Let the Floods Cross

Alex walked into the recording studio with messy, unleveled hair. He stifled a yawn and waved at his waiting band mates. Jack and Rian stood behind the producer by the booth, beckoning for Alex to get in the box.

“Where have you been? Rough night?” Rian asked, patting the singer’s back for support.

The brunette singer yawned again, nodding as a response. He was over at Kaya’s once again since he refused to return home and face the awkward tension with Liezel. Ever since he broke the news to her of staying here, he tried his best to avoid her. She did not take his announcement well at all. She was so crestfallen and heartbroken, and he couldn’t bear to look at her.

He was wearing yesterday’s clothing since he did not return to his loft to get spare ones. For a whole week, he avoided going home as much as he could. His band mates can tell that he is falling apart, and so was his relationship with his own girlfriend. Jack gave him a knowing look, but he was very discrete about it—so discrete that Rian did not sense anything.

Alex picked up his electric guitar from its stand and started for the studio.

“So Rian, you tracked the drums for this song right? I want to change things up a bit. It seems like the song will be more upbeat if we make the adjustments I have in mind.” Alex explained.

Rian nodded, acknowledging his opinion. He sometimes did not like it when Alex interfered with his artistic visions, but since his friend is in such a sour mood, he decided against voicing his opinions.

“And Zack…” Alex paused.

Jack and Rian shared looks, gulping simultaneously.

“Where is Zack?” The singer glanced at Rian in particular.

The drummer reached for Jack’s help through his desperate glance, but Jack shrugged it off as if telling the drummer you’re on your own. Rian ran his fingers through strands of his growing hair, mustering up the courage to reveal the news to his friend.

“Rian?”

“Well, Zack, he kind of… um… he left.” Rian said quickly.

Alex raised an eyebrow, ignoring his guitar when the straps loosened.

“Rian, where did he go?” Alex asked again.

Rian opened his mouth and closed it quickly. He knew how his friend would react, and he hated the fact that he had to be the one to announce it. After a long, hesitant pause, Rian opened his mouth once more.

“To New York.”

Alex’s eyebrows furrowed as if he is trying to understand what is going on. He thought long and hard about why Rian was so scared to tell him.

“Why the hell is Zack in New Yo… Oh my god, are you telling me that he left with Liezel this morning?”

Rian turned to Jack once more, expecting a supportive glance, but getting none. Jack was scared to speak, Rian can tell. He did not want to let Alex down by saying anything that would make this situation even worse.

“Alex…”

“No, Rian, I don’t want to hear it. Jack hold my guitar, I have a call to make.” Alex nearly slammed the instrument against his best friend.

Jack grunted under the pressure, holding a firm grip on the guitar. Both musicians watched as their lead singer stormed out of the studio with his iPhone in hand.

Alex cursed loudly as soon as he left the building. He stared at the parking lot absentmindedly, spotting his car out front. The blue Hyundai was a birthday present from Liezel, his 20th birthday. Liezel’s salary was already higher than his at the time, and she noticed how badly he needed a new car. His old car was crap.

Shaking the thought off, he clicked on Liezel’s name on the touch screen and pressed the device to his ears in anticipation. The phone rang a couple of times before she picked up.

“Alex…” She started.

“No, you listen to me, Liezel. What the hell are you trying to prove here? What point are you trying to make by dragging my band mate along with you to New York? If your goal was to piss me off, then hell, it worked.” Alex growled angrily into his device.

He heard some mumbling in the background, but he couldn’t concentrate on what is going on since his anger is overwhelming him right now. She is probably at the JFK airport.

“It’s Alex.” Alex heard her whisper to someone on her end.

He assumed it was Zack.

“Alex, it is not my fault that you decided to opt out on NYC just because you are mad that I didn’t accept your marriage proposal. I can make my own damn decisions without you pestering at me. Zack and I have no obligations to you regarding this matter. His life shouldn’t revolve around you.”

“No, it is not Zack I’m angry at. I am furious with you. I cannot believe you would even stoop so low.” Alex fired back.

Liezel groaned loudly, and he can tell that she is frustrated at this point. He normally would try his best to console her and calm her down, but Alex, too, is furious. She pushed the right buttons to piss him off.

“Don’t you get it? I needed someone to come with me to New York City.”

“You have Hale.”

“Alex, he is my hitting partner, he doesn’t count.” Liezel sighed.

“Hey!” Alex heard in the background.

He assumed that it was Hale.

“No offense,” Liezel whispered to him, “And Alex, I believe our conversation here is done.”

“No, I’m not done ta…” He realized that Liezel’s end of the line no longer existed.

She had hung up on him.

“BITCH!” He yelled ferociously, kicking at the glass door behind him.

Alex then paced around the studio entrance, thinking through about his actions. He wondered how he is going to get through the next few weeks knowing that his band mate completely replaced him. Liezel found an easy replacement for him on her venture to the U.S. Open, and it was one of his best friends.

Shaking his head, he picked up his phone once again, this time, pressing on Wallace’s name. It might be better to try to dissuade Zack from staying in NYC with Liezel by talking to his girlfriend about this arrangement.

After he clicked on the model’s name, he pressed his phone to his ears once more. This time, however, the ringing took forever. He paced around impatiently, almost wanting to give up and just drop this topic. But the line opened just as he was about to hang up.

“Wallace’s phone, Dale speaking!” Dale Levine’s voice chirped in enthusiastically.

Alex envied her, since her biggest concern right now is the fact that someone else is headlining her show. He has all of these unsolved problems, threatening to tear his life apart, and this woman, she has nothing to worry about. Her trials and tribulations have been conquered, and all she has to do is occasionally grieve for her late fiancé’s death.

