Chapter 109. Old Friends

Chapter 109. Old Friends
By the time visiting hours begin in the afternoon, the hospital hallway becomes noticeably busier, with family members arriving carrying small bags of food, flowers, and drinks for patients who are expected to remain overnight. Madelyn is sitting beside Caleb's bed when she hears a familiar voice coming from the hallway, followed by the sound of several people laughing together. 

She looks toward the door and immediately recognizes Samantha, who walks into the room wearing jeans, a ranch jacket, and boots that still carry a little dust from home. She's followed by three people Madelyn doesn't recognize, although she quickly realizes from the way they greet Samantha that they must be friends from school.

"Finally," Samantha says as she walks inside, looking directly at Roxanne. "I thought you were fixin' to leave Texas again 'fore I got to see you."

She's smiling brightly, already prepared to tease her best friend, but the words nearly disappear when her eyes move past Roxanne and land on Alexandra. Samantha stops for a second, her jaw dropping slightly as she takes in the woman she has heard about for years. 

Seeing photographs and hearing Roxanne describe her are apparently nothing compared to having Alexandra standing only a few feet away. She looks effortlessly striking, from her blonde hair to the composed confidence in the way she carries herself, and Samantha's expression quickly changes from surprise into amusement.

Then her attention returns to Roxanne, and she studies her just as carefully. Samantha has seen her countless times through video calls, but seeing her in person makes her realize how much Roxanne has changed. She looks more polished, more elegant, and far more confident than the girl Samantha remembers, yet the smile she gives her is still the same, still her best friend.

Roxanne smiles and stands from the chair beside Caleb's bed, immediately moving toward her best friend. The two women embrace naturally, with the kind of ease that comes from years of knowing one another, and Samantha laughs as she pulls back to look at Roxanne properly. 

"Hot damn, girl. You look amazing'."

"These three idiots insisted on comin' with me," Samantha says, gesturing toward the people behind her.

The first is Ethan, someone Roxanne remembers from their economics class, followed by Claire and Nathan, both of whom she knows from various school activities. All three immediately greet her, but Ethan and Nathan barely manage to hide their reactions when they see her standing in front of them. They both have spent most of their high school years carrying quiet crushes on Roxanne, although Samantha has known about both of them for years and has never allowed either man to pretend otherwise.

Neither of them is prepared for what four years does to a person. Ethan's mouth opens slightly before he remembers that he's supposed to say something, and Nathan suddenly becomes far too interested in adjusting the sleeve of his jacket. Roxanne notices neither reaction because she's busy asking Claire how her family is doing, but Samantha catches both of them immediately and has to suppress a laugh.

"Y'all look like you've forgotten how to speak," she says.

"We ain't," Ethan replies quickly, although his eyes immediately return to Roxanne.

Samantha gives him a knowing look. "Sure."

Madelyn watches the exchange from the other side of the room. She has heard Samantha talk about Roxanne's high school years countless times, but she has never actually met the people who knew her before she leaves Texas. Seeing them now gives her a strange feeling because their reactions make it obvious that Roxanne has always been someone people notice.

Claire, who's close to Roxanne even if she's not as close to her as Samantha is, begins telling Roxanne about their old classmates while Ethan and Nathan continue trying to behave normally. Roxanne laughs at some of the stories, occasionally covering her mouth when Samantha brings up something embarrassing from school. 

The sound immediately changes the atmosphere in the room, and even Caleb, still resting beneath his hospital blanket, smiles sleepily at the familiar sound of his sister laughing. Alexandra, however, remains unusually quiet.

She stands near Roxanne, listening to the conversation while maintaining a pleasant expression, but Madelyn notices that her attention never leaves the younger woman for very long. Whenever Ethan or Nathan moves closer to Roxanne, Alexandra's eyes follow them. When Ethan compliments Roxanne on how much she has changed since school, Alexandra smiles politely but reaches for Roxanne's hand almost immediately afterward, keeping their fingers intertwined while continuing to listen.

Madelyn notices it because it's odd for her. At first, she assumes it is simply protectiveness. Alexandra is older, wealthy, confident, and clearly accustomed to taking care of people around her. But then Nathan starts reminiscing about Roxanne during their senior year, mentioning how half the class apparently had a crush on her, and Alexandra's expression changes just enough for Madelyn to understand that something else is happening.

