Jack and I had no idea what was going to happen. To be honest, I didn't want Allison to go back to Alex. As much as I wanted to see her happy and in a relationship, I knew that Alex wasn't good for her. At least, if I were in her position, I couldn't take someone like that back.
Allison finally spoke. "Alex," she said taking in a deep breath and looked down to him, wiping away her tears. "I really appreciate your gesture, but I can't." At that moment in time, it felt like everything just came crumbling down for everyone.
Alex stood up and put the ring back in his pocket with the box. His facial expressions brought a tear to my eye. I don't think that I've ever seen someone so hurt over this. "But why, Allison?" He wanted to cry. His voice was cracking and you could see his eyes shining, the tears building up.
"Because, Alex. Yes, I loved you. A lot. But you lied to me. About cheating on me, and about still seeing her. I can't marry someone that I can't trust." She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "I'm sorry Alex," she said. "If you didn't cheat on me, then it might have been a different story."
He hung his head down and walked to the bedroom, running his fingers through his hair as Jack got up and followed him.
Allison sat next to me and sighed. "I honestly never thought I'd turn down a proposal," she said as if it was just telling someone that she didn't want to buy a candy bar for their band trip.
"Don't you think you could have done something a little, I don't know, less hurtful?" I asked.
"I did it as nice as possible," she said, chuckling.
"Aren't you hurting at all?"
"You know, I thought I would be. But seeing his face again, I just can't do it. All I could see was him banging up that whore. It makes me sick to think that someone as sweet as him could go off and cheat on someone. You know? Like, he told me that he loved me."
"But Allison," I said, pausing. I could hear Alex sobbing, and between the whispers and cries, all I could hear was Alex saying how much he loved her and how sorry he was. "Alex is in there, crying over you, because he wanted to share his name with you. He wanted to be with you forever."
"I can't," she said, pulling her hair back into a pony tail. "He lied to me. End of story."
"Jack lied to me. He cheated on me. But I'm still with him."
"Would you marry him?" Her glare was deep, and it hurt.
Would I? Maybe not at this moment. In the future? If he was true. "Of course. I love him for who he is and how he treats me."
"If you weren't pregnant. Honestly," she said.
"I don't know. These babies have a strong hold on Jack and I. But with our troubles at the beginning, I don't think so. Why don't you just go and actually talk to Alex. Maybe you weren't thinking. I'm sure he's learned his lesson. You just can't leave that poor boy in there crying."
Allison was quiet. She was thinking, and I think something I said finally got through to her because she had got up and went to the spare bedroom. Jack walked out and shook his head. "How is he?"
"Broken more than a clock that got ran over. I really hope that there's no more bad news on his end. I don't think that he'd last that long." He sat down next to me and rubbed my back. "You feeling okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just not really sure how this will all play out. I'm worried someone will get hurt."
"Everything will work out, Em. Don't worry. You can't worry about anyone else. Okay? You have your own life to worry about. If you stress over others, those babies could get into danger. Speaking of babies, can we really talk?"
"Sure. What's going on?"
"I'm just worried about you, Em. You aren't really eating as much or as healthy as I'd like lately, and I think those babies could be in danger because of your position that you're in."
"I'm fine, Jack. I'm just tired, that's all."
"I just worry about you, babe. And the babies. I don't want to lose everything. I feel like you and I really are suppose to be together," He said, touching my hand. "But with you being so distant lately, I don't know how much longer we can pull through. I can't stay just for the kids. We've talked about this before."
Those words killed me. They cut me deep, and I felt a pain in my gut. I just nodded and stood up slowly. "I'm going to go to bed, alright? You can come in or you can wait out here for the response. It's up to you."
"I'm going to go clean up and I'll be in, alright?" I nodded again and went into the bedroom. This whole day has been interesting, but it had too many questions left unanswered. I hoped that Allison and Alex got back together, but at the same time, I didn't want them to. I don't know what I would do if they broke up again. Or if they stayed apart. Allison seemed to be okay, but she was pretty good with putting up a front.
I had covered up and closed my eyes, hoping that the morning would not come any sooner than it needed to be. I felt Jack climb in not too long after and I drifted off in his warm hold.
-----
Jack and I had woken up to each other, he wasn't out of bed, and neither was I. Just holding each other there in bed was more than enough for me. I felt a little sick to my stomach, but I just assumed that it was because I didn't have much to eat the night before and I was just slightly hungry. Our ultrasound was tomorrow, and I was just excited to see how the babies were growing.
We heard pans clanking around as I shook my head, and hoped to god we weren't being robbed. Jack and I got out to see Allison at the table, and Alex cooking up eggs and sausage. She wasn't wearing the ring, but she stayed the night. Something good must have happened, right?
"Hey you guys," Alex said, setting down plates at the table. He was wearing an apron, and his hair looked like it hasn't yet been brushed yet today.
Jack and I sat down next to each other, looking highly confused as to what exactly was going on. "Hey, Alex," Jack said, looking at the plate. "You making breakfast for everyone?"
"Yeah, I figured I haven't been doing much lately, and this would be a nice way to thank you and Emily for letting me stay. I honestly don't know what I would do without people like you. So kind. So giving." Jack and I nodded as he sat down next to us and started to eat. Despite my feelings for him, still, the breakfast was still pretty good, and I guess I could forgive him for twenty minutes.
Still feeling queasy, I ate as slowly as I could. Alex sat across from Allison as he looked at her with loving eyes. I really hope there was no baby-making last night. We have to touch those sheets, you know? At any rate, I had to focus on when I would have time to pull her aside, hopefully later today, to talk about it. At this moment, I had to focus on breakfast.
I ate one egg and half a sausage, before I pushed my plate away, leaned back and placed a hand on my stomach. I couldn't do it anymore. I tried my best, but I felt like I was going to vomit everything up.
"Em, you alright? you seem pale," Jack said, rubbing my leg. Feeling him touch me, it made me hunch over in slight pain. I don't quite understand why his touch hurt me, but I just hunched over in pain, smacking my head on the corner of the table.
Thankfully I didn't fall though, because my stomach would have been first. But it really hurt. Everyone gasped and Jack wrapped his arms around me. "Oh my god, Emily, are you okay?"