Even with Raphael Lockheart’s death, Dale had Jack. She had someone else for her when her first love was taken away from her. If Alex loses Liezel, whether to Zack or something else, he has no one. He is so stubbornly in love with her that he refuses to spend the rest of his life with anyone else.

“Get Wallace on the phone now.” Alex gritted impatiently through his teeth.

Dale paused for a second before speaking.

“Uh, sorry Alex, Wallace is…”

“Dale, I said NOW.” Alex hollered angrily.

Jack’s girlfriend squeaked at his increase in volume, preceded by rushed footsteps. Alex let out a breath that he forgot he was holding and mentally scolded himself for taking his anger out on Dale. She was so enthusiastic and happy to speak with him on the phone; he totally destroyed her mood for sure.

He made a mental note to send her a fruit basket during one of her rehearsals.

“Alex, what is so important that you had to pull me out of my run at dress rehearsal?” Wallace’s voice took over in his speaker.

Alex sighed loudly.

“Did you know that your boyfriend ran off with my girlfriend to New York City?” He asked persistently.

There was a pause at her end of the line. Alex knew her answer.

“And you didn’t bother to call me and give me a head’s up?” Alex questioned.

“Hey, whatever issues you have with Beckett is your problem, not mine. Do not take your anger out on Zack and me, you are angry at Beckett.”

“You are supposed to stop Zack from going with her.”

Wallace groaned loudly.

“Alex, why are you calling me? How can I help you?” Wallace is clearly irritated at this point.

“Tell Zack to get his ass back to Baltimore, we need him here.”

“Why don’t you call him yourself? And besides, you’ll manage without him. He’ll only be gone for two weeks, if Beckett wins the tournament.”

“Wallace, you better call him…” He threatened.

“Or else what, Alex? What are you going to do to me?”

Alex shook his head, refusing to believe that he just took his anger out on Wallace. It is not her fault that Liezel decided to drag Zack along with her. It was his own doing, and he is just trying to find ways to bury that fact.

“Look, Alex, I know you are angry right now, but you need to calm down. I know the real issue is your relationship, not the fact that Zack is in New York. So you just chill out and think about how you are going to fix everything okay?”

Alex found himself nodding along to her words. Her logic calmed him down slightly.

“Thanks Wallace.” He whispered.

“Yeah, I have to go, okay?”

“Yeah, talk to you soon!”

“Not with that attitude you threw at me today!”

Alex managed a chuckle.

“I promise it won’t happen again!”

“Alrighty!”

She hung up, leaving Alex to his own thoughts.

“Fuck.”



“Alright, Zack, this is my manager Katja.” Liezel introduced, gesturing toward the blonde woman in front of her.

Zack silently greeted the tall European woman as he pulled his luggage to an abrupt stop. Hale picked up Zack’s luggage and helped him load it into the trunk of the van.

“What, zee new boyfriend?” Katja asked the tennis player in her thick Russian accent.

Liezel’s eyes widened, shaking her head profusely.

“No, he’s a friend.” She said quickly.

Katja snickered in understanding as she pulled out a Samsung smartphone from her blazer pocket. She focused her attention on the screen. Liezel watched Zack pick up her luggage with ease and placed it in the trunk with the other stuff.

“By zee way, I dropped your parents off at the hotel and had Sif prepare tennis equipment in hotel room.” The Russian woman informed.

Liezel nodded in gratitude and gestured for Zack and Hale to follow her into the van. Her hitting partner closed the trunk as he continued on in a conversation with Zack. The tennis player got in, walked past Coach Wilson to get to the backseat. She smiled and closed her eyes, thinking about seeing her parents again.

Robert and Katrina Beckett lived in the city, having moved to a small apartment as soon as Liezel moved into the loft with Alex. They’ve always liked Alex and pressed her to live with him ever since she returned with her first championship trophy from Australia. In reality, Liezel suspected that her parents wanted to live out their lifelong dream of moving out to the city without their child.

She was glad at the time, since most parents objected to their daughter moving in with a boyfriend so early.

Liezel opened her eyes when Zack sat down next to her in the backseat. She smiled at him and he returned it quickly. It is rare for Zack to smile, and she is glad that he is giving her one now. She is a bit bummed out about her situation with Alex, and no matter what she tried to do, she cannot push the situation to the back of her mind. The fact that he called half an hour after the plane landed at JFK did not help.

Even thinking about seeing her parents again, her train of thoughts went back to Alex. She cannot stress over this situation, because she won’t win another U.S. Open title unless her mind is clear.

“So what’s the plan for today?” Zack asked as the van started pulling away from the terminal parking lot.

Liezel smacked Hale in the back of the head when she noticed that he is sitting directly in front of her and turned to face her friend. She ignored Hale’s squeak of protest.

“We head to the hotel, I introduce you to my parents, and then we prepare for the tennis banquet tonight.”

Zack pursed his lips.

“The tennis banquet?”

“Yes, they hold it before every tournament. It comes with the red carpet and all that jazz. I just don’t feel like dealing with it alone, so I need your support.”

The bass player nodded quickly.

“Yes, of course, I’ll be your date if that’s what you are implying.”

The tennis star smiled genuinely, pulling her friend into a side hug. She is thankful that she has Zack to lean on and that he is willing to guide her through a difficult time in her life.

“You’re the best!”

Notes

Sorry i haven't updated in a while, busy busy busy! And just so you know there is one more sequel after this then I'm done with this series.

And this is by far my favorite chapter to write in this story. Alex's anger and his dialogue with both Wallace and Liezel and even with Jack and Rian had me loving it even more :)

And sorry for the stereotypical Russian accent for Liezel's agent....