"Y'all still got that same smile," Nathan says to Roxanne, laughing. "I swear, that's what got everybody."

Roxanne shakes her head, embarrassed. "I wasn't that popular."

"You were," Ethan says before he can stop himself.

Samantha immediately looks at him. Ethan clears his throat and tries to recover. "I mean, everyone liked you."

Alexandra's hand tightens slightly around Roxanne's. Roxanne looks down at their hands and then up at Alexandra, immediately understanding. A small smile begins to appear on her face, and she does not bother hiding how pleased she is.

Madelyn sees it. She looks at Alexandra, then at Roxanne, then back at Alexandra again. "Something is definitely happening." She mutters to herself.

The way Alexandra stands beside Roxanne is different from how a family friend would stand. She doesn't hover, but she's always close enough to touch. Whenever Roxanne moves, Alexandra naturally adjusts with her. When Roxanne sits, Alexandra takes the chair beside her. When Nathan leans over the bed to speak with Roxanne, Alexandra quietly places one hand against Roxanne's shoulder as though reminding everyone in the room that she is already spoken for.

Madelyn finds herself watching the older woman more than the conversation. At one point, Ethan asks Roxanne if she remembers the school dance where he tries to ask her out but loses his nerve. Roxanne laughs because she genuinely doesn't remember it, which makes Ethan laugh too.

"I was terrible at that," he admits.

"Okay, perhaps my mind was all over the place," Roxanne says.

"I was terrified of you. Because you're too beautiful to handle." He says, and his eyes soften. That makes everyone laugh, including Roxanne.

Everyone laughs except Alexandra, who looks at Ethan for a moment before calmly reaching over to smooth Roxanne's hair away from her shoulder. Madelyn's eyebrows rise, she has never seen someone become so possessive without saying anything at all.

Samantha notices too. She catches Madelyn's expression from across the room and gives her a tiny smile, as if silently telling her that she understands exactly what she's seeing. Madelyn leans closer when Samantha eventually comes over to sit beside her.

"I thought she is the stepmother," Madelyn asks, "uncle Brandon's wife?"

Samantha looks toward Alexandra, who's currently listening to Claire tell another story while keeping one hand comfortably on Roxanne's waist. "She never adopted Roxie—she's just her step-daddy's wife, is all."

"This is confusing," Madelyn frowns.

Samantha laughs under her breath. "Don't go thinkin' on it too much, kiddo." The answer only makes Madelyn more curious.

Meanwhile, Roxanne seems to be enjoying every second of it. She keeps speaking with her old friends, laughing at their memories and asking about people she has not seen in years, but every so often she glances toward Alexandra with a small smile that makes it obvious she's fully aware of the older woman's mood. 

When Nathan offers to bring her coffee from the cafeteria, Alexandra politely tells him that she will get it herself, and when Ethan asks whether Roxanne plans to stay in Texas for a while, Alexandra answers before Roxanne can. "Only for as long as she needs."

Ethan nods immediately. "Right."

Samantha nearly laughs, it's so clear that the older woman is jealous. And Roxanne doesn't seem bothered by it. If anything, she looks happier each time Alexandra's hand finds hers again. 

She has spent years being the one who becomes jealous, demanding reassurance and making Alexandra deal with her insecurities, so seeing the usually composed Romanov woman slowly lose her patience over two harmless young crushes feels almost too entertaining to resist.

When Samantha catches Roxanne smiling at her, she knows exactly what her best friend is thinking. "You're just lovin' this, ain'tcha?" Samantha whispers.

Roxanne only smiles and leans a little closer to Alexandra. "I don't know what you're talking about," Samantha laughs.

Madelyn watches them all from beside Caleb's bed, still trying to understand exactly what kind of relationship her sister has built while she's away. She knows Alexandra is Brandon's wife. She knows Roxanne trusts her. She knows Alexandra has helped their family when nobody else does. 

But the way they look at each other, the way they instinctively reach for one another, and especially the way Alexandra reacts whenever someone else shows interest in Roxanne tells Madelyn there's a part of the story everyone seems to understand except her. For now, she decides not to ask.

She simply watches as Roxanne laughs with the friends who knew her before everything changed, while Alexandra stays close beside her, silently making it very clear that whatever those old crushes once meant, they have arrived several years too late.