'll kill you," I laughed again and splashed some water towards him, making his hair wet once again. He responded by splashing water back to me.

"Let me take yer on me shoulders," he smirked as he swam closer to me. I nodded and huffed a laugh.

He sunk in the water and I stepped on his shoulders, grabbing his hands for support. He slowly rose from the water carefully, not wanting to let me fall just yet.

"Yer ready, Bella?" he asked between laughs.

"Yes!" I kept on laughing.

"3...2...1..."